Posting to his YouTube channel, Dr Karan Rajan asked Dr Tim Spector what the majority of people could do to simply improve their chances of longevity.
“We’re much more individual than we’re led to believe,” began Dr Spector.
However, there are daily, small and sustainable habits people are better off following if they want to be healthy.
Dr Spector said there are “two pillars” to good health: diet and exercise.
Expanding on diet, Dr Spector said you need to eat foods that are going to be good for your gut microbiome.
Going into more detail, he said it’s all about a variety of fresh ingredients and staying away from ultra-processed foods.
“There is no great food culture in UK and US,” said Dr Spector. “People don’t really know what a good diet is.”
Explaining what you should eat, Dr Spector advised people to “eat a rainbow”, as a variety of fresh foods act as rocket fuel for the gut microbiome and have an antioxidant effect.
Dr Spector is also a big fan of fermented foods, such as:
Having written three books on nutrition, Dr Spector revealed multivitamins have been “proven not to work in randomised control trials many times over”.
He said these supplements are a “complete distraction from people sorting out their diet”.
Dr Karan added that there are four more factors people need to get right, in addition to diet and exercise, in order to lead a healthy life. These are:
- Optimising sleep
- Good bowel routine
- Stress regulation
- Social contacts.
Dr Karan advised people to eat at least 30 different types of plants and vegetables weekly, which include:
In agreement with Dr Spector, Dr Karan is also a fan of fermented foods, such as sauerkraut and sourdough bread.
Top tips for healthier and longer life:
- Fibre-rich and varied diet
- Exercise
- Optimising sleep
- Good bowel routine
- Stress regulation
- Social contacts.
Environmental factors are the key drivers in a person’s individualised gut microbiome.
A healthier gut microbiome is created by eating 30 different plant foods daily and fermented foods.