Medically reviewed by Kim Rose-Francis RDN, CDCES, LD, NutritionWritten by Jillian Kubala, MS, RD
Whole-foods and plant-based diets prioritize plant foods and minimize processed foods and animal products. These diets are associated with several health benefits, such as improved general health, reduced risk of diabetes and lower body weight.
There are many arguments about which diet is best for you.
Nevertheless, health and wellness communities agree that diets emphasizing fresh, whole ingredients and minimizing processed foods are superior for overall wellness. The whole-foods, plant-based diet does just that.
It focuses on minimally processed foods and prioritizes plants. Studies show that plant-based diets are effective at stimulating weight loss and improving health.
This article reviews what you need to know about the whole-foods, plant-based diet, including its potential health benefits, foods to eat, and a sample meal plan.
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Nutrition
Evidence Based
What is a whole-foods, plant-based diet?
There is no clear definition of a whole-foods, plant-based diet (WFPB diet). It is not necessarily a set diet — it’s more of a lifestyle.
This is because plant-based diets can vary greatly depending on the extent to which a person includes animal products in their diet.
Nonetheless, the basic principles of a whole-foods, plant-based diet are as follows:
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emphasizes whole, minimally processed foods
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limits or avoids animal products
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focuses on plants, including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, seeds, and nuts, as the majority of your diet
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limits refined foods, like added sugars, white flour, and processed oils
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pay special attention to food quality, with many proponents of the WFPB diet promoting locally sourced, organic food whenever possible
For these reasons, this diet is often confused with vegan or vegetarian diets. Although similar in some ways, these diets are not the same.
People who follow vegan diets avoid consuming any animal products, including:
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dairy
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meat
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poultry
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seafood
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eggs
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honey
Vegetarians exclude all meat and poultry from their diets, but some vegetarians eat eggs, seafood, or dairy.
The WFPB diet, on the other hand, is more flexible. Followers eat mostly plants, but animal products aren’t off limits.
While one person following a WFPB diet may eat no animal products, another may eat small amounts of eggs, poultry, seafood, meat, or dairy.
The whole-foods, plant-based diet emphasizes plant-based foods while minimizing animal products and processed items.
Foods to eat on a whole-foods, plant-based diet
For many people, animal products are the focus of most meals, from eggs and bacon for breakfast to steak for dinner.
When switching to a plant-based diet, center your meals around plant-based foods. If you eat animal foods, only eat them in smaller quantities, paying attention to the quality.
Foods like dairy, eggs, poultry, meat, and seafood are used more as a complement to a plant-based meal and not as the main focal point.
A whole-foods, plant-based shopping list
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Fruits: berries, citrus fruits, pears, peaches, pineapple, bananas, etc.
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Vegetables: kale, spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, asparagus, peppers, etc.
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Starchy vegetables: potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, etc.
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Whole grains: brown rice, rolled oats, farro, quinoa, brown rice pasta, barley, etc.
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Healthy fats: avocados, olive oil, unsweetened coconut, etc.
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Legumes: peas, chickpeas, lentils, peanuts, black beans, etc.
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Seeds, nuts, and nut butters: almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, natural peanut butter, tahini, etc.
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Unsweetened plant-based milks: coconut milk, almond milk, cashew milk, etc.
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Spices, herbs, and seasonings: basil, rosemary, turmeric, curry, black pepper, salt, etc.
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Condiments: salsa, mustard, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, etc.
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Plant-based protein: tofu, tempeh, plant-based protein sources or powders with no added sugar or artificial ingredients
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Beverages: coffee, tea, sparkling water, etc.
If supplementing your plant-based diet with animal products, choose quality products from grocery stores or, better yet, purchase them from local farms.
Examples of animal products that can be enjoyed in moderation include:
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eggs
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poultry
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beef
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pork
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seafood
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dairy products
Some people, for environmental reasons or personal preferences, may choose pasture-raised, grass-fed, wild-caught, or organic products when consuming conventional animal products.
A healthy, WFPB diet will focus on plant foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. If you choose to eat animal products, eat them in smaller quantities compared to plant foods.
Foods to avoid or minimize on this diet
The WFPB diet focuses on consuming foods in their most natural form, which excludes heavily processed foods.
When purchasing groceries, focus on fresh foods, and when purchasing foods with a label, aim for items with the fewest possible ingredients.
