{"id":664447,"date":"2026-10-25T00:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T00:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/664447\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T00:00:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T00:00:22","slug":"professor-tim-spector-how-gut-health-could-be-influencing-your-mood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/664447\/","title":{"rendered":"Professor Tim Spector: How gut health could be influencing your mood"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The food on our plates shapes far more than physical health; it can also influence our feelings, thoughts and actions.<\/p>\n

According to Tim Spector<\/a>, a medical doctor, gut health<\/a> expert, scientific co-founder of health science company ZOE and professor of epidemiology at King\u2019s College London, the relationship between the gut and brain is more powerful than many people realise. <\/p>\n

In his new cookbook, Good Mood Food, written alongside Dr Federica Amati and featuring recipes by Kathryn Bruton, Spector investigates how the food we eat shapes our mood, energy levels and long-term brain health<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The book aims to make improving gut health accessible, affordable and enjoyable, with everything from comforting family favourites to quick and easy snacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of recent science particularly linking the gut and the brain that most people don\u2019t know about,\u201d Spector says. \u201cThere\u2019s also big advances in the gut microbiome<\/a> and neuroscience \u2013 so I wanted to write a book that showed people that the brain is not totally in charge of us \u2013 a lot of the orders of how we behave come from our gut.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, how exactly does the gut-brain connection work, and what foods should we be incorporating into our diets?<\/p>\n

Understanding the gut-brain connection<\/p>\n

Our gut is home to trillions of microbes, which Spector describes as \u201clittle mini pharmacies\u201d working together to produce chemicals that can influence different functions throughout the body.<\/p>\n

He explains that what we eat can change how these microbes behave, with certain foods potentially contributing to inflammation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"TimTim Spector\u2019s new cookbook, Good Mood Food (Extracted from Good Mood Food by Tim Spector (Jonathan Cape, 30)\/Issy Croker\/PA)<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you eat junk food such as high-fat, ultra-processed ready meals or fast foods, they change your microbes and they stop producing some of the good chemicals like short-chain fatty acids and that has an effect on your immune system,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey produce what we call pro-inflammatory signals \u2013 signalling to your immune system, which is also lining your gut, that the body\u2019s under threat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat might cause this low-level inflammation which is like in a state of fight or flight all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

While inflammation is an important part of the body\u2019s response to infection or injury, Spector explains that persistent inflammation can have a negative impact on wellbeing.<\/p>\n

\u201cInflammation is wonderful when you have a trauma or infection and it goes up and down but what\u2019s happening with bad food is it\u2019s never going down,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt stays at this level, which is a like a minor alert for the body and it sends signals to the brain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe brain thinks it\u2019s got an infection or it\u2019s unwell and reacts in a way that\u2019s normal for the brain.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means you stay in bed, you won\u2019t want to meet friends, you\u2019re not interested in food or sex \u2013 you\u2019re basically in recovery mode.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OurOur gut is home to trillions of microbes, which Spector describes as \u2018little mini pharmacies\u2019 working together (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n

Spector adds: \u201cThe opposite then occurs if you have a healthy meal full of fibre<\/a>. This engages your gut microbes who\u2019ve now got lots to eat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey break down the fibre into these short-chain fatty acids. These are the ones that tell your immune system to calm down.\u201d<\/p>\n

What foods should we reach for when we\u2019re feeling low?<\/p>\n

When we\u2019re tired, stressed or feeling anxious, it can be tempting to reach for sugary snacks, takeaway meals or other convenient comfort foods.<\/p>\n

However, Spector explains that these cravings can sometimes work against what our bodies need.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you understand what your body is trying to do \u2013 you\u2019ve got to try and overcome that and the book has lots of healthy snacks in there that should fill you up and do the job,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"WhenWhen we\u2019re tired, stressed or feeling anxious, it can be tempting to reach for sugary snacks, takeaway meals or other convenient comfort foods (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n

Rather than focusing on eating less, he encourages people to choose foods that are satisfying and provide longer-lasting energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s made me understand that you need to fill up. If you just have things like a sugary snack or drink, it just makes you hungry and increases the inflammation, making it worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

What affordable foods should we keep in our kitchens?<\/p>\n

Eating well doesn\u2019t necessarily mean buying expensive ingredients or completely overhauling your weekly food shop.<\/p>\n

For Spector, a few simple kitchen staples can make it easier to prepare nutritious meals and snacks throughout the week.<\/p>\n

\"\u2018I\u2018I always have a mixed bag of nuts for a snack,\u2019 he says (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n

\u201cI always have a mixed bag of nuts for a snack,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would probably always have full-fat Greek yogurt as it fills you up and it\u2019s a fermented food and it\u2019s got protein.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also recommends keeping frozen berries in the freezer and tins of mixed beans in the cupboard.<\/p>\n

Can our diet reduce the risk of cognitive decline?<\/p>\n

Beyond its potential impact on our day-to-day mood and energy levels, Spector believes diet also has an important role to play in protecting our brains as we get older.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all need to be thinking of ways to improve our risk of dementia,\u201d he says, emphasising the importance of dietary quality.<\/p>\n

\u201cA really good diet \u2013 if you include reducing things like diabetes \u2013 will approximately half your rate of getting dementia,\u201d claims Spector.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t take it to zero, but it will significantly reduce it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u2018There\u2019s\u2018There\u2019s also evidence from Japanese studies, that eating mushrooms twice a week reduces your risk as well,\u2019 he says (Extracted from Good Mood Food by Tim Spector (Jonathan Cape, 30)\/Issy Croker\/PA)<\/p>\n

He explains that the immune system is also linked to dementia, and highlights foods such as oily fish and nuts as potentially beneficial additions to a balanced diet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s also evidence from Japanese studies that eating mushrooms twice a week reduces your risk as well,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is quite hard to do everything \u2013 that\u2019s why changing recipes and thinking about variety is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can comfort food still be good for your gut?<\/p>\n

Despite the emphasis on nutrition and gut health, Spector is keen to stress that eating well doesn\u2019t mean giving up the foods we love.<\/p>\n

The book includes several familiar comfort dishes, reworked with ingredients designed to support gut health \u2013 think chocolate pecan bites or cheese and kimchi toastie.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the book, we\u2019ve got half a dozen classic comfort foods that we\u2019ve revised with a gut-friendly twist on them that when you make, they still give you that buzz and that nice feeling inside,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a mac and cheese in there \u2013 a healthy one rather than one that\u2019s going to leave you feeling unwell.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got fish and chips, lasagne, spaghetti bolognese and a green curry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TimTim Spector’s chocolate pecan bites (Extracted from Good Mood Food by Tim Spector (Jonathan Cape, 30)\/Issy Croker\/PA)<\/p>\n

For Spector, these are the kinds of dishes he would naturally gravitate towards when feeling down or in need of something comforting.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll things that I associate with, when I\u2019m a bit down, will pick me up,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a reminder that you can have something that\u2019s really tasty and helpful for you and make you feel better.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can have these rich flavours \u2013 it\u2019s not about eating salads or reducing what you eat. This isn\u2019t a diet book \u2013 it\u2019s about giving people actually more on their plate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good Mood Food by Tim Spector, with Dr Federica Amati and recipes by Kathryn Bruton, is published in hardback by Jonathan Cape<\/a>, priced \u00a330. All photography by Issy Croker. Available October 22.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":664448,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[426,103,61,60,281267],"class_list":["post-664447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-food","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-recipe-pecan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=664447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/664448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=664447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=664447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=664447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}