Nutrition Grounded In Whole Foods
What is a dietary pattern based on whole foods?
A dietary pattern which consists of eating whole foods, is one which includes eating foods which are in as close to their natural form as possible and avoiding those which have had nutritional components removed due to heavy processing or refining (Lair, 2016). Whole foods may be lightly processed (e.g., canned tomatoes or dehydrated apples) but not altered in a way which removes nutrients or adds ingredients that are not technically food (Lair, 2016).
Whole foods contain minimal ingredients, all of which one should be able to imaging growing in a natural form (Lair, 2016). Whole food choices tend to be nutrient dense rather than energy dense, therefore the nutrition one consumes while following this dietary pattern justifies the calories consumed (Brusamolin, n.d.).
As with any balanced dietary pattern, the whole foods diet includes all the major nutrition categories including proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. These nutritional elements can be obtained by consuming high quality dairy, poultry and eggs, meat, fish, shellfish, land vegetables, marine vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes.
What are some of the benefits of a diet grounded in whole foods?
Whole foods tend to be higher in nutrient density than refined food, thus containing a higher level of vitamins and minerals in a bioavailable form. This is important as some synthetic nutrients that are added back into highly processed/refined foods are not in a form that can be readily and efficiently utilized by the body. These additives make for good marketing, but don't always live up to the health claims. By consuming whole foods, you can ensure that you are consuming the natural form of a nutrient, often in a balanced configuration with other nutrients that maximize absorption and utilization by the body.
In addition to the broad nutritional benefits of whole foods, a balanced diet based on whole foods is likely to provide high levels of nutrients specifically found in whole plants. Dietary patterns based on consumption of whole foods contain high levels of phytochemicals due to the increased consumption of unrefined plants (Bruce et al., 2000). This increase in phytochemical consumption has been found to alter lipoproteins (think cholesterol) in a beneficial way, improve colon function, and lower the need for antioxidant defense through the reduction of numerous oxidative activities within the body (Bruce et al., 2000).
Whole food based diets which include a high level of plant consumption are also often very high in dietary fiber. Eating patterns high in dietary fiber have been found to be associated with better regulation of appetite control, increased metabolic function and health, a more robust array of beneficial gut microbiota and associated increase in colonic health, and decrease in chronic inflammation (Barber et. al., 2020).
While whole foods are important to our health for all of the nutrients they contain, they are equally valuable for what they don't contain, such as added sugar and preservatives.