ZOE is a scientific-based nutrition program that determines the best foods for your personal metabolism. It is based on research of the "twin studies" originating from King's College in London and the Predict Clinical Trials. You may currently opt in or out of the Predict III Clinical Trial as part of your ZOE experience.
I decided to take the dive and join ZOE in November of 2021 since it had finally become available on Android. I waited in anticipation for the ZOE box to come in the mail, but once I received it, I realized that I would need to wait until January to begin my journey due to the holidays and traveling. I wanted to be able to fully commit to the experience and I am sure glad that I did!
The ZOE process...
Once you purchase the program, you are instructed to download the ZOE app and wait for the ZOE box to arrive, then scan the barcode, and pick a start date.
DAY 1 - Set-Up Blood Sugar Sensor
That sounds easy enough, right? Well, my sensor worked fine for a few hours and then... no more. The Freestyle Libre app said that the sensor had failed and to place a new sensor on. Well, that was hard to do because ZOE only sends one. I contacted ZOE through the chat feature on the app and they quickly sent me a new blood sugar sensor. That did delay my start date into mid-January, but it was really no problem. Once I got the new sensor and applied it, I was off and running!
I began logging my meals into the app as best as I could. Not every possible food is in the app, but you can usually find something rather equivalent. I also began scanning my blood sugar sensor at the start of meals and at least once at the three-hour mark after each meal.
DAY 2 - Gut Health Test
Yep, this is the poop sample day! Very easy to do, just follow the instructions and mail to ZOE!
DAY 3 - Eat The "Famous" Muffins & Do the Lipid Test
Sounds really easy right? Well, for breakfast I have never eaten three muffins before and it was a tough task. The muffins did not taste bad, it is just hard to get three of them down in a short window of time. It required lots of water to get the last one down. I did find it easiest to heat them and then eat them with a fork and knife though. I honesty did not think I could finish the third one and I logged it into the app that I could only eat two of them and then it sent me a message saying "Are you sure you can't finish the last muffin? It is really important to do so for the most accurate results!" Dang, this is a smart program, it has dealt with this problem before. Lol So, I buckled down and finished the last muffin! Whew, glad that was over! There is a reason they call these the "Metabolic Challenge" Muffins. The three muffins combined contained 875 calories, 85 grams carbohydrate, 40 grams sugar, and 52 grams fat.
Blood sugar results -
Start of meal = 86, Three-hour mark = 88, Peak = 109.
(My body seemed to like those muffins pretty well.)
Then lunch time came and I had to eat two muffins. That was easy considering breakfast! They refer to these as the "US Average Meal" muffins. Much easier to get down! Combined, these two muffins contained 504 calories, 68 carbohydrates, 37 grams sugar and 21 grams fat.
Blood sugar results -
Start of meal = 91, Three-hour mark = 108, Peak = 130.
(What in the world? How did I do better at breakfast than at lunch? I suspected it had to do with the carbohydrate to fat ratio or something of the sort, but that is the point of ZOE, to better understand why one's body reacts the way it does.)
Exactly six hours after breakfast and two hours after lunch, I did a fingerpick blood test to check lipid (fat) levels. If you are squeamish at the sight of blood this could be a little tough because you have to drop four large drops of blood onto a card. Once completed, this is mailed to ZOE.
The remainder of the day, I was allowed to eat normally and log it into the app.
DAY 4 - More Muffins
Again, with the muffins... Two more for breakfast! No problem, these were two more of the "US Average Meal" muffins.
Blood sugar results -
Start of meal = 100, Three-hour mark = 89, Peak = 133.
(Same results as lunch the day before, my body did not seem to love them. Too much sugar and carbohydrates without enough fat perhaps? I also noticed a glucose "dip", which is not a good thing!)
The remainder of the day, I was allowed to eat normally and log it into the app.
