IG: When you think back to what you ate today, yesterday, three weeks ago or even last year, how different is the food on your plate? Some people naturally include a wide range of diverse food when choosing their meals, but for many of us, it’s easy to fall into a trap of eating the same foods daily. By eating a varied diet, you’re more likely to ensure that you consume adequate amounts of all essential nutrients. This not only reduces the risk of nutritional deficiencies, but it also provides numerous health benefits, like: 𝟭. 𝗔 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝘂𝘁 The gut microbiome is incredibly important to your overall health, and it’s best to have a varied population. The best way to achieve this variety in the gut? Eat a diet filled with assorted foods. 𝟮. 𝗟𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 & 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 When you eat the same food again and again, you increase your risk of developing a food intolerance or allergy to that food. Researchers determined that a decrease in food diversity at 6 and 12 months of age had an association with hay fever & asthma. Another study found that infants who ate a diverse diet rich in veg & fruit, as well as meals prepared at home, had fewer incidences of food allergies compared to children who consumed a less diverse diet. 𝟯. 𝗡𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 Numerous studies reviewing high intake of fruits & vegetables find correlated health benefits, including preventing heart disease & cancer. When you consume a variety of food, you gain from thousands of phytonutrients acting together to provide you with many advantages to your health, some of which have yet to be identified. 𝟰. 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Inflammation is associated with several chronic illnesses, including diabetes and heart disease. One study found that a variety of fruit & vegetable intake was inversely associated with lower amounts of the inflammatory biomarker, C-reactive protein. In this study, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺. Wondering what’s in my hand? They’re West Indian Raspberries I foraged in Hawaii!