Dhru Purohit Show
Why You Need to Eat 30 Different Plants a Week to Fight Inflammation and How to Build Your Healthiest Gut Microbiome Yet with Gut Expert Dr. Will Bulsiewicz
Wed, 23 Apr 2025
This episode is brought to you by Bon Charge, One Skin, and Branch Basics. Over 95% of Americans are deficient in one key nutrient: fiber. And yet, fiber plays a powerful role in overall health—supporting weight loss, better sleep, and increased satiety. Today’s guest takes a deep dive into fiber, gut health, and why adding more plants to your diet is one of the best things you can do for your well-being. Today on The Dhru Purohit Show, Dhru sits down with Dr. Will Bulsiewicz to discuss why increasing the diversity of plants in your diet is crucial for gut and overall health. Dr. Bulsiewicz shares his top tips and go-to recipe for anyone beginning their journey toward more fiber and plant diversity. He also explores concerns surrounding the increasing use of GLP-1 medications without a long-term plan and identifies the most effective practices for achieving sustainable weight loss. If you’re looking for a deep dive into what damages the gut microbiome—and how to truly optimize your gut health—this episode is for you. Dr. Will Bulsiewicz is a board-certified gastroenterologist, an internationally recognized expert in gut health, and the bestselling author of Fiber Fueled and The Fiber Fueled Cookbook. He serves as U.S. Medical Director and Scientific Advisor at ZOE, has published over 20 peer-reviewed articles, has presented to Congress and the USDA, and has taught gut health to over 10,000 students. Dr. B earned his MD from Georgetown, trained at Northwestern and UNC, where he was chief fellow, and completed an NIH-funded epidemiology fellowship at UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. In this episode, Dhru and Dr. Bulsiewicz dive into: Increasing the diversity of plants in your diet (00:30) Research on the significance of adding diversity to your diet (3:42) Starting the day with a morning smoothie as a best practice for diversity (9:30) Base ingredients for smoothies and beginner-friendly plant additions (17:10) Personalizing the right amount of fiber for your gut microbiome (25:41) Emulsifiers added to plant-based meals (28:03) The connection between fiber and GLP-1 (36:54) Intense food noise, cravings, and long-term drug dependency (43:59) A tiered approach to weight loss (48:17) Alcohol and the least damaging options from a gut perspective (1:09:24) Marijuana use and its impact on health (1:14:25) The controversy behind the MAHA movement (1:19:29) Fermented foods and their effects on the microbiome (1:31:44) Tier-ranking what damages the gut microbiome (1:40:12) Concerns about the carnivore diet and Dr. Bulsiewicz’s observations (1:53:59) Dr. Bulsiewicz’s prebiotics and the journey to build a better microbiome (1:57:49) Strengthening intuition and learning to trust your gut (2:04:03) Also mentioned in this episode: ZOE 38Tera: Dr. Bulsiewicz’s prebiotic For more on Dr. Bulsiewicz, follow him on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and his Website. This episode is brought to you by Bon Charge, One Skin, and Branch Basics. Right now, Bon Charge is offering my community 15% off; just go to boncharge.com/DHRU and use coupon code DHRU to save 15%. Right now, One Skin is offering my community 15% off; just go to oneskin.co and use coupon code DHRU to save 15% and give your skin the scientifically proven, gentle care it deserves. Right now, Branch Basics is offering 15% off the Premium Starter Kit; just go to branchbasics.com and use coupon code DHRU. Make 2025 your cleanest, healthiest year yet with Branch Basics! Sign up for Dhru’s Try This Newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: Why should you eat 30 different plants a week?
Will, welcome back to the podcast. I want to jump right in and provide some major value for our audience today on the topic of the gut microbiome.
Something pretty profound that I've heard you reference is some pivotal research around the idea that one of the best ways to take care of the gut microbiome and lead to greater healing and energy inside of the body potentially is to include 30 different plants. inside of your diet on a weekly basis. Talk to us about this number 30. Why is it so magical?
And break down some of this pivotal research.
The thing about this is I think this is universally applicable and something that every single listener, unless you're on a 100% animal-based diet... Every single one of these listeners can apply this to their life. Increase the diversity of plants in your diet. Where this came from, Drew, is a study called the American Gut Project. That's where it originally started.
And the American Gut Project actually was an international study and included like 52 territories and countries across the globe, especially the United States and the U.K., And it was the first time that they had microbiome samples for over 10,000 people and simultaneously all kinds of information about their diet, their lifestyle. What were they eating? How were they eating?
What was their dietary pattern? All these different things. And when they did their analysis, this was like purely statistical. This was not some sort of a priori thing they were trying to find. When they did their analysis, this thing jumped out. It jumped out off the charts where they go, whoa, that's the thing. And the answer was eating at least 30 unique plants per week.
So let's break that down. So every single plant has fiber. But also fiber is not just generically fiber. Not all fiber is the same. That would be like saying that the protein in a fish is the same as the protein in a bean. They're not the same. So unique plants have unique forms of fiber.
