8/11/2024
Research suggests a whole food diet can treat and prevent heart disease, cancer, diabetes, blood pressure, gout, mental health conditions, and obesity. Whole foods are lower in fat and sugar, and remain higher in vitamins, beneficial fats, protein, and fiber. These foods are not processed, and contain no artificial or highly processed ingredients.
Adding preservatives (including sodium), oils, sweeteners, artificial ingredients, or altering food in other ways such as brining, fermenting or dehydrating are all forms of processing. We do not have enough research on how some processed ingredients can affect our health, and some research including artificial sweetener research has been surprising.
There is much overlap between the whole food diet, and the DASH diet. Both diets are intended to be adopted long term as a lifestyle change.
Examples of processed foods include:
- Microwavable meals
- Drinks with additives
- Foods with added sugars
- Food that is manufactured such as potato chips or sweets
Whole or minimally processed foods and drinks include:
- 100% whole grain bread, cereal or granola (minimally processed)
- Fruits and vegetables that are not canned, bought frozen, or microwavable
- Milk, yogurt and cheese (minimally processed)
- Meats with no additives (red meat is not processed but may not be the healthiest choice due to fat content. One tip is to stick to poultry, seafood, and pork instead of steak)
- Nuts, seeds and legumes
- Eggs
- Unpasteurized juices
- Tea
- Water
By: Evan Redmond, Pharm.D.
