With this blog post, my aim is to show you how to optimise your gut health and take it to the next level. Keep reading and bookmark this article so that you can have these simple food swaps on hand whenever you need to refer back to it. First step? More plant foods!
Research has shown that eating 30 different plant foods each week can result in a number of benefits for your health, including improving gut health. This is because a higher fibre intake can lead to the better health of the cells in the digestive tract and a more diverse gut microbiome. This is extremely important because the gut microbiome plays major roles in many aspects of wellbeing, including mental health, digestion and immunity.
Of course, it’s easy for me to just say that we should all be eating 30 different plant foods per week. The real challenge for many people new to the idea is how. You can start by counting how many plant foods you eat this week, challenging yourself to eat more and more different kind each week until you reach that magic number. And remember, when we talk plant foods, we aren’t just talking about fruit and vegetables. They are only two groups out of six! The others are nuts, seeds, wholegrains and legumes.
Here are a few ways you can swap what you’re already eating for foods that are similar, but can quickly and easily up your plant diversity and improve your gut health at the same time.
11 food swaps for better gut health
Rice ➡️ Multigrain blend that can include a mix of brown rice, red rice, quinoa, buckwheat and chia seeds
Tuna ➡️ Tuna and bean mix
One type of nut ➡️ Mixed nuts
A tinned legume, like chickpeas ➡️ Four-bean mix
One type of berry ➡️ Mixed berries
Lettuce/spinach ➡️ Mixed leaves, kaleslaw or coleslaw
Piece of fruit ➡️ Homemade fruit salad
Oats ➡️ Oats topped with LSA and/or mixed nuts
White bread ➡️ Multi/mixed-grain bread
Roasted potatoes ➡️ Roasted root veggie mix
Salad with vegetables ➡️ Salad with vegetables, topped with mixed nuts/seeds
It’s a lot easier than it seems at first, right? You can use these simple swaps to easily increase your nutritional diversity every week. If you’re looking for a more in-depth and personalised plan-of-action for your gut health, make an appointment with a Verde Nutrition dietitian today!