What are whole foods?

How our body absorbs foods is about more than just the sum of the nutrients in them. The structure of foods – whether they’re left ‘whole’, in their natural state, or whether they’ve been broken up – can have an impact too.

You may have heard of ‘whole foods’ or a ‘whole foods diet’ before. But what do these terms mean and are they important?

Examples of whole foods

The term ‘whole foods’ generally describes foods that are left close to their natural state. It can also describe a way of eating that’s based on them.

There isn’t any official definition or list of whole foods, which means opinions differ on what’s included. But there’s a general agreement that foods like fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds, beans and lentils, milk, wholegrains, and unprocessed meats and fish are whole foods. Meanwhile, foods like ready meals, processed meats or products with added sugars, salt, fats or any additives are not.

Cheese and plain yogurt are also often included as whole foods. Even though the milk that they are made from will have gone through some processing to create these dairy products, the processing is seen as minimal. But this doesn’t include yogurts with added sugars, flavourings and sweeteners. It doesn’t include processed cheese either, which has added oils or food colourings.

Do whole foods have benefits?

Eating more unprocessed foods has a number of advantages for our health.

Fibre in whole foods keeps you feeling fuller, which might mean you eat less overall. Eating less could be helpful if you’re trying to lose weight. Higher-fibre diets are also better for your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Eating more unprocessed foods has health benefits

Whole foods have no added saturated fat, salt or sugar. So eating lots of whole foods can help you lower the amount of these additives in your diet, which is good for your cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and weight.

Eating foods whole can limit how the body absorbs the fat and sugar that’s in them. Research has shown that when almonds are eaten whole, we don’t absorb all the fat that’s in them because the fat remains bound in the nuts’ cells. But grind the nuts up – think ground almonds and nut butters – and the oil is released from the cells, making it more available for the body to absorb.

Similarly, the sugar in fruits is absorbed more slowly than the sugar in fruit juice because it comes with fibre and other nutrients that help to slow down the absorption. You’re also likely to get less sugar when you eat fruit than when you drink the juice. While you might eat only one orange whole, you’ll drink the juice from several in one glass.

Interestingly, although cheese, yogurt and milk contain the same type of saturated fat as butter, they appear to raise our cholesterol levels less. This may be because these products have a unique structure and combination of nutrients called the ‘dairy matrix’. This ‘dairy matrix’ isn’t found in butter, where the fat has been separated out from the other parts of the milk.

• Find out more about dairy foods

Should we only eat wholefoods?

There are some downsides to limiting yourself to a whole foods diet.

Some nutrients are more available in processed foods. For example, lycopene (an antioxidant which has been linked to heart health benefits) is more easily absorbed by the body from tomatoes that have been processed, such as tinned tomatoes, than from fresh tomatoes.

And some processed foods are healthy. For example, a store-bought hummus with limited added salt, or a tin of reduced-salt and -sugar baked beans, can be the basis of a healthy snack or meal. Both would be excluded from a strictly whole foods diet.

An exclusively whole foods diet is also hard to stick to. Eating only whole foods can mean a lot more time spent planning and prepping food, as well as having a narrower range of healthy food to choose from.

Finally, take care with your mental health. ‘Whole foods’ can sometimes blur with the concept of ‘eating clean’, making you feel some foods are ‘clean’ or ‘good’, and others are ‘dirty’ or ‘bad’. This could lead to obsessive or guilty feelings when you eat something processed, which isn’t good for you.

The takeaway

The key is balance. Don’t try to exclude all non-whole foods. Instead, include more whole foods and make healthy swaps. Be open to some nutritious processed foods in your diet. This can make it easier and more convenient to eat more healthily, helping you to be consistent over time.

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