Many people have said that whole foods cannot be meat, fish, poultry and their byproducts, milk and eggs etc. In fact, they say a whole food can only be a plant or plant-based. For me, that hound won’t hunt here! Whole food eating is represented in all dietary lifestyles.
There are many different types of whole food diets or eating styles for people to choose from. Some don’t use oil and others do. Some don’t condone the use of nuts and or nut milks and some do. Some say no to natural sweeteners, even honey or maple syrup and some say yes. Ironically, some whole foodists have issues with foods that have been “naturally” fermented like sauerkraut, kimchi, soy sauce, yogurt. Even though fermentation is an ancient process and has been proven to provide many health benefits, including supporting a healthy immune system and vibrant brain function, they have issue with it. While this debate can rage on and on, what is true, whole food eating is all about consuming foods that haven’t been processed or only minimally processed.
“A whole food is any living edible sentient thing that has grown in the wild, or has been cultivated, or raised with attention to compassionate organic farming practices, focusing on the purity and the integrity of the food to be consumed. In short, a whole food is something edible that hasn’t been chemically manipulated or enhanced; it’s food in its purist and most natural state.“
Meat, seafood and poultry are all types of whole foods. Chickens raised on a farm that is truly free range, organic and compassionate in their farming practices, will produce whole food eggs and whole food chickens. The same applies to fish, meat and their byproducts. Once again, whole food eating is about who, how, what, where and when the food was grown, raised or cultivated. Then how it was processed, how it is packaged and sent to market, not whether it is animal, vegetable or aquatic.
