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What Is a Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet?

 The Center for Nutrition Studies describes a Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet as:

A WFPB diet doesn’t include any meat, poultry, fish, dairy, or eggs. It’s not, however, the same as a vegan diet, which is defined only by what it eliminates. A WFPB diet is defined also by what it emphasizes: a large variety of whole foods.

The term “whole” in WFPB describes foods that are minimally processed. This includes as many whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes as you want. It also includes, in moderation: nuts, seeds, avocados, natural sweeteners, and certain soy or wheat products that don’t contain added fat (e.g., tofu).

Heavily processed foods, on the other hand, are not included in a WFPB diet. This means avoiding highly refined grain products (e.g., white rice, white flour), foods containing added sugars or artificial sweeteners (e.g., confectioners sugar, high fructose corn syrup), and foods containing added fat. Yes, even olive oil.

 It's that simple!

It's a beautifully simple concept for better nutrition and better health outcomes. Just eat a wide variety of fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains, legumes, some very minimally processed foods. Moderate your intake of whole foods that are high in fat like nuts and seeds. There's an emphasis on eating a wide variety of whole foods. It has been estimated that there could be 300,000 edible plants on earth!

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