New findings from King's College London challenge conventional dietary wisdom, revealing that consuming eleven distinct plant varieties each day provides superior cardiovascular and metabolic benefits compared to the standard five-a-day recommendation.
The research demonstrates that individuals who incorporate greater plant diversity into their meals experience improved cholesterol profiles and enhanced blood sugar regulation.
Those achieving high dietary variety showed markedly better health markers than people consuming fewer plant types.
The comprehensive study examined over 670 British adults, uncovering significant health advantages linked to expanding beyond traditional fruit and vegetable consumption to include pulses, herbs, spices and plant-based oils.
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The investigation, detailed in the Clinical Nutrition journal, analysed dietary patterns from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey conducted during 2016-2017.
Participants were categorised into three distinct groups according to their plant consumption variety.
The low-diversity cohort consumed approximately 5.5 plant types daily, whilst moderate-diversity participants managed 8.1 varieties.
High-diversity individuals incorporated around 11 different plant foods into their regular meals.
Blood analysis revealed striking differences between groups. Those with limited plant variety displayed reduced HDL cholesterol levels, potentially increasing cardiovascular disease and stroke risks.
Additionally, researchers observed that blood glucose markers improved with each incremental increase in plant diversity.
Dr Eirini Dimidi, senior lecturer in nutritional sciences at King's College London and senior author of the study, said: "Current dietary guidance in the UK often emphasises quantity, such as 'five-a-day' for fruit and vegetables.
"Our findings suggest that dietary variety, across all plant-based food groups, may be just as important for improving diet quality and lowering the risk of cardiometabolic diseases."
Nutritionist Kim Pearson explained: "Rather than just focusing on quantity, like ticking off five-a-day, we should also be thinking about variety."
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The research identified vegetables as the primary contributor to dietary diversity at 21 per cent, with plant-based fats and oils accounting for 18.8 per cent and fruits representing 17 per cent of variety.
Despite these benefits, nutritional shortfalls persisted across all groups.
Dr Dimidi noted: "While higher diversity was associated with better nutrient adequacy overall, key shortfalls remained even among those with the most diverse plant-based diets, particularly for fibre and several micronutrients which are important for maintaining a strong immune system and healthy bones and tissues."
She added: "In addition to fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices are great plant-based food sources that can help us to introduce more plant diversity into our diets."