WeeklySA_AdminVARIETY: You may notice health benefits when you take up the 30-plant-a-week challenge – even if you don’t meet this goal…
By Aisling Pigott
The more plants you include in your diet, the more health benefits you’ll notice. This is why public health guidelines have long encouraged people to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
But the 30-plants-a-week challenge circulating online suggests that, instead of only aiming to eat five servings a day, we should instead aim to eat 30 different plant foods per week to improve our health.
Fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, wholegrains, herbs and spices would all count as a plant serving.
Some advocates of the approach have even created some ground rules and have generated a points system that gives a point to each different type of plant you consume. However, not every plant counts as a full point. For instance, herbs and spices only count as one-quarter of a plant point. Refined plant products, such as fruit juices or processed wholegrains (such as white bread), don’t count at all.
Current NHS dietary recommendations around fruits and vegetables (such as the five-a-day message) place the emphasis on quantity—ensuring people eat enough fruit, vegetables and wholegrains to get all the essential nutrients and fiber their body needs. But, the 30 plants approach shifts the focus to diversity—arguing that eating a wide variety of plant foods provides greater health benefits than eating the recommended amount of only a few select fruits and vegetables.
So does eating 30 plants a week offer any additional health benefits over eating five servings a day?
Exploring science
The 30 plants a week challenge is based on the American Gut Project—a citizen science study of 10 000 participants from across the US, UK and Australia. The findings suggest that people who eat a greater variety of plant-based foods each week have a more diverse gut microbiome compared to those who eat fewer plants.
The gut microbiome refers to the trillions of bacteria, viruses, fungi and microorganisms that live in our digestive tract.
Research shows a more diverse microbiome is associated with a lower risk of chronic disease, better immune function and even improved mental health.
So in simple terms, it looks like the more plant diversity we eat, the more diverse the population of microbes living in our gut are. This leads to better overall health.
But does eating 30 plants really provide a greater number of benefits compared to current public health messages? They recommend we eat at least five portions of fruit and veg daily, choose wholegrain carbohydrates and limit refined sugar, processed meats and foods as much as possible.
Incidentally, research shows that following these recommendations also leads to a more diverse gut microbiome and better health outcomes compared to those who do not meet recommendations.
So, it looks like following either current public health recommendations or the 30 plants diet will improve microbial diversity and have benefits for health. While 30 is a meaningful and realistic target, it’s important to recognize that small, sustainable changes can also have a lasting health impact.
Diet changes
Like any trend, the 30 plants message isn’t without its drawbacks. One major concern is accessibility. Buying 30 different plant foods each week can be expensive—which could exacerbate existing health inequalities.
There are ways around these limitations, such as buying in bulk and freezing portions, using canned and frozen fruits, veggies, pulses and lentils and meal planning to reduce food waste.
However, these solutions often require extra resources such as storage, cooking space and time—which may not be possible for everyone.
There’s also a risk that the message could oversimplify the complexity of public health guidance—potentially overlooking the importance of individual nutrients and overall dietary balance.
On the other hand, there’s a strong argument that the 30 plants per week challenge is simply the same, old public health advice packaged in a slightly different, more engaging way. As a dietitian, I quite like that.
Current public health messages around food, nutrition and lifestyle are not landing. Despite the evidence for these guidelines, rates of lifestyle-related health problems are increasing. It’s not that these recommendations don’t work—it’s that as a population we struggle to follow them.
The 30-plants-a-week challenge is a positive message that encourages adding more variety—rather than restricting foods. If people are encouraged to eat more plant-based foods, they may naturally displace less nutritious choices—which is a win for health.
If you’re thinking of trying the 30-plants-a-week challenge, here are some easy ways to increase variety in your diet:
Swap your carbs: Swap white bread, rice or pasta for wholegrain bread, rice or pasta. You can also consider alternative wholegrain carbohydrates such as quinoa or wholegrain couscous.
Include nuts and seeds: Easily overlooked, but an effortless way to add diversity. A small handful is a portion.
Add pulses and lentils: Add lentils to a meat dish (such as spaghetti bolognese) for extra protein and more plant points.
Buy tinned and frozen foods: Stock up on frozen berries, mixed vegetables, canned beans and chickpeas to make plant variety easier to achieve and more affordable.
The challenge to eat 30 different plants is an exciting and positive way to potentially encourage nutritious choices. However, we don’t yet fully understand its acceptability or impact on food choices in real-world settings.
