12-bean soup instead of black bean soup can get you there fast.
the way we eat and feel in just a week. “Again, the key is diversity,”
he says. “Early man ate a wide variety of plants — scavenging and gathering up dozens of different plants every day. As a result, our microbiomes evolved to feed off a variety of plants as well. “But today, a full two-thirds
of the plants we eat are just three species: corn, wheat, and rice. Of the vegetables we eat, 30% are white potatoes.” When we limit the plant
foods we eat, we are only nourishing a handful of microbes that feed off that plant, and starving others. This means that our microbiome becomes “out of whack.” This is true even if you
concentrate on eating superfoods, such as almonds and kale. “Even our healthy habits become
unhealthy if we don’t pay attention to variety,” says Perrine. A study from the American Gut Project found that people who had the healthiest microbiomes were those who consumed 30 different plants each week. While that may sound daunting,
simply swapping a can of peanuts for a can of mixed nuts, using spring mix in your salad instead of one type of lettuce, or choosing
‘FIRE FIGHTIN’ FIVE’ To structure a typical day’s meal plan that includes plenty of plant power, Perrine developed “The Fire Fightin’ Five” to dampen the flame of inflammation. These include three main meals, a snack, and dessert. For the first seven days of this inflammation-fighting program: Avoid all processed carbohydrates, including white rice, white bread, muffins, cakes, chips, and candy. Consume 30 different whole plants — and note that fruit juices don’t count, as they lack the necessary fiber whole fruits contain. Limit whole grains such as brown rice and whole wheat bread to one serving daily. Avoid sugar altogether for the first seven days. After the first seven
days, it’s important to keep experimenting and challenging yourself to add diversity to the menu items you eat to ensure you get at least 30 different plant
foods each week. Breakfast can be a plant-
packed smoothie made with a scoop of whey protein blended with oat milk, spinach or kale, flaxseed, chia seeds, and a date for sweetness. For lunch, enjoy a steak
sandwich on a multigrain roll smothered with roasted peppers, mushrooms, and onions, topped with mesclun greens. Dinner can include a pasta dish made with grilled chicken and piled high with vegetables including garlic, onions, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, rosemary, and chives. For a mid-afternoon snack, try
a piece of pizza using a premade crust topped with tomatoes, basil,
oregano, figs, and arugula. And for dessert, enjoy a cup of ricotta cheese topped with strawberries, blueberries, sliced peaches, and cherries, garnished with fresh mint.
DON’T FORGET PROTEIN As we get older, it’s important to include 25 to 30 grams of protein in each meal to maintain muscle. Perrine says that you can use
any protein in your morning smoothie to help build muscle, but new research shows our microbiomes seem to respond better to whey, the protein left over from the cheese-making process, which is also used to make ricotta. “My recommendation is to eat
a protein-rich meal as early in the day as possible,” he says. “I use whey smoothies, but
cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, or even eggs and bacon with whole wheat toast are great options.” Perrine says that while
choosing organic produce is probably the safest route, to cut costs he relies on a lot of frozen fruits and vegetables that retain their nutrients and flavor and are often less expensive than fresh produce. “In just this one day’s sample
menu, you have included almost 30 different plants into your meal plan,” he says. “And if you can live on a diet of pizza, pasta, and steak sandwiches, you’ve got this obesity thing licked!”
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