The Whole Food Diet

Sunny-Side Wellness
Jan 11, 2022
2 min read

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The whole food diet is considered the healthiest way to eat and promotes optimal whole-body wellness as well as physical and mental longevity. The main goal is to avoid processed foods and consume items that are closest to their natural form - thus containing their natural, beneficial nutrients.

Forget dieting or fasting – these health fads will only hurt your body. If you stick to a whole food diet you will see the healthiest results possible. Experts have spent significant time documenting the nutritional patterns of different cultures around the World. They have come to the conclusion that people of cultures that naturally eat a whole food diet are healthier, happier, and live longer lives. They call these areas of the World the “Blue Zones”. There are currently five identifiable Blue Zones: Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece, and Loma Linda, California. What do all these cultures have in common? They primarily eat a whole food diet native to their land.

The basics of the whole food diet are categorized into three groups: ALWAYS, SOMETIMES, and NEVER.

First, think fresh – nothing packaged. This is the go-to rule for whole food noshing. This includes fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, unprocessed lean meats, and legumes. There are some occasional allowances with certain items, and then there is a strict NO for others.

ALWAYS:

Fresh and Frozen Fruit, Vegetables, Whole Grains, Legumes, Flaxseed, Chia Seed, Spices, Water, Almond Milk, Herbal and Green Tea, Decaf Coffee, Honey

SOMETIMES:

Nuts, Sesame Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Dried Fruit, Lean Beef, Lean Pork, Poultry, Seafood, Fish, Skim Milk, Low-Fat Yogurt, Eggs, Maple Syrup, Molasses, Black Tea, Caffeinated Coffee, Alcohol.

NEVER:

Sausage, Bacon, Hot Dogs, Ham, Deli Meat, Salami, Pepperoni, Butter, Cream, Buttermilk, Oil, Margarine, White Sugar, Cane Sugar, Corn Syrup, White Flour, Enriched Pasta, White Rice, Quick Oats, Energy Drinks, Juice (unless 100% juice), Sports Drinks, Soda.