At first glance, sex and sauerkraut seem to have absolutely nothing to do with each other. But according to Dr Federica Amati, chief nutritionist at Zoe, the personalized health app that has achieved cult status, what we eat affects every aspect of our health – including who we attract as sexual partners.
“Eating fermented foods like yogurt, sauerkraut and kefir help support good gut health, along with a high-fiber diet, so the two together provide gut health benefits that will make us healthier and sexier,” says Dr. Amati. “When we take care of ourselves, we become healthier, we feel better and we attract good people.”
Co-founded by epidemiologist Professor Tim Spector, Zoe has got us all talking about our microbiomes. And Dr. Amati, whose new book, Every body should know this: the science of eating for lifelong health is published this Thursday and remains passionate about nurturing the insects within us. She says microbes in the gut control the release of pheremones, chemicals that play a key role in attracting a mate.
“We must remember that we evolutionarily choose sexual partners to reproduce. So what is really important for the success of fertilization and the offspring is a robust immune system. Having compatible immune systems is very important.”
Dr. Amati started nutrition because she always wanted to help people. The death of her father, at the age of 63, from colon cancer, had an enormous impact on her work. “What he went through was preventable. Maybe we couldn’t have prevented him from getting cancer, but certainly given his age and the progression of it,” she says.
But despite that devastating loss at such a young age, Amati’s ethos is one of joy, and it shows in her book. For example, as she delivers the chilling news that we are allowing children to live worse lives than we ever had, and that 80 percent of chronic diseases can be prevented through diet or lifestyle changes, she does so in a way that celebrates the food . She talks about abundance instead of deprivation: it’s the opposite of diet culture.
“The principles of positive nutrition are a much easier part of life,” she explains. “I’m Italian. I grew up in a household where food was king. I spent my early childhood in Italy [until eight] and was lucky enough to be born into a joyful food culture. I don’t think we talk enough about the consequences of hunger: being hungry is not pleasant for anyone.”
Dr. Amati now lives in London with her husband Paul Sculfor, founder of supermodel and addiction charity Stride Foundation, and two daughters aged six and four. Here in Britain, as much as 65 percent of an average child’s diet consists of ultra-processed foods, which are linked to serious diseases later in life. Our diet is so poor that the height of children is actually decreasing compared to other European countries. It’s shocking – and she’s shocked. “Do I think politicians should make this a priority? Absolute. The problem is that right now our food environment, nutrition and health are not even on the list. So when I say ‘let’s vote for people who really care’, I can’t think of anyone, in any party, who has this as a priority.”
Although her work with Zoe revolves around individualized eating plans, she is clear that everyone’s health improves when they follow the Mediterranean diet: high in vegetables, seeds, grains, beans, fiber, some fatty fish and dairy, and low in red meat. Even if you wait until you’re forty, you can gain more than ten years by switching, while if you’re in your seventies you can add five years, she says.
In her book, she gives advice on what to eat for all stages and stages of life – for example, adolescents should eat eggs (rich in iron) and mushrooms (for B vitamins and vitamin D), while teenage boys and young men need zinc and omega -3 fatty acids.
Women need iron during menstruation, while during menopause they should eat more plants and aim for a healthy body weight to alleviate symptoms, and build more muscle to optimize health. Once people reach their 50s, she recommends limiting alcohol to wine enjoyed sociably over dinner, rather than on an empty stomach or to combat stress.
“I hope it gives people a feeling of power and control over their own health,” she says.
She devotes a chapter to the first thousand days of a child’s life, from conception to the age of two, and emphasizes the importance of good nutrition during this period. Introduce allergens; avoid UPFs where possible; let babies play with whole foods and make messes, and include them in family meals. She says breast milk is better than formula and believes it should be made available to all women and their babies through breast milk banks.
“My feeling is: knowledge is power. What hopefully comes across is that as a species we are extremely resilient. So it is not to scare people,” she says. “It’s a call to arms to make sure we’re aware of it. My mother started taking care of herself after my father died, really, well into her sixties. So it is never too late. She has transformed her health.”
Dr. Amati hopes that over time, our government will help us become healthier, at any age. She points to Singapore, which responded to the rise in type 2 diabetes by subsidizing healthy food and increasing advertising space for it. “Voters have the power to change the narrative, and when we are aware of the power of food, we have the power to create change.”
Five ways to a healthier, sexier microbiome
- Instead of five a day, aim for diversity with 30 different plants a week: eat fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, legumes and whole grains
- Increase your fiber intake
- Avoid ultra-processed foods
- Eat fermented foods such as kefir, sauerkraut and yogurt daily. Little and often works best
- Avoid eating after 9 p.m. and give your gut microbes a night’s rest
While the environment outside our homes is far from ideal, for now we can be our own “health architects” indoors. Both Dr. Amati and Zoe founder Tim Spector talk about the 80/20 rule, where 80 percent of what they eat is highly beneficial food. Dr. Amati says this is how her family fills the food cupboards. “We don’t have ready-made meals, they are prepared from scratch,” she explains. “Paul is enthusiastic about food and very helpful, but I’m Italian, so I cook with my mother and our Italian nanny.”
It’s so refreshing to hear a successful woman with young children acknowledge the help of a nanny – and be honest about raising a young family. The less beneficial 20 percent of their diet includes, she says, popsicles, Percy Pigs or Candy Kittens. “The days before my period, there’s no chance I won’t eat at least three types of chocolate,” she says.
While she’s a proponent of intermittent fasting, she doesn’t make it a “rule.”
“I often eat within a ten-hour window,” she says. “I eat in accordance with the circadian rhythm and avoid eating after 9 p.m., so I let my body rest overnight. I wait until I’m hungry to eat.”
But she prioritizes fun. “When you see people not going to dinner parties, we’ve lost the idea of time-sensitive eating,” she believes. “Aligning our circadian rhythm is so important, but if it’s going to affect your social life, no. Social connection is crucial for good health.”
She is concerned about the extent to which Britain is cut off from food, hunger and our bodies’ signals. It starts in childhood, she says, when a child tells a parent he or she is hungry and gets the response, “But you just ate” or “Have a drink.” “When they say they’re hungry, that means their body is telling them they’re hungry,” she says. “I want to get back to a place where we understand the importance of food: how great it is for our health, how it affects every single system, including our mood; how we respect our hunger.” Her work as a nutritionist helps people rebuild their food relationships. Once they start eating a diet that makes them feel good, instead of leaving them hungry, they tend to stop craving foods that are not helpful to their body.
Although the junk food lobby is powerful, it may have met its match in Dr. Amati. I’m not sure anyone else can make the gut microbiome sound sexy. “Focusing on our own health and happiness is the best way to attract the best partners,” she says with a smile.
Every body should know this: the science of eating for lifelong health was published by Michael Joseph on Thursday 25 April 2024 (£22)