Food for Life: As seen on Channel 4's What Not To Eat

Really interesting read for Tim Spector fans. It will revolutionise what you want to eat. Ultra processed food is a hot topic at the moment and this book clearly explains why we should be thinking of eating more natural, fresh foods.

Top information. Food for Life includes all the information in Tim Spector’s previous nutrition books. In addition his expert nutrition knowledge is in perspective with facts of the Dimbleby Report, or the book Ravenous by Henry Dimbleby. Scientific information in an understandable format that I found was a pleasing read.

UK government website of as recent as 2021 has published recommendations that everyone in the UK should be taking 400 international units of Vitamin D daily as we simply can't make enough of this vital substance (ie are Vitamin D deficient) between Oct and March in this part of the world. Unless, of course you can afford to sun yourself in warmer climates during Winter holidays, which most of us can't... Everyone I know who takes Vitamin D in the Winter has noticed a reduction in common infections. Anecdotal data, I know, but consistent nonetheless. Not sure why Tim is so against this vital supplement, in spite of his earlier disappointments. Seasonal Vitamin D supplementation is not an optional indulgence in the northern hemisphere and not everyone can afford the sunkissed mushrooms only sold in luxury supermarkets... Also not convinced in the reliability of the self-selected Zoe app participants data. Sounds inclusive and democratic on the surface, but lots of variables seem tricky to control for, such as the socioeconomic background, availability of time and technology. I tried filling it in during the first COVID months but simply didn't have the time to carry on. That's telling me that a busy clinician like me might be self-selected out... Otherwise, lots of useful info as expected, really worth a read. I particularly value the stance on ultra processed foods and not pushing any extreme diets.

Purchased 2nd hand copy. It’s going to take a while as it’s packed full of information. May be a good reference book to add to the cookbooks. Update - so I’m half way through and there are some very interesting facts about your diet. As a result I have added Kefir to my diet, daily. I have also ordered some Turmeric and Black pepper supplements for my Osteoarthritis as recommended in the book. Not overly keen on the kimchi though that may take a while before I try it. This book really is worth the investment if you want to make changes to your diet but are lost at where to start.

This book is even better than I expected. I was intending to read it over the next couple of weeks. Instead I was reading most of the night and here I am reviewing it on day 2. I was expecting to know a lot of the content from a background in farming and in food and environment education and because I try to keep up with recent advances in human biology, but this is so well organised and information packed, and, it has to be said, entertainingly written, that I’m actually learning a lot. And the writing quality is helping the information stick I hope. I just wish in a country where I could join in all the citizen science that has gone into Tim Spector’s work. One tiny caveat. There is an annoying and missing error on page 251 that suggests that organic poultry is not free range. In fact all organic poultry and eggs are produced in free range systems, the main difference between the systems being that organic poultry has to be both free range and fed on organic, GMO free feed. Free range poultry may be, and usually is, fed on GMO grain and soya.

