If you were to ask Siri, Alexa, or ChatGPT for medical advice right now, that would be a terrible idea. But with recent developments in technology, this looks set to change. AI has become more intelligent, wearable devices - more accurate, and personalized medicine - increasingly mainstream.But is any of this safe? Should we really trust machines with our health? And will any of this actually happen?In today’s episode, Jonathan speaks to Eric Topol to explore how artificial intelligence may transform your next trip to the doctor. Eric Topol is one of the top 10 most-cited researchers in medicine, the author of 3 bestselling books on the future of medicine, and a practising cardiologist.Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide If Timecodes:00:00 - Introduction00:11 - Topic introduction01:53 - Quickfire questions04:17 - Doctor-patient relationship05:49 - Jonathan’s story with Eric 08:02 - How has medicine changed?13:54 - Is there an optimistic future for medicine, utilising AI?17:46 - How close are we to utilizing AI-based solutions in medicine?23:09 - Self-diagnosis and preventative care27:05 - Is prevention possible through AI?32:33 - Personalized healthcare41:51 - Summary43:45 - Goodbyes44:01 - OutroEpisode transcripts are available here.Follow Eric on Twitter: https://twitter.com/EricTopolFollow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/Have an idea for a podcast? Contact Fascinate Productions to bring it to life.

Eggs are nutrient-dense and have a long shelf life. Compared with many other protein sources, they’re on the cheaper side. But they’re not as popular as they used to be. And a lot of this comes down to a debate about cholesterol.In today’s short episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan and Sarah ask: What’s the truth about eggs?Follow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide Episode transcripts are available here.Want to create your own podcast? Contact Fascinate Productions to bring it to life. 

Why do some people remain fit and healthy in their later years while others become increasingly frail?  Researchers from Kings College London have been following thousands of twins for 30 years in an effort to understand how each of us ages differently. And some of their findings will surprise you!In today’s episode, Jonathan speaks to Claire Steves to better understand what all this means, shedding light on how aging works and what we can do about it: Dr. Claire Steves is a senior lecturer at King's College London, a medical doctor, and the clinical director at TwinsUKDownload our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide Timecodes:00:00 - Introduction00:10 - Topic introduction01:39 - Quickfire questions03:16 - Claire’s work during the pandemic05:17 - What happens in our bodies when we age?08:26 - Genes and aging09:33 - What factors affect aging?11:39 - Effects of physical activity12:23 - Microbiome effects on aging13:33 - Claire’s research19:11 - What evidence is there that we can slow the effects of aging?21:44 - What are some modifiable factors that can help reduce aging effects?23:06 - Alzheimer's and dementia28:21 - Stimulating your brain29:45 - The importance of social interaction for the brain31:02 - Diet. health and aging35:27 - Menopause37:30 - Actionable advice about maximizing health while aging39:14 - The biggest myth about aging42:20 - Summary43:41 - Goodbyes43:50 - OutroEpisode transcripts are available hereFind Claire’s publications hereThe UK’s largest adult twin registry - Twins UKFollow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/Have an idea for a podcast? Contact Fascinate Productions to bring it to life.

The formal definition for constipation is ‘Having fewer than three bowel movements per week’. But, did you know that you can have a bowel movement every day and still be constipated? Recent data has shown that a quarter of people worldwide have at one point reported symptoms, suggesting that there is so much more to constipation than simply infrequent bowel movements.In today’s short-ish episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan and Will attempt to dispel some misconceptions about constipation and empower you to have better bowel movements.  Studies referenced in today’s episode:  A redefinition of constipation by King’s College London, published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology (2019) here The State Of The Nation’s Gut, Love Your Gut here Epidemiology of constipation in Europe and Oceania: a systematic review from Prichard & Bharucha via BMC Gastroenterol here Recent advances in understanding and managing chronic constipation from Peppas, Alexiou, Mourtzoukou & Falagas via F1000Research here Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide Follow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/Follow Sarah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theguthealthmd/ This podcast was produced by Fascinate Productions.

