The Diversity Diet: What Is It and How Does It Support Gut Health?
The Diversity Diet: What Is It and How Does It Support Gut Health?
Exploring the connection between dietary diversity and a happy, healthy gut.
Gut health is all the rage in the media, but most people don’t understand what ‘gut health’ means. To many people, gut health refers to the absence or presence of digestive symptoms. Gut health actually refers to the health of the trillions of microbes (bacteria, yeast and fungi) living in our gut. And how do we achieve optimal gut health? In the science world, it means having an abundant (lots of bacteria) and diverse (types of bacteria) microbiome.
This research study inspired the diversity diet, which focuses on supporting gut health by consuming at least 30 different ‘plant points’ each week. The diversity diet recommends consuming plant points from the six plant food groups: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, herbs and spices. Whole plant foods contribute one plant point, whereas herbs and spices (in addition to extra virgin olive oil, tea and coffee) count as one-quarter point. But remember, each plant-food only counts once per week.
The more diverse, whole plant-based foods you eat, the more you’re likely to boost the diversity of the trillions of gut microbes you have (5). Why does that matter? Essentially, different gut bacteria have different roles in our health. The more diverse your bacteria, the better your gut can support your health.
That does NOT mean you have to cut out food groups and eat 100 per cent plant-based for good gut health. The Diversity Diet is all about including plant foods rather than restricting foods. In fact, studies have shown that this diversity in your diet matters the most and that reasonable consumption of animal products and sweets doesn’t significantly impact our microbiome.
Remember, the core principle of the diversity diet is the focus of inclusion rather than exclusion in your diet. Our entire lives, we have been focusing on removing supposedly unhealthy foods from our diet – from fat to carbs, to gluten, to dairy and soy – media has always promoted this idea of restriction for health. By emphasizing what you’re adding in, not cutting out, to your diet, you can support your health (and gut health!) in a science-backed way and finally move away from a diet culture mentality of restriction.
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