When you think of gut health, you may label yourself ‘gut healthy’ or ‘gut unhealthy’ based off whether you experience digestive symptoms or not. What gut health actually refers to is the health of the 40 trillion microbes, bacteria, and yeast living in the gut. For greatest health benefit, we want the most abundant and diverse gut microbiome possible.
Did you know the gut influences almost every function of the body? A healthy gut microbiome has been liked with lowered risk of many diseases, including cancer, heart disease, liver disease, diabetes, asthma, obesity, depression, autoimmune conditions, and IBS. Over 70% of the body’s immune cells are located in the gut, making it a key player in dictating immunity.
How can you improve your gut health?
Two words: plant points.
The more diverse your diet is, the more diverse the nutrient supply for your gut microbiome is. Each strain of bacteria in the gut does a different job and needs different types of plant foods to flourish. Research demonstrates that people who eat 30 different plant foods each week have more diverse gut microbiomes. You may be thinking that 30 different plant foods each week sounds very expensive, time consuming, challenging… maybe even unachievable? Let’s break it down, it’s not as intimidating as you think!
What is a plant point?
- A plant is a food that has been grown. The diversity diet recommends consuming plant points from each of the 6 different plant food groups: fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, legumes (beans & pulses), nuts & seeds, herbs & spices, with the goal of consuming at least 30 different plant points each week.
- Whole plant foods contribute 1 plant point, whereas herbs and spices (as well as extra virgin olive oil, tea, and coffee) count as 1⁄4 of a point. Each plant food only counts once per week.
- Fresh, dried, canned, and frozen plants all count (aim for no- added salt and sugar)
- Different colours or varieties of plant foods count−for example: red, yellow, and orange bell peppers all count for different points
The diversity diet focuses on including plant foods in the diet, rather than restricting other foods. It does not mean that you must go entirely plant based or cut out other animal-based foods to have a healthy gut microbiome.
The Challenge:
Build yourself a Plant Point Tracker and keep tally of your plant points across the span of 1 week. This will allow you to see what areas you are doing well with and what areas you wish to improve on. You will likely be quite surprised at the number of plants you already have in your diet!
How can I increase my plant intake?
- Choose multi-grain bread options (ie. a 12-grain bread) instead of refined white grains
- Choose frozen mixed fruits or vegetables instead of a singular type
- Choose spring mix or mixed greens rather than a singular type
- Add chia seeds, hemp hearts, and flax seed to yogurt, oatmeal, smoothies, or toast
- Snack on mixed nuts, fruits, or veggies
- Make a side salad
- Add frozen diced veggies to sauces
- Try including some fermented foods to add probiotics (live bacteria) in your diet−kefir, kombucha, kimchi, tempeh and live yogurt are great options
- Eat as many whole foods as possible, while limiting processed foods
- Increase your fiber intake. Aiming for 30g fiber per day is a great target for gut and overall health
If you have any questions or would like to explore further, please book a free, no-charge online appointment with either myself, Natalie Topp is a dietitian in Waterloo.
