You might have heard about the idea of eating 30 plant foods a week to improve your health. It comes from research by The American Gut Project, where a large study in 2018 across the US, UK and Australia revealed that people who had a diet with more plant diversity – specifically 30 different plant foods a week – had better gut health and better gut microbe diversity than those who consumed fewer than ten. They also found that people who were consuming more fibre, as well as more fermented foods, had better gut health.
The importance of plant diversity
Plant fibre is what the good bacteria in our gut feeds off. The wider the diversity of foods supporting our gut microbiome, the healthier and more varied those beneficial bacteria will