DAY 5 to 7 - Eat and Log Typical Diet
Eazy peazy! I just ate my normal foods and logged them into the app. I also paid close attention to the blood glucose sensor to see how my body reacted to my typical foods. Now, I have been gluten-free since 2003, so all of my food is gluten-free, even those ZOE muffins happen to be made with rice and tapioca flours, so naturally gluten-free. However, in 2017 I decided to take a more Paleo or grain-fee approach to my diet. I seemed to do well without grains, but it is really hard to do long-term, so I have been on and off a grain-free diet for the past few years, being gluten-free with limited grains. Now, there are some good grain substitutes like cassava and tapioca flour that act like grains when baking and cooking, so I have been eating more of those flours than grain-based flours like rice and corn.
Blood sugar results -
(The meals eaten with any type of flour product whether grain-free or not seem to pose a blood sugar problem. I ate meals containing flours or food items made with rice, corn, oats, cassava and tapioca which all peaked at 135 to 148. And adding sugar with any grain seemed to make the glucose spike even higher. Eating oatmeal with added sugar was my highest spike & dip.)
DAY 8 to 12 - Blood Sugar Experiments
The ZOE app gives you detailed guidance for days 8 to 12 on what to eat for breakfast. The remainder of the day you eat normally and log it into the app.
Day 8 - Three pieces of bread, nothing else. I have to say that I have also never eaten three pieces of toast for breakfast and certainly not without butter! But the research continues... I had three slices of Canyon Bake House Gluten-free "Mountain White" whole grain bread for all of the "bread" experiments on days 8 to 12.
Blood sugar results -
Start of meal = 97, Three-hour mark = 116, Peak = 168.
(Holy Guacamole! That was very eye-opening for me, 168, a personal record "high" for me!)
Day 9 - 2.1 ounces of cheese, nothing else. This was way too easy! I had 2.1 ounces of Organic Valley Raw Sharp Cheddar Cheese, YUM!
Blood sugar results -
Start of meal = 98, three-hour mark = 91, Peak = 100.
(My body liked that; I mean who wouldn't really?)
Day 10 - Three pieces of bread and 2.1 ounces of cheese. Whoa, that felt like a lot of food, but easy to consume together!
Blood sugar results -
Start of meal = 95, Three-hour mark = 97, Peak = 145.
(Not great, but better than Day 8 results! Eating carbohydrates with fat lowered this meal by 23 points.)
Day 11 - Three pieces of bread followed by exercise. I chose to do a 30-minute brisk walk after breakfast.
Blood sugar results -
Start of meal = 98, Three-hour mark = 106, Peak 1 = 120, Peak 2 = 130.
(Interestingly enough, while exercising, my blood sugar hit a peak of 120 and then lowered, but then hit a second peak of 130 after I stopped exercising. Again, better results than day 8 though. This was a great lesson into how exercise can affect your blood sugar levels. It should have risen to the same as Day 8, 168, but because of the exercise, it reached a max of 38 points lower.)
Day 12 - 2.1 ounces of cheese, wait 10 minutes, then 3 pieces of bread. How could this be different than Day 10 or so I thought!
Blood sugar results -
Start of meal = 102, Three-hour mark = 110, Peak = 110.
(What just happened, how is that even possible?!? Looks like there is something to this "food sequencing" after all.)
DAY 8 to 14 - Additional Blood Sugar Experiments
There is also a "Challenges" library of additional blood sugar experiments that you can choose from to do for any meal while wearing the blood sugar sensor. This was fun and I did try to make the most out of wearing the sensor! Here is a list of the challenges I tried.
Same Food, Different Form
Meal #1 - Sweetened full fat fruit yogurt (1 container, 5.5 ounces strawberry)
Meal #2 - Plain whole fat yogurt (8 ounces) with fresh fruit (6 ounces blueberries)
Blood sugar results -
Start of Meal #1 = 103, Three-hour mark = 89, Peak = 103.
Start of Meal #2 = 86, Three-hour mark = 82, Peak = 115.
(Great results either way, but I think that Meal #1 was lower simply because I used a smaller amount of food. I probably should have consumed a container and a half to be more equal.)
Food Combinations
Meal #1 - 1/2 cup pineapple
Meal #2 - 1/2 cup pineapple with 1-ounce cashews
Blood sugar results -
Start of Meal #1 - 105, Three-hour mark = 93, Peak = 105.
Start of Meal #2 = 87, Three-hour mark = 97, Peak - 110.