The cost of living has soared. Energy prices have doubled, and food costs have gone up enormously. As a result, the weekly shopping bill can be shocking. For some, this is merely an inconvenience. But many others face the awful choice between heating their home and maintaining their usual diet. The consequence is that many of us are throwing cheaper ingredients into our shopping baskets to save money. So does this mean that eating healthy is an indulgence that be dropped in favour of cheap ultra-processed food? Or is it still possible to eat healthily on a budget?In today’s episode, Jonathan speaks to Dr. Rupy Aujla and Tim Spector to better understand how to eat healthier while spending less: Dr. Rupy Aujla is a medical doctor who, since 2015, has been teaching people to cook their way to health. He’s the founder of The Doctor’s Kitchen and has recently turned his efforts to healthy cooking on a tight budget. Tim Spector is a co-founder of ZOE and one of the world's top 100 most cited scientists. Buy Rupy’s book here. Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide Timecodes:00:00 - Introduction00:10 - Topic introduction02:12 - Quickfire questions with Rupy03:33 - Quickfire questions with Tim04:22 - What’s one swap you can make today if you’re trying to eat well, for less?05:07 - What has Dr. Rupy been up to?06:58 - Do you need to give up eating healthy foods when economizing?08:23 - Options when you’re on a budget09:31 - Batch cooking16:00 - Is it expensive to have healthy and good quality foods?17:54 - Recipe adherence20:24 - Advice for people cooking on their own23:53 - How long does food last?25:24 - How nutritious are canned & frozen foods?28:23 - About protein38:31 - What’s the one food you should spend more money on?41:34 - Summary42:29 - Can you have a healthier diet as a consequence of being on a budget?43:23 - Goodbyes43:26 - OutroGet Tim’s book here.Episode transcripts are available here.Find delicious recipes to cook here.Follow Rupy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctors_kitchen Follow Tim on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tim.spectorFollow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/Want to create your own podcast? Contact Fascinate Productions to bring it to life. 

Our gut helps fight disease. It processes energy for us and boosts our mood. So, having a healthy gut is extremely important – but there’s still a lot we don’t know. Gut biome tests are a new, exciting technology, but are they the be-all and end-all for dietary decision-making? And are there simpler ways — and tastier ways, perhaps — to tell what’s happening inside our bodies?In today’s short episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan and Dr. Will ask: What are the signs of an unhealthy gut? And how can we improve our gut health?Referenced in today’s episode:  The Bristol Stool Scale. https://www.bladderandbowel.org/bowel/bowel-resources/bristol-stool-form-scale/  ZOE’s Blue Poop Challenge: https://www.joinzoe.com/bluepoop Blue poo: Impact of gut transit time on the gut microbiome using a novel marker published in Gut https://gut.bmj.com/content/70/9/1665 Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide Follow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/This podcast was produced by Fascinate Productions.

Blood sugar is one of the rare nutrition topics where everyone agrees: We should avoid big peaks and dips and aim for a steady curve. Spikes cause inflammation, accelerate aging, and lead to type 2 diabetes. Crashes make us feel moody and tired, and crave foods we don’t need. We can control our blood sugar through what and how we eat. But something else affects our blood sugar — physical activity. Exercise has a profound effect on your blood sugar response. Together with your food choices, being physically active helps you keep your blood sugar level even.In this episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan speaks with Javier Gonzalez and Sarah Berry to find out how exercise affects our blood sugar response — even when we’re fasting — and how much exercise we need to do to benefit. Javier Gonzalez is an associate professor of human physiology at the University of Bath whose research focuses on the interaction between diet and exercise. Sarah Berry is one of the world's leading experts on human nutrition. She has personally run over 20 randomized clinical trials looking at how humans respond to different fats. Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide Timecodes:00:00 - Introduction00:12 - Topic introduction01:39 - Quickfire questions02:55 - Is a 30-minute walk as good as 30-minute cardio?03:39 - What is blood sugar and why should we care about it?05:10 - Blood sugar control throughout the day07:43 - Why is it important to know about blood sugar?09:01 - Blood sugar control12:25 - How exercise affects blood sugar14:17 - The power of fidgeting16:12 - Effects of higher intensity exercise17:00 - Lower intensity exercise vs higher intensity exercise18:41 - Intermittent fasting and blood sugar24:43 - Personalization26:35 - What types of exercises can you do to control blood sugar?29:12 - Cardio vs resistance training34:21 - Blood fats & exercise42:15 - 3 tips on leveraging exercise to control blood sugar and blood fats43:14 - Summary44:25 - Goodbyes44:37 - OutroEpisode transcripts are available here.Follow Javier on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gonzalez_jtFollow Sarah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drsarahberry/ Follow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/Have an idea for a podcast? Contact Fascinate Productions to bring it to life.

