Dr Tim Spector: The one thing we’ll be eating more of this year

The UK has huge potential to improve this year thanks to shifts like the rise of fermented food

When considering health predictions, it’s all too easy to dwell on negative issues, like the massive rise in obesity and Type 2 diabetes, as well as other preventable diseases plus the ever-present threat of novel pandemic infections, and the near collapse of our creaky national health system that should be renamed national disease system.
But rather than doom-mongering, my predictions for 2024 focus on the huge potential the UK has to improve its own health. I am confident that this year, we will see some positive changes.
Although I don’t have a crystal ball, I do keep a keen eye on the evolving science of nutrition and health, as well as, since Covid, the increasing willingness of the public to take matters into their own hands and not wait for government intervention. 
I predict that in 2024, we will witness three seismic shifts in our close relationship with food. Namely, a steady rise in fermented food, real progress in personalisation and a growing rejection of ultra-processed food (UPF). Changing the way we view food forever allows us to make healthy food choices, which is the single most important thing we can do for our health. 
Fermented foods have been a part of the human experience for thousands of years. They are still a staple in many parts of the world, but in the UK, we’ve lost our taste for these products.
For the past few decades, the only fermented foods regularly consumed by the British population were cheeses and yogurt. 
Although we’ve probably been eating cheese for thousands of years (Cheshire cheese is even mentioned in the Domesday Book), yogurt only rose to popularity in the late 1960s and usually with large amounts of added sugars and fake fruits aimed at children. Until quite recently, people in the UK had little room in their fridges for less industrial fermented foods.
This, I believe, is set to change in 2024. Indeed, demand for once-exotic fermented products is already on the up. In 2023, for instance, sales of kefir – a form of fermented milk – increased by 17 per cent. The frothing fermented tide is already turning.
When I started talking about kefir around 10 years ago, no one had heard of it. And most people who had considered it strange, smelly and sour. Now, sour tastes and flavours are moving into the mainstream of British food culture, and can be found in virtually all supermarket aisles.
The UK has one of the worst food cultures and habits in Europe. But on the positive side, our food culture is incredibly flexible and quick to change and adapt. In less than 10 years, as the population warms to fermented foods, we now see people drinking kombucha in pubs and buying sauerkraut in supermarkets. Even the pungent, powerful Korean delicacy kimchi is growing in popularity.
This rise of ferments on British tables will help combat our many ills. Studies have consistently shown health benefits for regular users. In particular, they seem to support your immune system, which is so vital to fighting allergies, infections, cancer and ageing, thanks to their interaction with your resident gut bacteria.
But sadly you can’t just binge a tub of sweetened, additive-rich yogurt once a week to experience these benefits. You need to choose good quality products and, preferably, eat them in small amounts several times each day.
A clinical study in the US found that people who ate four to five small portions of fermented food each day had significantly improved blood markers of inflammation and immune function after just two weeks. So, if you have one or two portions daily, you will likely also benefit.
My second prediction for 2024 is a substantial uptick in the science of personalisation. It’s becoming increasingly apparent that we are all unique. Whether it’s your genes, gut microbiome or metabolism – we are not clones. Far from it. Even identical twins (who actually are genetic clones) only share a small proportion of their gut bacteria, which means they produce very different chemicals supplying the brain and blood stream.
ZOE’s research has shown that a personalised approach to food choice significantly improves mood, energy, appetite, weight and levels of fat in your blood compared with following traditional one-size-fits-all government guidelines based on calories.
With growing recognition that we are all to some extent unique, we are seeing new products, ranging from personalised skin care products, cancer treatments that dramatically improve survival and personalised exercise plans. As the science develops and we realise that every medicine, vitamin or food we ingest will have a different effect on us, many exciting areas will open up.
As researchers delve deeper into the metabolic differences between individuals, we’re likely to see ever more targeted nutrition and lifestyle advice. Not everyone needs eight hours’ sleep or to eat carbs before running. We will soon know what is best for you. 
One note of caution: As the term “personalisation” becomes fashionable in health and wellness circles, marketing teams will have a ball. So consumers will need to be wary – not every product or service that promises personalisation will deliver as they will be based on marketing, not rigorous science. 
My final prediction for 2024 is that the pushback against ultra-processed foods, or as I call them, edible food-like substances, will continue to grow.
To replace them, there will be a swell in demand for whole foods that contain all the goodness of the original plant and people will finally be able to spot the difference.
As people move away from fake foods and towards real foods, they will return to cooking. They’ll start limiting highly processed meats, reducing refined staples like white bread, pasta and rice and begin exploring different whole-grains with the most fibre and nutrients like bulgur, quinoa, pearl barley and rye. 
The scientific evidence against ultra-processed foods is already overwhelming – they are making us hungrier by an average of 25 per cent a day, and shortening people’s lives, making us the sickest country in Europe. Despite the evidence and many other countries taking action, our government has kept its head resolutely in the sand. But as this information and the £88 billion it costs taxpayers seeps deeper into the public consciousness, it will cause a change in attitudes, like when we gave up cigarettes and smoking in public.
The UK currently eats more ultra-processed foods than anyone else in Europe. When we recognise that these UPFs only benefit the giant food companies that create them, we will all turn our backs on fake foods. Big Food has had its time in the sun.
All three of my predictions are important and impactful in their own right. Combined, they can make our nation turn the corner. Whatever your age or state of health, we should all try to follow these trends. I predict 2024 will be a turning point in the health of our country and we can’t afford to be wrong.
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