The ZOE diet is based on the idea that no food is off limits and there is no calorie counting – and it has been found to help people cut at least two inches from their waistline
A revolutionary ‘anti-diet’ that doesn’t restrict any foods or require calorie counting has been found to help dieters shed at least two inches from their waistline in just 18 weeks.
The brainchild of Professor Tim Spector and the team at ZOE Nutrition, this unique approach encourages people to curb their appetite by upping their fibre intake. The diet advises against excessive consumption of dairy, processed foods and alcohol, instead promoting the intake of oily fish, wholegrains, nuts, seeds and pulses.
In a study conducted by Professor Spector’s team at Kings College London, 347 obese volunteers were divided into two groups to test the effectiveness of the eating plan. Half of the participants followed the ZOE diet, providing stool and blood samples to assess factors such as blood sugar, cholesterol, body fat and gut health.
These tests enabled ZOE to devise a personalised diet plan for each individual, rating 1.2 million different foods from 1 to 100 based on how your body reacts when you consume them. Participants signed up to an app which also provided diet and lifestyle advice. The remaining subjects used standard dietary guidelines, online videos and resources, with weekly check-ins, reports Wales Online.
Those following the Tim Spector plan saw a reduction of two inches from their waists (6.3cm) and an average weight loss of 4.78lbs. The other group lost an average of 5.35cm and 0.6lbs. In a significant discovery, the ZOE group noticed a considerable dip in their cholesterol levels and experienced an improvement in sleeping patterns while also feeling less hungry.
Professor Spector said: “We have shown that those who follow ZOE’s nutrition advice will see improvements in their overall health. It is clear some current population advice is out of date, over-focused on calories and low-fat foods and with low adherence unlikely to result in long-term benefits.
“ZOE advice shows that thinking about foods in a totally different way with the emphasis on quality, personalisation and gut health can have massive benefits if adopted more widely. This is now a publicly available product in the US and UK that has been proven by clinical trial to work better than official population advice.”
Dr Sarah Berry, the chief scientist at ZOE, said to MailOnline: “What the trial shows is that ZOE’s approach of delivering personalised nutrition can help people lose the fat around their belly and improve their health whilst also having more energy and feeling less hungry. It’s the antithesis of the restrictive and prescriptive diets that we’ve seen that exclude entire food groups and leave people feeling hungry and tired.”