Davinia Taylor’s Approved Food List

Davinia Taylor has carved out a unique place in the wellness space with her candid, no-nonsense approach to health, fitness, and biohacking. The former actress has transformed her life by improving her food choices and by implementing wellness routines – but what exactly does she eat and which foods does she recommend to achieve optimal health and wellbeing?

Formerly known for her time on Hollyoaks, Davinia Taylor has since shifted gears, dedicating herself to learning about the body, brain chemistry, and how food can influence everything from mood to metabolism.

Her journey of transformation—particularly her battle with alcohol dependency, weight fluctuations, and chronic fatigue—has made her a relatable voice in a world often filled with unattainable wellness standards. Davinia doesn’t follow fad diets or calorie obsession. Instead, she focuses on what she calls “bio-individual nutrition,” where food is chosen based on how it fuels and supports the body on a cellular level.

One of the cornerstones of her philosophy is avoiding processed and inflammatory foods. She frequently criticizes mainstream diet advice, particularly the demonization of fat, and instead embraces whole foods rich in nutrients and healthy fats. She also promotes daily habits like intermittent fasting, cold water immersion, and mindfulness as part of her holistic approach.

Eat for Brain Chemistry, Not Calories

Davinia Taylor’s wellness philosophy is rooted in the understanding that our brains drive our cravings, mood, and motivation. She often emphasizes that rather than obsessing over calorie counting, individuals should focus on how food affects their brain chemistry – particularly neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. These brain chemicals influence how we feel, how we behave, and how likely we are to stick with healthy habits.

Taylor has openly shared her struggles with addiction and emotional eating, noting that poor food choices can create a rollercoaster of highs and crashes. Sugar and processed foods may provide a short burst of pleasure, but they can disrupt neurotransmitter balance, leading to mood swings, fatigue, and cravings. In contrast, foods that support stable dopamine levels—such as high-quality proteins and healthy fats—can help people feel more balanced and in control.

For Taylor, food is a tool to regulate the mind. She advocates for nutrient-dense meals that stabilize blood sugar and encourage dopamine regulation without relying on stimulants or quick fixes. In this way, eating becomes less about restriction and more about empowerment—fuelling the brain to help you make better decisions, stay focused, and feel mentally strong.

Biohack Your Metabolism

Biohacking is a cornerstone of Davinia Taylor’s approach to health. She believes that by making informed, strategic food choices, you can "hack" your body's metabolism to burn fat more efficiently, reduce inflammation, and boost energy. For Taylor, this isn't about following mainstream diet rules but about understanding your body’s individual responses to food.

One of her key strategies is prioritizing mitochondrial health—the tiny powerhouses in our cells responsible for energy production. She highlights how a sluggish metabolism often stems from underperforming mitochondria, which can be revitalized through specific dietary choices such as consuming MCT oil, fatty fish, and organ meats. These foods help support cellular energy and enhance the body's ability to burn fat.

Taylor also integrates intermittent fasting and cold exposure into her routine, both of which have been shown to improve metabolic flexibility. She’s a fan of experimenting—testing how her body reacts to different eating windows, supplement protocols, and fat intake. In her view, tuning in to how you feel after eating is more valuable than blindly following a meal plan.

Prioritize Healthy Fats

While mainstream diet advice has long demonized fat, Davinia Taylor is on a mission to flip that narrative. She credits her improved mental and physical health to embracing healthy fats and cutting out processed, low-fat alternatives. Fats, she argues, are not only essential for hormone production and brain function but are also the key to feeling full and satisfied.

Taylor’s daily meals often include ingredients like MCT oil, grass-fed butter, olive oil, and oily fish. These fats provide a slow, steady source of energy and help stabilize blood sugar—reducing the likelihood of energy crashes and cravings. In her view, the right fats can make the difference between constantly battling hunger and feeling genuinely nourished.

She’s also a vocal critic of seed oils such as sunflower, canola, and soybean oils, which she says contribute to systemic inflammation and metabolic dysfunction. Instead, she recommends traditional fats like lard, goose fat, and beef dripping—ingredients our ancestors consumed long before the rise of modern chronic diseases.

Avoid Ultra-Processed Foods

At the core of Taylor’s wellness ethos is a strict avoidance of ultra-processed foods. She believes that modern food products—laden with emulsifiers, additives, and preservatives—are largely to blame for the rise in chronic illness, mental health issues, and disordered eating. Her guiding principle is: if your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize it, don’t eat it.

