7 Benefits Of Eating A Whole Foods Diet
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The benefits of a whole foods diet are many, but the most important is that it will improve your overall health. Often referred to as “clean eating,” a whole foods diet is centered around eating foods as close to their natural state as possible, and refraining from processed, refined goods.
A transition to a whole food diet can seem overwhelming, too painstaking, too foreign to the lifestyle you are comfortable currently living. But if you are looking to make a positive improvement in your lifestyle, if you haven’t been making great food choices but don’t know what to change, or if you want to make more eco-friendly food choices, a whole foods diet could be the healthy choice to improve your health, daily routine, lifestyle, and footprint.
Read on to find out the numerous benefits of this kind of eating plan, and how to transition into a whole foods diet!
What are the Benefits of Eating a Whole Foods Diet?
It’s a more financially responsible choice
Let’s face it, oftentimes part of your paycheck seems to disappear into thin air, and much of it goes to eating out. One study found that people on a whole food diet saved $1400 compared to those on a processed diet.
A whole foods diet is most successfully established through home-cooked meals, and fresh ingredients from the local grocery store will be much lighter on your wallet than purchasing pre-made food.
you know exactly what goes into your body
Highly processed foods can be delicious, but that in part is due to the damaging, inflammatory, sodium- and oil- and sugar-infused options on the menu. This food tastes amazing because the ingredients are engineered to taste amazing. But hold up—do you really want to eat food that has been engineered?
Truth be told, when you eat highly processed foods, you have no clue—who can blame you?—what you are actually eating. A whole foods diet is more liberating in that you know exactly what you are consuming and can feel confident that you are making healthy choices.
““Highly processed foods can be delicious, but that in part is due to the damaging, inflammatory, sodium- and oil- and sugar-infused options on the menu. This food tastes amazing because the ingredients are engineered to taste amazing. But hold up—do you really want to eat food that has been engineered?””
It can improve mood and mental health
Food fuels your mind, not just your body.
Processed foods are linked to mood swings, anxiety and depressive episodes. Made with damaging vegetable oils and sugars, all those additives and preservatives that no one can spell or remember or understand are unnatural to the human body and therefore, not conducive to optimal mental health. They directly impact your mind.
A whole foods diet will fuel your energy and activity levels
If you are trying to get in shape or manage weight, many fitness experts and nutritionists will confirm that working out is 25% and nutrition is 75% of your focus and effort. You can’t exercise your way out of poor nutrition.
Whole foods more properly fuel your muscles and brain, promotes gut health, and keeps inflammation down.
Processed foods, on the other hand, are linked to obesity, cancer, diabetes, heart disease (to name a few), and diet plays a major component in the exponentially rising statistics of poor nutrition and overall health.
improve your reflection and skin health
It is no secret that the excessive oils and sugars in processed food clog your pores and directly impact your reflection. Your skin health is a very visible reminder of the quality of the food you are eating (though obviously not the only factor in skin health). If you clean up your diet and avoid refined, processed foods, your skin will immediately reflect this positive difference! That's your skin being your friendly reminder.
You Lose Those Cravings
Your cravings for junk food decreases, because your system is naturally nourished and satisfied by the wholesome, nutrient-filled fuel you are providing it with. Processed foods create cravings—did you know sugar is more addicting than cocaine?—and so can snowball into a less-than-healthy lifestyle.
Supports Long Term Health
The natural nutrients found in whole food, particularly vegetables, are critical to long-term health. Not even supplements can replace the intricate process and benefits of the natural nutrition in whole grains, fresh produce, and organic meat.
Why to Transition to a Whole Foods Diet
Transitioning to a completely whole foods diet can require a lot of change and discipline if you commit, but it is not about dietary restriction, or being a fad diet.
Transitioning to a whole foods diet is centered around eating how humans are supposed—are made—to eat. With natural foods. What the heck is monosodium glutamate, guar gum, sodium nitrite, propyl gallate, and sodium benzoate? They are all extremely common additives to processed foods. What else are they? They are known carcinogens.
The thought of putting chemically-altered, unnatural ingredients in your system is very unappealing, yet that is exactly what is happening when we eat anything highly processed. We can’t see them because they are disguised with decadent flavors, textures, and pretty wrappers, and we know very little about them, because the industry is certainly not enlightening people on the potential long-term health destruction. Propaganda and marvelous marketing measures rule the food industry.
