A 2018 study found people with the most diverse plant diets had the healthiest guts — a finding that later morphed into a buzzy mantra: eat 30 plants a week.
Since 1991, Americans have been told to “eat five a day.” Most don’t. Only 1 in 10 American adults actually hit that target, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows.
In 2018, researchers behind the British and American Gut Project introduced a punchier goal: instead of five a day, aim for 30 different plants a week.
The exact number isn’t the point, Dr. Travis Phipps said. Diversity is.
Phipps, a family physician for primary care and wellness at Ochsner, said the “challenge” comes down to promoting a more resilient gut microbiome through diverse foods.
Why do experts recommend eating 30 plants a week?
The advice to eat 30 plants a week is based on the project’s study of thousands of people — or, more specifically, their poop. Lower microbial diversity has been linked in studies to chronic conditions including obesity and high blood pressure, though scientists emphasize the relationships are complex.
Closeup of Veggie Skeleton
A wider variety of gut bacteria provides a basis for better overall health and well-being: greater resilience to withstand pathogens, better digestion and better brain function. According to Phipps, a healthy gut can fight off more infections and reduce inflammation.
Trillions of bacteria live inside the gut — that includes the stomach, large intestine and small intestine. Gut bacteria help break down food and produce certain vitamins.
“(Gut health) plays a really broad role in the body,” Phipps said.
Other nutrition experts agree.
According to Joan Frank, assistant program director at the University of California, Davis department of nutrition, the idea of eating 30 plants a week is “nutritionally unimpeachable” and excellent for health unless a person has gastrointestinal problems that may make fiber hard to digest — in which case, proceed with caution.
“However, some people don’t have access to a variety of different plants. We would hate for people to think, ‘I can’t do this because I can’t afford it,’” she said. “You certainly get benefits from eating as many plants as you can.”
The 30-Plant Challenge
To diversify diet, and the gut microbiome, the 30-Plant Challenge can help jump start a healthy diet by assigning a point system to fruits and vegetables.
Every individual plant counts as one “plant point,” even if it’s only a small amount of that plant, like a couple of carrot sticks or one strawberry. Herbs, spices, garlic, tea and coffee also count, but only for a quarter of a point.
Meanwhile, different colored versions of plants, like red and yellow bell peppers, count separately as a point each, since different colored plants contain slightly different amounts of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.
Advocate staff photo by PATRICK DENNIS shot on 2-17-2011. 00024668a. EAT YOUR VEGGIES: Sauteed tomatoes.
“(Different colored-vegetables and fruits) have all sorts of different compounds when they’re broken down. They feed good bacteria that different varieties of that good bacteria can thrive on,” Phipps said. “It’s good to give ‘good-bacteria food’ to your microbiome.”
Some items don’t count — like white rice, potatoes and juices. The objective is to start with bolstering diversity, and worry about quantity later.
“The idea of the 30 does seem pretty daunting,” Phipps said.
He was trying to count them out in his lunch. With some flaxseed crackers, blackberries and a chicken salad, the chicken salad had oregano, onions, bell peppers and celery — which gave him seven different plants in one meal.
Making simple switches could be the key. Phipps recommends buying variety packs of peppers and tomatoes to get different colors. Or you can add salad mixes to encourage a variety of lettuce leaves or new spices in dishes you already make.