While the scientific evidence strongly supports the benefits of plant diversity for health, it would be valuable to gather more research on its practical effectiveness before incorporating it into public health messaging. – The Conversation
EATING DISORDERS – IT’S NOT ABOUT FOOD
STIGMA: It is estimated that one in six South African girls expressed attitudes and behaviours that could indicate a possible eating disorder or risk of developing it…
By Felicity Marcus
The clock strikes 12pm (midday) – time for lunch. For most, this is a routine experience of enjoying a meal, taking time out from your busy day and possibly even having a moment to chat and socialise with friends.
For those suffering with an eating disorder, it is a time of dread and anguish. Despite the fact that they have been thinking about food all day, the “voice” inside their head makes them feel guilt and a sense of shame for wanting to eat or trying that “high carb meal”. They live in a world where eating would mean a loss of control or an overwhelming act that goes against their perceived body image or deep-seated beliefs about their food, weight and appearance. Thinness equates to happiness yet there is never ever “thin enough”.
Having worked extensively with treating individuals suffering from eating disorders, I have often been asked by others (some even professionals themselves) “why can’t they just eat?”; “aren’t eating disorder patients are all the same?”
The naivety of these questions highlights how little we actually know about these patients and their struggles and how there is still such stigma and judgement associated with this mental illness.
The biggest misconception with eating disorders is that their illness is about an avoidance of food and wanting to be thin. However (and very often), this is not the case. The food is rather a symptom of much more complex issues. There are usually complicated underlying emotions which are at the root of the eating struggles.
It is also important to realise that an eating disorder can serve a purpose. For example, in an environment where one is not in control, it provides them with security, safety and reassurance. I often explain this to patients and parents as “the iceberg effect”- the eating disorder is the tip of the iceberg (what we can see). What is going on underneath is what’s really keeping the ice afloat.
Disordered eating is most common in children and teenagers with 1 in 5 children and teenagers having disordered eating patterns, according to research published in The Journal of American Medical Association of Paediatrics in 2023. This was the first global analysis of studies on this problem. The study also showed that eating struggles are more common amongst girls, older adolescents and those with higher body mass
In South Africa, there are no studies that measure how common diagnosable eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia nervosa are. However, roughly 1 in 6 South African girls expressed attitudes and behaviours that could indicate a possible eating disorder or risk of developing an eating disorder and 45.3% of teenagers in South Africa report being “highly dissatisfied” with their bodies. One of our biggest challenges in dealing with eating disorders in South Africa, is the dearth of eating disorder services. Patients struggling with eating disorders can be managed in a hospital setting or as outpatients.
While most prefer the outpatient form of treatment, management needs to be individualised and directed based on a person’s weight, the severity of their struggles, the supportive structures in their home environment and their motivation for recovery. One who is medically compromised, needs to be stabilized in hospital before any form of eating disorder intervention can be put in place.
While there are a few inpatient units across private and government psychiatric facilities, most of the care is done through outpatient services and patients seeking out their own individual practitioners (dietician, psychologist, psychiatrist etc). It is important to remember that whether one receives care as an inpatient or outpatient, there is not one person (no matter how qualified) nor one medication that can treat an eating disorder. A team approach is always best due to the complexity and nature of the illness.
I often say that you don’t have to be a medical expert to know when someone is struggling with an eating disorder. Very often people will pick up the signs but then don’t know how to approach the topic. Here are a few tips to help and support an individual in getting help early:
· Always approach the subject without judgement
· Choose a time or place where you will be safe and not disturbed
· Avoid talking to someone before/after meals
· Broach the topic gently. Remember an eating disorder is usually a symptom of a much more complex underlying cause and emotional distress.
· Use the first person narrative: “I’m worried about you”; “I’ve noticed you are not eating as much at meal times”
· Use open ended questions like “I wondered if you would like to talk about how you are feeling?”
· Don’t focus on the food behaviours in isolation as it may cause them to become defensive/ deny their symptoms
· Rather focus on what is happening for them emotionally. Emphasise that you care about them and their emotional well-being;
· Open up the lines of communication
It is very common for one to become defensive but don’t take this personally. Remember the eating disorder exists during emotionally challenging times. It serves a function and the person may not be willing to give that up just yet.
* Dr Felicity Marcus is specialist psychiatrist with an interest in eating disorders and adolescent psychiatry
