I quite like the idea of plant points.
It’s something which the American Gut Project came up with a while ago and which seems to be gaining popularity lately.
I like the concept of focussing on increasing your intake of certain foods, and allowing the less preferable foods to naturally reduce. This is an approach I’ve used with clients for years.
Now, first up: plant points do NOT mean that eating plant based is the way to go.
(In fact, I’ll be posting something about this in the Facebook Group next week)
Protein is really important and we still need to be making it a priority in our diets.
Plant points DO mean: eat more plants!
There are loads of reasons we’d want to do this; from increasing our fibre intake which can improve gut health and keep us feeling satisfied between meals, as well as to increase our nutrient intake in general.
It’s recommended that we eat about 30g fibre a day – and if you’ve ever tried to achieve this, you’ll know it is quite a challenge; but a challenge associated with all sorts of positive health outcomes.
Diversity in the types of fruit, veg and legumes we eat is associated with diversity in our gut microbiome. And a diverse, happy microbiome is associated with general good health – a strong immune system, good energy levels, improved blood sugars and cholesterol numbers.
With Plant Points, the aim is to eat 30 different types of plants each week – each one you eat counts as one point.
Plants included are the obvious ones like fruits and veggies, and also legumes i.e. beans and lentils, and nuts and seeds.
Grains like oats, brown rice, wholegrain wheat, quinoa are all also included – although you want less portions of these across the week than you do fruit, veg and legumes.
Good quality extra virgin olive oil is included too, as are herbs and spices – but given the quantities you generally use them in, they count as a quarter of a point each.
I think the plant point system is great idea as a target to keep in your mind while you’re planning your meals – but take care that it doesn’t become all encompassing and allow you to forget about the importance of eating enough protein too.
Always think about the protein component of your meal first, followed by your veggies – then add the flavour with the herbs and spices etc. This is a great strategy for improving health.