Frequently Asked Questions: UK

ZOE is proven to deliver better health outcomes than generalised dietary advice, as evidenced by our randomised controlled trial (RCT). Participants who were assigned ZOE felt better - including improved mood, better sleep quality, more energy, reduced feelings of hunger, and significantly improved gut health (microbiome composition). Read more here.

We also have evidence from our microbiome retesting data that members who follow ZOE advice see an improvement in their gut microbiome score. Of 500 members, 82% of ZOE members increased their microbiome score by following our advice.

ZOE is scientifically rigorous in its approach, unrivalled by any company in the industry in terms of clinical trials, robust scientific research and a dedicated team of scientists and nutrition professionals looking to improve health through practical, evidence-based advice. The ZOE METHOD Study - the company’s randomised controlled trial - tested the ZOE program and its efficacy on health outcomes, proving that it works. Our approach differs from others on the market due to our holistic approach to testing, taking several factors into account, including your blood sugar control, blood fat control, gut microbiome health, diet quality, and family/health history.

ZOE was co-founded by Professor Tim Spector OBE, a medical doctor who worked in the NHS for many years, and Professor of Epidemiology at King’s College London. Our Chief Scientist, Sarah Berry, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at King’s College London and her research focuses on precision nutrition, postprandial metabolism, fat and food  structure. 

A full list of our Scientific Advisory Board can be found here.

ZOE is scientifically rigorous in its approach, unrivalled by others in the industry in terms of clinical trials, robust research and a dedicated team of scientists and nutrition professionals looking to improve health through useful, evidence-based advice. We have over 30 peer-reviewed published papers on the science that has been built into the programme, and we're transparent about our science, sharing our breakthrough findings with the public, academic conferences and the scientific community through high-impact publications that undergo a peer review process. Our ZOE Science & Nutrition podcast features the world’s leading scientists who explain the latest research in an accessible way to millions of listeners.

The ZOE membership is available in the UK mainland, including Scottish Highlands and NI. The ZOE program is not currently available in Jersey or Guernsey.

Firstly, thank you so much for taking part in the ZOE COVID/Health Study! Thanks to you, we’ve been able to directly contribute to the fight against COVID-19 and chronic diseases in the UK and across the globe. We’re so proud of everything you’ve helped us achieve!

ZOE means life in Greek.

Founded by Jonathan, George and Tim in 2018. ZOE was designed to be something new. They bet that new technologies like machine learning and microbiome sequencing could enable scientific research at an unprecedented scale, allowing us to understand individual responses in the real world.

ZOE is a global brand that uses data-driven research to tackle global health issues and help optimise health for everyone. Through ZOE’s core research focus on the microbiome and gut health, we discovered that anyone can improve their health by understanding their unique biology.

The PREDICT 1 & 2 Studies were the largest nutritional studies of their kind, enabled by remote data-gathering through a mobile phone app. This research formed the scientific foundation of ZOE.

When the COVID pandemic hit, ZOE rapidly applied their predictive data expertise to study COVID-19 at scale. Through self-reported symptoms and test results, contributors built a picture of the pandemic playing out in real time. It enabled scientists to predict case numbers and locations, while also discovering unknown symptoms of the new disease. We’re incredibly proud of the work our team and our ZOE COVID Study contributors have been able to achieve.

The ZOE Health Study is an evolution of the ZOE COVID Study. Using the same approach, we hope to unlock the secrets of the immune system and understand how everyday behaviour can reduce the risk of chronic diseases, from cancer to dementia.

We do not diagnose, prevent, or treat any diseases (including metabolic or inflammatory conditions). If you have any underlying health conditions you should consult your doctor before joining ZOE.

Eating disorders

If you have an active eating disorder (e.g. anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa), you are not eligible to join the ZOE programme. If you have a history of eating disorders, the ZOE programme may be triggering, so check with your doctor before signing up.

Chronic conditions and diabetes

We do factor some conditions into our advice, including many common medications for diabetes (e.g. metformin) and heart disease (e.g. statins).

To access the blood sensor you'll also need to consent to take part in our study, which excludes chronic diseases like diabetes. Read more about our entry criteria here.

