Looking after your gut means looking after the health of the trillions of living microbes in your gut. A diverse gut microbiome has been linked to a lowered risk of many disease like heart disease, diabetes and depression.

Diversity in your diet can lead to a more diverse gut microbiome, which is a sign of good gut health. One way to add diversity into your diet is by eating a variety of plant-based foods. This means that eating more plants, like fruit and vegetables can help strengthen your gut microbiome and improve overall gut health.

This is the key message for National Nutrition week (#NNW2021) – Eat more Vegetables and Fruit every day. Not only are fruits and vegetables great for gut health, they can help against heart disease and help to reduce the risk for obesity, diabetes and certain cancers. They are rich in vitamins, minerals, fibre and dietary bioactive compounds important for good health.

Research has also shown that eating up to 30 or more different plants every week can be beneficial for our gut health. This includes fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, nuts, seeds or legumes each day. These foods can increase the beneficial bacteria in our gut like Bifidobacteria or prevent the growth of harmful bacteria. This helps look after the balance and health of our gut microbiome.  

Our South African Food based Dietary guidelines encourages eating plenty of vegetables and fruit every day and this can include 5 vegetables and fruit daily. We should aim for as many different varieties, types and colours to help boost the diversity of our gut microbiome.