A dieting expert has shared the perfect afternoon snack that can help people shed the pounds - and it can even help your brain.
Expert Michael Mosley, who is famed for the Fast 800 and 5:2 diets, has revealed the ideal afternoon snack during a podcast, reports Bristol Live.
Speaking on the BBC Sounds podcast called Just One Thing, the guru noted that eating nuts can help people who are looking to drop some weight.
He said: "It is mid-afternoon and I am craving some chocolate or perhaps a biscuit, but instead I am going for a protein-packed snack that can protect my heart, may stave off cancer, and give my brain a boost.
"I am cracking out the nuts."
Michael has hailed nuts as "nutritional power houses", and told listeners of the podcast that they contain lots of fibre and polyphenols - which is what feeds gut bacteria and reduces inflammation.
The diet expert also recently noted that having good gut health can slow - or even reverse - the aging process.
Michael claimed that eating well for your gut health microbiome is important in aging well, and surviving beyond the average life span.
Dr Mosley wrote in the Daily Mail: "We know that what, and how much, you eat play key roles in whether you stay healthy or not — but what seems to be equally important is the impact this food has on your gut microbiome, the mix of bacteria, viruses and fungi, which live in your intestines."
In a study published this month in the journal Nature Aging, researchers at Guangxi Academy of Sciences in China compared the microbiomes of 1,575 people, ranging in age from 20 to over 100.
Explaining the findings, Dr Mosley says: "They found that the healthy centenarians (those least troubled by age-related disease) had a very diverse mix of bugs in their guts, with particularly high levels of a bacterial species called Bacteroidetes.
"This bug has previously been linked to slimness, and is present in far smaller amounts in the guts of people who are overweight."
During the podcast, Michael also discussed the dangers of eating ultra-processed foods, that contain chemical additives like emulsifiers and sweeteners.
For research purposes, Dr Mosley changed his diet to snacking on highly processed foods including crisps.
During a two-week period, the expert put on two kilograms, and also saw an increase in his blood pressure and cholesterol.
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