People who have at least one alcoholic drink a week have a more diverse microbiome than those who don’t drink at all. - Michael Mosley
But surely, I hear you say, that’s crash dieting and crash dieting always fails? You end up putting back on all the weight you lost, and more. Well, no. Like anything, it depends on how it is done. Done badly, a very low-calorie diet will cause misery. Done properly, rapid weight loss is an extremely effective way to shed fat, combat blood sugar problems, reverse type 2 diabetes, perhaps even cure it. - Michael Mosley
Nuts, seeds, dark chocolate, red wine, olive oil and vegetables like leeks, garlic and onions are packed with the chemicals that microbes love. We should also be eating more fermented foods like live yoghurt, kimchi, sauerkraut and kefir. - Michael Mosley
Whatever diet you decide to follow, it is vital that you are getting enough daily protein (at least 50-60g a day), otherwise you will lose muscle. You also need to be sure you are getting enough of all the other essential nutrients – you should avoid going on one of those crazy cabbage soup or green juice diets, for example. - Michael Mosley
If you were born by a Caesarean (C-Section) things would have been very different. The first bacteria you would have encountered are those hanging around the operating theatre, those on the skin of people that held you and anything else that you inhaled or swallowed in the first few hours of life. Poo samples taken from babies who were delivered by Caesarean section show that they have a very different gut bacterial population from those who were born virginally. Does this matter? Yes very much so. Thanks to a study done by researchers from the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health, we know that babies who are born by Caesarean section are far more likely to become obese children and overweight adults. - Michael Mosley