Gut issues

Unfortunately, if you have a gut disease (e.g. Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or celiac disease) then you are not eligible for the ZOE membership.

If you have a sensitive gut (e.g. irritable bowel syndrome) then you may join the programme. However, you should understand that our advice is for general wellness and is not specifically formulated for your condition. Some diet changes we recommend such as increasing fibre and diversifying your plant intake have been shown to trigger adverse responses in some people with a sensitive gut. Whilst we give advice that is suitable for most people, following our advice could make your condition worse. We are actively researching how we might be able to adjust our advice specifically for people living with irritable bowel syndrome.

Yes, ZOE is safe to use whilst on GLP1s for weight loss. In fact, users of GLP1s are most likely to see greater weight loss if they use the GLP1s in conjunction with lifestyle changes, including eating healthily. We see using ZOE whilst on GLP1s as a key opportunity to develop healthy, positive, sustainable eating habits, to set yourself up for success both whilst on the GLP1s, and then stick to these habits once you stop the GLP1s.

Not at this moment, but it is an idea for the future.

Our membership is the first of its kind to combine microbiome analysis, blood testing, food logging and continuous blood sugar monitoring. This provides 360° metabolic analysis that can be conducted remotely within the comfort of your own home.

Here's what's included in the ZOE membership:

Gut microbiome test

Understand your gut microbiome health. Our simple at-home poo test is patent pending with the most advanced analysis on the market. Using deep shotgun sequencing, we can identify specific 'good' and 'bad' gut bugs that are linked to 'good' and 'bad' metabolic health.

Blood sugar & fat metabolism tests

Understand your unique metabolism. Simple tests (blood test, test meal, and optional blood sugar sensor) measure your blood sugar and blood fat levels after eating food. The specially formulated test meal has changed slightly over the years but remains true to the original recipe used in the ZOE PREDICT studies.

Your responses to food

6 weeks after testing, you'll get the test results of your microbiome and metabolic health and a ZOE analysis of what it means for your health.

Members app

Get access to the ZOE app where you'll learn your unique responses to any food, recipe or meal. Use the app to track your diet, get a motivating day score, and learn how to improve.

Personalised program

Learn how to eat for your biology with a personalised week-by-week plan. We’ll guide and empower you to make better decisions daily. Over the months of your membership, these changes will be conditioned into long-term habits.

Our test kits alone cost over £1000. Because of our scale, we can make substantial savings that we pass on to our customers.

We are in the process of testing new pricing and memberships so we can continue to learn how to best serve our members. The total cost of the ZOE membership will depend on which pricing plan and optional add-ons you choose to purchase.

Gut health guidance

Discover how good your microbiome is and specific foods to help you boost the good microbes you are missing.

No, ZOE tests cannot be bought without a membership. The scientific insights from our tests are powerful, but it's the ZOE membership that turns them into long-lasting habits.

The app gives you access to your personalised ZOE Scores for any food or meal, access to our team of expert nutrition coaches and daily bite-sized lessons designed to help you reach your goals.

Taking the tests alone makes achieving long-term health goals harder for our members, so we do not recommend it.

The total cost will depend on which tier you choose to purchase.

Starter

• 4-month plan

• £299 upfront to cover the testing phase

• £35 monthly as a rolling payment for 4 months

Thrive

• 12-month plan

• £299 upfront to cover the testing phase

• £25 monthly as a rolling payment for 12 months

• 1 Gut Health retest is included at 4 months

Thrive Plus

• 12-month plan

• £599 upfront to cover the testing phase

• £25 monthly as a rolling payment for 12 months

• 3 Gut Health retests are included at 4 months, 7 months, and 10 months

We will email a notification and DPD tracking number when your ZOE testing kit is shipped. DPD (our UK shipping partner) provides delivery options for rescheduling or leaving in a safe place in cases where you won’t be home.
Don’t worry if you aren’t ready to start ZOE on your delivery day. We'll work with you to choose a good time for your test.

Our easy-to-use gut microbiome test uses the most advanced technique, called shotgun metagenomics. It looks at the DNA of your gut bacteria and lets us analyse your entire microbiome. From this, we can identify the individual “good” and “bad” bacteria in your gut - and it's also enabled us to discover hundreds of species of bacteria that are entirely new to science. 

