Whole foods are just that – foods in their natural state, just as they were grown (off the vine or hoof), like fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. These foods have not been refined or processed before eating.

Whole foods have hundreds of ingredients (like vitamins, minerals, fiber). They come packaged in a way that makes these important nutrients available to your body. Whole foods bring health benefits to all parts of the body. Many whole foods can be eaten raw, especially fruits and vegetables. Others need to be lightly cooked to support digestion.

Processed foods have been physically altered, exposed to heat, and mixed with chemicals. With every step of processing, nutrients are lost. With every processing step, more nutrients are lost.

Whole foods contain more vitamins and minerals than their processed counterparts. For example, a whole baked potato contains more vitamin C, folate, and potassium than a potato that is cut, soaked, and fried to make a french fry. Over time, eating processed foods can lead
to nutritional deficiencies. Many of the disease conditions we see today are considered to be ‘processed food diseases’.

In today’s busy world, it can be difficult to eat a balanced diet with whole foods. Include as many whole foods in your diet as possible,
and add a whole food supplement. Chosen Wisely can help you get a healthy, daily dose of nutrients from a wide variety of whole foods.

Humans have eaten a wide variety of fruits and vegetables throughout their history, consisting of primarily fruits and vegetables, and meat when available. Fruits and veggies are whole foods, full of valuable nutrients, each with hundreds of various combinations of plant compounds that are beneficial to health. Each fruit or vegetable has a different combination of nutrients, so eating a variety is the healthiest way to eat.

Commercial processing (high heat, pressure) of fruits and veggies destroys many of these nutrients, often drastically reducing the food quality and nutritional value. This can lead to deficiencies of important nutrients. Your healthiest choice is to eat your fruits and vegetables raw or lightly cooked for the best results.

A diet that includes fruits and vegetables can help us to live significantly longer and healthier lives. A few examples may include:

• Lower blood pressure
• Support weight loss
• Reduce the risk of some cancers
• Promote healthy blood sugar levels
• Eating a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables helps your body get the mix of nutrients it needs.

No. A common mistake people make is assuming that doubling (or tripling) up on their multivitamin tablet can make up for poor eating choices.

Most multivitamins are synthetic (man-made in a lab). They are very different from vitamins from whole foods.

Vitamins from whole foods contain trace minerals, enzymes and other compounds, which are critical for the body to absorb vitamins effectively. Synthetic vitamins don’t contain these “helper elements” which can impair their absorption and health effects, limiting their effectiveness.

Foods today are often grown on soils depleted of nutrients, reducing the quality and nutritional value of our foods. For your best health, eat the best, freshest, minimally processed whole foods possible. The Chosen Wisely nutritional supplement is an excellent choice to provide your body with a variety of whole food goodness, giving your body a nutritional boost.

It is common to hear that eating more raw or lightly cooked foods is better (healthier) than eating foods cooked at high temperatures. What makes raw or lightly cooked foods better?

Back in the 1930’s Dr. Paul Kuchakoff a Swiss physician and researcher conducted a series of experiments on people to see how their bodies reacted to eating different kinds of foods.

White Blood Cells (WBCs) are an important part of the immune system. They help fight infections, help to heal injured tissues, respond to a fever, and a host of other functions. WBCs also play a part in the digestion of foods. A rise in WBCs typically indicates inflammation. WBCs rise temporarily after a meal – this is normal – WBCs are actively involved in the digestive process. Eating foods cooked at high temperatures causes a much greater rise in WBCs.

After one eats a meal, the White Blood Cell count in the bloodstream goes up for a while. This is called Digestive Leukocytosis, and is a normal response. Dr. Kuchakoff found that when he fed foods cooked above a certain temperature (high heat), the rise in WBCs was much higher. This suggested that eating only cooked foods stimulates an immune response and inflammation. The more processed the foods eaten, the higher the rise in WBCs. Dr. Kuchakoff suggested that the body’s response to cooked food was the same as to a wound or injury, putting a constant strain on the immune system.

Test subjects fed only cooked food experienced a sharp rise in WBCs (indicating inflammation). These same subjects eating a meal of ½ raw foods and ½ cooked foods did not show any rise in WBC counts after a meal. Lastly, the test group eating all raw food did not experience Digestive Leukocytosis. Something in the cooked foods was causing an inflammatory response – they are pro-inflammatory. Raw or lightly cooked foods calmed and prevented this abnormal inflammatory response.

Dr. Kuchakoff’s work suggests that eating a diet of highly processed, heated or refined foods causes an inflammatory response after a meal. Inflammation has been linked to many serious diseases, like diabetes, digestive problems, arthritis and cancer.

Patients eating a diet of whole, raw and minimally processed foods did not experience an unusually large rise in WBCs, putting less of a strain on their immune systems. You can do the same by making wise, whole food choices with your foods. For an added boost, Chosen Wisely is a supplement made with 28 whole food fruits and vegetables. Chosen Wisely is an easy, convenient way to get more of these valuable foods into your diet.