Eating 30 Plants Per Week Could Transform Your Gut Health

If you’ve ever tried to improve your gut health, you may have heard the advice to eat 30 plants per week. According to gastroenterologist Dr Will Bulsiewicz, this approach can dramatically improve the diversity of your microbiome. But the biggest mistakes happen in the very first week.

Bulsiewicz, known for his YouTube channel The Gut Health MD, recently shared a video explaining how people can transform their gut health by working toward 30 plants per week without overwhelming their bodies or giving up after a few days. The physician and bestselling author focuses much of his work on the gut microbiome, the trillions of microbes living inside the digestive system that influence digestion, immune health, and even mood.

Read more: 7 Fermented Plant Foods That Could Boost Your Gut Health

Research shows that eating a wide variety of plant foods helps support a diverse microbiome. Different plants feed different species of bacteria, which in turn produce beneficial compounds like short-chain fatty acids. As Bulsiewicz explains in the video, changes can happen quickly. “Your gut microbes start changing within 24 hours,” he says. “By three days, you are cranking out short-chain fatty acids.”

But despite the promise of better digestion and energy, most people struggle to stick with the approach. According to Bulsiewicz, the first seven days are the critical window that determines success.

The mistakes that derail most people

Before outlining the week-one plan, Bulsiewicz highlights several common mistakes people make when they attempt to improve their gut health.

The first is what he calls “fiber shock.” Many people dramatically increase their fiber intake overnight, jumping from around 10 grams per day to 40 grams.

“When you’re going from 10 grams of fiber to 40 grams overnight, this is the number one reason that people quit,” he says.

Because gut bacteria adapt to a person’s current diet, suddenly flooding the digestive system with fiber can cause gas, bloating, or constipation. Instead of increasing fiber quickly, Bulsiewicz recommends raising intake gradually.

Another mistake is trying to change everything at once. Some people attempt to overhaul their entire diet in a single week by eliminating processed foods, meal prepping, and adding dozens of plant foods simultaneously.

“Week one isn’t about perfection,” he says. “It’s about sustainable habits.”

Finally, he warns against ignoring the body’s signals. Every person’s microbiome is unique, and responses to new foods will vary.

“This is medicine. This isn’t dogma,” Bulsiewicz says. “You are a unique individual with a unique microbiome.”

That means people should adjust the plan if a particular food causes discomfort rather than forcing themselves to continue.

Day one: Start with awareness

The first day is not about making dietary changes. Instead, Bulsiewicz encourages people to focus on awareness.

He suggests photographing breakfast without changing anything about the meal. Later in the day, people should count the number of different plant foods they ate the day before.

The key is diversity, not portion size. If someone eats spinach twice, it still counts as just one plant.

Most people discover they eat far fewer plant foods than they expected.

In the evening, Bulsiewicz recommends writing down current symptoms such as bloating, fatigue, brain fog, or sleep issues. This creates a baseline that helps track progress in the coming weeks.

Days two and three: Add five plants

Once awareness is established, the next step is to begin adding plants slowly.

During days two and three, Bulsiewicz recommends adding five new plant foods, not jumping straight to 30 plants per week.

The easiest strategy is to incorporate one additional plant into each meal and include plant-based snacks. For example, berries could be added to oatmeal at breakfast, spinach to a sandwich at lunch, mushrooms to a pasta sauce at dinner, and nuts as a snack.

Even herbal tea can count toward plant diversity because it contains polyphenols and other beneficial compounds.

By making these small additions, someone could increase their intake from just four plant foods to nine without dramatically changing their routine.

Days four and five: Understand what’s normal

By the middle of the week, people may begin noticing changes in digestion. Bulsiewicz says some mild symptoms are actually signs that the microbiome is adapting.

“You might experience a slight increase in gas,” he explains. “That’s because your bacteria are eating new food.”

Mild bloating after meals or more frequent bowel movements can also occur as fiber intake increases. These changes typically indicate that the digestive system is adjusting.

However, severe symptoms such as painful bloating, persistent diarrhea, severe constipation, or skin reactions are warning signs. If those appear, Bulsiewicz advises slowing down and allowing the body to stabilize before adding more plants.

During these two days, people can add three more plant foods while continuing to track symptoms.

Days six and seven: Reflect and prepare for week two

The final two days of the first week are about reflection.

By this stage, Bulsiewicz says people should be consuming roughly 12 to 15 different plants, not yet reaching the full 30 plants per week goal.

“This is exactly where you need to be,” he says.

He encourages people to assess several factors: energy levels, digestion, sleep quality, and cravings for junk food. Many people notice early improvements by day seven, including slightly higher energy and fewer cravings.

If energy levels worsen, it may indicate that fiber was increased too quickly. In that case, Bulsiewicz recommends scaling back temporarily.

If symptoms improve, however, the next step is to continue building plant diversity during the following weeks.

“Week one isn’t about transformation,” he says. “It’s about creating a foundation that your body can build on.”

Why cravings and bloating can happen at first

Bulsiewicz also addresses common concerns people experience when increasing plant foods.

One of the most common is temporary bloating. Mild bloating that improves throughout the day is normal as gut bacteria adapt to new foods.

Another common issue is increased cravings for junk food. According to Bulsiewicz, this may actually signal a shift in the microbiome.

“You got these sugar-loving bacteria inside of you, and sadly for them, they’re dying off,” he says.

These microbes may send hunger signals in an attempt to preserve their preferred food supply. However, the cravings typically peak between days three and five and then begin to decline.

He also notes that people don’t need their families to follow the same plan immediately. The goal during the first week is simply to add plant foods to existing meals, not to restrict others.

Building toward 30 plants per week

The ultimate goal of the approach is reaching 30 plants per week, a benchmark often associated with greater microbiome diversity.

But Bulsiewicz emphasizes that the path to that goal should be gradual. Week one focuses on tolerance, week two on expanding diversity, and by week three, many people reach the full target.

For Bulsiewicz, the key is consistency rather than speed. The first week lays the groundwork for long-term dietary change, allowing the gut microbiome to adapt step by step.

As he puts it, the process begins with small additions that gradually reshape the microbial ecosystem inside the body.

“Week one is just the beginning.”

Find more plant-forward tips to support your gut health on Bulsiewicz’s YouTube channel and website.

Read more: A Gut Doctor’s Survival Guide To Bloating On A Plant-Based Diet