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The world’s top scientists explain the latest health, nutrition, and gut health research and translate it into practical advice to improve your health & weight. Join ZOE Science & Nutrition, on a journey of scientific discovery. Hosted by Jonathan Wolf.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
It turns nutrition claims into questions about evidence, biological mechanisms and choices people can actually make around food.
ZOE Science & Nutrition takes noisy food debates and slows them down until the mechanisms become visible. Jonathan Wolf guides conversations with scientists through nutrition, inflammation, the gut microbiome and chronic disease, regularly moving from a large health claim to the…
Jonathan Wolf can turn three jars of peanut butter into a useful question for your next grocery run.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A grounded look at why the first 1,000 days matter, with practical advice and no panic.
ZOE Science & Nutrition treats the first 1,000 days as an important window for health, linking early nutrition to later risk for heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and immune function.
A measured look at how changing evidence reshapes health advice without overstatement.
Professor Tim Spector comes across as someone willing to change his mind when the evidence changes. He stays clear about what still feels uncertain, and that makes the discussion easier to trust.
A clear explanation of how hormones influence energy, metabolism, hunger, and overall health.
It presents hormones as a body-wide signaling system, with more than 50 of them working together to shape energy, metabolism, hunger, and overall health.
A clear case for treating breathing like a health habit rather than background noise.
Breathing starts as a basic reflex here, then quickly turns into something that touches sleep, blood pressure, stress, and cognition. The setup is simple and hard to ignore: two healthy men had their noses sealed shut for 10 days and breathed only through their mouths while…
A steady reset on snacks, sugar, and what healthy really means.
This episode treats snacking as part of everyday eating, not a side note to feel bad about. Sarah Berry makes the case for a fourth meal, points out that snacking can account for around a quarter of daily energy intake, and shows how better choices can support health instead of…
A sober, food-focused case for changing how modern eating makes chronic disease feel normal.
Zoe Science & Nutrition frames a blunt question: why chronic disease has become the default health crisis of modern life. Tim Spector and Dr. Mark Hyman trace the shift from infectious disease to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, then turn to the food system that helped make…
A grounded look at how shared life can shape the gut.
This episode follows how closeness can shape gut health, from microbes shared by couples and families to the question of whether healthy gut microbes can move through daily life.
A clear, evidence-led look at why blood pressure matters and how steady lifestyle changes can help.
This review presents high blood pressure as a broad, quiet risk rather than a single cuff reading. It keeps the focus on the damage it can do to the brain, heart, kidneys, and eyes, and it works best when it explains why that matters before symptoms appear.
Shawn Stevenson interviews researchers and coaches on nutrition, sleep, hormones, and fitness.
Supplement labels, decoded with conviction.
Practical health conversations for reducing overwhelm.
ZOE Science & Nutrition frames this episode around a Nature paper on how to measure gut microbiome health, with Professor Nicola Segata and Professor Sarah Berry as the senior authors.
Dan Buettner says Blue Zones are statistically verified places where people live measurably longer, and he connects that to a 20-year National Geographic project on longevity.
This episode compares coffee and matcha, exploring their different effects on the body and long-term health benefits.
A scientist explains the science behind fasting, debunking myths and discussing its health benefits.
This episode discusses the importance of mobility as we age, featuring practical tips like backwards walking and weight training to stay active.
A gastroenterologist explains how the gut and brain are connected and offers tips for improving gut health.
This episode explores the diet of a 5,300-year-old Iceman and what it reveals about ancient nutrition and modern health.
This episode explores the critical first 1000 days from conception to age two, where nutrition shapes long-term health risks like obesity and diabetes.
Harvard nutritional psychiatrist Dr.
Professor Tim Spector breaks down the science of carbohydrates, explaining the difference between simple sugars, starches, and fibers.
Professor Tim Spector discusses how new scientific evidence has changed his views on health habits, including vitamin D, oral health, and supplements, while sharing seven personal lifestyle updates for 2026 based on latest research.
This episode examines entrepreneur Bryan Johnson's extreme, data-driven quest to slow aging through diet, supplements, and sleep optimization, with analysis from nutrition expert Professor Tim Spector.
Zoe Science & Nutrition frames hormones as the body's invisible orchestra.
ZOE Science and Nutrition hosts a recap of a full episode with human performance scientist Professor Andy Galpin, who builds a complete beginner at-home strength program in real time for a fictional example: a busy working mother who runs but has never touched a weight.
James Nestor, author of the bestselling book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, joins ZOE Science and Nutrition to discuss how most people are breathing incorrectly — too much, through their mouths — and what the science says about the consequences.
Professor Sarah Berry examines the science behind oats, exploring whether they're a healthy superfood or a blood sugar concern.
Professor Sarah Berry, ZOE's Chief Scientist and Professor of Nutrition at King's College London, discusses the science of snacking and reveals that what matters is not frequency but quality and timing.
Neuroscientist Dr.
ZOE host Jonathan Wolf and co-founder Tim Spector interview Dr.
ZOE co-founder Jonathan Wolf speaks with Professor Tim Spector about how gut microbiome bacteria are transmitted between people and what that means for health.
Professor Russell Foster explains how circadian rhythms—the internal body clocks in every cell—profoundly influence health, metabolism, and disease risk.
High blood pressure is framed as a quiet but serious risk.
This episode challenges decades of dietary dogma about fat, revealing why the simplistic 'fat is bad' message is wrong.
Dr.
This recap episode from Zoe Science & Nutrition explores the critical role of gut microbes in fighting disease, featuring microbiome experts Dr.
Professor David Nutt, a psychiatrist and neuropsychopharmacologist at Imperial College London and the world's leading expert on alcohol, talks with ZOE Science & Nutrition about the science of how alcohol affects the brain, why it has persisted across 40,000 years of human culture, and how to reduce intake without necessarily eliminating it.
ZOE Science and Nutrition host Jonathan Wolf brings together two ZOE program participants, Becky Tucker and Mark Payne, alongside professors Tim Spector and Sarah Berry to discuss what actually happens physically and psychologically when someone commits to eating well over two years.
Sean Stevenson and Tim Spector break down the complex topic of metabolism, explaining it as the body's energy management system.
Zoe opens by pointing to the noise around nutrition heading into the year ahead.
Biologist Giles Yeo explains why traditional calorie counting is flawed and oversimplified, arguing that we need to focus on food quality rather than just numbers.
ZOE Science and Nutrition presents a compilation of 2025 health highlights, opening with biohacker Brian Johnson describing how his 47-year-old body outperforms 18-year-olds on VO2 max, muscle oxygenation, inflammation, and other metrics by meticulously following a hierarchy of scientific evidence.
ZOE Recap presents highlights from a full interview with neurologists Dr.
Professor Daniel Davis explains the immune system, debunks common myths, and offers evidence-based advice on supporting immune health.
Dr.
This episode explores flexible dieting as a science-backed approach to sustainable weight loss, featuring researcher Alan Aragon and nutrition professor Sarah Berry.
A gynecologist discusses rising breast cancer rates in younger women, limitations of mammograms, and a free method to assess lifetime risk, sharing a personal story of how it saved her life.
Professor Tim Spector discusses how diet and lifestyle changes can naturally lower high blood pressure, covering topics like salt reduction, mindfulness, and gut health.