Making Healthful Food Choices
The following chart shows you how to make food choices that are more healthful. If you are currently eating many foods in the Highly Processed category, adding higher-quality foods from the Slightly Processed or Unprocessed categories will improve your diet and help you lose weight. If your foods are predominantly in the Slightly Processed category, begin to add more foods from the Unprocessed category. Regardless of your current nutrition level, taking small steps from one category to the next is totally acceptable. Your ultimate goal should be to eat foods that are primarily in the Unprocessed and Slightly Processed categories in order to achieve your weight-loss goals and sustain good health. Highly processed foods must be kept to a minimum to achieve these goals!
Highly Processed
Poor Choice |
Slightly Processed
Better Choice
|
Unprocessed
Best Choice* |
| Canned vegetables |
Frozen vegetables |
Fresh vegetables |
| Canned fruit; flavored or sweetened fruit drinks |
Frozen fruit; fruit juices |
Fresh whole fruit |
| Products made from refined white flour (refined white breads, pastas, cereals) |
Products made from sprouted or whole grain flours (whole grain breads, pastas, cereals) |
Whole grains (brown rice, wild rice, oats, barley, quinoa, buckwheat, millet, etc.) |
| Processed canned/boxed beans with added sugars and hydrogenated oils |
Canned beans |
Home-cooked beans |
| Processed nut butters (peanut butter) with added sugars and hydrogenated oils |
Roasted nuts and seeds; roasted nut butters |
Raw nuts and seeds; raw nut butters |
Processed proteins (sausage, pepperoni,
hot dogs); preserved deli meats with nitrates |
Lean animal protein (from nonorganic eggs, chicken, turkey, fish, buffalo, pork, beef); substitute “meats” and “cheese” (soy dogs, rice/almond cheese, etc.) |
Lean animal proteins (eggs, chicken, turkey, fish, buffalo, pork, beef) that are organic, free of hormones and antibiotics, free-range, and vegetarian-fed; natural and nitrate-free deli meats; organic yogurt and low-fat cheese |
| Soy protein isolates |
Tofu; tempeh; soy milk; miso |
Edamame (whole soy beans) |
| Sweeteners: white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners |
Sweeteners: honey, maple syrup, molasses, sucanat, cane juice, etc. |
Sweeteners: xylitol, stevia, brown rice syrup, agave nectar (these sweeteners do not cause blood
sugar to fluctuate, or cause it to fluctuate
very minimally) |
| Refined cookies, muffins, baked goods with artificial ingredients, MSG, preservatives, etc. |
“Naturally processed” cookies, muffins, baked goods (may still be very high in sugars) |
Homemade baked goods with whole grains and low glycemic sweeteners (such as those listed above) |
| Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils; trans fats; margarine |
Nonorganic cold-pressed oils; butter |
Cold-pressed, expeller-pressed, organic, extra virgin oils (olive, flax, sesame) |
| Coffee, soda (even “natural” soda), sugary sports drinks, etc. |
Black tea |
Herbal tea, green tea, red bush tea, white tea |
*Organic is superior in every category; whenever possible, purchase organic food. Organic foods are produced without the use of pesticides, herbicides, hormones, and antibiotics.
Please note: This chart is meant to serve as a guide to help the majority of people make wiser, better-informed choices. However, there are certainly exceptions. For example, if you are allergic to dairy products (lactose intolerant) and want cheese on a sandwich, a nondairy cheese substitute will probably be better for you than the best dairy product. Or, if wheat or soy products create digestive problems, it may be necessary to avoid even the highest-quality ones. It is important to remember that it is not the things we eat on occasion that create our health. It’s the choices we make the majority of the time—day after day, month after month, year after year. Remember: Every body is different. Discover what works best for you!
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