One Small Action

Count Plants, Not Calories

This week's challenge is almost embarrassingly simple. Count your plants. Not calories, not carbohydrates, not grams of protein. Just how many different plant foods you eat over the course of a week. 

The goal is thirty. Fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and yes, the herbs and spices you scatter across dinner. We’ve included PDFs containing the full breakdown of what counts and how to tally it. 

Here's my confession. As a longevity expert, I don't know my number. If I’m not at 30, I think I’m pretty close, but I've never counted. I’ll also share that I've watched some of the world's leading nutrition experts sit on conference panels, and when someone asks whether they're getting thirty, they smile and admit they aren't sure. 

I love that answer. It reminds me that knowing about nutrition and measuring your own habits are two very different things. Most of us assume we're doing fine. Knowing is better than assuming. 

The thirty comes from the American Gut Project, which found that people eating thirty or more different plant foods each week tended to have a more diverse gut microbiome than those eating fewer than ten. A diverse microbiome has been associated with better metabolic, immune, and digestive health. Thirty isn't a magic number. The principle underneath it is what matters. 

Research tells us that variety matters. Curiosity matters too. 

So this week, don't worry about eating perfectly. Don't worry about whether you'll make it to thirty. Just find out where you are. I'm doing the same thing, and I have no idea where I'll land. 

Maybe you'll surprise yourself. Maybe you'll spot a few easy places to add more variety. Either way, at the end of the week we'll each know something we didn't know before, which is worth more than a perfect score. 

We'll have a baseline. That's where meaningful change begins. 

This week, let's count. 

Why it's on my desk and why it’s worth trying this week: The first step toward improving anything is understanding where you stand today. Let's find our baseline together.

The 30 Plants Guide