What is a whole food plant-based (WFPB) lifestyle? A fad? A diet?
Before I was a nutritionist, I didn’t know what a WFPB diet was either.
I hate using the word diet, but it is common and convenient for learning purposes. Rather than thinking of diet as the restriction of food, think of it as a lifestyle of nutrients.
In short, WFPB breaks down to the consumption of unprocessed and unrefined, or at least minimally refined foods.
An unfortunate tragedy we face, is that many people are accustomed to believe artificial food substances are real food. Packaged foods offer little to no nutrients, are full of preservatives, and often times are preserved with ingredients that disrupt our digestion.
Additionally, society has been conditioned to think that we need to eat certain foods to absorb specific nutrients; dairy for calcium, meat for protein and so on. On a plant based diet, with a little planning, you are able to obtain a variety of nutrients from foods. I don’t know why we tend to limit ourselves, when one type of food can offer a wide array of nutrients.
Going plant-based isn’t as complicated as it sounds, in fact I find it a ‘whole’ lot simpler! Try not to focus on what you can’t eat, instead focus on what you CAN eat, and enjoy it!
Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, tubers, beans and legumes.
This may seem like a short list, but think of the assortment of foods that fit into each category! I promise we don’t eat salads all day long. If we did, we’d be tired, and depleted of energy.
I am going to be addressing why certain foods are excluded from the WFPB diet, and you will learn the reason is because it benefits your health. I have already addressed concerns with dairy, so continue to check back, better yet sign up, so that you don’t miss another plant-based post!
I almost forgot! I’m going to be participating in the Forks Over Knives cooking course. It begins later this month, the duration of the course is about 90 days… Just in time for baby!
Actually, baby will arrive prior to my completion, so fingers crossed I can plan and schedule accordingly.