Wholesome foods: What makes food healthy?

Follow a healthy diet. Choose healthy foods. Make healthier choices with your meals. Is your food healthy enough?

Sometimes it seems we can’t turn around without being reminded that regularly choosing healthy foods for our snacks and meals is an important part of supporting our overall health and wellbeing. But what makes food healthy? What determines if something is a wholesome or not? If a food has “healthy” on the label, does that mean it really is healthy?

‘Healthy’ food labels

When it comes to labeling, government agencies control whether companies are allowed to use the word healthy to describe their product. For food labels in Canada, healthy refers to the whether or not the food is part of the recommendations in Canada’s Food Guide. The guide recommends choosing plenty of fruits and vegetables, protein, water and whole grains.

In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration is finalizing an update to the rules around using the word healthy on labels, connecting it to the most recent diet recommendations. Products with a healthy label must contain a certain amount of the recommended foods like lean proteins and dairy, fruits and vegetables or whole grains. They also must be limited in saturated fat, sodium and added sugars.

But not everything that’s healthy will have a label. Let’s look at some specific characteristics you can look for when you’re trying to make smarter, healthier choices about what goes on your plate.

Nutrient-dense foods: What are nutrients?

Healthy, wholesome food is nutrient-rich food. That means it’s rich in the nutrients your body needs. Nutrients fuel all functions of your body, including growth, breathing, digestion and maintaining body temperature.

Your body can make some of its own nutrients, but others are essential nutrients that you can only get from food. When thinking of nutrient-dense foods, think of lean proteins, healthy carbohydrates, the good kinds of fat, vitamins, minerals and plant nutrients.

Make sure to read the ingredient list to determine if it’s a significant source of the nutrient and that it’s not overpowered by non-nutritious ingredients like processed items, the bad kinds of fat, or too much sodium or added sugar.

Maintaining recommended daily protein intake

Protein is one of those key nutrients. It’s an energy source, playing an important role in creating and maintaining cells. It’s composed of about 20 different amino acids that your body needs, some of which can only be obtained through food sources, so it’s important to get your recommended protein intake each day.

That’s why foods that are good sources of healthy protein are wholesome foods. Those include lean meats, poultry, seafood, low-fat dairy, eggs, beans, peas, lentils and soy as well as nuts, seeds and legumes. They can also include protein powders, such as Nutrilite™ Organics Plant Protein, which has 21 grams of protein from brown rice, peas and chia.

Plant-based foods: Colorful vegetables and fruits

Vegetables, fruits and other plant-based foods are great sources of healthy carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Carbohydrates have glucose, which your body turns into energy. But it’s important to choose your carbohydrates wisely.

Look for unprocessed products, especially when it comes to grains. That means whole grains and brown rice rather than breads and pastries made with white flour which are high in added sugars. Those are not the carbohydrates you are looking for.

Colorful vegetables and fruits also provide your body with plant nutrients, or phytonutrients. Plant nutrients are responsible for the vibrant colors found in produce, and each color provides a variety of health benefits when consumed. Green is associated with cellular health, red with heart health, purple with brain health, orange with eye health and white with bone and joint health.

Plant nutrients also act as antioxidants that help your body fight excess free radicals, the cell-damaging substances caused by many of life’s everyday activities: poor diet, lack of sleep, sun or pollution.

What does organic mean?

Another thing to consider when looking for wholesome foods is whether they are organic or have organic ingredients. What does organic mean? In general, organic means the items have been grown or produced without synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. They have not been grown in a field treated with sewage sludge, been subject to genetic engineering or irradiated to lengthen their shelf life.

That means organic produce is less likely to contain harmful substances. Also, research suggests that organic produce contains more nutrients than its nonorganic counterparts, making them worthy of considering when shopping for healthy or wholesome foods.

Now that you have a better idea of what healthy, wholesome food really is, you’re better able to make smart choices about what goes on your plate each day. Want to learn more about wholesome food, nutrients and other was to support your overall health and wellbeing? Dive into all the nutrition articles on Amway Discover.