For centuries society has failed to appreciate the intimate connection between the food we eat and the overall quality of our lives. Even in modern times companies and governments have oversimplified dietary advice with messages that tell us how calorie counting and low-fat diets can improve our health. Meanwhile obesity and diabetes rates continue to rise. That’s the argument of Tim Spector – scientific co-founder of Zoe, Professor of Epidemiology at Kings College London and among the top 100 most cited scientists in the world. According to Spector, how our body digests the food we eat dramatically depends on the makeup of our gut bacteria. On October 22, he joins Intelligence Squared at Assembly Rooms for a live show that will reveal the science of the connection between gut health and human well-being. Spector will explain how the gut and the brain are connected, how the trillions of microbes in our intestine operate and why a balanced microbiome promotes heart, brain, and metabolic health, while imbalances can lead to to weight gain, high blood sugar, diabetes, allergies, and autoimmune diseases.

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