You might have heard the recommendation regarding eating five different fruits and vegetables per day? Well, now this has changed to thirty different plants per week. At least according to Tim Spector, the British epidemiologist, medical doctor and science writer who is working on the relationship between nutrition and gut microbiome. I recently went to see him being interviewed at an event with the cool entrepreneur Steven Bartlett in London.
I used to feel good about only needing very few foods in my kitchen to feel nourished. I would add a banana to my breakfast, have an avocado toast with eggs for lunch, snack on olives and nuts as I prepared pasta with spinach, tomatoes and parmesan in the evening. Plus have a chocolate or cookie when I felt like it. Now I can see what a limited range of fruits and veg I was eating on a daily basis… No wonder I feel good about having been introduced to the idea of “30 plants a week”! It has made it easier to include more fruits and vegetables in my diet and more fun to do my grocery shopping.
To be clear, thirty plants per week does not mean you only have to eat plants, it is about including a wider variety of plants in your diet. In this case the plant definition means fruits, vegetables, and also spices, nuts and seeds. So if for example you buy a pack of nuts containing different kinds of nuts it counts as three or four plants depending on the pack you buy.
Since the London event, here is how I now go about my grocery shopping: Instead of picking the usual, I am looking around to see which fruit, which vegetable is in season? Do I spot a colourful plant somewhere I can take home and eat? I want to get to thirty a week, so if I am buying salads I either choose several small items, or a bag where there is a mix of leaves in it already. If I see boxes with lots of kiwis or clementines and they also come as single items, I choose the single item so I can get a couple of each, knowing I will manage to eat them all while they are still fresh.
In the first month of my thirty a week venture I made a list at the end of each week to check if I had gotten to my desired number. Most weeks I had. Nearly a third of the plants I eat are seeds and nuts – hope I am not cheating! Also, as I do my list, I will write down “garlic” although I might only have had one clove – haha I could not do a handful on my own. I consider the one clove of garlic as one of the thirty, same thing for a few pieces of mango or a pear. Friendly reminder: It is always beneficial to be kind to yourself. If you feel tempted to try the “30 plants a week”, in my view “one”, whether it is one piece or one handful, is a great start.
My weekly plant number has increased and I like knowing that. It might seem as if I am counting and striving to reach thirty plants, I am not. I do this in a relaxed way. It is fun to try something new. I am improving my nutrition in a kind way and that is the main point. I am not a nutritionist so only sharing my experience. However, I have full belief in the power of the mind and that the body wants to be well. Here is my logic: If you feel healthy, your body is healthy.
Happy eating! Annette X