Also, every single plant is like slightly different in terms of the chemicals that they contain, which could include things like phytochemicals or could include special polyphenols. There's over 8,000 polyphenols. which are plant-based antioxidant compounds. And the simplest way to look at that is the colors of a plant. So red has certain polyphenols, orange, purple, these are different.
But every single one is unique. These are the things that feed and fuel the gut microbiome. The fiber, the polyphenols, the phytochemicals, resistant starches when they're present, these are the prebiotics. And specific families of microbes, they rise and they fall based upon the choices that we make. So if you were to literally just eat kale all day long, you would not be healthy.
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Chapter 2: What are the benefits of a morning smoothie for gut health?
Because whatever microbes enjoy kale, they would grow. You can only go so far with that. And all the other microbes would be starving.
And you could end up with a kidney stone.
And you would definitely end up with a kidney stone.
That happened to a friend of mine. That happened to a friend of mine. But anyways, that's another story. Continue.
That's another story. No, but it's true. I mean, that's not a healthy diet, right? So when we overemphasize one specific thing, we're sort of making a mistake. Because actually what we should do is zoom out and look at this bigger picture where there's this abundance of variety that exists in nature.
And it's much like diversifying your portfolio where when you have variety in your diet, you are feeding and fueling. You are getting all the different types of fiber and polyphenols and phytochemicals and different types of vitamins and minerals. So you're sort of balancing it all out. And that's what ultimately leads to a more healthy, more diverse, more abundant microbiome.
So, and you and I were talking before we started about Zoe. This is something that Zoe actually, our scientific founder at Zoe, Tim Spector.
A company based in the UK.
A company based in the UK that's available in the US. Tim Spector is a professor at King's College London. one of the most accomplished, most published scientists in the world. And he actually was like driving this study because basically he introduced a whole bunch of people from his data set in the UK so that it could be balanced, include both US and British people. And we found this.
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Chapter 3: How can you personalize your fiber intake?
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helping to reduce fine lines, wrinkles, and signs of aging while also improving skin texture and overall appearance. But it doesn't just stop at skincare. This mask can also be used to help with sore jaws, migraines, eczema, scar tissue, wound healing, and even relaxation. My family loves the Bond Charge mask because you can switch between both near infrared and red light in one device.
It has a sleek, lightweight design that doesn't get too hot on your face. And the best thing is that Bond Charge offers worldwide shipping, a 12-month warranty, and easy returns and exchanges if you ever are not satisfied. You can even use your HSA and FSA funds to purchase this red light mask. So let's talk protocols.
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Chapter 4: What are the effects of GLP-1 medications on weight loss?
Chapter 5: What role do emulsifiers play in gut health?
It has a sleek, lightweight design that doesn't get too hot on your face. And the best thing is that Bond Charge offers worldwide shipping, a 12-month warranty, and easy returns and exchanges if you ever are not satisfied. You can even use your HSA and FSA funds to purchase this red light mask. So let's talk protocols.
My family uses the Boncharge Red Light Face Mask for 10 to 20 minutes a day while reading, watching TV, or winding down at night. It's an easy and convenient way to access the benefits of this therapy from the comfort of your own home, and the results speak for themselves.
Boncharge also has other amazing science-backed wellness products like low blue light light bulbs, blue light blocking glasses, EMF protection products, infrared sauna blankets, and 100% blackout sleep masks. Plus, they ship worldwide and their products are HSA and FSA eligible. So you can save up to 30% tax-free. Right now, Bon Charge is offering my community 15% off.
If you're interested in the red light therapy face mask, just go to BonCharge.com slash Drew and use the code Drew, D-H-R-U to save 15%. That's Bon, B-O-N, Charge, C-H-A-R-G-E.com slash D-H-R-U. That's me, Drew. And use the coupon code D-H-R-U to save 15%. 15% today. Here's the thing.
There are so many skincare brands out there that make a lot of promises, but not many of them that are backed by science. That's why I'm so excited about today's sponsor, OneSkin. With OneSkin, there's no guesswork. Their products are backed by lab and clinical data and powered by their proprietary OS01 peptide.
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Chapter 6: Why is dietary diversity important for gut microbiome?
This is something I would recommend to nearly all of the listeners. Number two, they can be delicious. They should be delicious. There's no reason for it to not be delicious. Number three, you can really crank up your fiber by doing this. It's a great way to start your day because then you're already ahead of the curve. in terms of your fiber goals.
And number four, same is true for plant diversity. Like you can easily get to eight, 10, 12 different plants. It's a Monday morning. It's a new week that started. You want to get to 30 by the end of the week. You throw some stuff into a blender. It takes you three minutes and you're already at 12. That's not a bad start.
Can you break it down? What would you be putting in it? Not necessarily I want to hear what you do today, but I want to start off first with advice for somebody who's like, I need more diversity, I need more fiber, and I want to do it in a way that's slow and steady. So what does that smoothie look like?
For that person, I like to use an expression, low and slow. So what that means is conceptually similar. I want people to think about the gut like it's a muscle. Apply the same logic that you would use in the gym.
to your gut so let's pretend this is day one this is conceptually the same as you going to the gym on january 1st and if i were to give you guidance on that day before you go to the gym i would say drew please don't hurt yourself please don't go crazy please don't lift weights that like are way more than you're ready to lift start low allow your body to adjust and adapt to it and you will get stronger and when you go back in two days you'll be a little bit stronger you can do just a little bit more and if you keep that pattern going that's how you build muscle mass
That's how you grow stronger. That's how you add functionality to your body that you don't currently have, but you could have if you were to follow this pattern of growth, right? The gut is the exact same way. So with the smoothie concept, let's start low. Let's go slow. So how do we start low? Okay, part of this is like, please don't drink 40 ounces of smoothie on the first day, right?
Like it's a volume thing. So don't make a massive smoothie and then feel obligated to finish the whole thing. Like if anything, make it smaller and share it. All right, number two, what do we throw into the smoothie? I would recommend that you start off with a low FODMAP smoothie. because it's going to be more gentle on the gut.
So what is this concept of FODMAPs for your listeners who perhaps haven't really heard much, or maybe they've heard it, but they're like, what is that? FODMAP stands for, and this is super nerdy, forgive me, fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols. What this is referring to is the fermentable carbohydrates in our diet. So that includes lactose and dairy products.
That includes things in beans, things in whole grains, fructose and fruit, and sweeteners like sugar alcohols, which also include artificial sweeteners. Okay. All of these things, when we say fermentable, fermentation produces gas. So for people who have a sort of weak gut... where they may struggle to process and digest their food.
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Chapter 7: How can alcohol impact gut health?
But if you want to take that smoothie and turn it into a meal and make it more satiating, then yes, we would absolutely love to include some protein and some healthy fat.
Great. So let's talk about some of the other things that are out there, just from your perspective. And again, for somebody who's starting low and slow, what else could they be putting inside of there? So what does that base look like for an introductory smoothie? Let's start off with, are you recommending water, almond milk, kefir?
And then what are some of these plants that they could potentially be putting inside?
Yeah. I mean, you're going to need a liquid. So, and I think that all of those choices that you just described are perfectly fine from my perspective. Where I started back in the day was with water. We will use a plant-based milk now these days in our house. But like whatever you prefer, wherever you feel most comfortable.
And there are advantages to kefir in the sense that that's a fermented food. And we can talk more about like the advantages of fermented food more globally. I sort of see that as a separate conversation, but also very important. We led with plant diversity. Cool. We're tackling that. There's also this conversation about fermented food. I would love to get into that.
We'll definitely get into it. It's on the docket. All right. Amazing.
You need something that's going to give it the creamy factor. All right. So if you had no FODMAP concerns, that could be an avocado. When you do have FODMAP concerns, then many times a banana would be the way to go. You still need to be conscious and aware of the banana. Is it brown or is it closer to green?
When it's closer to green, it's higher in resistant starch, which is actually really good for our gut bugs. And it's lower in FODMAPs. So that, to me, is a win when you get close to that. And again, you're going to be throwing this into a blender. So you're not going to be trying to bite some hard, unripe banana, right?
And it's still going to blend well, assuming that you have a nice blender, like, you know, whether that be a Vitamix or a Beast or something like this. Okay. So you want something that's going to give it the creamy. I usually go with banana. If you wanted to make this a smoothie bowl, here's a little hack. As opposed to a smoothie that you're going to drink, freeze your banana.
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Chapter 8: What are the concerns with the carnivore diet?
about a lot of the emulsifiers that are so common in these plant-based milks, especially that are out there.
I am concerned.
On a scale of one to 10, how concerned are you? And what is your recommendations and solutions? And for people that don't know, could you first start off with breaking down what are emulsifiers and what is their known impact on our gut microbiome? And what is their unknown impact on our gut microbiome?
Well, there's always stuff that we don't know. So the issue is that, Drew, dietary emulsifiers are just one category. of food-based additives that have been introduced into our food system, into our food supply, without adequate research to give us confidence, whether they are safe, unsafe, or somewhere in the middle.
And this is the problem that we have with the system that's been in place that really has, I think, come more into the public consciousness. And I think this is a really good thing through the service of RFK and the Maha movement. Like basically, they're bringing attention to this concept of generally recognized as safe, which is GRAS. Anyone who's read my books, you've heard me talk about this.
This is something that was in my first book, Fiber Fueled. I was very critical of the way in which our regulatory bodies are managing our food system because it's like completely designed for the food industry to add whatever they want. to get permission to do so, and to make it next to impossible for us to withdraw it after the fact.
It's really hard to prove that something is really causing harm. Now, these emulsifiers, let's dig into this. They have come to the surface because it starts with animal model studies.
Emulsifiers are stabilizers that are often added to foods to keep them shelf stable. And in a way, they kind of operate you know, keeping it stable, but also getting rid of bacteria. They're kind of like an antibiotic in a way. They're not an antibiotic, but they're kind of preserving so that you can sell an almond milk, a cashew milk or other products for a longer shelf life.
Otherwise they would normally be getting bacteria or they wouldn't blend as creamily or they would have other issues. Is that accurate?
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