She often points to ingredients like carrageenan, maltodextrin, and artificial sweeteners as particularly harmful. These substances, while common in "health" foods, can wreak havoc on the gut microbiome and disrupt hormonal balance. Taylor argues that even items marketed as diet-friendly—such as low-fat yogurts or sugar-free protein bars—can do more harm than good.

Instead, she champions a return to real food. Meals built from whole, recognizable ingredients like meat, vegetables, natural fats, and fermented foods form the cornerstone of her diet. She urges people to read labels carefully and to be sceptical of anything that comes in a package claiming to be "low fat" or "guilt-free."

Focus on Electrolyte & Mineral Balance

Unlike conventional diet plans that limit salt intake, Davinia Taylor emphasizes the importance of mineral and electrolyte balance for optimal health. She has spoken about how modern life—especially stress, caffeine, and alcohol—can deplete key minerals like magnesium, potassium, and sodium, leading to fatigue, brain fog, and poor sleep.

Taylor includes homemade electrolyte drinks in her daily routine, often using sea salt, magnesium citrate, and potassium chloride. These drinks help her stay hydrated and energized, particularly during fasting or after sauna and cold exposure sessions. She believes that proper mineral intake can make a bigger difference in how you feel day-to-day than simply counting calories or cutting carbs.

She’s also an advocate for magnesium-rich foods and supplementation, especially for those struggling with anxiety or sleep disturbances. Her advice: don’t fear salt—fear imbalance. Getting the right ratio of minerals is key to maintaining nerve function, hydration, and energy production.

Choose Nutrient-Dense, Whole Foods

Davinia Taylor’s grocery list is full of foods that are as close to their natural form as possible. She believes that nutrient density—not volume—is what matters most when it comes to feeling and functioning at your best. Organ meats like liver, shellfish like oysters, and fermented products like kefir and sauerkraut are all staples in her fridge.

These foods are packed with vitamins, minerals, and co-factors that are often missing from a standard Western diet. Rather than relying on multivitamins, Taylor prefers to get her nutrients from food whenever possible. She believes that the body absorbs and utilizes nutrients more effectively when they come from whole sources rather than isolated compounds.

For her, the goal is efficiency—getting maximum nourishment with minimal digestive strain. She encourages people to look beyond just "macros" (carbs, fats, and proteins) and think about micronutrients like zinc, B vitamins, and omega-3s, which play critical roles in mood, energy, and hormonal balance.

Embrace Gut-Healing Ingredients

Gut health is a recurring theme in Davinia Taylor’s content, and for good reason. She believes the gut is the "second brain" and plays a major role in everything from immunity to mood regulation. Her diet includes a variety of gut-supporting foods like bone broth, kimchi, kefir, and sauerkraut.

These foods introduce beneficial bacteria and support the integrity of the gut lining. Taylor often warns against common additives in processed foods—like emulsifiers and sweeteners—which can damage gut health and lead to issues like leaky gut or IBS. She also speaks about the gut-brain axis and how healing the digestive system can reduce anxiety and depression.

In addition to fermented foods, she incorporates collagen peptides, gelatin, and slow-cooked bone-in meats, all of which provide amino acids that help rebuild gut tissue. Her advice: eat slowly, chew thoroughly, and give your gut the nourishment it needs to thrive.

Use Intermittent Fasting for Mental Clarity

Rather than eating every few hours, Davinia Taylor practices intermittent fasting to give her body a break from constant digestion and to enhance cognitive performance. She typically follows a time-restricted eating window, often delaying her first meal until late morning or early afternoon.

Fasting, she explains, helps reset insulin sensitivity, boost human growth hormone, and allow the body to enter a state of "clean-up" (autophagy), where it removes damaged cells and toxins. She reports feeling sharper, calmer, and more focused when she fasts consistently.

Taylor often starts her day with a bulletproof-style coffee—blended with MCT oil and grass-fed butter—to provide sustained energy without breaking her fast. She also emphasizes listening to your body, adjusting fasting windows as needed, and staying hydrated with electrolytes throughout the process.

Ultimately, for her, intermittent fasting isn’t about restriction—it’s about freedom. Freedom from sugar crashes, brain fog, and the need to snack every few hours.

Davinia Taylor’s Approved Food List

If you're curious about what she actually eats—or what she recommends to others looking to rebalance hormones, stabilize mood, or kickstart fat loss—we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of foods that Davinia has directly endorsed or mentioned as part of her routine.