(Great results either way. I have always thought that my body liked pineapple in all forms!)
Now, this was a tough one!
Meal #1 - High carb item, e.g., donut (I chose Katz Gluten-free Glazed Donut)
Meal #2 - High carb item with additional 11 ounces of water
Blood sugar results -
Start of Meal #1 = 98, Three-hour mark = 107, Peak = 143.
Start of Meal #2 = 106, Three-hour mark = 102, Peak = 123.
(Now, this one really surprised me! Just sipping on an extra glass of water lowered my glucose peak by 20 points?!? What a fun, thought-provoking, experiment! I wonder if this is why when I was at my lowest weight as an adult, I was sipping water between bites of food. I thought it just helped me to eat less...)
Food Sequencing
Meal #1 - Mashed potatoes then Sausage (I chose Bratwurst)
Meal #2 - Sausage then Mashed Potatoes
Blood sugar results -
Start of Meal #1 = 99, Three-hour mark = 112, Peak = 119.
Start of Meal #2 = 94, Three-hour mark = 104, Peak = 110.
(Very interesting difference... maybe this is why my husband always eats his protein first and then everything else. Lol)
Another tough one!
Meal #1 - Cookie as a snack (I chose 2 Glutenetto cookies)
Meal #2 - Cookie after a meal
Blood sugar results -
Start of Meal #1 = 104, Three-hour mark = 113, Peak = 125.
Start of Meal #2 = 100, Three-hour mark = 108, Peak = 115.
(Note taken...always have dessert after a meal, not alone as a snack. Got it!)
Added Ingredients
Meal #1 - Typical Lunch
Meal #2 - Apple Cider Vinegar (20 grams in glass of water) then Typical Lunch
Blood sugar results -
Start of Meal #1 = 100, Three-hour mark = 108, Peak = 115.
Start of Meal #2 = 96, Three-hour mark = 105, Peak = 125.
(This really did surprise me because I did eat the exact same lunch both days and ACV before meals is supposed to help lower blood sugar. Well, maybe this explains why when I have tried taking ACV before meals in the past, it begins to irritate my stomach after a few days. Maybe my body really does not care for it.)
Valuable Lessons I learned From Experimenting
All bread and flour products caused a much higher glucose spike than almond flour.
Having carbohydrates with fat is crucial in preventing higher glucose spikes.
Beginning a meal with fat, followed by carbohydrates makes a significant difference.
Sipping on water between bites, especially with a carbohydrate rich meal is very helpful.
Exercising after a meal does considerably lower glucose levels.
My blood sugar was ok with a hamburger patty with cheese & fries, but not with a bun.
My blood sugar does not react negatively to potatoes. Yay!
My body prefers ice cream to cake or cookies. Ok!
Coconut water did not affect blood sugar! Good news for us who drink Adrenal Cocktails!
Just counting carbs does not give a full picture of how your blood sugar may react.
Some of these concepts are not new, but seeing it for yourself makes all the difference.
Then I Waited for ZOE to Compile My Data
I continued to log my food into the ZOE app each day while I waited. They also provide daily informative lessons to read and learn from as you wait.
Valuable ZOE Principle to Remember
The Food Matrix is the complex structure of a food that is built from water, fiber, nutrients, flavor molecules, vitamins, minerals, and a myriad of various other known and unknown elements. These matrices can take on many different forms such as crystal (sugar), emulsion (mayonnaise), fibrous (fruits & vegetables), gels (gelatin & jelly), liquid (juices), porous (marshmallow) and more! Items like bread, cheese, or peanut butter are examples of a combination of several components mixed together in a unique way. The Food Matrix is best left in tact. Chopping, blending, juicing, and milling are examples of how to break down the Food Matrix. Once a Food Matrix is broken down, the food then behaves differently in one's body. This allows larger amounts of fat and sugar to be taken up by the blood stream, causing one to be more reactive to that particular food than if that food had just been eaten as a 'whole food' item. High levels of food processing always effect the Food Matrix in a negative way, effecting it's digestibility.
Eat most foods as "whole" as much as possible, keeping the food matrix in tact.
DAY 24 - My Results Arrived!
