Question: how many plants do you eat in a given week?
On average we eat 15 to 20 a week.
There are 300,000 edible plants on the planet. Industrial agriculture has made sure that 75% of our diet is made up of three plants: corn, wheat, soy in North America, and on a global scale it would be rice, corn and soy. We are ignoring this diversity. Farmers have little choice than to contribute to the problem.
There are millions of types of fiber in nature. Every plant has multiple types of this prebiotic fibre. The microbes in our lower gut LOVE fibre, but they have specific preferences, like we do as to which types of fibre they like to eat. So?
So we need diversity to cover our basis. This is the best insurance policy you can take out on your health.
Eat as many kinds of plants as possible.
Every single plant has its own types of fibre, nutrients, minerals, phytochemicals (exclusive to plant foods), AND their own MICROBIOME. An apple, for example, you eat a raw apple and you gain the benefit of the intelligence of the apple’s microbiome as well.
ONLY available in plants, phytochemicals fend off cancer, heart disease, age-related eye disease, stimulate the immune system, and slow the growth of cancer cells and prevent DNA damage.
Everything either has a microbiome or is part of one.
Fibre is an ignored SUPERFOOD.
When on a steady diet of fibre the microbes in your lower intestine and colon grow stronger and stronger until they release short chain fatty acids that optimize our immune system.
Short chain fatty acids reverse leaky gut, they prevent colon cancer, they lower your cholesterol, they prevent and reverse insulin resistance, they travel throughout the body, they can reverse the effects of cornoraty, they repair the blood brain barrier...They affect our mood, our memory, they prevent altezhimers. - Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, M.D., Fibre Fueled.
So.
EAT.MORE.PLANTS:
-for the diversity of their nutrients
-for the diversity of their vitamins
-for the phytochemicals
-for their microbiomes
-for their fibre
Challenge: can you start to incorporate 40 different plants a week into your diet?
Here is what my household is currently eating on a given week give or take 10 ingredients that are better in a given season:
Black beans
Corn
Oats
Amaranto
Chickpeas
Garlic
Olives
Cucumber
Broccoli
Nopal
Onion
Kale
Arugula
Radish
Beets
Carrots
Leek
Ginger
Avocado
Tomato
Green tomato
Alfalfa sprouts
Gala apples
Granny smith apples
Nectarines
Pears
Lime
Green peas
Green beans
Strawberries
Blackberries
Mango
Watermelon
Cashews
Pumpkin seeds
Sesame seeds
Peanuts
Soy
Rice
Banana
Almond
Coconut
Dates
Golden berries
Hemp Seeds
Cranberries
Acai
Cilantro
Cinnamon
Chile
Lentils
Quinoa
Potatoes
Cabbage
Chayote
Jicama
Grapes
Papaya
Pineapple
Blueberries
Plums
Rosemary
Bay Leaves
Oregano
Turmeric
Coffee
Green tea
Black tea
Cacao
Purple cabbage
One great way to get more veggies in is with a daily soup! Grab my current freebie 33 Incredible Soups here on the homepage of my website: www.meganswanwellness.com
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