What is Whole Food, Plant-Based Nutrition
Promoting your lifelong health
What’s the healthiest way to eat? Despite many competing ideas online, on social media, and even among healthcare professionals and researchers, most of the evidence points to a few simple ideas.
Eat Whole Plant Foods
Whole foods are ingredients that are minimally processed. Plant foods fall into the following categories:
Vegetables
Vegetables
The choices are limitless with starchy root vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes, leafy greens like romaine and collard greens, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and kale, and let’s not forget onions, asparagus, squash… you get the idea.
Fruit
Fruit
Savor a rainbow of fruit including berries, citrus fruits, apples, pears, bananas, grapes, tropical fruits like mango and pineapple, and stone fruits like plums and peaches. Raw, blended, or baked, fruit hits the spot!
Whole Grains
Whole Grains
Enjoy hearty grains like brown rice, whole wheat pastas, quinoa, oats, millet, buckwheat, farro, and wheat berries. Whether eaten intact, stone-ground, or as flour, whole grains keep the fiber and nutrients all in one package.
Legumes
Legumes
Mix it up with chickpeas, pinto beans, black-eyed peas, lentils, black beans, soybeans, tempeh, tofu, snap peas — there are countless varieties. Legumes keep us satisfied and promote longevity!
Nuts & Seeds
Nuts & Seeds
Essential fats come from whole foods like avocado, and from an array of nuts and seeds like almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds. Flax and chia seeds can be substituted for eggs in baking, and blended cashews can make cheese alternatives. Eating these foods in moderation helps keep fat intake low.
Eating a variety of these foods will give you all the nourishment you need to thrive. An easy way to make sure you’re covering your bases is to follow Michael Greger, MD’s Daily Dozen.
A good diet can reverse [many] health conditions. Change the way you eat and you can transform your health for the better.
— T. Colin CamPbell, PHD, Nutrition Scientist and Plant-Based Health Pioneer
The Health Benefits
More Nutrients Per BitE
Most Americans consume plenty of calories but don’t get enough nutrients. Whole food, plant-based nutrition emphasizes foods that naturally contain fewer calories and more nutrients.
Reduced Fat & Healthy Fat
Most of the fat found in animal foods and many processed foods is saturated fat, which promotes heart disease and other chronic diseases. Most plants have higher concentrations of unsaturated fats, which our bodies can synthesize much better.
Fiber-Rich
Only about 5% of Americans get enough fiber in their diet (at least 30-35 grams/day). Fiber feeds our gut microbiome, which has the power to either keep us healthy or create conditions for disease. Whole food, plant-based nutrition can serve up as much as 50-100 grams fiber/day.
Cancer-Fighting
Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and kale have cancer-fighting compounds, whereas most animal foods and fried foods have elements that promote cancer, and they lack fiber which is cancer-protective.
FOODS TO ELIMINATE
Meat, poultry, fish, dairy, and eggs are associated with increased risk of certain chronic diseases according to the massive Cornell-Oxford-China Study as well as obesity.
Processing exists on a spectrum, so we aim to choose foods with limited processing or refining, but making allowances for some ingredients that make this lifestyle more palatable.
Everything from avocado oil and olive oil to sunflower and canola oil. They’re the most calorie-dense foods available and can make it hard for some people to lose or maintain weight.
Even at small amounts, alcohol is shown to increase cancer risk.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Minimize added salt, with an upper limit of 1,500 mg of sodium daily. Sodium is a naturally occurring mineral available in whole plants, though some people may still need to lightly salt their foods. Iodized table salt is best for modest amounts of added salt, to ensure sufficient iodine intake.
Minimize added sweeteners, as well, including everything from cane sugar to maple syrup, agave, honey, and stevia.
Why? Most of these sweeteners offer little nutritional value and make us crave more concentrated sweetness in our foods. It’s possible to retrain our taste buds to enjoy the natural sugars in fruit, and to use dried fruits and pastes for sweetness in dips, dressings, and baking.
While a whole food diet doesn’t require many supplements, there are some we all need: Vitamin B12 is a must when following a plant-based lifestyle, and it’s recommended even for those eating meat and dairy. Vitamin D3 is also key — we can get it from the sun and also through supplements.
Does this sound like you?
- A chronic disease runs in your family, and you want to lower your chances of developing it.
- You need to reduce your cholesterol or blood pressure.
- You’d like to lose weight — or maintain a healthy weight — without having to count calories.
- You’d like to be able to reduce (or get off) medication.
- You get sick easily and want to build your immunity.
- You feel sluggish and want to feel more energized.
- You’d like to improve your mental clarity.
