Diversity 30

Diversity 30: Summary

In this article, I discuss the critical role of dietary diversity in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Research shows that a varied diet, including a wide range of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats, significantly contributes to better health outcomes. I emphasize the need to aim for 30 different varieties of plant-based foods each week rather than just five a day. I also recommend incorporating a mix of seeds and nuts to enhance nutrient intake. Please take action to diversify your diet for better health!

What makes a healthy diet?

Diversity in your diet does. Dietary research shows that best health results come from diets that include a wide variety of vegetables, fruits such as berries and apples, whole grains and pulses. Some oily fish is beneficial and animal protein should be moderate.

The evidence

A recent report of 30 years of follow-up in two USA studies: the USA Nurse’s Health Study and Health Professionals Follow Up study 1 , They found that 9,771 (9.3%) of 105,015 participants [66% women], studied from early 50’s onwards had an ideal diet and they achieved ‘healthy aging’, compared with those whose diet was poor. The good diet doubled their chance of living to 75 without chronic disease or dementia.

So far so good – how do you do this?

What are we aiming for?

The healthy diets can vary in emphasis [many institutions have come up with recommendations, eg for Heart or Brain health]. However the precise dietary formula does not appear to be critical. Apart from avoiding UPF’s, it is the diversity ie the increase in vegetable variety that makes the difference in all of them. The “5 a day” mantra from the UK government is useful starting point but insufficiently clear.

You need thirty different fruit and vegetable sources a week: this includes pulses and whole grains. In other words because we are creatures of habit and less innovative than we should be, we stick to what is familiar. Someone’s ‘5 a day’ tends to be very close to the same 5 every day whereas a different 5 each day is required. The number 30 is a compromise! The goal is to achieve a myriad of flavanols and polyphenols [the life preserving, cancer and inflammation preventing chemicals in these healthy foods].

How can we make that easy to achieve?

First by knowing what is needed. Second by putting vegetable medleys on our plate instead of simple options: use stir fry combinations, roasted vegetable combinations, mixes of greens. Third by using ‘Sprinkles’.

The concept of a multi seed and spice dry mix sprinkled on a dish is exemplified by the middle eastern ‘dukkah’. You can mix up a blend of many varieties of seeds and nuts, add in some dry whole spices and varieties of dried mushrooms finely chopped. This is rather time consuming but cheap.

The Healthy Living company Zoe make a dry mix that was tested in an RCT against a simple probiotic and non-active component. 2 . This prebiotic blend is a simple dietary strategy that benefits gut microbiome composition, gut symptoms and self-reported energy and hunger. Looking at the contents and the reasons for their inclusion 3 it contains 6 types of seed; flax, pumpkin, hemp, grape, sunflower, and chia; 3 types of nuts; hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds; red lentils; a seaweed called Aquamin with 72 trace minerals; baobab and inulin; nutritional yeast; puffed quinoa; 5 dried herbs and spices; buckthorn and 7 types of mushroom and finally, garlic.

If you want to do this yourself there is the recipe. Buy it or make it as you will but do it for a significant boost to your dietary impact.

1 Tessier, AJ., Wang, F., Korat, A.A. et al. Optimal dietary patterns for healthy aging. Nat Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-03570-5

2 A diverse high-fibre plant-based dietary intervention improves gut microbiome composition, gut symptoms, energy and hunger in healthy adults: a randomised controlled trial. Alice C. Creedon, et al medRxiv 2024.07.02.24309816; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.07.02.24309816

3 https://zoe.com/learn/daily30-and-what-it-contains