What does Whole Foods mean?
What the hell does whole food MEAN?
Plant-based means food that is either mostly or all plants, but what does whole food mean?
Processing foods is what we do when we take a plant or animal product and alter it.
Let’s take the soybean as an example. Straight off the plant it is a whole food. It’s in its whole form. So, the edamame (fresh soybeans) at a sushi restaurant is a whole food.
Soybeans can also be squished into soybean oil. The fiber and a ton of the nutrients from that original soybean are gone and all you’re eating is the oil that’s left over.
That is not a whole food anymore.
You can also take that soybean and make tofu. It’s technically not a TRUE whole food anymore, because it’s been altered. However, some of the important nutrients (like protein) of the original bean are left in the final product. So it’s considered less processed. Tempeh, that’s made from whole soybeans, even maintains the fiber of that soybean.
I think of this as a spectrum that corresponds to a traffic light categorization.
The whole food, right off the vine, is a green light food. For optimum nutrition and health, eat it. Freely. (Unless you have an allergy or sensitivity to it, of course).
The slightly processed version is a yellow light food. For optimum health, eat it, but don’t go crazy.
The extremely processed version is a red light food. For optimum health, avoid it or eat it rarely.
Now, we live in the real world. We eat out, we eat convenience foods, we indulge in fast food and junk food sometimes. I get it. I’m a nutritionist and I do all these things from time to time.
The important thing to remember is to add more green light foods. Adding is easier than taking away, especially in the beginning. Eventually, you can think about removing the red light foods from your diet as often as you can.
Think about optimizing nutrients - and the most direct and easiest way to do this is to eat as many whole fruits and veggies as you can fit into your diet.
If you’re able to do that, you’re rocking it.