ZOE Science & Nutrition

10 million deaths a year.  That is how many people are predicted to die from antibiotic-resistant infections if we do not find new treatments. In today’s episode, Professor Martha Clokie and Professor Tim Spector explore the secret gut viruses, known as phages, being studied to fight deadly infection, target cancer cells, and to protect your gut microbiome.  Martha is a world-leading expert on the mysterious phage and, for the last 20 years, has pioneered research to revolutionise the treatment of infections without antibiotics. She explains why antibiotic resistance is a growing global threat, why everyday infections are becoming harder to treat, and how some bacteria are now resistant to every antibiotic available. We explore how the viruses in our gut may help solve this problem, and how scientists may one day use them to deliver highly targeted cancer treatment. By the end of the episode, you’ll have some ideas to help support a healthier gut ecosystem and understand how to increase the number of friendly gut viruses that live inside you. The science is still early, but the message is clear: the small choices we make every day are shaping our long-term resilience to disease. If viruses can help protect us from infection rather than cause it, how much of human health are we only just beginning to understand? 🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily30 Get our brand-new app and Gut Health Test designed by world-leading gut health and nutrition scientists to build healthy eating habits 👉 Join ZOE Follow ZOE on Instagram. Timecodes 00:00 Intro 01:34 The gut viruses scientists say we need to survive 03:19 There are more gut viruses than stars in the universe 10:50 The billion-year war happening inside your gut 13:10 The hidden system controlling your microbiome 14:42 What healthy microbiomes have that unhealthy guts lose 16:33 The gut viruses that may protect you from infection 17:38 Why your immune system allows trillions of viruses to live inside you 19:25 The natural viruses that kill salmonella 20:52 Why ageing may weaken your gut’s viral defences 22:05 Scientists still don’t know what most gut viruses do 25:12 The strange origin story of phage therapy 27:22 Doctors are already using viruses to treat deadly infections 28:02 Why antibiotics are starting to fail 29:07 The deadly infection crisis bigger than cancer 30:38 How factory farming fuels antibiotic resistance 32:27 The antibiotic resistance emergency is already here 33:25 The forgotten treatment abandoned after antibiotics 35:50 Why phage therapy may spare your microbiome 36:37 The dying patient saved by experimental viruses 39:41 Could phages replace antibiotics in the future? 40:50 The viruses scientists are using to target cancer cells 44:35 How diet shapes the viruses living in your gut 46:05 The surprising link between coffee and gut health 47:25 The foods that may increase healthy gut viruses 50:34 The future of gut health, cancer treatment and infection prevention 📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector Good Mood Food (preorder) by Prof. Tim Spector Free resources from ZOE The Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks  Better Breakfast Guide Mentioned in today's episode How gut viruses shape your gut microbiome Phages to the rescue, Trends in Microbiology (2024) Compounds in the foods we eat can trigger phage production, Gut Microbes (2020) Microbiomes of garden vs supermarket produce, Nature (2022) Phage Therapy at Belgium’s Queen Astrid Military Hospital, Viruses (2019) Habitual coffee intake shapes the gut microbiome, Nature (2026) Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.Episode transcripts are available here.

Today, we’re diving into one of the most requested topics we’ve ever had: cold water therapy. Cold showers, ice baths and wild winter swimming have exploded in popularity over recent years with supporters claiming a range of health benefits.  But are these claims actually backed by science, or is it all just another wellness fad?  I’m joined by Dr. Susanna Søberg and Proffesor Tim Spector to break down the studies and discover if we could all do with a bit more ice in our life. 🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily 30+ Get our brand-new app and Gut Health Test designed by world-leading gut health and nutrition scientists to build healthy eating habits 👉 Join ZOE Follow ZOE on Instagram. 📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector Free resources from ZOE Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks  Better Breakfast Guide