Unlike many available gut microbiome tests, which focus on just one gene, ours looks at more than 5 million marker genes. This allows scientists to collect genetic information about bacteria that no one has seen before.

Your cookies were specifically designed by scientists to enable you to test your biological responses. The purpose of the cookies is to challenge your metabolism with high doses of fat and sugar over 6 hours. 

To be able to package the necessary amounts of nutrients in the challenge in a standardized way, we used cookies. We created specific recipes to understand your biology and recommend the best foods for you. 

• The metabolic challenge: you'll receive 2 'breakfast' cookies. Nutritional information for these can be found under 'Breakfast Test Cookies' in the table below. 

• The average meal: you'll receive two 'lunch' cookies. Nutritional information for these can be found under 'Lunch Test Cookies' in the table below.

Ingredients

Breakfast Test Cookie 

• White chocolate chips (cocoa butter, cane sugar, tapioca starch, rice syrup solids, rice maltodextrin, organic vanilla and salt) 

• Flour blend (brown rice flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch, potato starch, stabilizer (xanthan gum)) 

• Palm oil 

• Brown sugar 

• Chickpea flour 

• Tapioca starch 

• Tapioca syrup 

• Less than 2% of: water, vanilla bean extractives, salt

Lunch Test Cookie

• Flour blend (brown rice flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch, potato starch, stabilizer (xanthan gum))

• Brown sugar

• Chickpea flour 

• Tapioca starch 

• Less than 2% of: 

  • water

  • tapioca syrup

  • vanilla bean extractives

  • salt 

  • Color: FD&C Blue #1 (Brilliant Blue FCF) 

  • Raising agent: Baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, cornstarch, monocalcium phosphate))

Allergy information

Our test cookies do not contain any of the eight major food allergens (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soy).

However, they have been made in a facility that also handles tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and eggs.

We do not use organic or non-GMO ingredients but we do source supplies from reliable companies.

Nutritional information per 100g

Please reach out if you would like more information about these test meals.

To get a free blood sugar sensor with your test kit you must consent to our clinical study. The cost of the program does not include any study-related costs (including the blood sugar sensor) as ZOE covers these. To be eligible for the study you must meet the following criteria:

• You are at least 18 years of age

• You live in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland

• You have a body mass index (BMI) of at least 16.5kg/m2

• You are not pregnant

• You have not had a heart attack (myocardial infarction), stroke/transient ischemic attack or major surgery in the last two months

• You can safely eat our test cookies (See 'What is the nutrition information of the cookies?' above for the ingredient list)

• If you are being treated for chronic medical conditions (including type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes), you have checked with your treating physician that this product is safe for you (note that to participate in the PREDICT 3 study you must not have been diagnosed with eating disorders, type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes)

The poo test is easy to collect and comes with step-by-step instructions to help you. The sample goes into a solution that preserves it, so there is no need to store it in your fridge. Phew!

There's a variety of next-generation sequencing approaches for studying the human microbiome. We chose shotgun metagenomics as it is the most comprehensive approach at sampling the whole DNA content of a microbiome.

This technique can detect very low abundance members of the microbial community (i.e. those found in very small numbers) that may be missed using other methods and provides information about the metabolic processes and functions present within a microbial community.

You can learn more about how we analyse your gut microbiome here.

As of September 2023, we have reformulated our previous muffin test meal into a cookie form that is now suitable for vegans and vegetarians. 

They are also free of all major allergens and alcohol but have been made in a facility that handles tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and eggs.

The cookies are not certified gluten-free or kosher. 

If you received a test kit that contains muffins, please note that while our muffins do not contain gluten or dairy, they do contain egg. 

The muffins have been produced in a facility that also handles milk, egg, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts and soy. 

When you pre-order your kit for a future month, we'll ship it to you during that month. Once it's shipped, it should be with you within 3-5 days. We'll let you know via email when your order's on its way and give you a tracking number to follow it.

