Can food improve brain health, memory and mood?
In this episode, Prof Felice Jacka and Prof Tim Spector explore how diet, the gut microbiome and fermented foods may affect your mood, brain function and dementia risk. Drawing on clinical trials and research involving more than 10 million people, they explain why what you eat could have a much bigger impact on your brain than most people realise, and what the latest science suggests you can do about it.
Felice, who helped create the field of nutritional psychiatry, explains how food influences the brain through the gut microbiome and inflammation. She and Tim explore why some foods change brain function, which support brain health, what the evidence says about ultra-processed foods, and why diet is becoming an increasingly important part of research on brain and mental health.
Learn which foods to eat more often, which foods to reduce, and simple, affordable ways to build meals that support your gut, mood and long-term brain health. From whole grains and legumes to fermented foods and everyday supermarket and grocery store choices, by the end of the episode, you’ll have realistic advice that’s easy to put into practice today.
If the food you eat today helps shape your brain tomorrow, what small change could make the biggest difference over the next year?
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Timecodes
00:00 Intro
03:10 Why beans may boost mood more than cake
07:35 Can diet reduce your risk of depression?
10:10 Can changing your diet put depression into remission?
12:45 How does the gut microbiome affect the brain?
16:04 Can gut microbes transfer depression symptoms?
17:55 What gut bacteria are missing in mental illness?
20:16 Is food the most powerful tool for brain health?
22:11 The yogurt study that surprised neuroscientists
25:35 Can fermented foods help grow the hippocampus?
28:18 Why fermented foods may improve mood and energy
30:16 The gut-brain connection explained simply
31:13 How diet during pregnancy affects brain development
37:52 Are depression, anxiety and dementia connected?
39:27 What are ultra-processed foods really doing to your brain?
39:55 The major study linking ultra-processed foods to disease
42:31 Are some ultra-processed foods healthier than others?
43:44 Real food vs meal replacements: what happens to your microbiome?
48:29 The ingredient Felice Jacka tries to avoid
50:16 Do supplements improve brain health?
52:23 The best foods for brain health and mental health
53:37 How to eat for brain health on a budget
55:40 The simplest brain health advice you’ll hear today
58:40 The complete brain health and gut health checklist
📚Books by our ZOE Scientists
The Food For Life Cookbook
Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati
The Appetite Reset by Dr Federica Amati
Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector
Ferment by Prof. Tim Spector
Good Mood Food (preorder) by Prof. Tim Spector
Free resources from ZOE
The Smart Snacking Guide: How to feed your gut, fuel your day, and snack without guilt
The Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal Orchestra
Eating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprint
How to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term health
Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition
Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks
Better Breakfast Guide
Mentioned in today's episode
The 'SMILES' trial, BMC Medicine (2017)
Mood Disorders: The Gut Bacteriome and Beyond, Biological Psychiatry (2024)
ZOE study: Fermented food improves mood, energy, and hunger
Effects of a probiotic fermented dairy product on the brain, Gut microbiota (2025)
Associations between diet quality and depressed mood in adolescents, ANZJP (2010)
Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes, BMJ (2024)
Global Burden of Disease, The Lancet (2026)
Folic acid, ageing, depression, and dementia, BMJ (2002)
Transplantation of gut microbiota derived from patients with schizophrenia induces schizophrenia-like behaviors, Nature (2024)
Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.
Episode transcripts are available here.
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