What is Whole Food Nutrition & Why is it Better For You?

What does whole food nutrition mean? What is a diet that includes primarily whole foods? Whole foods nutrition means eating foods that are unprocessed and unrefined or minimally processed and refined before being consumed. To me, at its simplest level, eating whole foods means nothing more than eating REAL FOOD-food that come from plants and animals rather than a factory. These are foods that are foods because nature made them that way. There is no need for an ingredient list or lengthy food label. Whole food nutrition is the opposite of the mindless, standard American "carbotarian" diet that consists of nutrient poor, highly processed, white flour and refined sugar items that are made in a factory, come in a box and have a really long shelf life because even mold can't be convinced to eat them.

Why are whole foods better for you than factory made foods? There are too many reasons to list. And, in my mind, the vast amount of information out there today telling us all the reasons we should eat an apple instead of potato chips has created too much confusion around a very simple concept. A concept that, in its purest form, is nothing more than good old common sense. Plain and simple: whole foods created by nature are better for you. Ok, for those of you who need a little more convincing, one of my favorite explanations about why to eat whole foods is provided by health and wellness author Johnny Bowden, PhD, C.N.S., in his book The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth:

Eat real food. Stuff your grandmother would have recognized as food. Stuff that usually doesn't come in a package. What you eat probably doesn't ultimately matter as much as how much processing it's undergone. Real food - whole food with minimal processing - contains a virtual pharmacy of nutrients, phytochemicals, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and healthful fats, and can keep you alive and thriving into your tenth decade.

If "thriving into your tenth decade" is not enough incentive to eat a diet rich in whole foods, maybe the truth of the old adage "an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure" will convince you. The United States Department of Agriculture, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Institute and the American Heart Association tout the benefits of eating seven to thirteen servings of fruits and vegetables a day as the best form of prevention we have against chronic disease such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. See e.g. www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov.

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