Forget counting calories and crunching kale.
The key to losing weight is eating cheese and chocolate and drinking red wine, a leading scientist said.
Professor Tim Spector, of King’s College London, says everything we think we know about diets is wrong. And that rather than depriving ourselves of our favourite foods, we should make time to eat them.
Cheese, chocolate and red wine are all on the menu, as are nuts and dairy products.
The professor’s unorthodox advice stems from his belief that successful dieting is down to the bugs living in a person’s gut.
Professor Spector says that by eating the right foods we can cultivate more good bacteria – and stay slim and healthy. Speaking at the Oxford Literary Festival, he said: “We ingest these microbes and they end up in our gut, where they diversify with the new foods we introduce over the years. The more diverse foods we eat, the more varieties of microbes in our bodies, which makes us healthier.”
Our gut bacteria enjoy chocolate, cheese and red wine almost as much as we do, he said, but junk food, while tasty, should play no part in the diet plan.
Professor Spector said fatty, sugary foods killed helpful bacteria, while allowing potentially toxic ones to thrive. He added: “Everyone should treat their gut as a beautiful English garden. The more varieties of microbes and foods we eat, the more flowers our gardens have and the healthier they look.”
Daily Mail