Whole plant foods are unprocessed and unrefined (or minimally so), as one would find them in nature.

Examples of whole foods are legumes, intact grains, tubers, rhizomes, fungi, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds.

Whole plant foods are foods humans have been eating for thousands of years, and are eaten by the longest living human populations on the planet today.

Plants contain fiber.  Fiber helps us feel full, and has no calories.  It feeds the good bacteria that live in our gastro-intestinal tract, which, in turn, contribute to our health, as well.

Whole plant foods are also generally nutrient-dense, high in vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients.  These nutrients interact synergistically, like instruments in an orchestra, to produce a beneficial health effect greater than the sum of the food’s individual nutrients.

A helpful question to ask oneself to identify a whole plant food is “can I imagine it growing?”

Food fads may come and go, but whole plant foods have stood the test of time.