Hi Reader,

How many different plant foods do you eat each week?

If you follow me on Instagram you may (or may not) have seen my story inviting my newsletter community to join in on a little challenge.

The 30+ different plants per week is not a new concept but it is a food trend that I am happy to get behind. The 30 different plants came from one of the largest international gut health studies that found people who consumed 30 or more different plant-based foods per week had much greater diversity in their gut bacteria compared to those who ate 10 or less.

Why is gut health important?

The microbes (the bacteria) in our gut help us digest, absorb and use the nutrients in our food and they thrive on a varied diet. A healthy gut has a wide range of benefits for our overall health and performance.

Our immune system function, level of inflammation, chronic disease and even our mood and mental health is influenced by the state of our gut.

If you are always feeling tired, you have trouble sleeping, you are bloated, experience skin flare ups or changes in weight, these are all signs of an unhealthy gut.

What to do next?

If you would like to join in this 5 week challenge, reply to this email with "I'm in" and I will send you further information.

You will receive:

• Recording sheet to keep track of how many plants food you have each week (plants food include fruit, veg, grains, legumes, herbs and spices)
• Recipes ideas and tips to help you reach 30+ plants per week
• An introduction video with additional information, the benefits and considerations so you don't impact your training.
• Weekly email check in
• The cost for participating in this challenge is your curiosity to change and do things differently if you want a result you haven't had before

You will receive the above on Friday 19th July so you have the weekend to prepare.

Simple changes can make a big difference in just 3 weeks (we are going for 5 to solidify changes).

To perform in sport and life, we need to take care of the boring basics first. They are the things that will give you the biggest return on investment.

If you have any questions, hit reply and ask away.

Please note: This challenge is only open to Hillistic Coaching newsletter subscribers. If you have friends, family or training buddies that want to join, they need to email me.

Until next time,

Karen Hill Performance Nutritionist, PhD ​​

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