Nutritional expert Tim Spector has highlighted the significant role our diet plays in combating viruses and potentially preventing severe ailments such as long Covid. The Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London, who also established the Zoe health app, emphasised the close link between our immune system and our gut health, noting that inflammation can lead to serious health issues.
He underscored the importance of a healthy gut microbiome for an effective viral defence, particularly against Covid, and to prevent the excessive immune responses associated with long Covid complications. He stated, “We now know that most of our immune system is in our gut and the way it gets its signals, and it understands what’s going on around it is through the gut. Microbes healthier your gut microbes.”
Adding, “The more diverse they are, the better you’re going to be able to control your immune system. And this means it’s going to react appropriately to, say, a covid virus. It’s going to try and kill it, but without overreacting and killing you.”
“So people eating a junk food is going to have an inflamed gut microbiome that’s trying to put out fires all over the place. And so when a real virus comes along, it’s not able to pin it down. So if you want to have the best immune system, you need to make sure your gut health is in the best possible way. I can’t stress enough. It’s plant diversity. It’s fermented foods, and it also means not having ultra processed foods and getting plenty of fibre in there.”
Prof Spector warned that pandemics are becoming increasingly frequent and severe, urging Brits to rethink their diets in preparation for future outbreaks. The nutritional scientist has called for certain foods to be removed from our diets, and those of our children, as the UK now “leads Europe in ultra-processed food consumption, with a staggering 57% of our daily food intake coming from these products”.
According to Tim, ultra-processed foods are “edible food-like substances” which take the ingredients from real food, then strip away key components such as fibre, since it can’t be easily manipulated. “They take the essential extracts from food and they combine them in different ways,” he explained.
“They have to add glues, chemicals and additives to stick stuff together and to make it look like food again.”
Prof Spector recommends incorporating 30 different types of plants into your weekly diet and is a strong proponent of fermented foods such as kefir for gut health. He highlights the remarkable advantages of consuming fermented food like kefir: “In particular, they seem to support your immune system, which is so vital to fighting allergies, infections, cancer and ageing, thanks to their interaction with your resident gut bacteria.”
But he cautions against reliance on low-quality choices, stating, “But sadly you can’t just binge a tub of sweetened, additive-rich yogurt once a week to experience these benefits. You need to choose good quality products and, preferably, eat them in small amounts several times each day. A clinical study in the US found that people who ate four to five small portions of fermented food each day had significantly improved blood markers of inflammation and immune function after just two weeks. So, if you have one or two portions daily, you will likely also benefit.”