Foods to avoid
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Fast food: French fries, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, etc.
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Added sugars and sweets include table sugar, soda, juice, pastries, cookies, candy, sweet tea, and sugary cereals.
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Refined grains: white rice, white pasta, white bread, bagels, etc.
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Packaged and convenience foods: chips, crackers, cereal bars, frozen dinners, etc.
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Processed vegan-friendly foods: plant-based meats like Tofurkey, faux cheeses, vegan butters, etc.
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Artificial sweeteners: Equal, Splenda, Sweet’N Low, etc.
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Processed animal products: bacon, lunch meats, sausage, beef jerky, etc.
Foods to minimize
While healthy animal foods can be included in a WFPB diet, minimize them. These include:
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beef
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pork
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sheep
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game meats
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poultry
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eggs
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dairy
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seafood
When following a WFPB diet, highly processed foods should be avoided and animal products minimized.
Sample meal plan
Transitioning to a whole-foods, plant-based diet doesn’t have to be challenging.
The following 1-week menu can help set you up for success. It includes a small number of animal products, but you can choose the extent to which you include animal foods in your diet.
Monday
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Breakfast: oatmeal made with coconut milk topped with berries, coconut, and walnuts
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Lunch: large salad topped with fresh vegetables, chickpeas, avocado, pumpkin seeds, and goat cheese
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Dinner: butternut squash curry with tempeh
Tuesday
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Breakfast: full-fat plain yogurt topped with sliced strawberries, unsweetened coconut, and pumpkin seeds
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Lunch: meatless chili
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Dinner: sweet potato and black bean tacos
Wednesday
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Breakfast: a smoothie made with unsweetened almond milk, berries, peanut butter, and unsweetened plant-based protein powder
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Lunch: hummus and veggie wrap
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Dinner: zucchini noodles tossed in pesto with chicken meatballs
Thursday
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Breakfast: savory oatmeal with avocado, salsa, and black beans
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Lunch: quinoa, veggie, and feta salad
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Dinner: grilled fish with roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli
Friday
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Breakfast: tofu and vegetable frittata
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Lunch: large salad topped with grilled shrimp
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Dinner: roasted portobello fajitas
Saturday
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Breakfast: blackberry, kale, cashew butter, and coconut protein smoothie
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Lunch: vegetable, avocado, and brown rice sushi with a seaweed salad
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Dinner: eggplant lasagna made with cheese and a large green salad
Sunday
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Breakfast: vegetable omelet made with eggs
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Lunch: roasted vegetable and tahini quinoa bowl
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Dinner: black bean burgers served on a large salad with sliced avocado
As you can see, the idea of a whole-foods, plant-based diet is to use animal products sparingly.
However, many people following WFPB diets eat more or fewer animal products depending on their specific dietary needs and preferences.
You can enjoy many different delicious meals when following a whole-foods, plant-based diet. The above menu can help you get started.
It benefits a number of health conditions
Adopting a whole-foods, plant-based diet benefits your waistline and can lower your risk and reduce symptoms of certain chronic diseases.
Heart disease
Perhaps one of the most well-known benefits of WFPB diets is that they are heart-healthy. However, the quality and types of foods included in the diet matter for maintaining a healthy diet.
A large, older study from 2017 of over 200,000 people found that those who followed a healthy plant-based diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and nuts had a significantly lower risk of developing heart disease than those following non-plant-based diets.
However, less nutritious plant-based diets that included sugary drinks, fruit juices, and refined grains were associated with a slightly increased risk of heart disease and elevated blood pressure.
Similarly, several other studies suggest that people following a healthy plant-based diet may have a lower risk of heart disease compared to meat eaters.
Consuming the right kinds of foods is critical for heart disease prevention when following a plant-based diet, which is why adhering to a WFPB diet is the best choice.
Cancer
Research suggests that following a plant-based diet may reduce your risk of certain types of cancer. A study of over 169,000 people suggests following a healthy plant-based diet could be associated with a lower risk of breast cancer.
Similarly, another recent study showed that greater consumption of nutritious plant-based foods was associated with a lower risk of aggressive forms of prostate cancer, especially in men under 65 years.
Furthermore, a 2022 review concluded that plant-based diets could be tied to a lower risk of digestive system cancers, including pancreatic, colon, rectal, and colorectal cancers.