Insight Report - Dietary Inflammation and logged meals report
This 125 page document was Part 1 of the Insights report. It contained information on my overall Blood Sugar Control. The blood sugar score was calculated by my response to the muffins as compared to others in the program, my glucose and triglyceride values from the lipid test, and my two-week blood sugar sensor data, as well as my self declared health profile.
My Blood Sugar Control Score was 41 (poor). In comparison to others my same age, their scores were 27 (poor) to 68 (good). Yep, kind of disappointing, but not totally surprised based on my blood sugar sensor readings.
Next up was my Blood Fat Control score. This score was determined by my triglyceride response to the muffins as compared to others in the program, my cholesterol taken from the lipid test, and my self declared health profile. My Blood Fat Control score was 80 (excellent)! Wow, that is good news to hear! In comparison to to others my same age, their scores were 32 (poor) to 68 (good).
The report goes on to explain how ZOE uses my blood sugar and blood fat scores to rate each food and give it a numerical score of 0 to 100 that is personal to me. Foods that are most valuable to me, that I can "Enjoy freely", are given a score of 75 to 100 and will be color coded as dark green. The foods that I can "Enjoy regularly" are given a score of 50 to 74 and are light green. Those foods I should "Enjoy in moderation" are color coded yellow and given a score of 25 to 49. And finally, the foods that I should only eat "Once in a while" are orange and score 0 to 24.
The magic of the scores is what happens when you combine foods to create a meal. This gives you the power to build your meals and still maintain an acceptable score (50+). Zoe factors in the sequencing of your meals throughout the day as well. For example, an avocado may be worth 100 points at breakfast, but only 73 points at dinner based on how much other fat you had during the day. ZOE also gives you an overall daily score based on the foods you ate and it's predicted impact on your blood sugar, blood fats, and your microbiome (gut bugs).
Remember the three slices of bread I ate on Day 8 for breakfast? That meal scored a lousy 27 points. But when I added the 2.1 ounces cheese to the three slices of bread on Day 10, that breakfast scored 42 points. The power of combining foods gives you an opportunity to "level up"!
Out of the 56 meals and snacks I logged in the app during the testing period, my highest scoring meal was 76, which was breakfast containing a whole milk vanilla yogurt, 1 ounce raw gouda cheese and .5 ounces pecans. My highest scoring snack was pecans at 100 points and cashews a close second at 93 points. A pleasant surprise was that Beanitos black bean tortilla-style chips also had a great score of 86. My lowest scoring meal was at a Mexican restaurant which was a big fat zero because it contained too much fat and not enough high scoring foods.
Gut Health Insights
After reading Part 1 of the Insights report, I moved onto Part 2, which was 50 pages on my gut health. Remember that poop sample taken on day two? Well, here are the results.
Out of the 15 "Good Bugs" that are associated with good health outcomes, I only had four of them present. My highest was Ellie (Eubacterium eilegn) at 4.12% which is found in 82.5% of the tested population at an average rate of 1.065%. I am considered to have a "very high" amount of Ellie, which is really the best news I got.
Next up was the 15 "Bad Bugs" and yep, I had most of them, all but two. These bugs are associated with a less favorable metabolism, high blood pressure, and poor blood sugar control. My highest was Edi (Eggerthella leta) at 1.85%. This bug is found in 79% or the tested population at a rate of .067%. There is also a good parasite called Blastocystis that I tested negative for. It is present in 26% of the people tested and is associated with lower abdominal fat and a better metabolism.
The upside was that even though I had 13 of the 15 "Bad Bugs" present in my gut, they were all at lower levels, ranging from 1.85% to .004%.
The good news is that ZOE does account for your good and bad bugs! You are given a list of "Gut Boosters" to help improve your gut bug balance and "Gut Suppressors" that tend to inhibit your gut health. The goal is to add as many of the "Gut Booster" into your diet while avoiding the "Gut Suppressors" as much as possible.
Time to Begin the ZOE Method of Eating...
The app was now updated with all of my personalized food scores. I spent a couple of days searching for foods, creating favorites lists, adding recipes, etc. Everyday there is a "To-do list", so you will be guided every step of the way.
Week 1-2
Goal was to create meals with a score of 50+ per meal.
