4 foods that heal your gut and reduce inflammation (in as little as 24 hours!) | Dr Will Bulsiewisz

January 22, 2026·1 hr 14 min·5 clips

Dr. Will discovered that inflammation is tied to more than 130 different health conditions, from autoimmune diseases to mood disorders.

ZOE Science and Nutrition is hosted by Jonathan Wolf and produces research-based nutrition content. Dr. Will Bulsiewicz is a gastroenterologist and author of Fiber Fueled (2020) and the more recent Plant Powered Plus, which focuses on inflammation. He came to work with ZOE after his first book unexpectedly became a bestseller, opening up a second career as a health author and communicator. He chose inflammation as the subject of his second book because he believed it was the health story of his time. In the quickfire Q&A, he confirms that inflammation is not always bad (it is a necessary immune response), that a regular sleep routine can reduce inflammation, that the immune system is not most active during the day, and that stress impacts the gut microbiome. His biggest research surprise was that the gut microbiome and immune system are inseparable — improving one improves the other, supported by fecal transplant studies and the finding that gut microbiome support improves response to cancer immunotherapy. When asked why he chose inflammation as his topic, Bulsiewicz describes systematically asking how many health conditions had peer-reviewed evidence of an inflammation connection — and finding more than 130, spanning autoimmune diseases, metabolic conditions, hormonal disorders, mood conditions, and cognitive decline. The episode then goes into specific foods and lifestyle practices that measurably reduce inflammatory markers, with an emphasis on plants, fibre diversity, fermented foods, and reducing ultra-processed foods. Bulsiewicz frames inflammation as primarily driven by lifestyle and dietary patterns that diverge sharply from human evolutionary history, and argues that measurable change can happen within 24 hours of dietary adjustment.

As heard by us

A measured gut-health conversation that makes inflammation feel concrete.

Zoe Science & Nutrition treats inflammation as a broad health factor and keeps circling back to practical ways to bring it down. Dr. Will Bolsiewicz connects gut microbiome science, post-meal triglyceride spikes, and time-restricted eating in a grounded way, so the research…

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If you want the science behind gut health without the hype.

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