Cognitive decline
Some studies suggest that diets rich in vegetables and fruits may help slow or prevent cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease in older adults.
Plant-based diets contain a higher number of plant compounds and antioxidants, which, according to some test-tube and animal studies, may help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and reverse cognitive deficits.
In many studies, higher intakes of fruits and vegetables have been strongly associated with a reduction in cognitive decline.
An older review of nine studies from 2017 included over 31,000 people and found that among participants in the nine studies, adding 100 grams or 3.5 ounces more fruits and vegetables to a participant’s diet led to a 13% reduction in the risk of developing cognitive impairment or dementia.
Other studies in older adults have found that healthy plant-based eating patterns with an abundance of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and with a limited intake of animal foods and processed foods may be associated with a reduced risk of cognitive impairment and a slower decline in brain function.
Diabetes
Adopting a WFPB diet may be an effective tool in managing and reducing your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
An older study from 2016 of more than 200,000 people found that those who adhered to a healthy plant-based eating pattern had a 34% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who followed unhealthy, non-plant-based diets.
Another study demonstrated that plant-based diets could be beneficial for the prevention of type 2 diabetes, especially when they included nutritious plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes.
Plus, following a plant-based diet may improve blood sugar management, body weight, and cholesterol levels in people with diabetes.
Following a whole-foods, plant-based diet may reduce your risk of developing heart disease, certain cancers, cognitive decline, and diabetes.
It can help you lose weight and improve your health
Obesity is an issue of epidemic proportions. In fact, it’s estimated that nearly 31% of adults have overweight, while over 42% have obesity.
Making dietary and lifestyle changes can facilitate weight loss and have a lasting impact on health. Many studies have shown that plant-based diets are beneficial for weight loss.
The high fiber content of the WFPB diet, along with the exclusion of processed foods, is a winning combination for shedding excess pounds.
An older review of 12 studies from 2015 included more than 1,100 people and found that those assigned to plant-based diets lost significantly more weight — about 4.5 pounds (lbs), or 2 kilograms (kg), over an average of 25 weeks — than those assigned to non-vegetarian diets.
Adopting a healthy plant-based eating pattern may also help keep weight off in the long run and lead to a lower body mass index.
A 2017 study of 65 people with overweight or obesity found that those assigned to a WFPB diet lost significantly more weight than the control group and were able to sustain that weight loss of 25 lbs (11.5 kg) over a 1-year follow-up period.
However, it’s unclear whether the control group received nutrition advice or made any changes to their diet.
Regardless, simply cutting out processed foods that aren’t allowed on a WFPB diet, such as soda, candy, fast foods, and refined grains, is a powerful weight loss tool.
Many studies have demonstrated that whole-foods, plant-based diets are effective for weight loss. They may also help you maintain weight loss in the long run.
Adopting a whole-foods, plant-based diet is good for the planet
Switching to a plant-based diet not only benefits your health — it can help protect the environment, as well.
People who follow plant-based diets may have smaller environmental footprints.
Adopting sustainable eating habits can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and land used for factory farming, which are all factors in global change and environmental degradation.
A review of 63 studies showed that the largest environmental benefits were seen from diets containing the least amount of animal-based foods, such as vegan, vegetarian, and pescatarian diets. The study reported that shifting Western diet patterns to more sustainable, plant-based diet patterns could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and land use by 70% and water use by 50%.
What’s more, reducing the number of animal products in your diet and purchasing local, sustainable produce helps drive the local economy and reduces reliance on factory farming, an unsustainable method of food production.
Plant-based diets emphasizing local ingredients are more environmentally friendly than diets that rely heavily on mass-produced animal products and produce.
Takeaway
A whole-foods, plant-based diet celebrates plant foods and minimizes animal products and highly processed foods, as recommended by the World Health Organization.
Plant-based diets have been linked to several health benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease, certain cancers, obesity, diabetes, and cognitive decline.
Plus, transitioning to a more plant-based diet is an excellent choice for the planet.
Regardless of the type of whole-foods, plant-based diet you choose, adopting this way of eating is sure to boost your health.
How we reviewed this article:
SourcesHistoryeditorial policy
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Aleksandrowicz L, ET AL. (2016). The impacts of dietary change on greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use, and health: A systematic review.