Week 3-4
Goal was to create meals with a score of 60+ per meal.
One Month check-in
I have learned that working with the ZOE app is kind of like playing a game. You can play around with various options to try to raise the scores for any meal. I quickly found out that adding 1/2 cup of beans to any meal raises the score considerably. Obviously most vegetables and fruits scored the highest with nuts and dairy products coming in second. Again, this is personalized, so it will vary from person to person.
I did notice that my bowel habits became more regular but there had been no change in my energy levels, quality of sleep or weight. At this point, I decided to re-evaluate my scores and overall progress. I decided to make some minor adjustments, like not eating as many nuts, even though they score high for me (70+). I felt like it was just adding too much extra fat to my daily total. I also began adding in some whole grains, like sprouted oatmeal (74), which I had not been eating much of because of the Paleo or low-grain approach of eating I had been doing previously.
Week 5-6
Goal was to create a daily ZOE score of 60+.
Week 7-8
Goal was to create a daily ZOE score of 65+.
Two Month check-in
This month I shifted from a "meal" focus to a total "daily" score focus. I learned how to best sequence my meals, by not eating them too close together, and to work with my personal fat tolerance. ZOE had two recommended methods to improve my daily score, the "Simple Math" Method and the "Planner Method". The Simple Math Method is easy, I simply ate 60+ or 65+ meals throughout the day and typically that landed me with a daily score of 60+ or 65+ if I was careful with my fat intake. The daily ZOE score also factored in the amount of fat I ate, how I sequenced the fat throughout the day, and the quality of the fats I chose. It takes 6 - 8 hours to clear fat (lipids) from the blood, so that is factored into the personalized daily score. The second method is the Planner Method that takes just a bit more...well planning. Not every meal scores 60+ or 65+, but the overall daily score does. This was very helpful when I decide to eat out for a meal, which tends to be lower quality and therefore lowered scored meals. For example, I could have a breakfast with a score of 70, a lunch of 90 and then dinner "out" with a score of 50. The daily ZOE score would still likely balance out to be 60+ or 65+.
This month I also learned more about the fabulous gut microbiome. I learned all about probiotics, prebiotics, and postbiotics. I actually already knew most of this, but it was a great reminder. The probiotics are the good bugs in our gut that eat prebiotics which are essentially plant fibers and polyphenols. Hint...the list of "Gut Boosters" given to me was the preferred source of prebiotics for my gut bugs. My "Gut Boosters" were things like avocados, a variety of nuts and seeds, certain fruits and vegetables, certain beans, olive oil, and almond butter. Interestingly enough, not a single grain made it to my list as being beneficial to my gut bugs.
Most people have heard about probiotics and prebiotics, but what about postbiotics? Well, postbiotics are the treasure trove of waste created by your microbes as they eat the prebiotics. Their waste creates important things like B vitamins, vitamin K, short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), and antimicrobial molecules. The B vitamins are used to create cellular energy, especially the brain functions while vitamin K assists with proper blood clotting. SCFAs effect your metabolism, are anti-inflammatory, and help to maintain the gut lining. The antimicrobial molecules keep the bad bugs in check and help to improve immune function. I find it ironic that the above listed items are the exact supplements that many people take as if the only way to get them is by synthetic supplementation. By eating a variety of nutrient dense plants, the bugs in the gut can make all the postbiotic B vitamins, vitamin K, SCFAs, and antimicrobics that one may need. More examples of the postbiotics created by these good gut microbes are chemicals that regulate nerve signals and body functions, such as appetite, digestion, heart rate, immune response, and mood.
There is a direct connection between the gut and the brain. This is a two-way communication system called the gut-brain axis which is comprised of the endocrine system pathway, the immune system pathway, and the vagus nerve pathway. Think of these are superhighways that carry information between the gut and brain. It is amazing what those little microbes can do! Serotonin, which creates those stable feelings of happiness and wellness, 90% of it is produced by the gut microbes and 70% of your immune system resides in the gut as well. To sum it up, a healthy gut = a healthy body! So avoid things like antibiotics, low fiber diets, ultra processed foods, and unmanaged stress, which all encourage the growth of the bad bugs and reduce the good bugs along with all their beneficial postbiotic molecules.
