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

Dhru Purohit Show

Dhru Purohit

Medicine, Health & Fitness, Alternative Health

4.7 • 3.4K Ratings

🗓️ 23 April 2025

⏱️ 133 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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

Transcript

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0:00.0	Will, welcome back to the podcast.
0:02.8	I want to jump right in and provide some major value for our audience today on the topic of the gut microbiome.
0:09.8	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,
0:23.1	potentially, is to include 30 different plants inside of your diet on a weekly basis.
0:32.5	Talk to us about this number 30.
0:34.7	Why is it so magical and break down some of this pivotal research?
0:39.1	The thing about this is I think this is universally applicable and something that every single
0:45.2	listener, unless you're on a 100% animal-based diet, every single one of these listeners can
0:51.1	apply this to their life. Increase the diversity of plants in your diet.
0:55.4	Where this came from, Drew, is a study called the American Gut Project.
0:59.8	That's where it originally started.
1:01.6	And the American Gut Project actually was an international study and included like 52 territories
1:05.8	in countries across the globe, especially the United States and the UK.
1:10.7	And it was the first time that they had microbiome samples for over 10,000 people. across the globe, especially the United States and the UK.
1:15.9	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.
1:19.5	What were they eating?
1:20.4	How were they eating?
1:21.2	What was their dietary pattern?
1:22.3	All these different things.
1:24.3	And when they did their analysis, this was like purely statistical.
1:27.0	This was not some sort of a prior thing they were trying to find. When they did their analysis, this was like purely statistical. This was not some sort of
1:28.3	a priori thing they were trying to find. When they did their analysis, this thing jumped out.
	...

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