Healthy eating guru Prof Tim Spector claims following his £300 diet can treat depression and anxiety

Eating kimchi, kefir and beans could be more effective for treating depression and anxiety than taking antidepressants.

This is what renowned nutritional scientist Professor Tim Spector, founder of the popular ZOE diet app, says.

The healthy eating guru, who sells a £300 personalized nutrition programme, made a bold statement about its popularity Good company podcast – hosted by radio DJ Jamie Laing – and advised those struggling with mental illness to ‘try’ dietary changes before other interventions such as medications.

“The first and safest thing you can try is to overhaul your diet and keep your gut microbes happy,” he said. adding that eating the diet recommended by his ZOE app can improve mood and energy levels.

Not following a diet rich in “gut-friendly” foods could also make antidepressants less effective, he said.

‘If you have more severe depression and you take antidepressants, a third of them don’t work at all because you have the wrong gut microbes in you.

“They break down the antidepressants so they inactivate them.”

Prof Spector theorized that the gut is the ‘second brain’, meaning everything we eat has a direct effect on our emotional health.

“It has the second largest set of nerve cells,” he told the podcast.

‘Our microbes always talk to nerve cells. That’s why we get gut feelings or butterflies in our stomachs.’

He highlighted studies that have shown that improving the diets of depressed people can alleviate their symptoms to the same extent as antidepressants.

“It’s mind-boggling, but if you think about what microbes do, they’re basically chemical factories, they produce thousands of chemicals and some of them affect the brain,” he added.

According to mental health charity Mind, around 8 in 100 people in Britain suffer from depression and anxiety.

A third of people with a common mental health problem will receive treatment, such as medication and talk therapy.

But diet is not usually discussed as an option to treat anxiety and depression, Professor Spector said.

‘Many of our mental health problems, and there is an epidemic of them at the moment, are because we have an abnormal amount of gut microbes that produce the wrong chemicals and our brains misinterpret these signals and think we are sicker than we really are. .’

‘Unfortunately, if you go to your GP they won’t recommend a change in diet, so you’ll have to do this yourself,’ he added.

‘It’s particularly difficult because when you’re in a depressed or anxious state, your brain often turns off that interest in food so you really see it as fuel.

“It’s important that friends and family help someone in that condition eat better.”

The NHS is urging people to talk to their doctor before stopping medicines.

Going off antidepressants “cold turkey” can cause debilitating withdrawal symptoms, including stomach problems, anxiety, restlessness, and sleep problems.

Although Professor Spector credited his ZOE diet plan for its mood-boosting potential, he emphasized that there are other ways to eat a healthy, mood-boosting diet.

ZOE is a nutrition app that provides personalized advice on what users should eat, based on the results of gut health and blood fat tests and 14 days of blood sugar monitoring.

Health-conscious Brits will spend £299.99 on the tests, followed by a one-year membership costing £299.88.

It encourages people to eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and fermented foods like kimchi and yogurt to increase diversity in the microbiome – the healthy insects that live in the gut.

‘If you can’t afford ZOE at the moment, just experiment with different breakfasts and see how you feel three hours later,’ said Prof Spector.

“Note that if you feel lethargic or energetic, just listen to your body.”

“For 40 cents you can buy a can of beans and get protein, fiber and nutrients in a way that takes a few minutes to cook and eat,” he added.

A number of studies have previously shown that a healthy diet can improve mood.

One 2019 study analyzed data from nearly 46,000 people and found that weight loss, nutrition-boosting diets and fat-reduction diets could all reduce symptoms of depression.

Eating ultra-processed foods, like plant-based meats, can also put you in a bad mood.

Scientists compared mental health symptoms in vegetarians who eat plant-based meat alternatives, such as vegan sausages, with those who eat more homemade, plant-based foods.

The results, published in the medical journal Food Frontiers, found that those who ate meat substitutes were 42 percent more likely to become depressed than those who did not.

The NHS is urging those who suffer from it for most of the day, every day for more than two weeks, to speak to a GP.