A whole food, plant-based diet can be seen as a niche with veganism or plant-based diets. The whole food, plant-based diet, or WFPB in short, has its roots in nutritional research on the effects of diet and health. More info can be found via GingerKale and NutritionFacts.org, among others, about the why of whole food, plant-based diet.
So what is it exactly?
Plant-based, always!
First, the diet focuses on consuming plant-based food at the expense of animal-based foods. So that means no beef, chicken, fish, milk, cheese, butter, and other animal-based products. These are known to be high in cholesterol and contain very few nutrients and vitamins.
Plant-based food is filled with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and even protein. Emphasis is given to fruits and vegetables, beans and lentils, and grains! But this is also where the whole food part comes in.
Whole food, what do you mean?
Whole food refers to food in its most wholesome form. Think about bread. We know that white bread is heavily processed, hence it is not so wholesome. A more wholesome form is brown bread. This bread contains far more nutrients than white bread.
Another example is olives. Olive oil is a processed product, while olives are the whole food. If you eat olives, you get a bit of the oil and fat in its purest form, while you also get other nutrients. When in processed form, the nutrients are almost entirely extracted, in this case leaving you with pure fat.
For stimulating optimal health, it is best to consume foods in their most wholesome form. Luckily, this food is now widely available so you can easily find whole food, plant-based friendly products in every corner of the world.
Enjoy your next meal!