Week 9-10
Goal was to create a daily ZOE score of 70+ and expand my diet diversity.
Week 11-12
Goal was to create a daily ZOE score of 75+, continue to expand my diversity, & be more mindful.
Three Month check-in
Wow, I can't believe 3 months has passed since I received my ZOE results and began logging and tracking my food in the app. It really has caused me to change the way I build a meal. I no longer look at food as macronutrient groups of fats, carbs and protein. It really is about the big picture of overall nutritious food consumption as a whole. I realize I can eat just about any food, but when and how I do has changed and there is no need for guilt or shame to be associated with those rich, satisfying foods. It really is about balance and a little moderation.
I have to say that I am now sleeping better and have more energy during the day than prior to the ZOE experience. The changes were very slow and might not seem significant to others, but I can feel them and that is what really counts. I track my sleep with an Oura ring and I have noticed that my sleep has slowly improved over the last 3 months. My overall sleep scores, amount of deep sleep, and amount of REM sleep have all trended upwards. An even more significant change has been in my "Readiness score" that the Oura ring gives you each morning. This is a combined score of how active you were the day before, how well you slept and how well you recovered from the previous days activities based on your resting heart rate, heart rate variability, temperature, respirations, and a few other metrics. I ended the ZOE experience with the highest "Readiness score" monthly average (85) since I have had the Oura ring starting in December of 2020. What that equates to in my life is that I am now more physically active during the day, sleeping better during the night and I am able to recover better from the previous days stress and activities. I consider that a big win!
Even though my weight remained consistent during most of this time, in the last two weeks, I did notice a downward shift with a loss of a couple of pounds. Apparently many people lose up to 15 pounds during their ZOE experience, but I was just not one of them. Perhaps it is because I was already eating a fairly healthy diet of whole nutritious ancestral foods. I was also not eating a large amount of fast food or ultra processed foods like many people do. So, I am happy to have maintained my weight with just a slight loss at the end.
I would also like to say that I have a much happier gut. My bowel habits are very regular with an ideal consistency. Along with a happy gut comes a happy microbiome full of beneficial bugs. That leads to healthier skin, hair and nails too! I must say that the lingering bit of eczema on my torso is completely gone now too, my hair has less fall-out and my nails are longer and stronger.
My Lessons Learned...
(Keep in mind that some of these are personal to me based on my ZOE testing results.)
Aim to eat five servings of plants per day. This includes beans, fruits, nuts, seeds, & vegetables. A diversity of 30 different plants per week is key. Way easier than I thought!
Eat more eggs and whole full-fat dairy products than meat. I now typically have meat once or less per day. This is so opposite of the paleo or low-carb approach I was used to.
Eat for your gut bugs! They like plant fibers, resistant starches, and polyphenols. They do not like excess sugar, highly processed foods, antibiotics or synthetic supplements.
Eating grain-free for many years likely lowered the beneficial bugs in my gut, so having limited amounts of whole grains is ok for me as they have fiber and resistant starch.
No food is off-limits, including dessert. The "diet culture" rules are gone forever! Restricting food groups & macronutrients lowers the amount of good bugs & gut diversity.
Keep food sequencing in mind. Eat protein, fat & fiber first, followed by carbohydrates. So for example, 2 eggs with a slice of whole-grain buttered toast, followed by a Kiwi fruit.
Eat most foods in their whole-food matrix. Whole almonds are better than almond flour as the body has to work harder to digest the whole almond, lowering it's caloric intake.
Final Thoughts...
I have thoroughly enjoyed my ZOE experience. It has been a fun and informative experience to better learn how my body responds to foods and what foods suit me best. It is a way of eating that can not be categorized as a particular diet and I like that. I think it is best referred to as a method of eating, the "ZOE method". I certainly feel that an average person would come away from this well informed and in better health. Yes, I would absolutely do it again and I will continue to tell others about my experience.
For more information on the ZOE method, click here. https://joinzoe.com/
*Please note that ZOE does not accommodate food allergies or intolerances at this time. However, it is easy enough to just avoid those foods as one might typically do.