When you think of foods that improve gut health, you probably think of probiotic rich foods or even fermented foods. But did you know there is a massive link between plant foods (AKA fruit and vegetables) and gut health? Even more so, the more diverse range that you eat, the better it is for your gut microbiome!
Tell me more..
Plant foods, AKA anything grown such as fruit, vegetables, legumes, seeds, herbs, spices and nuts have so many great health benefits. What most people don’t realise is, one of their strongest benefits are how they can influence gut health and digestion.
How does it do this?
Plant based foods are high in fibre and other nutrients which contribute to producing a broad range of prebiotics. The prebiotics then nourish the good bacteria that we have in our guts and help to restore the overall bacterial balance. This results in a more diverse gut microbiome (the bacterial environment in our stomachs), which is more resilient. A “more resilient” gut means that it can fight off pathogens (high amounts of bad bacteria) more effectively. As the gut is often referred to as our second brain, due to its ability to influence other body systems, becoming more resilient results in less stomach upset, better nutrient absorption, a stronger immune system, balanced hormones and improved mental health to name a few benefits (Tomova et al., 2019).
Think outside the box..
Researchers have found that eating more than 30 different plant foods a week creates a more diverse gut microbiome (the good bacterial balance) compared to people who ate 10 or less (McDonald et al., 2018). While 30 sounds like a lot of different plant foods to consume, it is definitely doable. Here are some great little additions that you can add to weekly eating to help diversify your gut:
- Functional foods such as ginseng, turmeric, cinnamon and garlic
- Herbs and spices such as chives, parsley, mint, paprika, cumin, fennel
- Different varieties of fruit and vegetables (think all the colours of the rainbow)
- Lentils and legumes
- Seeds and nuts
Now that we’ve planted a seed…
If you haven’t yet, why not have a count and see how many different plant based foods you eat in your week? On average most adults repeat eating the same fruit and vegetables during the week so might only get to 10-15 different types of plant foods. Adding in some extra goodness doesn’t have to be hard though, why not experiment with an extra herb or spice in each meal? Or changing up your usual go to fruit and nuts to a different option every second day? Or even try a new tea each day, such as ginseng tea or peppermint. Power up your plant food intake and notice all the benefits that it has to offer!
References
McDonald, D. Hyde, E. Debelius, J. Morton, J. Gonzalez, A. Ackermann, G. Aksenov, A. et al., (2018). American Gut: an Open Platform for Citizen Science Microbiome Research, American Society for Microbiology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/mSystems.00031-18
Tomova, A., Bukovsky, I., Rembert, E., Yonas, W., Alwarith, J., Barnard, N. D., & Kahleova, H. (2019). The Effects of Vegetarian and Vegan Diets on Gut Microbiota. Frontiers in nutrition, 6, 47. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2019.00047