Allergies have tripled - with hay fever, seasonal allergies, eczema and food intolerances now affecting millions of people. But why are allergy symptoms getting worse, and what does gut health have to do with it? In this episode, Adam Fox, a world-leading allergy Professor at King’s College London, explains why allergies may be rising so fast, why many beliefs about allergies are wrong, and what new science reveals about your immune system, skin and gut. Professor Fox explores why some foods are more likely to trigger reactions, and why modern allergy science is increasingly focused on gut health. Adam also discusses why 90% of people told they are allergic to certain things may not actually be allergic, the difference between allergies and intolerances, and why some antihistamines may be doing you more harm than you realise. By the end of this episode, you will have some practical ways to manage hay fever and seasonal allergies, including which antihistamines experts now recommend avoiding, simple ways to reduce pollen exposure at home, and when allergy testing or desensitisation treatment may help. Adam explains how newer treatments are starting to retrain the immune system rather than simply suppress symptoms. If allergies barely existed a few hundred years ago, what changed? And could your gut now be shaping the way your immune system reacts to the world around you? 🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily30 Get our brand-new app and Gut Health Test designed by world-leading gut health and nutrition scientists to build healthy eating habits 👉 Join ZOE Follow ZOE on Instagram. Timecodes 00:00 Intro 03:19 Why peanut allergies became so common in children 08:05 Why allergies are different in every country 10:00 The hidden link between eczema and food allergies 11:14 Your gut and skin train your immune system differently 12:42 What eczema actually does to your immune system 15:15 Did hay fever barely exist 200 years ago? 17:36 Why hay fever can seriously affect your life 18:11 Hay fever may affect exam results and work performance 20:20 Most people diagnosed with penicillin allergy may not have it 22:30 90% of penicillin allergies may be wrong 25:52 The hygiene hypothesis may not explain allergies after all 28:10 The microbiome connection scientists can’t ignore 31:24 The mouse experiment that changed allergy science 34:05 The eating pattern linked to fewer allergies in children 36:35 Food allergy vs food intolerance - what’s the difference? 39:51 What anaphylaxis actually feels like in the body 43:43 Gluten allergy, celiac disease and gluten sensitivity explained 47:49 Why allergy blood tests can give misleading results 49:46 The new treatment changing peanut allergy care 52:41 5 science-backed ways to reduce hay fever symptoms 55:16 The antihistamines some doctors now avoid 56:40 The future of allergy treatment is changing fast 📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector Good Mood Food (preorder) by Prof. Tim Spector Free resources from ZOE The Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks  Better Breakfast Guide Mentioned in today's episode Professor Adam Fox OBE uses Instagram to share clear bite-sized insights on children’s allergies, eczema & other allergic diseases - Follow at @DrAdamFox Rising Trends in Food Allergies, The Lancet (2024) Pollen exposure and exam performance, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (2026) Almost nine in ten patients labelled allergic to penicillin had no allergy, The Lancet (2025) Risk Factors for the Development of Food Allergy, JAMA (2026) Food Allergy and the Microbiome, Current Research in Microbial Sciences (2025) Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here. Episode transcripts are available here.

Today, we’re zooming out to look at the bigger picture. On this podcast, we often talk about things that you can do to improve your diet. However, you're not the only one who has an impact on your health. The truth is, our food system - from government policy to supermarket placement - has a profound influence on what we eat, how we eat, and ultimately how healthy we all are. So, what steps can we take to improve not just our own health, but the health of society as a whole?  Today, I’m joined by Professor Brian Elbel and Professor Tim Spector to explore the forces shaping our food system — and the changes that could benefit our collective well-being.

What if boosting your immune system is the wrong goal?  Today, Dr Giulia Enders explains how boosting immunity may increase inflammation and why your symptoms are often part of your body’s defence. Your immune system is not failing when you feel sick. It is trying to protect you. So what should you focus on instead? That’s the idea at the very heart of Giulia’s new book, Organ Speak. Giulia is a gastroenterologist and author whose previous book, Gut, sold eight million copies and helped convince the world that gut health was worth taking seriously. She explains how the immune system really works and why symptoms like a runny nose, cough, or fever come from your body, not the infection itself. You’ll learn how sugar may push the immune system toward inflammation, how stress can weaken it, and why sleep is key for producing immune cells. This episode also explores how exercise helps regulate your immune response. The core idea is simple: health is not about making your immune system stronger. It is about keeping it balanced. By the end of this episode, you will have practical ways to support that balance and habits to help your immune system respond in the right way. If the sneezing, runny nose, fever - all of it - are actually the whole point, how much energy should you spend in suppressing them? 🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily30 Get our brand-new app and Gut Health Test designed by world-leading gut health and nutrition scientists to build healthy eating habits 👉 Join ZOE Follow ZOE on Instagram. Timecodes 00:00 Intro 02:45 Why being sick feels like failure 04:30 The problem with only treating the gut 07:16 Why your body is not broken 10:25 When your immune system gets overprotective 13:28 The virus may not cause your symptoms 15:36 Should you stop cold symptoms? 16:40 When diarrhoea medicine can backfire 18:05 Should you take painkillers when sick? 18:52 Why immunity is not a war 20:46 The invisible microbe cloak protecting you 22:49 How your body clears bacteria from skin 24:10 Your microbiome is part of immunity 26:58 Is your immune system like AI? 28:00 Why boosting immunity can go wrong 30:36 Are immune supplements worth taking? 31:45 How stress weakens your gut barrier 34:25 The one-minute breathing reset 37:48 Why sleep builds immune cells 39:27 The most important half of sleep 44:16 Do naps help your immune system? 46:40 What to eat for immune balance 48:00 How exercise moves immune cells 49:10 Why exercise when sick can be risky 54:26 Strength vs cardio for immunity 56:00 The immune system takeaway everyone needs 📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector Good Mood Food (preorder) by Prof. Tim Spector Free resources from ZOE The Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks  Better Breakfast Guide Mentioned in today's episode Organ Speak: What it really means to listen to our bodies by Giulia Enders Gut by Giulia Enders Association of Stress-Related Disorders With Autoimmune Disease, JAMA (2018) Sugar-sweetened soda consumption and risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, AJCN (2014) Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here. Episode transcripts are available here.