Is Eating 30 Plant Points Per Week the Secret to Good Gut Health?

There’s been lots of buzz in recent years about “gut health” and “plant points”, with many people touting the benefits for our well-being. You may even have heard that eating 30 different plants a week is the key to good gut health. But do you know why this might be true? Or how to actually achieve this? Keep reading to learn the basics of gut health and how you can optimize your gut when you eat 30 plants a week.

What is the gut microbiota and why is it important?  

Before addressing the “30 plants points per week” concept, let’s spend a moment or two outlining the fundamentals of gut health and its importance.     

Roughly 100 trillion microorganisms reside in our digestive tracts (1), including approximately 400 different species (2), which together make up the gut microbiota. These microorganisms feed on dietary fibre found in carbohydrate rich foods such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. The gut microbiota benefit human health in various ways such as by strengthening the gut lining, protecting against pathogens, and helping us absorb nutrients (3).                    

Research has shown a strong connection between the types and diversity of species in a person’s gut with various diseases and conditions. Specifically, low microbiota diversity is linked to inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis, diabetes, eczema, celiac disease, obesity, and arterial stiffness (1).

Therefore, maximizing the health of our gut microbiota has become an integral component of optimizing human health. This is often achieved through diet since what we eat is one of the most influential factors in determining the composition of our gut microbiota. Now, let’s now explore why eating 30 different plants a week may be the best strategy to do so…           

How Can I Improve my Gut Health? 

Although many trendy diets promise you better health if you cut out certain foods from your diet, it may actually be better to focus on which foods to add into your diet.

One of the most influential studies in the field of gut health research is the American Gut Project that took place in 2012. They investigated the microbial diversity between human populations through sequencing the microbiomes of over ten thousand people from the USA, the UK, and Australia. The main discovery that emerged from this study was that individuals who ate at least 30 different plant species per week had greater microbiota diversity (4) (5). Microbiota diversity was also associated with the presence of specific microbial species that produce short chain fatty acids (4) which promote appetite regulation, gut lining integrity, and the prevention of obesity and diabetes (1).   

Interestingly, self reported categories such as “vegan” or “omnivore” did not relate to microbiota diversity (4). That being said, an analysis of the American Gut Project noted that those following plant based or flexitarian diets are more likely than those following western-like or exclusion (eg. low carb) diets to eat the variety of plants needed for microbiota diversity (6). However, if plant diversity is controlled for, the specific diet is not significant. Overall, what matters is the inclusion of more plants into your diet, regardless of whether you choose to consume animal products or not.     

Types of plant points to include in your diet        

In addition to striving to eat 30 different plants a week, it is important to eat plants from different categories. Try to eat something from each of the following 6 plant food categories most days:

1. Whole grains
2. Nuts and seeds
3. Vegetables
4. Fruits
5. Legumes
6. Herbs and spices

Different types of plants contain different types of fibres, phytochemicals, and antioxidants, thus providing different benefits to our health. Ultimately, different bacteria feed on different types of carbohydrates, so a diverse diet leads to a diverse gut microbiota.     

How do I eat 30 plant points a week?

You may be feeling overwhelmed; after all, 30 plants a week from 6 categories sounds like a lot. Luckily, there are simple changes you can make to easily reach this goal!

Here are some quick tips to increasing the variety of plants in your diet:

• Switch your fruit choice: for example, if you always eat your morning cereal with raspberries, swap for blueberries some days 
• Try a new vegetable from the grocery store you don’t recognize: have fun googling different ways to cook with it. Who knows, you may discover a new favourite food!
• Buy mixes: many foods are sold in mixed bags such as beans, greens, and berries
• Add herbs and spices to your cooking: this is also a great way to boost the flavour of your meals!
• Swap out your grains: if you usually switch between eating rice and whole wheat pasta, replace them once in a while with chickpea pasta, corn, or quinoa. Don’t stress over finding completely new recipes, just changing one or two ingredients can make a huge difference!
• Blend vegetables into smoothies: some vegetables such as frozen cauliflower, spinach, and zucchini don’t affect the flavour of smoothies very much, and can even add a nice creamy texture 
• Choose different colours of the same food: for example, red bell peppers contain fewer polyphenols but more vitamin C than green bell peppers (7) so using both is the best choice
• Use seeds as a topper: try flaxseed on cereal or hemp hearts in salad dressings
• Remember 30 different plants a week is achievable: even coffee counts as a plant! With a few small changes, you will be surprised how easily you can diversify your diet

Takeaway

Overall, having a diverse gut microbiota is an important factor in determining our own health. Based on the current research, eating at least 30 different plant points per week may be the best way to achieve this! So, are you ready for the challenge? If you’re struggling with digestive issues, or just want to strengthen your gut health, contact us or book an appointment – we can help!     

References  

1. Valdes, A. M., Walter, J., Segal, E., & Spector, T. D. (2018). Role of the gut microbiota in nutrition and health. BMJ. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2179
2. Quigley, E. M. (2013). Gut bacteria in health and disease. Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 9(9), 560-9. PMID: 24729765
3. Thursby, E.,& Juge, N. (2017). Introduction to the human gut microbiota. The Biochemical journal, 474(11), 1823-36. https://doi.org/10.1042/BCJ20160510
4. McDonald, D., Hyde, E., Debelius, J. W., Morton, J. T., Gonzalez, A., Ackermann, G., Aksenov, A. A., Behsaz, B., Brennan, C., Chen, Y., DeRight Goldasich, L., Dorrestein, P. C., Dunn, R. R., Fahimipour, A. K., Gaffney, J., Gilbert, J. A., Gogul, G., Green, J. L., Hugenholtz, P., … Gunderson, B. (2018). American Gut: An open platform for citizen science microbiome research. mSystems, 3(3). https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.00031-18
5. Project overview. The Microsetta Initiative. https://microsetta.ucsd.edu/project-overview/ 
6. Cotillard, A., Cartier-Meheust, A., Litwin, N. S., Chaumont, S., Saccareau, M., Lejzerowicz, F., Tap, J., Koutnikova, H., Lopez, D. G., McDonald, D., Song, S. J., Knight, R., Derrien, M., & Veiga, P. (2022). A posteriori dietary patterns better explain variations of the gut microbiome than individual markers in the American Gut Project. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 115(2), 432–443. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqab332
7. Marín, A., Ferreres, F., Tomás-Barberán, F. A., & Gil, M. I. (2004). Characterization and quantitation of antioxidant constituents of sweet pepper (capsicum annuum L.). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 52(12), 3861–3869. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf0497915