What is whole-food nutrition and what are its benefits?

These days there are many different types of diets, each with its own pros and cons. There's vegetarian eating, vegan eating, low-carb eating, and so on.

One concept that combines healthy, high-quality food with a sense of sustainability is the principle of whole-food nutrition. Here, foods that are healthy and minimally processed take top priority. Learn more in this blog post about whole-food nutrition, what to watch out for with this way of eating, and what health benefits it offers.

Quick introduction first: my name is Marco Laterza and I'm a personal trainer from Zurich with years of experience in nutrition and fitness. I pay very close attention to my own diet and try to eat healthily and in a balanced way despite a stressful work routine. If you'd like individual guidance on this, feel free to contact me anytime!

What is whole-food nutrition?

Whole-food nutrition is a fairly broad term that essentially stands for healthy, sustainable eating. Fresh, healthy and minimally processed foods take top priority here. That mainly means plant-based foods. These include

• vegetables
• fruit
• and legumes

Of course, with this way of eating it's also completely fine to eat foods that have been processed. So whole-grain products, dairy products, and small amounts of meat, fish and eggs are allowed too. The basic principle, though, is that about half of your diet should consist of unheated foods, such as whole-grain meal, fresh fruit, nuts or raw milk. More on that later.

What basic principles does whole-food nutrition follow?

Whole-food nutrition is fundamentally very simple. There are four principles you should keep in mind with this way of eating, though:

• Strong focus on regional and seasonal food: whole-food nutrition definitely factors sustainability into your diet. For one, it's important that products aren't transported over long distances, to reduce the ecological footprint. It's also important to only include fruit and vegetables that are currently in season on your menu. Naturally ripened produce is far more flavorful and healthier.
• Minimally processed foods: most of the food in your daily diet should be only lightly processed. This has the advantage that important vitamins, minerals and trace elements are preserved. As a result, the food is higher quality and better for your body than heavily processed meals.
• Organic farming: it's not just about buying any regional products. Organic farming is also very important within the whole-food nutrition principle. By using fewer harmful substances and packaging materials that are less damaging to the environment, your diet does something good for the planet too.
• Fair trade: social sustainability also plays a role in whole-food nutrition. Products should be bought wherever you know fair trade practices are upheld. This way, for example, you avoid companies that allow or turn a blind eye to child labor in developing countries.

By following the concept of whole-food nutrition, you're not just doing something good for your own body. You're also promoting a sustainable approach to eating, both for the environment and for society.

What foods are you allowed to eat with whole-food nutrition?

You've already learned that most of your diet should consist of unheated foods. Fresh fruit, nuts or whole-grain meal should ideally make up 50% of your diet.

The remaining 50% should then consist of heated foods. These include, for example

• whole-grain pasta and whole-grain bread
• frozen or heated vegetables
• cooked potatoes
• heated legumes
• butter, cheese
• meat & fish
• honey

While meat and fish are allowed, whole-food nutrition calls for sharply reducing how much you eat. Once or twice a week is recommended here. Foods like white bread, tofu, dumplings, salted nuts, cold cuts, cocoa or dried fruit should only be eaten rarely. Heavily processed foods, such as chips, pizza, soy meat, soft drinks or sweets, should be avoided.

Who is whole-food nutrition suitable for?

Basically, whole-food nutrition is suitable for everyone. By preparing fresh, unprocessed foods, you take in all the important nutrients and vitamins as part of a balanced diet. For babies, however, this way of eating isn't recommended.

Tips for putting it into practice

Whole-food nutrition sounds very simple in principle, but putting it into practice can often be trickier than expected. After all, this way of eating means cooking a lot and no longer buying ready meals. Here are some tips I can give you if you'd like to try whole-food nutrition:

1. Create a shopping plan: ideally, you should think ahead about which dishes you want to cook going forward. Plan the dishes for the coming week, and plan your shopping at the same time. Since fresh fruit and vegetables don't keep as long as preserved foods, you might want to consider splitting your weekly shopping into several trips. That way the food stays fresh and tasty.
2. Get creative: you should avoid salt where possible. To make sure dishes still taste good, you can get really creative with herbs. There's also herb salt available, which has a reduced salt content. That's worth trying too.
3. Pay attention to your stomach: even though you should eat a wide variety of foods, you still need to pay attention to how your body reacts to each one. If something doesn't agree with you, you should definitely cross it off your list.
4. Watch your fat intake: with whole-food nutrition, your fat intake drops drastically, since eating cold cuts and other heavily processed foods falls away too. When cooking, use cold-pressed plant oils rather than refined animal fats.
5. Fruit instead of sweets: if you often crave sweets, make sure to have enough alternatives at home. Fresh fruit, honey, or occasionally dried fruit can help here.

My conclusion

Whole-food nutrition is, in my view, a very interesting concept that's definitely promising. The goal here isn't weight loss, but a healthy, sustainable diet. One drawback, though, can be the cost. Not everywhere has organic shops or zero-waste stores where you can shop in line with whole-food nutrition. And even where they exist, not everyone necessarily has the financial means to always buy organic quality.

But if you have the means and like the basic principles behind this way of eating, you should definitely give whole-food nutrition a try.