Have You Heard About ZOE? 💛
Hey there everyone 👋
I am going to jump straight into today’s topic!
Have you heard about ZOE? “ZOE who?” You might ask. ZOE Health of course!!
I have just finished my first week with ZOE and what an interesting and eye-opening week it has been.
If you haven’t heard about ZOE Health, then let me give you a brief intro below.
What is ZOE Health?
JoinZoe.com is a personalised nutrition programme founded by Professor Tim Spector, Jonathan Wolf, and George Hadjigeorgio.
A little fun fact for you, ZOE means life in Greek. I thought the meaning behind the name was pretty cool 😎
ZOE analyses your unique gut, blood fat and sugar responses to food so you can improve your long-term health, maintain a healthy weight and improved energy levels 📈
It is the largest in-depth nutrition study in the world.
ZOE's signature approach of home-based, app-enabled data collection is a unique approach to research from the comfort of your home.
This is what makes ZOE Health special – it’s one of a kind!
It has a very personalised approach which I particularly like very much.
I have always believed we are all quite different and respond to all sorts of things in life differently whether that’s treatments, healing process, exercise, learning, quite literally everything! I do not like being put into boxes! ZOE also has this outlook and states that “generic advice isn’t working” because our bodies are all so unique! Absolutely!!
Your unique data driven results are processed after a series of tests and food trials. Within six weeks you will receive your insight report to your metabolic and microbiome health and your personalised ZOE analysis.
ZOE is a two-part process; part 1 is the test kit and part 2 is the membership.
My first week with ZOE has been a real eye opener already!! It has been a week of testing and food trials. Day one is very intensive – the bulk of the testing is done on this day. I would highly recommend setting aside the entire day if you can. It is important the tests are done on time!
And some of them are not pleasant! Hello gut test I’m calling you out here 💩 Eating the ZOE cookies was also quite a challenge in itself!! If you know you know!
I was more apprehensive about the blood tests and applying the sugar sensor because to say I dislike needles is an understatement!! They were both painless. I was quite impressed by that. So do not be put off by this.
The blood sugar sensor is optional. I chose to do it; your results also contribute towards a clinical study – you must consent to this.
One little tip for the tests is that the written instructions and the video instructions on the app differ slightly so I would read and watch them both before doing the tests. I had a little panic with the sugar senor as thought I had messed it up as I followed the written instructions (luckily it was fine) then watched the video which described a slightly different way to set up the sensor.
Another tip is plan and be prepared in advance for the tests and the food trials. Just set aside plenty of time each day in the mornings for the first week. Two weeks if you choose to more of the optional food trials.
It did not give me much warning to do the food trials. I knew they were coming but it didn’t give specific days for them.
It opens each lesson as you complete different tasks and challenges, but the next lessons doesn't unlock straightaway and doesn't indicate when. It was not a big issue for me, but it could be problematic if you are unable to rejig your schedule around.
The notification for starting my food/blood sugar challenge came through when I was asleep Thursday night. I thought it was starting on Monday but with a little bit of a mad dash Friday morning I was able to fit it in and then adjusted my morning routing for the following days because I had access to the information I needed.
There are 5 recommended food/blood sugar challenges which is the minimum ZOE needs to gather data for your results. There is also a library of optional challenges that you can do whilst you are wearing the glucose monitor.
I will be doing more of the optional challenges because it is interesting, and I want to make the most out of the ZOE experience and gain as much insight as possible.
Initially it seems like there is so much to do but once you get into a rhythm with scanning your glucose monitor regularly, then logging your food you get on a roll with it. For the first 48 hours I had to leave post it notes in the kitchen to remind myself not to just eat without scanning my glucose monitor first but it is like second nature now. It will seem strange not doing it when it ends. Scanning the glucose monitor is also really simple and easy to do.
ZOE states that it is a comprehensive program, but it has exceeded my expectations already. You learn so much about all aspects of your health and this is just the first week and I have 4 months of learning to go!!! 👩🏫
The feedback I have had so far from sharing my ZOE experience with others is that it is expensive 🤯 I have had a couple of people say that it sounds great, but the price puts them off 🙅♀️
My response is simple, your health is priceless! Yes, the initial outlay does seem costly but let’s break it down and look at the value you get from ZOE.
The tests are approximately £300, you can then choose your desired membership length, from memory I think it is one month, four or twelve months. I opted for four months which was approximately £160. You pay for the test kit first, once your results are back you then pay for your membership. So, it is split in two payments with 3 to 6 weeks in between (depending on how soon you get your test results returned) but you choose the length of membership at the time of signing up to the program.
If you break that down into a weekly figure it works out at about £25 split over 18 weeks which is the duration of the program I chose to do.
It is not a lot for what you get out of it! You could easily spend more money on a night out or a takeaway at the weekend.
You gain insight into your health; you improve your long-term health and get a multitude of knowledge and have direct support with qualified nutrition experts.
It is a real investment in your health and longevity. The real question is can you afford not to do it? 🤷♀️
It’s a no brainer for me! I cannot afford NOT to be the healthiest version of myself mentally and physically. It’s a small price to pay if you look at it as a long-term investment for your health over the years ahead.
So many studies now show gut health to impact not only your physical but mental health and brain function as well.
Food is one of the best preventative courses of action we can take to protect our health as we age. ZOE teaches us the best foods for our unique bodies and metabolism.
Did you know your metabolism is not fully defined by your genes?!
Best of all no foods are off limits!! I eat a relatively healthy diet but there is clearly a lot more to all this if you delve deeper into it. Thanks to ZOE that's exactly what I am going to do!
If you are sceptical or hesitant especially with the big outlay, then this is something to take note of.
Very few companies like ZOE provide robust scientific evidence to back up their claims. So, ZOE put their time and money where their mouth is. ZOE recently ran a randomised controlled clinical trial to test whether their program really works. They were delighted to announce the findings: ZOE works. So, there you have it, ZOE is scientifically proven to work and help your health!
I can’t wait to share my continued progress with you, I think it is going to get even more interesting over the coming weeks.
You can watch my daily stories and updates on my IG so come join me! You can also ask me any questions about ZOE or anything else you have on your mind. I am always happy to help.
Thank you so much for reading my latest blog post!
Stay healthy & happy 🫶🏼
XO
Rebecca 💖
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** A little reminder that this post isn't sponsored or funded by ZOE Health in any way. It is a personal decision to invest in this program and share my journey with you on my blog. I only ever promote or recommend products or services I personally trust and use.
