Make your intestines healthy and your mood healthier ! 🙌🏻
Feeling tired, depressed, or having digestive issues? Maybe there's something wrong with your gut microbiome. In fact, gut health has a profound impact on overall health, including the immune system, mood, sleep, skin health, and more. You can improve your gut health in a simple way - by increasing the variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet. Here are 8 practical tips to help you easily eat 20 different fruits and vegetables every week, and keep track of your progress to make the fruit and vegetable challenge more interesting!
According to 2015 findings from the American Gut Project, people who eat upwards of 30 kinds of plants per week have greater gut diversity than those who eat only 10 or less. 【1】
Although studies have shown that 30 kinds of fruits and vegetables per week are very helpful for intestinal health, in order to reduce the pressure at the beginning, our challenge this time is to start with 20 kinds. After all, it takes some time to develop a new habit.Why Diversification Matters
From a functional medicine perspective, the diversity of intestinal microbes is associated with good digestion, strong immunity, and low risk of disease. A variety of fruits and vegetables provide different nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals , which can support the beneficial flora in the intestines and keep your intestines healthy. Many nutrients must be broken down by intestinal microbes before they can be absorbed, ensuring that nutrients such as amino acids and improved carbohydrates are absorbed and metabolized by the body. Intestinal microbes can also recycle food residues that cannot be digested in the small intestine and regenerate energy for the human body to use. Poor intestinal microbes can easily lead to chronic inflammation throughout the body. The body needs to continuously provide nutrients to immune cells to deal with inflammation, and athletic performance will be "difficult" to improve. 
8 simple and interesting techniques to easily achieve 20 kinds of plants
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🌈Rainbow diet:
Incorporate a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables into your diet. The more colors there are, the more nutrients you're getting. Next time you go shopping, pick some colorful fruits and vegetables!
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🥗Change to green leafy vegetables:
For those who often eat out, you can order different kinds of vegetables with friends or colleagues to eat, so that you can have one more variety. Or if you often eat salad, try different green leafy vegetables. For example, kale, Swiss chard, mustard greens, arugula, etc. are not often eaten. If you don’t want to spend too much time, you can also buy a mixed green leaf package to easily increase the variety of vegetables (adding some olive oil is a good choice~)
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🥤Increase the plants in your smoothies:
If you have the habit of making vegetable and vegetable smoothies at home, it is recommended to add a variety of green leafy vegetables, fruits, seeds and plant milks to your smoothies. As the seasons change, try different combinations to make your smoothies nutritious and varied.
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🌿Try New Vanilla:
Adding a variety of fresh herbs and spices, such as basil, cilantro, parsley and fennel, to your dishes not only enhances the flavor, but also increases the number of vegetables you consume.
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🌍Explore different cuisines:
Try recipes from different cultures, such as Indian, Mexican, Moroccan or Israeli cuisine. These dishes often use a variety of plants, so you can enjoy delicious food while also increasing the variety of fruits and vegetables you eat.
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📅Planning and preparation:
Planning and preparing meals ahead of time can make the 20 Plant Challenge easier. Cook in batches or wash and cut vegetables ahead of time to add variety to every meal.
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🥕Market purchase:
Go shopping in different markets and supermarkets. You may be able to buy fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables and try different types of fruits and vegetables.
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🌱Self -sufficiency:
If you have the space, grow some of your own fruit, vegetables or herbs. Not only is growing fresh, homegrown ingredients fun, it also allows you to add a variety of fruits and vegetables to your meals anytime.
Keep track of your fruit and vegetable intake
Keeping track of the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat will make the challenge more fun. You can use a food journal, an app, or a simple checklist to record each fruit and vegetable. This will not only help you reach your goal of 20 plants, but it will also give you a deeper understanding of the diversity of plants in your diet.
Full of great stuff
Increasing plant diversity in your diet can have a huge impact on your gut health, but don’t get hung up on the numbers. Focus on increasing plant diversity gradually, and enjoy discovering new ingredients and flavors. Remember, the overall quality and consistency of your diet have a greater impact on your gut health. Increasing your plant-based food intake, combined with good lifestyle habits such as managing stress, getting enough sleep, and exercising, can truly improve your gut health and physical well-being. Also, monitor your HRV note [ 1 ] to see if it is more stable than before!
Start growing your 20 plants, keep a record, and enjoy the health benefits! 🌱🌟
annotation:
【1】HRV - is a physiological phenomenon that can be recorded, analyzed and interpreted to help you understand how your body responds to challenges in life and the environment 🔗 Garmin
References:
【1】American Gut: An Open Platform for Citizen Science Microbiome Research 15 May 2018: Authors: Daniel McDonald https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0876-9060, Embriette Hyde, Justine W. Debelius, James T. Morton, Antonio Gonzalez, Gail Ackermann, Alexander A. Aksenov, Show All (59 Authors), Rob Knight