““Because we no longer use natural products, consume natural ingredients from the earth, and expose ourselves to a world of unnatural, toxic chemicals, today, 1 in 5 people will develop a type of cancer in their lifetime. Cancer was not prominent a century ago.””
Because we no longer use natural products, consume natural ingredients from the earth, and expose ourselves to a world of unnatural, toxic chemicals, today, 1 in 5 people will develop a type of cancer in their lifetime. Cancer was not prominent a century ago.
Think of how the human population ate one, two, or three hundred years ago. They certainly had different customs when it came to food, access to different foods, and had inadequate resources and knowledge to protect themselves against disease, but they ate from the land and had better nutrition.
Today, we have the benefit of access to better healthcare, information, resources, cuisine options from all over the world, eliminating many economic barriers and medical risks, yet our overall physical and mental health is still declining. Mental health disorders like anxiety, depression, and ADHD are commonplace; cancer, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease are prevalent and steadily increasing. Diabetes especially has skyrocketed in the last fifty years. All of these medical conditions are both directly and indirectly linked to the decline in nutrition.
Today, society and the food industry have introduced and established the extreme convenience, cheapness, and tastiness of highly processed foods. “Instant” and convenience foods that would magically transition from a powder to a meal took the world by storm in the latter part of the 20th century, delighting people with this convenience and shifting the focus from real food.
All of these foods were normalized over time, but it is important to remember that these highly processed foods—totally devoid of natural nutrients that are critical to human growth and health—should not be normalized. Food is our fuel and if the nutrients have been removed from the fuel, then our bodies are running on empty!
How to Transition to a Whole Foods Diet
A fun rule-of-thumb is shopping the outskirts of the grocery store: dairy, produce like vegetables and fruits, fresh bread, meat and fish. Think of it, most of the junk food is hidden in the maze of processed boxes, jars, and cans in the inner aisles of the store, right?
When grocery shopping, ask yourself, how close to its original form/natural state is that food or product? How far has it traveled, how many chemical processes did it undergo, how many refineries or plants do you think touched it before landing on the plate in front of you?
If you lose count, have no idea how this food was made, or the list of ingredients is so incomprehensible that it is nearly comical, you can bet its nutrient level has been brought very low. Of course, there are exceptions, products like jam, peanut butter, olive oil, and some canned vegetables (to name a few) retain nutritional value with minimal processing.
If you are not sure how some of your favorite convenience foods are made, look it up! Self-education is priceless. Informing yourself on what you are putting into your body is crucial, and it is jaw-dropping how the standard American diet is horribly nutrient-deficient, yet “standard.”
As you adjust to a whole foods diet, you realize your desire for junk food gradually decreases. You stop having cravings for greasy potato chips, and instead something homemade, hearty, and yummy—like baked salmon and asparagus—will sound amazing to a hungry stomach, as opposed to the thought of fried chicken, fries, and whatever else.
It is highly refreshing and revitalizing to clean out your pantry and commit to a healthy choice by striving for primarily whole foods.
More and more, you will realize the fundamental positive changes that occur in your daily life and set you up for a longer, healthier lifetime. You break out less, you have consistent energy levels, you appreciate the earth and the fresh, life-giving resources it provides, and you’re saving money. Unexpected, awesome differences will enter your daily life that you won’t want to give up after experiencing them!
The transition can be fun and challenging, and you can rediscover the joy of truly good food, that is nourishing to your mind and body, not just food that tastes good. Your mind, body, moods, future children, environment, and local farmers and many other factors will all thank you for your healthy choices! You could even discover a love of baking or cooking; natural ingredients make all the difference.
Some beginning, creative ideas to make the transition to whole foods fun and interesting:
Choose whole wheat over white flour and white breads.
Choose fruit juice, milk, tea, or kombucha over soft drinks or other sugary drinks.
Fill your shopping cart up with naturally colorful vegetables and fruits—try some you’ve never even heard of before—instead of convenience, boxed, “instant” goods.
Try making your own salad dressing.
Make desserts from scratch. Homemade brownies are far more satisfying than the store-bought ones.
Make your own jam.
Choose organic, grass-fed beef, or free range poultry.
Attend local farmers markets for fresh produce without pesticides and to support local farms.
If you’re trying to improve your overall health, a whole foods diet is one big way you have full control over. It helps that there are a number of online resources dedicated to whole foods recipes, so there can be no lack of inspiration.
If you are interested in reading more in-depth on nutrition, down to the nitty-gritty molecular level, Deep Nutrition by Dr. Cate Shanahan is an excellent, comprehensive resource.