I would recommend buying this book although a number of assertions made in the book are not backed up by any references. This means doing your own studying to check if the book is correct or not, or deciding it's not proven. We know people in the UK do not get enough vitamin D from sunshine in the winter which is a serious problem. This book suggests on pages 232, 233 getting your vit D supply from mushrooms that are fed on daylight but it does not state how much vitamin D is required. In “The Vitamin D debate with Professor Spector” video he said 95% of the population have reasonable functional levels of vit D and do not need vit D supplements. The only daylight fed mushrooms in my local Yorkshire supermarkets are Chestnut mushrooms which only have 200 IU per 100 grams which is not enough to meet even the UK Department of Health and Social Care standards of 400 IU/day. The USA standards I feel are a bit more realistic of 600 IU and over the age of 70 (which I am) of 800 IU. I like to keep my vit D at high optimum levels (i.e. 125 - 200 nmol/L in the blood - UK units) so I supplement my food with vit D3 capsules which are essential for many reasons. I get health issues if my levels are too low i.e. blood levels below 25 nmol/L. So in the winter my vit D3 capsule/food intake is 4,000 IUs per day plus vit K2 (200 micrograms). Very high vit D dosage can be toxic so I have been monitoring my levels for the last 10 years. The book says “eating two portions of fish per week is not needed for health”. The body requires high amounts of EPA and DHA (omega 3 acids). Foods that have high levels of EPA and DHA are mainly from fish, algae and some meat products. Being a pescatarian, I cannot get EPA, DHA or vitamin D from organic meat. Those in the highest quartile of Omega-3 in their body compared to the lowest quartile live 5 years longer!! Although some plant foods (e.g. walnuts) have high levels of ALA which can be converted by the body into EPA and DHA the converted amounts are very small indeed. Only about 8% of ALA is converted to EPA, and about 4% is converted to DHA. ALA is also a form of omega-3 and is a life saving nutrient in its own right. The NHS recommends 500 milligrams of EPA and DHA per day. The American Heart Association recommends 6 ounces (i.e. 170 grams) of fatty fish/week e.g. mackerel has 9 grams of EPA and DHA i.e. 1,285 milligrams per day. More recently the paper “The influence of dietary and supplemental omega-3 fatty acids on the omega-3 index: A scoping review” suggests 1,000 to 1,500 milligrams of EPA plus DHA as triglycerides (e.g. fish, good supplements) daily for at least 12 weeks to get to an optimal level for reduced risk of chronic disease, most notably cardiovascular disease. A number of the USA experts (e.g. Rhonda Patrick) take 2 to 4 grams of fish Omega-3 per day. Getting high sugar spikes can be a very serious health problem. The book does not stress enough the importance of exercise after a meal which significantly reduces the intensity of these sugar spikes. I also follow Glucose Revolution book by Jessie Inchauspe. The book notes section is fairly up to date i.e. 2022 references. So I was surprised it did not mention the 2020 paper “Associations of fat and carbohydrate intake with cardiovascular disease and mortality: prospective cohort study of UK Biobank participants” that shows the optimal amount of macronutrients of sugar, starch, fibre, different type of fats and protein. Most people have far too much omega-6, which can increase inflammation and disease, and not enough omega-3. Ideally need 2:1 ratio of omega-6:omega3. Also on the theme what is the optimal amount of macronutrients, I did not see a reference to the 2017 paper “Food groups and risk of all-cause mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies”. This paper shows the optimal amount of whole grains, refined grains, vegetables, fruit, nuts, legumes, eggs, dairy and fish per day. For heart and stroke issues, the diet needs to be slightly different, e.g. paper "Food groups and risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies". Also the 2022 paper "Estimating impact of food choices on life expectancy: A modeling study" is well worth looking at. Getting the right amount of macronutrients is a serious issue. I would have found it useful if the book had given examples of what an optimal diet would look like per day for a week or more, because each day there will be different amounts of macronutrients. For example Day 1: 400 grams of vegetables (1 big tomato, 1 sweet pepper, mixed salad leaves, sauerkraut, kimchi, half avocado, small bowl of vegetable soup); 200 grams of legumes (big cup of beans, lentils, peas); fruits 300 grams (1 apple, kiwi, berries); whole grains 100 grams (1 whole wheat sourdough slice, bowl of whole oat grains); 1 handful of walnuts (30 grams); 20 grams of seeds (flax seed, chia seed); 100 grams of Kefir; 20 grams feta cheese, 100 grams of oily fish (e.g. sardines); tea and coffee. Day 2: .....etc,.... Note that below the age of 65, protein intake should be low but higher after that age. Certain of the above foods may give you a high sugar spike because of your glycaemic response so I would suggest getting a glucose monitor to check.

Book arrived absolutely filthy, second hand looking and actual bogies all over it!!! Disgusting.

I was looking forward having this book as I am a fan of the author. But not happy with the book I got. It came in a waited package from India ( wrapped very heavily with duct tape no bubble wrap or any sort of protection). There were lots of dust inside and book covers were dirty and damaged. I am keeping it because of the content and the fact that it cannot be replaced immediately as there is no one available in local market at this moment. Shame of the seller to handle book in this way!

Love the book

Livro super informativo sobre alimentos e como se alimentar de forma a aumentar a qualidade de vida

Very interesting and well written. A lot of research and valuable informstion for life style changes