More than half of us have high cholesterol — and new research suggests that having even slightly raised levels in our 30s could significantly increase our chances of developing heart disease. Medication is a common fix, but it comes with side effects. So, today we’re looking at how much changing our diets can help. In this short (ish) episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan and Sarah ask: Can we lower our cholesterol by changing our diets? Follow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide Studies referenced in the episode: ‘Association between Carbohydrate Intake and Serum Lipids’ from the Journal of the American Nutrition Association here ‘The Mediterranean Diet And Cardioprotection: Historical Overview And Current Research from the Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare here ‘Direct comparison of dietary portfolio vs statin on C-reactive protein’ from the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition here This podcast was produced by Fascinate Productions.

This year, cases of an invasive bacterial infection are rising earlier than usual in the US, the UK and other countries across Europe. The group A Streptococcus bacteria - commonly known as Strep A - usually only causes mild illness. However, things have become severe in some cases, with several children dying in recent weeks.So, should we be worried? And what symptoms should we look out for to help us identify this illness in ourselves and our families?In today’s episode, Jonathan is joined by world-leading expert on the subject: Shiranee Sriskandan is a professor of Infectious Diseases at Imperial College London whose scientific research focuses specifically on Strep A bacteria. Regular guest and ZOE co-founder Tim Spector also joins, and as one of the world’s top 100 most cited scientists, Tim has been closely following infectious diseases in the community through the ZOE Health Study. Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide Timecodes:00:00   Introduction00:10   Topic Introduction01:40 Quickfire Questions03:15 What is Strep?04:04 How common is Strep?05:02 Seasonality of Strep and symptoms in different climates05:30 What makes this year different?06:31 Can Strep make other illnesses worse?07:07 We've already seen signs of Strep rising over time, is this due to lockdown?09:36 How worried should we be about Strep infections?10:10 Group A Strep will often get better on its own11:07 The risk of rarer invasive infections is greater as the pool of cases increases11:59 Immune response to Strep A can increase chances of Rheumatic Fever13:35 What is Rheumatic Fever?14:59 What are the symptoms of Strep A16:53 How to treat Strep Throat18:12 What is the relationship between Strep A and Scarlet Fever18:53 Who gets Scarlet Fever and what are the symptoms?19:34 What are the distinguishing features between covid and other sore throats20:53 Do children get more fevers if they are younger?22:54 What to do if you think your child has strep throat24:01 Can you get rapid tests for Strep A?24:25 Why has Strep throat been seemingly more prominent in the US than the UK25:41 Different health services around the world and their respective responses to Strep27:36 Should we be testing and treating?30:15 What role does differing attitudes to healthcare play in this?32:02 Should we be cautious about using antibiotics for Strep A?33:51 What potential problems are there around antibiotics?36:00 Would a vaccine be the answer to stopping Strep in its tracks?38:41 Tim's top tips to boost your immunity this winter41:06 SummaryEpisode transcripts are available hereRead about Tim Spector’s ZOE Health Study hereFollow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/Have an idea for a podcast? Contact Fascinate Productions to bring it to life. 

Welcome to 2023! Whether you partied last night or went to bed early, we’re all in the same boat: a new year means thinking about new year’s resolutions. This tradition dates back 4000 years, so it’s certainly stood the test of time. But are new year’s resolutions a good idea? Or simply a get way to set yourself up to fail? Perhaps science has something to say about this.In this episode, Jonathan speaks with Tara Swart and Sarah Berry, who share techniques that will give you the best chance of sticking to your New Year’s resolutions. They also discuss whether these promises are a good idea in the first place.  Tara Swart is a medical doctor, a neuroscientist, and the author of The Source: Open Your Mind, Change Your Life. She also has her own podcast, called Reinvent Yourself. Sarah Berry is one of the world's leading experts on human nutrition. She has personally run more than 20 randomized clinical trials looking at how humans respond to different fats. Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide Timecodes:00:00 - Introduction00:10 - Topic introduction01:54 - Quickfire questions02:32 - Making good choices for the New Year without it being hard work04:28 - Why do we do New Year resolutions and is it a good idea?07:07 - How to achieve New Year’s resolution goals?09:18 - Scientific evidence about how to achieve goals09:53 - What is neuroplasticity16:02 - 4-step process to change your brain18:36 - How to approach weight loss resolutions23:07 - Avoiding dieting as a New Year’s resolution25:49 - The science of habits33:07 - Tips & actionable advice40:02 - Quitting alcohol43:26 - Summary44:00 - Goodbyes44:11 - OutroEpisode transcripts are available here.Get Tara’s book here.Follow Tara on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtaraswartFollow Sarah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drsarahberry/ Follow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/Have an idea for a podcast? Contact Fascinate Productions to bring it to life.