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Bukhari SNA. (2022). Dietary polyphenols as a therapeutic intervention for Alzheimer’s disease: A mechanistic insight.
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Clem J, et al. (2021). A look at plant-based diets.
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Gan ZH, et al. (2021). Association between plant-based dietary patterns and risk of cardiovascular disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.
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Glibert PM. (2020). From hogs to HABs: Impacts of industrial farming in the US on nitrogen and phosphorus and greenhouse gas pollution.
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Huang RY, et al.(2015). Vegetarian diets and weight reduction: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
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Ivanova S, et al. (2021). Plant-based diet as a strategy for weight control.
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Jiang X, et al. (2017). Increased consumption of fruit and vegetables is related to a reduced risk of cognitive impairment and dementia: Meta-analysis.
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Loeb S, et al. (2022). Association of plant-based diet index with prostate cancer risk.
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Liu X, et al. (2022). A healthy plant-based diet was associated with slower cognitive decline in African American older adults: A biracial community-based cohort.
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Qian F, et al. (2019). Association between plant-based dietary patterns and risk of type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
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Romanos-Nanclares A, et al (2021). Healthful and unhealthful plant-based diets and risk of breast cancer in U.S. women: Results from the nurses’ health studies.
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Evidence Based
This article is based on scientific evidence, written by experts and fact checked by experts.
Our team of licensed nutritionists and dietitians strive to be objective, unbiased, honest and to present both sides of the argument.
This article contains scientific references. The numbers in the parentheses (1, 2, 3) are clickable links to peer-reviewed scientific papers.
Medically reviewed by Kim Rose-Francis RDN, CDCES, LD, NutritionWritten by Jillian Kubala, MS, RD Updated on March 7, 2025
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Key nutrients and supplementation considerations (e.g., Vitamin B12)
A whole-foods, plant-based diet can provide numerous health benefits, but it’s essential to ensure you’re receiving all necessary nutrients. Key nutrients of concern include Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, vitamin C, and amino acids. Vitamin B12 is particularly crucial, as it is not naturally found in plant foods and must be obtained through fortified foods or supplements. Similarly, Vitamin D, which is vital for bone health, can be challenging to acquire solely from food sources and may require supplementation, especially in regions with limited sunlight. Ensuring adequate vitamin C intake is also important, as it supports immune function and enhances the absorption of iron from plant-based sources. Finally, amino acids, the building blocks of protein, should be consumed through a variety of plant sources, such as legumes, nuts, and whole grains, to ensure a complete amino acid profile. By focusing on these key nutrients, including vitamin C, and considering supplementation when necessary, you can maintain a balanced and health-promoting whole-foods, plant-based diet.
Plant-based vs. vegan nutrition: What’s the difference?
Understanding the distinction between plant-based and vegan nutrition is essential for making informed dietary choices. A plant-based diet emphasizes consuming whole, minimally processed foods derived from plants, including fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, and seeds, while allowing for the occasional inclusion of animal products. This flexible approach can accommodate individuals who may not be ready to eliminate animal foods entirely, promoting a gradual shift towards healthier eating patterns. In contrast, veganism is a lifestyle choice that strictly avoids all animal products and by-products, driven by ethical concerns related to animal welfare and industrial farming practices. The Vegan Society highlights that this commitment extends beyond diet, influencing consumer choices in clothing, cosmetics, and other lifestyle aspects. While both dietary styles promote health and environmental sustainability, the primary difference lies in the extent of animal product avoidance, making plant-based diets more accessible for those seeking to incorporate more plant foods into their meals without a complete commitment to veganism.
The ecological dimension: focus on sustainable nutrition
The ecological impact of dietary choices is a growing concern in the context of climate change and environmental degradation. Adopting a whole-foods, plant-based diet can significantly reduce one’s carbon footprint, largely due to the lower greenhouse gas emissions associated with plant food production compared to animal agriculture. Research indicates that shifting to a plant-based diet can lead to substantial reductions in land use and water consumption, addressing critical issues related to food production and climate change. By prioritizing locally sourced and seasonal plant foods, individuals can further enhance the sustainability of their diets, supporting local economies and reducing the environmental impact of food transportation. The transition towards sustainable nutrition is not only beneficial for personal health but also crucial for promoting ecological balance and preserving biodiversity in the face of global environmental challenges.