Dr. Stoll says that a Whole Foods Diet, in particular the Perfectly Whole Foods Diet (PWFD), is the one nutritional approach that helps most people improve their health greatly with minimal effort and expense, which may even provide full recovery for the chronic conditions of many of those who try it precisely.

Following a Whole Foods Diet means you eat foods that are whole and avoid refined foods.  A whole food is one that has had no parts removed.  In contract to a whole food, a refined food is one that has had something taken out.  For example, a potato with the skin on is whole, but if you remove the skin before eating it, the potato is refined.  The “Perfectly Whole Foods Diet” means total avoidance of refined foods.

To follow a Whole Foods Diet, eliminate all refined foods from your diet and eat only whole foods. Whole foods are natural foods that have been minimally processed, and thus the trace nutrients needed for metabolism have not been removed. Whole foods include:

* fresh or frozen vegetables
* whole grains
* dried beans
* nuts and seeds
* Lean meat, poultry and fish
* whole dairy products
* farm eggs
* fresh or frozen whole fruits
* herbs and spices
* pure water, herbal teas

A Whole Foods recipe contains none of the following:

* Sugars of any form (pure stevia products are fine)
* White flour or refined flour of any kind (whole grain flour is fine)
* White rice or refined grains of any kind (e.g. brown rice is fine)
* Fruit juice (fresh or frozen whole fruit is fine)
* Dried fruit
* Caffeine
* Alcohol

Be sure to read labels of any product used to make sure none of the disallowed items are included. To learn more about what foods to eat and which to avoid for the Perfectly Whole Foods Diet, click here.

Stuffed Celery

Here’s a healthy, delicious PWFD snack that is easy to make.

Take celery, wash, and dry the inside groove with a paper towel. