31/08/2026
Thirty different plant foods a week. Not thirty serves. Thirty different ones.
It sounds impossible until you start counting properly.
Herbs count. Spices count. Nuts, seeds, wholegrains and legumes all count. A handful of mixed seeds on your porridge is four plants before breakfast is finished. The parsley and the paprika count. So does the tin of chickpeas.
Most women I say this to get to about twelve when they first count, and are somewhere near thirty within a fortnight without changing very much at all. It is mostly a matter of variety rather than volume.
Aim for these two specific things to build in.
→ Cruciferous vegetables, daily. Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, rocket, brussels sprouts, bok choy. These are the ones that support how your body clears oestrogen, which matters a great deal through a transition where your oestrogen is swinging.
→ Fermented foods, introduced carefully. Have a tablespoon of sauerkraut, not a jar of it. Go slowly. Too much too fast is exactly why so many people decide fermented foods do not agree with them, when where they went wrong, is they went from none to lots in a week.
Your gut microbiome is one of the five systems that shifts through perimenopause. Of all five, this is the one you can start on tonight, with whatever is already in your fridge.
Episode 13 of my podcast, Nourish, Heal & Rise, covers all five systems that shift during perimenopause, so eat more plant foods, and then go listen to my podcast!
Listen or watch on Apple, YouTube or Spotify, or visit www.andrearobertson.health/podcast/13
Andrea x
Dr Andrea Robertson
Osteopath | Naturopath | Nutritionist