Dr Tim Spector shares free trick to 'lose bloat' and 'fight inflammation'

Dr Tim Spector, a genetics professor and advocate for microbiome awareness in health, has shared a simple tip that could significantly boost your wellbeing. He emphasises the importance of our lower gut and its bacteria, describing them as "They’re good for us because they’re like little chemical factories; they convert the energy they get from food and make them into thousands of different chemicals that are really good for us in a number of ways.

"They produce chemicals that we can’t produce in our body." According to Dr Spector, our gut is essentially our "second brain", responsible for transmitting signals of stress and anxiety. Moreover, these clever chemicals serve as a defence against inflammation, crucial for avoiding food allergies, immune diseases, and even cancer risks.

The professor further stressed the significance of the microbiome, stating: "The microbiome has been associated with a poor state of health in virtually every single chronic disease that I’ve seen data on – either as a consequence of it or as a cause. And so that’s why everyone really needs to focus on their gut microbiome.

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"However bad your diet has been, you can still make improvements to your gut microbe at any time in life." Dr Spector has suggested a cost-free method to boost your gut health and overall well-being: 'time-restricted eating'.

He recommends a 16-hour nightly break for your gut, fitting all meals into an eight-hour window during the day, say from 10am to 6pm. This approach, he argues, helps reduce inflammation and eases stress on your immune system.

"Leaving time overnight is good for your gut, and reduces inflammation and stress on the immune system," Dr Spector points out, noting it's a realistic goal for many people. On the other hand, if you dine at 9pm and have breakfast at 6am, this "means your gut lining hasn’t had a chance to be repaired properly, so that lining is uneven and a bit inflamed, a lot of the debris hasn’t been taken away by the microbes".

According to data from a substantial study involving over 100,000 participants by research platform ZOE, just three weeks of following this regime can lead to "less bloat, less constipation, less indigestion, and interestingly, less hunger". Dr Spector isn't just talking the talk; he's put his advice into action with his recent release, 'The Food For Life Cookbook', specifically crafted to enhance gut health.

But there's more – including a variety of 30 plants in your weekly diet, from veggies to nuts, seeds, herbs, spices - even a spot of coffee or dark chocolate counts, according to him. Dr Spector suggests taking a leaf out of our ancestors' book by fermenting foods like sauerkraut at home.

He also advises adding more fibre to your meals, with veggies like kale and broccoli being rich in fibre, but beans, legumes and lentils often forgotten as sources. The Food For Life Cookbook by Tim Spector is available now, with photos by Issy Croker and published by Jonathan Cape, for £28.