The key to us getting great health, may not be the latest fad diet, but the microbes that are already living inside us. The more diverse our diet, the more diverse our microbes. The more diverse our microbes, the more likely we are to be healthy.
The power of microbe diversity in our bodies is the key theme in Tim Spector’s latest book ‘The Diet Myth’.
I thought microbes were horrible little things we had to kill off – a good dose of antibiotics would do the trick! Nothing could be further than the truth. In fact, antibiotics are doing us more harm than we can imagine, by killing off all our gut microbes!
Challenging everything we thought was true
This was a book I absolutely loved, probably one of the most thought-provoking books I have read in a while. Partly because the world of gut microbes and microbiomes is totally new for me, and partly because it challenged so many previous ideas I had.
When we read, we try to squeeze what we read into something that makes sense to us; our own frame of reference. However, with this book at the beginning, I was struggling to attach any of it to the things I already knew and understood. That for me, was a good sign!
The Diet Myth turned many of my former beliefs and ideas upside down.
For example, Tim is critical of government dietary guidelines, (which I had seen as being moderated and well balanced science-backed advice) for oversimplifying the science behind obesity and health.
In addition, I thought calories-in exceeding calories-out was one of the main reasons for weight gain, but he suggests this ‘blinkered’ view of ‘energy-in’ and ‘energy-out’ and our failure to account for microbes is the main reason diets fail, and indeed the reason much nutritional advice fails.
The role of microbes
Tim brings in a whole new dimension to the discussion on weight loss, diets and health by focusing on the millions of microbes we carry around with us in our bodies. He draws a lot on his own research with twins which allows him to focus on the influence of genes, environment and diet on our health.
He uses the microbe frame of reference to analyse a number of popular diets and ideas around fats, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, alcohol, sugar, nuts and more.
The suggestions and explanations are mind-blowing.
I found one of the easiest ways to capture some of the main ideas of the book was to collate a group of quotes, so here goes.
Quotes…
…On why the ‘western’ fad of looking for the newest best diet are futile
‘French and Mediterranean countries…were relatively well protected by [their] food traditions from overreacting when ‘expert advice’ from the US on the evils of high fat dairy foods emerged in the 1970s and 80s…This contrasts sharply with most Americans and Brits, who with little or no common food culture reacted to the next wave of erroneous advice in a state of considerable stress.’
‘There is some evidence that an endless cycle of failed diets, where weight drops and rebounds regularly, can actually make people fatter.’
…On searching for an answer
‘The truth is that generally in science or medicine the yes-or-no answers favoured by doctors and other health experts turn out to be wrong.’
‘There is nearly always another layer of biological complexity and control that either hasn’t thought of or has been dismissed as unimportant.’
‘One of the recurring themes of this book is the surprising lack of good evidence for any health benefits or harm potential of any particular food product.’
…On microbes
‘A million bacterial cells are found in every millilitre of fresh or sea water. These microbes are the true and permanent inhabitants on earth; we humans are just passing through.’
‘Microbes are not only essential to how we digest food, they control the calories we absorb…’
‘The increasing promotion and use of restrictive diets that depend on just a few ingredients will inevitably lead to a further reduction in microbe diversity and eventually to ill health.’
‘People that really enjoy their food may actually…be able to both make themselves feel happier and stimulate their microbes.’
…On genetics
‘Individual habits to do with eating…have genetic components’
‘How often you take regular exercise…[has] a strong genetic component’
‘Differences in our genes produce the variations in how sensitive we are to certain foods and how much we like bitter or sweet tastes.’
…On losing weight
‘…relying on counting calories to lose weight is often misleading’
‘…trying to lose weight by exercise alone is futile’
These give a flavour of the kind of things you can discover in the book. It is well worth a read, if not essential reading for anyone interested in nutrition and diets.
Writing style
The book is very readable and is scattered with anecdotes of diets Tim Spector has tried in order to see how they affect him, as well as solid references to research. I guess the anecdotes make for engaging reading, even though you may wonder about that contradicting the message of being guided by science, and not individual stories.
There are a lot of ‘coulds’ and ‘mays’ in the book. On the one hand, his sincerity and recognition of the newness of the research done on microbes and probiotics is refreshing, on the other hand, you have to stop and remind yourself that many of the claims are as yet unproven; many are hunches. Spector makes the very clear though. Giving advice based on hunches is exactly the kind of criticism that was given to the likes of Ancel Keys and his demonising of fats in the 1970s; so it’s clear, Spector doesn’t want to do the same here.
As someone who has lived in a variety of countries, I guess I am quite sensitive to the dangers of stereotypes and I find generalisations tend to be unhelpful. In the book, there are some over-simplifications, in particular to what research calls the population groups.
For example, he says the French, ‘eat cheese or yogurt with every meal…often eat raw meat…[have] long dinner conversations about politics, culture and food.’ Whilst this is sometimes true, it cannot be said of the whole population. It is an image we have created and extrapolated. In contrast, many inner cities are full of families eating more processed food, spending more time on screens, and talking less.
I feel that he presents study results, anecdotes etc and then makes a statement that is quite unrelated to them. He seems to completely ignore epigenetics, and the fact that gene expression CAN change within a generation. This is NOT a gene change, but an EXPRESSION change. So if you and you spouse are both couch potatoes your whole lives before your kids are born, they will likely inherit that gene expression and also be couch potatoes. If you are both fit, well and athletic and have good nutritional habits etc, kids born after that time have a higher probability of also inheriting those traits. I got this book as a gift, and will take away from it any useful and practical information, but so far, I have found nothing I didn’t already know that hasn’t been published in countless, similarly useless, works. Stay safe!