ZOE is designed to help members make smarter food choices for overall health. ZOE members wear the Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) for 2 weeks, which is just one part of our programme. During this time, members also have the option to try blood sugar challenges  if they’re curious about how different food combinations and daily movement can affect their blood sugar responses. We help members understand their blood sugar results with in-app resources and access to our trained nutrition coaches, explaining that blood sugar rises are normal and healthy. Research on CGM use in people without diabetes is evolving and several studies, including our own, point to a benefit in understanding blood sugar fluctuations after meals and throughout the day. 

ZOE goes beyond guiding on blood sugar responses alone. We also consider  the gut microbiome, blood fat responses, your personal/family health history, and diet.  We don’t believe wearing a CGM is necessary over the long term for people without diabetes, however, it is useful as one of the metrics to create the baseline for the personalised advice, including food scores, in the ZOE app.

Yes - there are some criteria that mean you can’t join the study and therefore will be unable to access the blood sugar sensor (also known as a continuous glucose monitor or CGM):

• Pregnancy

• If you’ve had a heart attack (myocardial infarction) or stroke/transient ischemic attack in the last two months

• If you’ve had major surgery in the last two months

• If you cannot safely eat our test cookies (See 'Are your test meals suitable for vegans or vegetarians?' above for ingredient list)

• If you’re being treated for chronic conditions including type 1 and type 2 diabetes

• If you’re unable to fast for four hours

• If you have a BMI of less than 16.5

To get a blood sugar sensor you must consent to our clinical study. There are no additional costs to you for having to do so. After purchasing a ZOE plan, you will be directed to a page where you are prompted to complete your order and consent to our study. To be eligible, you must meet the following criteria:

• You are at least 18 years of age

• You live in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland

• You have a body mass index (BMI) of at least 16.5kg/m2

• You are not pregnant

• You have not had a heart attack (myocardial infarction), stroke/transient ischemic attack or major surgery in the last two month

• You can safely eat our test cookies (See 'Are your test meals suitable for vegans or vegetarians?' above for the ingredient list)

• If you are being treated for chronic medical conditions (including type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes), you have checked with your doctor that this product is safe for you (note that to participate in the PREDICT 3 study you must not have been diagnosed with eating disorders, type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes)

The blood sugar sensor (also known as a continuous glucose monitor or CGM) is a blood sugar monitoring device manufactured by Abbott.

To collect data, it connects to an app on your mobile phone, LibreLink, via a form of wireless technology called near field communication, NFC. As such, it can only work with newer devices that have this function.

App compatibility

To check your device meets requirements, please download and attempt to install it as follows:

• iPhone users should attempt to download the LibreLink app here

• Android users should attempt to download the LibreLink app here

Device compatibility

iPhone

• The sensor is only compatible with an iPhone 7 or later / iPhone SE (2nd gen)

• Your phone will need to run iOS 15 or later

• We can't support iPads

Android

• You’ll need Android 8 or later

• The oldest devices we support are: Galaxy Note 8, S7 Edge, S8, S8+, S9, S10; Google Pixel, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL; LG Nexus 5X

• You need to be able to install apps from the Google Play Store - some recent Huawei phones cannot

You can shower or bathe while wearing the blood sugar sensor. However, it shouldn’t be taken below a depth of 1 metre (3ft) in water or submerged in water for more than 30 minutes as this could break or deactivate it.

That’s why we recommend that you avoid swimming or using saunas or steam rooms until you’ve finished your test.

The sensor comes provided with a plastic applicator. Cleaning the skin with the provided alcohol wipe, you place this firmly on the skin. With a firm ‘stamping’ motion, it gets applied. Some people may feel a slight pinching sensation, but this goes away soon after and the sensor should be painless to wear.

We recommend placing it on the back of your arm to avoid knocking the sensor and potentially dislodging it. We’ll also provide you with a latex-free sticker to cover the sensor, to keep it extra safe!

Absolutely! We actually encourage it to see how exercise affects your sugar response. If you play contact sports, plan to wear your sensor when you’re not playing a game, or position it somewhere that is unlikely to get hit.

No. ZOE covers any specific study-related costs, so you do not pay extra for the sensor.

The sensor lasts for approximately two weeks. We’ll gather the crucial information - your response to the test cookies - over a few days. For the remainder of the time, you’re free to experiment with different foods to get visual real-time feedback on how your body responds to sugar. You can also explore how different interventions can minimise the detrimental impact of sugar on your body.

