Delicious UK – (10)October 2019

108 deliciousmagazine.co.uk

THE H E A LT H DEBRIEF

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PHOTOGRAPHS AND ILLUSTRATIONS: FRANCESCO GUIDICINI, ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES

THE MEDIC’S VIEW

COMPILED BY SUE QUINN

T

here’sa lotoftalkaboutwhata healthydietlookslike– fromstandard

nutritionalguidelinestomedia-friendlymantrasfromglamorous

Instagramgurus.Butweallhaveourowntastewhenit comesto

food,soit makesintuitivesensethatourindividualmetabolismsshould

bedifferenttoo.Nowthescientificworldis starting to catch up, and

evidenceis emergingtoprovethisis true.

TogetherwithresearchersatMassachusettsGeneralHospitalintheUS

andthecompanyZOE(joinzoe.com),myteamatKing’sCollegeLondon

recentlyannouncedthefirstresultsfromPREDICT– thelargest

interventionstudyofitskindevercarriedout.Wemeasuredbloodsugar,

insulinandfatsinresponsetoa combinationofstandardisedandfreely

chosenmealsovertwoweeksinmorethan1,000volunteers.Wealso

capturedinformationaboutactivity,sleep,hunger,mood,geneticsand

gutbacteria(microbiome),addinguptomillionsofdatapoints.

Tomysurprise,everyoneinthestudyrespondeddifferentlytothe

samefood,evenidenticaltwins.Thisshowsthatgenesplayonlya small

part,andthereis noonerightwaytoeat.Weneedtomovetowards

a morepersonalisedviewofnutritioninformedbythewayeachperson’s

uniquebodyworks,ratherthandoggedlyfollowingone-size-fits-all

dietguidelinesoradvicefromsocialmedia‘influencers’.

BY TIM SPECTOR

On-trend,deeplyflavourful

andversatile,misopastealso

ticksmanynutritionalboxes.

Madefromfermentedsoyabeans

(findoutmoreonp106),it contains

microorganismsthataregoodfor

thegutandnutrientsincluding

fibre,vitaminK,protein

and manganese.

SHOPPING

TROLLEY

Healthhack

OI LY F I SH

Bountifulinomega-3

essentialfattyacids,oily

fishcanhelpreducethe

riskofheartdiseaseand

otherhealthconditions.

Ifmackerelandsardines

aren’ttoyourtaste,try

mixingthemwithother

robustflavours:mash

tinnedsardineswith

tomatoketchup,

chilliflakesanda

squeezeoflemon

andspreadongood

toast.Orwhizz

smokedmackerel

withhorseradish,

creamcheese,grated

lemonzestandcapers

to make a pâté.

DRTIMSPECTORISPROFESSOROFGENETICEPIDEMIOLOGYATKING’SCOLLEGE
LONDONANDAUTHOROFTHEDIETMYTH: THE REAL SCIENCE BEHIND WHAT WE EAT
(WEIDENFELD & NICOLSON £8.99)

We’re waking up

tothe factthat,

when it comesto

nutrition, one size

doesn’t fit all