Eating 30 Plants A Week
Many moons ago back in 2015, I decided to try ‘Veganuary’ after watching the traumatic programme 'Cowspiracy' on Netflix. I could never have predicted the beautiful and sometimes challenging journey it would take me on and the deep passion I would develop for nutrition which led me to become a nutritionist..
At the time vegan food was almost unheard of, especially in the depths of North Wales where I was based at the time. Since then 'veganism' and plant based diets have become commonplace, with restaurants, cafes and cook books now embracing this movement. Inevitably too, the food industry has jumped on this trend and made huge amounts of money by formulating vegan substitutes, increasing the availability of UPF or ultra processed foods but misleading the public to think of them as healthy. I see it as my responsibility as a nutritionist and healthcare professional to educate the public about how to eat a healthy and balanced diet which will give you the best health outcomes.
My initial motivation for choosing to eat a vegan diet was the horrific way animals are treated and exploited, just so humans can buy and eat a beef burger or a cheap sausage. The more I read and learned, the more the environmental impact of intensive animal farming became a reason for me to make a change to my dietary choices. As a biologist I was also keen to understand the health implications of a plant based diet (which is not the same as veganism), and my discoveries about the reduction in chronic diseases outcomes, became further reasons why I maintained my commitment to choosing to eat plants over animals. Books such as 'Whole' and 'The China Study' written by T Colin Campbell were instrumental in educating me and forming my opinions about why eating a diet that centres around plant based foods is essential if we are to live a healthful and vibrant life.
Leading up to my career change from biology teacher to nutritionist in 2021, I started listening to the Zoe podcast, and heard Tim Spector state that eating 30 plants a week was an ideal place to aim for. This had several benefits:
Increasing intake of fibre
Improved gut microbiome health
Improved immune system
Lower risk of digestive issues
Reduced constipation
Reduced risk of cancer
Increased intake of vitamins and minerals
Increased intake of antioxidants and reduction of free radicals
Increased production of brain happy hormones like serotonin and dopamine
More resilient gut and overall health
I could go on, but just wanted to highlight the myriad of health benefits you can expect from eating more plants, and I haven’t even started on the environmental and ethical benefits!
Another benefit of eating 30 plants a week is reducing the regular consumption of highly processed and ultra processed foods. Sadly we are a species who love to eat these ‘Frankenstien foods’, in part due to their abundant availability, normalisation and their design to purposefully trigger our brain's pleasure centres, appealing to our body's desire for easily digestible foods to provide quick release energy. I’m not going to go into the details of UPF right now, I will save that for another week, but a quick way to identify them is that they contain ingredients that you wouldn’t find in a normal kitchen, often come in shiny and colourful packaging (but not always) and resemble real or traditional foods, but don’t contain the traditional ingredients.
This week I visited River Cottage for the first time, during a short van trip to Dorset, where I picked up Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s new book ‘How to eat 30 plants a week’, which is introduced by none other than Tim Spector. The recipes in there are full of my favourite plant based ingredients, with a wide range of easy to prep and cook recipe ideas. If you're keen to try consuming more plants in your diet, I’d recommend investing in a book like this (there are several out there now) which inspires you to cook nourishing meals using whole plant based ingredients.
What Are Plant Based Foods?
A plant food is any whole food ingredient that is derived from plants including:
Vegetables
Fruits
Nuts
Seeds
Whole grains
Herbs
Spices
Beans
Legumes
WFPB - Whole Food Plant Based
This is a phrase that I learned while reading the book ‘Whole’ by Colin T Campbell. In Whole, he heavily promotes a WFPB diet and backs up everything with scientific research, some of which he has conducted himself (so may be biassed). But the general theme of the book resonates with me, and research that I have subsequently read supports his ideas. As a result I have adopted much of the WFPB ethos in my own life while also importantly maintaining flexibility and non-restriction in my food choices.
When I work with clients on my 2 month cleanse and rebalance programme to create sustainable dietary changes for those living with metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes, abdominal obesity, high cholesterol, I use the WFPB ethos. This has resulted in spectacular results for my clients health outcomes, healing inflammatory conditions and reducing the need for medication in some cases, as well as giving them a sustainable framework to apply to food choices for the rest of their lives. This to me is the most important and valuable gift I can give my clients; to educate and empower them to make their own food choices, so they never need me or any other nutritionist again, and can live in a healthy and vibrant way with optimal health.
Is Plant Based A Vegan Diet?
I’d just like to clarify here that I am not promoting a vegan diet. Sadly due to the food industry's desire for money making, these days a vegan diet can be a diet that is full of UPF and meat substitutes which are probably no better for you than the original meat. A whole food plant based diet means that the foundation of your diet is based on the foods I listed above as well as being poor in highly and ultra processed foods, and also a way of eating which is sustainable. If you can get to a place where 80% of your diet is plant based, then that is amazing; you’ll see benefits like:
Improved energy
Better sleep
Weight loss
Reduced puffiness
Reduced blood sugar spikes
Increase satisfaction from food
Lower hunger
Less cravings
No more mood swings
Increase mobility and flexibility
Less anxiety and depressive feelings
Increased body confidence
Learning and empowerment
Better food choices
Summary
The benefits of increasing the intake of plants on a weekly basis are infinite, get yourself a plant based cookbook and try 1 new recipe per week. Eventually you’ll have incorporated new plant based recipes into your repertoire and hopefully you'll be a better cook too. Plant based foods are not vegan foods - they are whole foods and are minimally processed. Vegan diets are often ultra processed diets and do not necessarily lead to better health (if that's your goal), so check the ingredients before you buy. Focusing on WFPB foods has many benefits for your health and increases your likelihood of healing metabolic diseases like T2D or obesity. A WFPB approach is a sustainable and realistic way of healing metabolic diseases and improving health and longevity, which can be taught to anyone. Knowledge is power, so working with a nutritionist (like me) can help kick start you on the right pathway to healing metabolic problems, balancing body weight and helping you feel happier and more content.
Do you fancy trying to detox from processed foods, while learning some new plant based recipes? Get your FREE 3 day detox plan by visiting www.naturalnut.co.uk or visit the shop to purchase the full 7 day plan. Thanks for reading!
Amazing. Such an informed description of a plant based diet and very helpful in showing how to switch.