Food for Life: The New Science of Eating Well, by the #1 bestselling author of SPOON-FED

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He constantly mentions many people get different results and will occasionally give averaged results as well as his own. But the issue I have is some people might treat this as gospel (its in a book and if it works for him it must work for me!). Most people reading this book would not be able to access this kind of personalised data and some of these results suggest certain foods (whole, unprocessed, fresh- like certain fruits or vegetables) should be avoided or at least reduced to occasional treats. I just cannot get enthusiastic about that. If you love bananas, eat the damn banana! It is a better choice than many you could be making like donuts, chips or chocolate. Likewise his attitude toward the use of pesticides in farming. Ok, I agree pesticides are not ideal however "Organic" does not equal no pesticides - it just means certain pesticides are not used. And again, eating non-organic fresh veg that you can afford is better than stressing yourself trying to afford smaller amounts of organic veg and filling up with processed foods. If you can afford it, great! Go for your life, but there is already so much stress and guilt around food (especially for women) why add more? This stands well as a companion to Dan Saladino’s Eating to Extinction: The World's Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them, which won the Wainwright Conservation Prize last year, 2022. Spector is a medic turned professor of epidemiology, though his writing is always clear and hits that balance between not over-complicating the science, nor using language aimed at beginners. Spoon-Fed was written before the pandemic but it covers ground that is as relevant now as ever. For weeks, I had been reading alarming headlines on the link between low vitamin D levels and an elevated risk of dying from Covid-19. But Spector’s chapter on vitamins convinced me that vitamin D pills are not a panacea, despite the way they are currently being marketed. “Overuse of vitamin D supplements has been linked in several trials to weakened bone density, as well as increased falls and fractures,” Spector writes. However, there is a not so positive aspect revealed as Spector looks into studies and reports health impacts of foods with his epidemiologist hat on. There are still so many don't knows! This man is an expert in his field! Surely we can have some certainty! When we say to each other, "You know what they've come up with now? Only lab grown salmon! Only a theory that certain mushrooms can cure Alzheimer's!" this is who I am picturing for the mysterious "they": a research scientist conducting clinical trials and referring to peer-reviewed papers in trustworthy publications. Instead, we learn that yoghurt trials were funded by Danone, and other trials are too small, or unrepeatable, or fail to rule out other factors influencing the results. And some journals are not that trustworthy!

With a publication record of over 600 research articles in esteemed journals like Science and Nature, he is at the forefront of global genetic consortia and leads research on epigenetics. As an author and media presenter, Spector actively shares his expertise with both scientific and public communities. His research career spanning over three decades has uncovered the genetic basis of various common diseases, challenging prevailing notions that attributed them primarily to ageing and the environment. No fads, no nonsense, just practical, science-based advice on how to eat well. Daily Mail, *Books of the Year*The pandemic should have changed many attitudes towards understanding biology, and Food for Life is the newly scientifically semi-literate person's post-Covid go-to food book... I trust the author and his work. The Times, *Book of the Week* Combining cutting-edge research with a personal insights, and taking a wide angle lens on everything from environmental impact and food fraud to allergies and deceptive labelling, Spector takes a deep dive into each food type. Food for Life also includes easy-to-implement action points and useful tables as practical tools in our everyday food decisions, presented in a novel and comprehensive format. Ultimately, this book encourages us to fall in love again with food and celebrate its many wondrous properties, which science is still only just beginning to understand. Tim Spector actually references Matthew Walker and his book. They’re apparently good friends and that’s hardly surprising given that their approach to their respective specialist fields is the same. Food For Life might be even more important than Why We Sleep. Fundamentally the latter tells us all what we really knew anyway; that we should all be sleeping more. But Food For Life sets out to fundamentally alter how we think about food, and it absolutely does that. Even half way through I was changing what I was buying and eating day to day in really significant ways. The nutrition revolution is well underway and Tim Spector is one of the visionaries leading the way. His writing is illuminating and so incredibly timely. Yotam Ottolenghi - praise for SPOON-FED

From the bestselling author of Spoon-Fed and The Diet Myth, a comprehensive guide to the new science of nutrition, drawing on Tim Spector's cutting-edge research. Tim Spector has pioneered a new approach to nutrition, encouraging us to forget misleading calorie counts and nutritional breakdowns. In Food for Life he draws on over a decade of cutting-edge scientific research, along with his own personal insights, to deliver a new and comprehensive approach to what we should all know about food today. There are specific chapters on each food group you can dip into and out of as you need to without having to read the book from cover to cover. The book presents scientific information in a clear and understandable manner, and the writing style is easy to follow. Food is our greatest ally for good health, but the question of what to eat in the age of ultra-processed food has never seemed so complicated. Bestselling author and scientist Tim Spector offers clear answers in this definitive, easy-to-follow guide to the new science of eating well.Food for Life is a feast of that knowledge. It contains so much information that it’s impossible to process by reading it from start to finish, but bullet-pointed tips at the end of each chapter and an appendix of food tables make it a valuable reference book to keep on a kitchen shelf. Drawing on cutting-edge research and personal insights, Professor Tim Spector offers clear answers in this definitive, easy-to-follow guide to the new science of eating well. A well-researched and informative book ... Great to see academia catching up with the real world. Natural Products

I'm finally finished with this book. It's very long, and with a lot of information about pretty much every food type out there. Treat this less like relaxed, casual reading, and more like a sort of reference for tips on how to make food choices. The author is really comprehensive about all the food types and covers and evaluates the research on these as well. I have to admit that this book has singlehandedly made me change my eating habits to include more plants. I find his repeated advice that the effects of food on the body differ for everyone to be one that makes a lot of sense, and wish that the average person had access to tools that could measure their own responses to food. New Fitbit idea, maybe? Anyway, the book is quite clearly structured and to summarize the sheer amount of information he puts in, he includes 5 bullet points at the end of each chapter that reiterate the key points.No fads, no nonsense, just practical, science-based advice on how to eat well’ Daily Mail, Books of the Year

Empowering and practical, Food for Life is nothing less than a new approach to how to eat - for our health and the health of the planet. Food for Life’ by Tim Spector offers a refreshing and informative perspective on nutrition and its relationship with our health and the environment. With his expertise as a Professor of Genetic Epidemiology, Spector presents complex scientific concepts in a clear and accessible manner. The book covers a wide range of topics, including the gut microbiome, food choices, and the impact of food on the planet. Practical tips provided at the end of each chapter and a useful appendix of food tables enhance the book’s value as a reference guide. Food has shaped the way we have evolved over the last million years. When we started to cook our food, our digestive tracts slowly became shorter as a result of the more easily absorbed cooked foods. Our brains became larger thanks to this increased nutrient intake, with a major part dedicated to our senses, in particular those neuronal areas related to food." A brilliant deep-dive into how food affects our wellbeing – and more importantly, what we can do about it. Enlightening and empowering Liz EarleTim's book is a revelation. With his years of experience and engaging writing, he navigates the fascinating and complicated relationship between food and health. A must-read for anyone seeking a respected and trustworthy guide through the murky world of nutrition Dr Rupy