A ZOE nutritionist has made a startling revelation about his breakfast habits, admitting he axed one morning staple after realising it was a “terrible way to start the day”.

Gut health guru Tim Spector confessed that his former breakfast of muesli with low-fat milk, accompanied by orange juice and tea, led to an energy crash. The esteemed doctor experienced a significant slump around 11am, which prompted him to overhaul his diet.

After starting to do work with ZOE, Tim discovered his breakfast was giving him a “massive sugar spike”. It led him to switching up his morning routine to help get through the day.

In a candid chat on Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast, Tim Spector disclosed: “As a doctor I should know better and yet I have changed two of my meals completely. So I’ve gone from having muesli with low-fat milk and an orange juice and a cup of tea because when I started doing these tests with ZOE, I found that gave me a massive sugar spike – it was a terrible way to start the day and I got these dips around 11 o’clock – to a high full-fat yoghurt, nuts, seeds, a few berries.”

He further explained his new routine: “I never have orange juice, that’s a really unhealthy drink for anybody, and I have lots of black coffee, which I now know is good for me. So that’s totally different.”

ZOE’s research suggests that frequent large blood sugar spikes following meals may increase the risk of various diseases, including heart disease. It also indicates that individuals who experience these spikes and subsequent dips tend to feel hungrier throughout the day, potentially leading to overeating, reports Gloucestershire Live.

ZOE recommends starting your day with high-fibre breakfast foods to keep you feeling “fuller for longer”. Options include porridge sprinkled with nuts, plain or natural yoghurt topped with berries, homemade granola or fresh fruits.

Alternatively, consider high-protein foods, gut-friendly dishes, and complex carbohydrates like whole grain toast with avocado. Tim, the founder of ZOE, also shared how he altered his lunchtime habits.

During his time as a doctor, he often opted for convenient lunches, oblivious to their impact on his blood sugar levels.

He confessed: “I changed my lunch, for at least 10 or 15 years I was having a hospital lunch, which used to be in the canteen and then it was Marks and Spencer’s, I got a healthy looking sandwich with brown bread and sweetcorn and tuna with a smoothie, and that gave me a massive sugar spike. I wouldn’t have known that.”