Did you know that in your gut you have a teeming colony of microorganisms? You have literally trillions of them in your body. They include bacteria, viruses and fungi, and are collectively known as your microbiome. And while some microorganisms cause disease, many are crucial to your health, helping your immune system, digestion and even your brain function.

您是否知道您的肠道内有大量微生物菌落？你的体内实际上有数万亿个它们。它们包括细菌、病毒和真菌，统称为微生物组。虽然有些微生物会引起疾病，但许多微生物对您的健康至关重要，有助于您的免疫系统、消化甚至大脑功能。

The more diverse our microbiome, the better our overall health. So, how can we improve our diversity? 'The single most important dietary factor we found for better gut health was the number of different plants we eat weekly, with 30 a week being the optimal number', says Dr Tim Spector of the British Gut Project. This is because there are different beneficial chemicals found in different kinds of plants. 30 plants might sound like a lot, but it turns out that unexpected foods, not just your 5-a-day, count as 'plants' too. For example, wholegrains like brown rice, oats, barley and quinoa, and legumes – that's food like lentils, chickpeas and beans, as well as nuts and seeds, will mean we get a whole host of microorganisms living inside our gut.

我们的微生物组越多样化，我们的整体健康就越好。那么，我们怎样才能提高我们的多样性呢？英国肠道项目的蒂姆·斯佩克特博士说：“我们发现，对于改善肠道健康来说，最重要的饮食因素是我们每周吃的不同植物的数量，每周吃 30 种植物是最佳数量。” 这是因为不同种类的植物中含有不同的有益化学物质。30 种植物可能听起来很多，但事实证明，意想不到的食物（不仅仅是每天 5 种）也算作“植物”。例如，糙米、燕麦、大麦和藜麦等全谷物，以及扁豆、鹰嘴豆和蚕豆等豆类食物，以及坚果和种子，意味着我们的肠道内生活着大量微生物。

In fact, Christopher Gardner, a professor of medicine and author of a Stanford Medicine study of identical twins found that "a vegan diet can confer additional benefits such as increased gut bacteria and the reduction of telomere loss, which slows ageing in the body". But you don't have to become completely plant-based. Probiotics help the microbiome too. These are live bacteria and yeasts that can be found in yoghurt and fermented food like sauerkraut. And food from animals can have health benefits. Meat is high in protein and nutrients like choline, which helps with memory, mood and muscle control.

事实上，医学教授克里斯托弗·加德纳（Christopher Gardner）是斯坦福大学医学同卵双胞胎研究的作者，他发现“纯素饮食可以带来额外的好处，例如增加肠道细菌和减少端粒丢失，从而延缓身体衰老”。但你不必完全以植物为基础。益生菌也有助于微生物组。这些是活细菌和酵母，可以在酸奶和酸菜等发酵食品中找到。动物食品对健康有益。肉类富含蛋白质和胆碱等营养物质，有助于记忆、情绪和肌肉控制。

So, for better physical and mental health, grab those plants and strengthen your microbiome.

因此，为了更好的身心健康，请抓住这些植物并增强您的微生物组。 

词汇表

gut 肠道
colony 生物群
microorganism 微生物
trillion 万亿，兆
microbiome 微生物群
immune system 免疫系统
digestion 消化
diverse 多种多样的
optimal 最佳的
5-a-day 每天要吃五份果蔬（世界卫生组织为增强健康饮食意识发起的每日至少食用 400g 水果或蔬菜的宣传活动）
wholegrain 全谷物的（食品）
legume 豆类，荚豆
vegan 纯素食的，严格素食的
telomere （染色体的）端粒
ageing 衰老
plant-based 基于植物的，植物性的
probiotic 益生菌
yeast 酵母菌
fermented 已发酵的
sauerkraut 泡菜