Forget '5-a-day', this dieting habit is far healthier, expert says
We're frequently told to eat our 'five-a-day'. But one nutritionist suggests there's a far superior method to absorbing all your essential vitamins and minerals for optimal wellbeing.
Interestingly, this involves eating 30 different plants each week, encompassing not just fruit and vegetables, but whole grains, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices. Albeit challenging, Edward Mather, head nutritionist at FuelHub, asserts that it's very possible if you take the right steps.
"Thirty plants a week is definitely achievable if you take the necessary steps," he said. "Each plant food counts as 'one plant' or 'one point'...You can mix up your meals by adding different vegetables to salads and stir-fries, choose plant-based snacks such as nuts, seeds and fruit, and also use herbs and spices like basil and turmeric as this can also count.
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"Having a number of vegetables with each meal, fruit with breakfast and plant-based snacks in between can significantly improve your plant uptake." Edward's views follow the 2018 American Gut Project - an ambitious study embracing over 10,000 contributors eager to enhance their understanding of digestive health.
Crucially, analyses unveiled that people who consumed more than 30 different plant foods per week had a more 'diverse gut microbiome' than others who ate less than 10. Having a richly varied gut microbiome is often linked to better overall health.
The 30-per week concept is also backed by Professor Tim Spector who said on the ZOE podcast in 2024: "This 30, you know, it may have been plucked out of the ether somewhat, but as well as the public loving it and it's being achievable, as Hugh said, for many people.
"...Many people are already doing it. And now we now have a randomised controlled trial to say that diversity of plants put together have a very rapid effect on transforming many people's gut microbes."
In agreement, Edward also added: "This concept comes from gut health research, so should be differentiated from a typical fad trend. As great as eating 30 plants a week is, it’s more difficult to track which may seem a rigid challenge to some people, but with given the robust evidence of plant diversity, it could be a good addition to the broader dietary advice."
For those eager to adopt the 30-a-week method, Edward offers two key pieces of advice. Firstly, he suggests batch cooking at the beginning of the week with an assortment of vegetables to ensure a variety of plants in every meal.
Secondly, he added: "Use plant-based foods as toppings by adding nuts, seeds or herbs to your meals. This is an easy way to boost intake without much effort.
"A good example is adding chia seeds to your yoghurt or oats. Other meal ideas include smoothie bowls and rainbow salads."