Is gut health just about taking a probiotic? Or could the bacteria in your gut be shaping your body fat, inflammation and cholesterol?In this episode, Professor Nicola Segata, a pioneer of new gut technology, and ZOE’s Chief Scientist Professor Sarah Berry, explain a major breakthrough in gut science. After analysing more than 34,000 microbiomes, the team identified 50 gut bacteria strongly linked to better health. Even more striking, many of them were previously unknown to science.Nicola explains how his team ranked hundreds of gut bacteria to define the “top 50” linked to better health, and explore how these bacteria group into patterns connected to inflammation, blood sugar, heart health and body fat.We uncover how you can improve your overall health in weeks by optimising your microbiome, ask whether probiotics do what we think they do, and examine why plant diversity may matter more than any single supplement. This episode also reveals what happened when these findings were tested in trials, and why the results surprised even the scientists.Are you feeding the right gut bacteria? And, if not, what will happen to your health if you start today?🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily 30+Get our brand-new app and Gut Health Test designed by world-leading gut health and nutrition scientists to build healthy eating habits 👉 Join ZOEFollow ZOE on Instagram.Timecodes📚Books by our ZOE ScientistsThe Food For Life CookbookEvery Body Should Know This by Dr Federica AmatiFood For Life by Prof. Tim SpectorFerment by Prof. Tim SpectorFree resources from ZOEThe Hormone Harmony Guide: Tuning Your Body’s Internal OrchestraEating for Better Brain Health: Your brain-gut blueprintHow to eat in 2026 - Discover ZOE’s 8 nutrition principles for long-term healthLive Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & NutritionGut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks Better Breakfast GuideMentioned in today's episodeHuge microbiome breakthrough from ZOE, thanks to community scienceDoes ZOE work? The evidenceIntroducing gut bug clustersSending babies to nursery completely reshapes their microbiomes, Nature (2026)The foods you must avoid to live longer | Dan BuettnerHave feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here.Episode transcripts are available here.