No. Sensors are only available as part of the test kit and as such are limited to one per person.

You will receive one LibreLink sensor. This sensor is worn and collects data for up to two weeks. We are able to get all we need for your results from this time window.

To get your results you will first need to complete your tests at home and return your samples in the package provided. From there it currently takes about 6 weeks for our labs to process your samples. You will then receive an email as soon as your insight reports are ready to view.

In some cases, results will take longer to process due to retesting. If you need to retest due to issues with any of your samples, we will contact you via email immediately. From the point of retesting, you can expect to receive your results within 4-6 weeks.

No, we don't have sample reports that we can share.

Here's what you can expect to receive:

• A dietary inflammation profile (blood sugar & blood fat control), scored from 0-100, 'Bad' to 'Excellent'

• An introduction to our food scores

• Personalised food insights for your meals logged during your testing week

• The abundance of 50 "good" and "bad" microbes from your gut health sample

We recently made a breakthrough discovery in gut microbiome science, identifying the top 50 ‘good’ bugs associated with good health markers, and the 50 ‘bad’ bugs associated with bad health markers. This is based on our analysis of 35,000 stool samples, enabling us to identify thousands of bacteria that are entirely new to science. Read more here.

Yes. The ZOE app is currently available on both iOS (iPhone or iPad with iOS version 15 or later) and Android devices (Samsung, LG, Motorola etc. with Android 8.0 or later).

You'll also need to download and use the Abbott FreeStyle LibreLink app if you've opted-in to our study and will be using the blood sugar sensor.

UK

In order to be able to opt-in to the study, your phone must be compatible with the Abbott FreeStyle LibreLink app.

Device requirements:

• iPhone iOS 15 or later and an iPhone 7 or newer. / iPhone SE (2nd gen). We can't support iPads

• Android 8.0 or later. The oldest Android devices supported are: Galaxy Note 8, S7 Edge, S8, S8+, S9, S10; Google Pixel, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL; LG Nexus 5X. You'll also need to check you can install apps from the Google Play Store (some recent Huawei phones cannot)

• If you cancel within 14 days of receiving the kit and return an unopened box, you'll get a full refund minus return shipping costs.

• If you cancel within 14 days and have opened the box, you won't be eligible for a refund on the kit. On our Thrive Plus tier, we will refund you the difference between the total amount of your testing payment and the cost for initial testing on our Starter tier (to reflect the Thrive Plus unused gut health retests). Because test kits contain medical equipment and food, it would not be safe for us to accept opened box returns. But if it is within 14 days of receiving the kit, you can still cancel your membership in full.

• If you request to cancel more than 14 days after receiving your kit, this will cancel your membership auto-renewal. Your membership will continue for the period you originally committed to.

You can manage your membership in the ZOE app. In the menu, tap on ‘Settings’ > 'Account settings' > 'Membership'.

If you want to cancel within 14 days of receiving your kit, please contact us via the customer support chat feature in the app’s Membership page or by emailing hello@joinzoe.com.

To cancel your membership auto-renewal you can either use the button in the app's Membership page or email us at hello@joinzoe.com.

We're sorry to hear about any disappointment, and we're eager to sort it out. Thank you for taking the time to talk to us. We want to ensure that we're aware of any issues so we can correct them, not just for you, but for others, too. We'll do our best not to make the same mistake again.

If you would like to raise a complaint, please email us anytime at complaints@joinzoe.com. Our complaints team will acknowledge your message within 48 hours and will review your case thoroughly within the following 5-7 working days.

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When you choose to pay with Klarna, your instalments will be automatically deducted from your bank account or credit card on a schedule determined at checkout. There are no additional fees or interest if payments are made on time.

If you miss an instalment, Klarna may charge a late fee. Klarna will also contact you with a revised payment schedule, so it's important to stay up to date with your payments.

Klarna conducts a soft credit check when you apply for an instalment plan, which does not affect your credit score. However, missing payments could potentially be reported to credit bureaus.

You can manage your payments and view your payment schedule by logging into your Klarna account. Klarna will also send payment reminders before each due date.

If you have questions or encounter issues with your Klarna payments, you can contact Klarna's customer support, which is available via their website or app for assistance.