Show Notes
Can food improve brain health, memory and mood?
In this episode, Prof Felice Jacka and Prof Tim Spector explore how diet, the gut microbiome and fermented foods may affect your mood, brain function and dementia risk. Drawing on clinical trials and research involving more than 10 million people, they explain why what you eat could have a much bigger impact on your brain than most people realise, and what the latest science suggests you can do about it.
Felice, who helped create the field of nutritional psychiatry, explains how food influences the brain through the gut microbiome and inflammation. She and Tim explore why some foods change brain function, which support brain health, what the evidence says about ultra-processed foods, and why diet is becoming an increasingly important part of research on brain and mental health.
Learn which foods to eat more often, which foods to reduce, and simple, affordable ways to build meals that support your gut, mood and long-term brain health. From whole grains and legumes to fermented foods and everyday supermarket and grocery store choices, by the end of the episode, you’ll have realistic advice that’s easy to put into practice today.
If the food you eat today helps shape your brain tomorrow, what small change could make the biggest difference over the next year?
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Timecodes
Intro
Why beans may boost mood more than cake
Can diet reduce your risk of depression?
Can changing your diet put depression into remission?
How does the gut microbiome affect the brain?
Can gut microbes transfer depression symptoms?
What gut bacteria are missing in mental illness?
Is food the most powerful tool for brain health?
The yogurt study that surprised neuroscientists
Can fermented foods help grow the hippocampus?
Why fermented foods may improve mood and energy
The gut-brain connection explained simply
How diet during pregnancy affects brain development
Are depression, anxiety and dementia connected?
What are ultra-processed foods really doing to your brain?
The major study linking ultra-processed foods to disease
Are some ultra-processed foods healthier than others?
Real food vs meal replacements: what happens to your microbiome?
The ingredient Felice Jacka tries to avoid
Do supplements improve brain health?
The best foods for brain health and mental health
How to eat for brain health on a budget
The simplest brain health advice you’ll hear today
The complete brain health and gut health checklist
📚Books by our ZOE Scientists
Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati
The Appetite Reset by Dr Federica Amati
Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector
Good Mood Food (preorder) by Prof. Tim Spector
Free resources from ZOE
TheSmart Snacking Guide: How to feed your gut, fuel your day, and snack without guilt
The Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra
Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint
Howto eat in 2026- Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health
Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition
Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks
Mentioned in today's episode
The'SMILES' trial, BMC Medicine (2017)
MoodDisorders: The Gut Bacteriome and Beyond, Biological Psychiatry (2024)
ZOE study: Fermented food improves mood, energy, and hunger
Effects of a probiotic fermented dairy product on the brain, Gut microbiota (2025)
Associationsbetween diet quality and depressed mood in adolescents, ANZJP (2010)
Ultra-processedfood exposure and adverse health outcomes, BMJ (2024)
Global Burden of Disease, The Lancet (2026)
Folicacid, ageing, depression, and dementia, BMJ (2002)
Transplantationof gut microbiota derived from patients with schizophrenia induces schizophrenia-like behaviors, Nature (2024)
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Episode transcripts are available here.