To think there's a growing amount of people who think food can fix everything?

Everywhere I look online that isn't a science related url, all I can find are grifters.They aim their products at the wealthy, but they are still regular grifters. Most of the guys have CEO or marketing backgrounds.

I also think we are bombarded with “advice” We need to eat more plants, less carbs, more fibre, more fruit and veg, but not too much fruit cause sugar, we need to eat the rainbow, fermented food, protein to build muscle, avoid sugar spikes, healthy fats, balance our macros, fast, don’t eat late at night, don’t snack etc it’s overwhelming

@Thepeopleversuswork very true

I also think we are in an epidemic of othorexia and are frequently taking diet and exercise advice form people who has eating disorders and use a public profile to manage them. No one needs to learn anything about healthy eating someone with an eating disorder

I completely agree with this and I think quite a lot of the “food as medicine” rhetoric is basically rebadged puritanism: the modern equivalent of the temperance movement in the early part of the 20th century. Its “food as virtue”.

Some of the rhetoric around sugar for example is very misleading. No one doubts that refined sugar is not great and needs to be managed but I have heard “health influencers” talk about it like tobacco; saying its highly carcinogenic etc. its a massively simplistic and misleading analogy.

Ditto some of the bonkers threads on here from people who clearly have eating disorders competing over how little they can consume in a day. Someone will list what they have eaten for lunch and someone else will tell them they only need 800 calories a day. Highly unscientific and with an unpleasantly sanctimonious tone, its driven not by a genuine interest in health, more by a kind of quasi religious smugness.

This whole thread feels, strongly, like product placement to promote this podcast and the work of this doctor.

I’m very au fait with Zoe - my DH did the testing/programme and he did feel better on it. It is very interesting and the podcasts are informative.
I eat really healthily as I have digestive issues that require a wholefood/mainly non-UPF diet.
I agree that genetics play a massive part. My dad thought he was so fit and healthy but he dropped dead from a heart attack like his dad. You can try and ward off genetic predispositions with healthy eating but it won’t eradicate them.
And obviously eating a high upf diet will have ramifications, but for most people a small amount of it won’t have any ill effects. What pisses me off more is the ‘health claims’ on food that is full of crap - look at ingredients, not the front of the packet!
Abd I def don’t want to live past 90 - it’s highly unlikely I will with my medical issues anyway. DH wants to live to 100, good luck mate but you need to sort your cholesterol out first …

Yes, I have seen this a lot. For some people it doesn't seem to matter what the ailment is, they immediately think that eating the wrong thing caused it, and you need to go on some elimination diet to fix it.

For example, I had some intestinal issues a while back, and the doctor did make a dietary recommendation (which was effective), but a friend of mine who is really into diet is all stuff suggested that I need to cut out nightshades as obviously it was an inflammation thing and eating too many tomatoes was my problem.

Tim Spector? I’ve listened to a few of Zoe podcasts, is he the presenter with the reaaalllly annnnoying voiiiiice.

I enjoyed the podcasts but had to switch off because I couldn’t stand his voice, it was like a finger nail on a chalkboard.

And one of the issues with the narrative that you can prevent all cancer is that younger people are ignoring symptoms because they assume cancer isn’t for them due to their lifestyle.

And if you’re the unlucky one it can also feel like victim blaming. That there was something more you could have/should have done, when it was just bad luck.

About 6 in 10 cancers are not lifestyle related and are due to genetics, environment and random DNA mutations

I struggled to eat fruit. Do you actively feel better when you do manage to eat it?

That was exactly what I was thinking and came to post. A cup of tea and a piece of cake - how putting the kettle on is the answer to everything! Some nice cheese and a glass of wine has a similar effect, or a pint of lager and a bag of chips 🤣

I think it’s important that people realise that although a healthy diet is always going to be better than an unhealthy one, it really doesn’t resolve everything or stop you getting some of these so-called ‘preventable illnesses’. People can follow all the (changing) guidance and still get cancer or dementia.

Sorry that you have that diagnosis. I heard a recent podcast where a scientist said new data suggests melanoma is not caused by sun damage but by low Vit d as it often appears on parts of the body that have not been exposed to the sun. Have you heard that before?

Adding '10 extra healthy years to your life' doesn't mean living 10 more years, which I think is the way that some people are taking it. It means that the time where you're mobile / are fit enough to have a good quality of life / healthy enough to travel, is extended. So you're more likely to enjoy your retirement. And of course likely to live longer at a population level, even if not always at an individual level

With respect having T2 diabetes is not healthy. Again it’s about health span not life span.

The thing is that it’s great to eat healthy in your 40s. I eat a really healthy diet (I don’t follow any of this Zoe stuff, it’s purely because I like whole natural foods). I don’t drink. I’ve never smoked. I’m active. I have good mental health and self-care.

I still have advanced cancer. You know why? Because nothing I did in my 30s and 40s with healthy lifestyle and good sun protection practices could undo the damage from my childhood when no one put sunscreen on me, so now I have metastatic melanoma.

It’s great to be healthy and eat nourishing foods. But you can’t outrun childhood trauma, or lifestyle factors you had no control over, or structural or environmental effects. It won’t make things worse (unless maybe you have IBD or IBS and need to limit fibre). But it isn’t medicine and it’s not going to fix everything.

I'm all for eating good non UPF food and have done this long before it became fashionable. I do think that UPF has a negative impact on our health, but it's a very personal & individual thing how that pans out.
Something for the anecdotes: my grandad died at age 92 in his sleep- healthy apart from T2 diabetes. He was overweight, chain smoker and a pickled gherkin was his idea of a vegetable. In other words his diet was shocking and really wasn't interested in anything that is considered a healthy lifestyle.... some of it is down to luck.

Of course there is always going to be cancer but many cases are preventable Surely that’s empowering

I know what you mean OP. I remember someone on mumsnet who was convinced they would definitely be fit and healthy in their 80s because they exercised and ate well. Surely the fact that children can get cancer demonstrates that it's not all down to lifestyle and there are no guarantees

There is a difference between adding decade or more to lifespan and adding a healthy decade - ie an extra decade of good health though

I can believe later more easily

but few people understand probability at all well so it’s hardly surprising that people get things wrong - yes you are much less likely to get something nasty but you still might and it’s worth doing your best

If you listen to Zoe a lot of the scientist guests talk about genetics being less of an influence than we used to think. The twin study helped prove this.

I think Tim Spector is talking about health-span rather than lifespan. Not necessarily living 10 years more but being healthy into old age. If you’re pretty healthy already you’re probably in a good place already. So many people eat crap though and they could definitely increase their healthspan by changing their diet.