Has anyone done the ZOE programme?

[sunshinecocktail]

Is it worth the high cost and did it benefit your overall health?

My gut health is in a bad way, has been for years and years and it's only getting worse as I age.

I have tried absolutely everything possible over these years to get my poor digestive system to a good place but nothing is helping at all despite working with several health practitioners.

I have had many gastro tests and all has come back ok and a stool test 4 years ago did show up dysbiosis so I know my gut health needs great improvement and I wonder if the ZOE programme may help me to somehow re-set everything. Having a poorly functioning digestive system really has a huge impact on my overall health including my energy levels and mental health.

It's pricey, I know but I would pay out for something like this if I thought it would help me.

The online reviews seem good but how reliable they are I'm not sure, so wonder if anyone on here could give me their opinion if they have done this?

I got the app a few weeks ago (£119) and I am really enjoying using it. I find it really good at knowing what the food I take a photo of is and it is easy to do a simple swap i.e. if it thinks I have taken a photo of minced beef I can easily swap it to vegetarian mince. It is helpful to find out what carbs I should not be eating so much of etc. I haven't done the gut health test yet (think that is an extra £149 but not sure). I am enjoying it. Happy to answer any specific questions.

I lost 5 stone over the course of about 18 months following their advice. I found out that a lot of the ‘healthy’ food I was eating eg porridge wasn’t actually that good for me. (Porridge give me a blood sugar spike).

Yes, I am 17 months into it. Dropped almost 2 stone (had tipped into overweight and now a healthy weight). I thought I was healthy eating (loads of fruit & veg, brown bread, a couple of biscuits a day but not eating dessert, thought white rice and jacket potatoes were healthy). But I wasn’t as I learnt my body responds poorly to sugar and fat. Carbs turned to sugar and caused a spike in my blood sugar. I used to occasionally feel ropey and felt I needed a sugar fix. This meant I was constantly yo-yoing with blood sugar causing slumps and jitters.

With ZOE I learnt to eat foods that were more sustaining so don’t crave the sweet stuff anymore - I can take it or leave it. This was good to know as the sugar/carbs was also feeding the bad bacteria in my gut.
Learnt that fermented food is a gut booster as is fibre. Made swaps like bulgur wheat instead of white rice. Less sugar/carbs intake also improved joint inflammation.

Yes it’s expensive but I used Christmas and birthday money for it as investing in my health was a priority as cancer in family so wanted to do what I could to reduce risk.

App isn’t perfect, but I’m so much more confident in my food choices.

I did it right at the start so it's gone through a few iterations since but as Dizzyx3 says I learned that a lot of foods I thought of as 'healthy' weren't, at least not for me. What I like is the slow pace of the lessons, you start with daily learning and changing one thing a week until it builds and you've completely changed your eating in a way that, for me at least, has become sustainable. I've lost weight but more importantly reversed pre diabetes and given myself healthy blood pressure.

What I like but some don't is that they keep up with the science so after an update things can change for you on the app (ie foods can 'score' higher or lower than they did) which freaks some people out. Overall I think it's been a very positive move for me so if it's something you can afford I would recommend it.

There's also official and unofficial FB groups which I've found very helpful too.

Thank you everyone.

I think I'm going to invest in this. I've not felt well for some time and despite having a normal BMI I have made some unhealthy food choices over the years in a bid to avoid exacerbating my gut problems (looking at you low fodmap diet!) and now I really need something like ZOE to help me re-set and hopefully feel a lot better in the long run.

My DSIS and I were part of the original twin study so did an early version of the programme. I’d had loads of problems with my guts before then but the advice for me sorted them out completely. The recommendations for me were very much along the lines of lowish carb Mediterranean diet, and I’ve more or less stuck to that. I learnt that I don’t deal with some foods as well as others. Also by combining foods, I could increase my scores- I.e adding in beans to a homemade soup was a better combination for me etc. I’ve also embraced fermented foods. Weight has gone haywire recently but that’s a combination of things, bowels are still very regular 😂

I did it due to low energy around menopause and it was one of the few things that actually helped.

My diet post Zoe is more fibre rich, and has little in the way of refined carbs. Had I wanted the same effect for free, I could have adopted a proper Mediterranean diet, rich in vegetables and lean protein but with minimal bread, porridge, white rice / pasta or potatoes. But perhaps the app and testing will find that your needs are different.

That's encouraging, thank you.

I have zero energy these days and could really do with having some more get up and go.

I have been listening to the pod casts for years.

I don't pay for the app, but by following so much of their advice, most of the time, including fasting for 12 hours a day, lots of fermented foods, whole foods, real food, nuts and seeds, cold pressed fresh extra virgin olive oil, fresh coffee, dark chocolate, as much as possible direct from my garden, lots of beans, avoiding UPF etc etc I have noticed a difference, and I havent paid for the app.
I also exercise regularly and sleep well, with the same bed / wake up time etc, (which of course also features in the zoe advice, not just food)

Im pretty confident that if i had a gut health test it would come out with a very good score