What Is A Whole Food Plant-Based Diet?

By: Dr. Beth Templin

On the heels of hosting Dr. Michael Greger on his “How Not To Age” Book Tour, we are getting more people interested in, and asking questions about, a Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB) Diet.

The most common questions I get are: What do you eat? How is it different from being Vegan? Vegetarian? Pescatarian?

Let’s start with the basics. A WFPB diet is based on eating minimally processed food in their whole, natural state. This includes fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. This diet eliminates meat (beef, chicken, pork, seafood), dairy products, and eggs. Unlike the vegan diet, it also avoids overly processed foods like oils, plant-based meats, and vegan junk food.

There are several different types of diets that fall into the vegetarian category. Lacto-vegetarians don’t eat eggs, but eat dairy products like milk, cheese, yogurt, and butter. Ovo-vegetarians don’t eat any dairy products, but eat eggs. Lacto-ovo vegetarians don’t eat meat, fish, or poultry, but eat dairy products and eggs.
Pollotarians don’t eat red meat, but eat poultry. Flexitarians only eat meat occasionally (once a week) and focus on adding more plants into their diet.

The research shows that any shift towards eating more from plants and less from animal sources is a shift in the right direction for preventing and managing chronic health issues.

Why choose more plants?
The evidence shows that a WFPB Diet is the best for health and longevity. Why? By focusing on this way of eating, you are fueling yourself with whole, nutrient dense foods. When a food is found to be healthful the pharmaceutical industry tries to create a pill form of the active components, turning it into a supplement or a drug they can monetize and profit from.

The problem with many of these options are they are not as effective when you just focus on one part of the food. Research continuously shows that the whole food is better than the sum of its parts.
In the modern world, we often face the conundrum of having too many calories, while being undernourished. This has happened as a result of eating more highly processed foods. While they taste great, they are full of additives and contain “empty” calories. It’s estimated that Americans get 58% of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods.

Research shows that eating a plant-based diet decreases the risk of developing some of our top killers: Cardiovascular Disease, Type 2 Diabetes, Alzheimer’s Disease, Colorectal Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Breast Cancer, and Parkinson’s Disease.

Research has found that the other great thing about eating a WFPB diet is that what is good for your heart, is also good for your brain, is good for your kidneys, and is good for managing diabetes. It‘s all the same diet! So if you’re like many aging adults and are struggling to manage one or more chronic conditions, you don’t have to try and follow multiple diets at the same time. All you need to do is eat more fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains.

Because I am so passionate about a Plant Based lifestyle, I obtained my Plant Based Nutrition Certification from eCornell University last year. I can’t wait to share more about what I’ve learned!

-💗 Dr. Beth

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