- You’d like to lower your grocery bill.
- You want to age well and keep your vitality!
testimonials
Reaping the Health Benefits
Read personal accounts from our community members who have improved their health and lives through whole food, plant-based (WFPB) nutrition.
I suffered for years with unsuccessfully treated severe chest pain from acute pericarditis (pericardial effusion), as well as osteopenia/osteoporosis and high cholesterol. I was able to eliminate the inflammation and pain from the effusion in three weeks, and subsequently increase my bone density and lower my cholesterol, with the inclusion of a WFPB diet.
— PAMELA T.
After years of professional dancing, I completely reduced significant chronic inflammation in my knee.
— KIM S.
Switching to a WFPB diet helped me reverse high cholesterol (hyperlipidemia) that began in my 20s and impacted all four grandparents and my dad by setting the stage for atherosclerosis, heart attacks, and stroke.
— KARINA P.
My cholesterol level has dropped by over 50 points and my blood pressure has normalized.
— MITCH C.
I lost 35 pounds and feel great.
— KAREN G.
During my fifth decade, I entered menopause and gained 40 pounds, which promoted acid reflux, weak knees, and poor mobility. This all quickly resolved when I switched to WFPB eating.
— LOIS L.
I had always believed that my arthritis pain was genetic, given that my mother suffered from it terribly. Although I have always been vegetarian, things didn’t turn around until I became fully plant-based. I lost 50 lbs and even though my knees, neck, and fingers remain arthritic, I do not have any pain or discomfort.
— LOUISE C.
After many years of insomnia, a whole food, plant-based diet improved my sleep to a solid eight hours, uninterrupted.
— ENRICA S.
Even with three kids passing germs around from school, our family gets sick much less often than before. The viruses are typically mild and don’t require any medication. Growing up, nearly every cold I had would progress to bronchitis, but never since becoming plant-powered!
— LIANNA L.
I no longer have any symptoms of gastritis or any digestive pain.
— HOLLY H.
Eating a WFPB diet reversed decades of distress caused by ulcerative colitis, which was brought on by eating my family’s traditional meat-and-potatoes cuisine.
— ENRICA S.
As a diabetic, my A1c [a marker of elevated blood sugar] dropped three points, my hearing was restored, and my neuropathies disappeared.
— SERGIO V.
I no longer suffer seasonal allergies or severe migraines.
— CHRYSTL L.
Seasonal allergies and colds are almost nonexistent.
— MAYERLIN A.
Plant-based nutrition reversed my AMD (macular degeneration) and put it into remission, healing my vision and the need for eye injections!
— DONNA C.
I was diagnosed with macular degeneration in 2009, and it has not progressed since.
— SHERRY J.
My acne and blepharitis have completely vanished by being on a whole food, plant-based diet.
— LOUIS M.
I see WFPB nutrition has improved my overall health, especially my skin.
— KELE N.
It really elevated my energy, which gave me the tools to self-regulate more efficiently and take control of my mental health.
— ESTHER G.
My energy is more vibrant, and I recover more quickly from exercise soreness.
— LOUIS M.
Since adopting a WFPB diet, my energy level has significantly increased, which has allowed me to exercise daily and enjoy a more active lifestyle.
— DENISE B.
A whole-plant-food diet keeps me healthy, strong, and fit, powering me through triathlons (Half Ironman!), training, and demanding schedules.
— SHERRY J.
Eating a WFPB diet has allowed me to reduce my medication for hypothyroidism, eliminate an antibiotic for rosacea, and eliminate all symptoms and non-prescription medication for GERD (gastroesophageal reflux).
— DENISE B.
For myself, my partner, and my children, a WFPB diet provided better sleep; more balanced hormones for easier menopause; relief from acne, infections, excess weight, headaches, gastric reflux, stomach pain, and constipation; and improved energy, stamina, and eyesight.
— KARINA P.
By eating a WFPB diet, my gastrointestinal tract issues and acne have been resolved.
— DANIELLE M.
WFPB eating has been the best decision I ever made to help stave off the myriad of chronic diseases that plague many Americans. It’s kept me at a healthy weight, normal blood pressure, low cholesterol, and normal HbA1c [a marker of diabetes].
— JEFF S.
As I enter my 50s, I attribute a plant-based diet to reaching this milestone without needing to be on medications, as well as being full of energy and strength and becoming a nationally qualified bodybuilder.
— VIVIAN D.
Eating a WFPB diet has not only helped cure my chronic disease, but I now live a more vibrant and energetic life because I feel great in both mind and body!
— JILLIAN V.
I have a much higher quality of life energetically, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
— LATURE V.
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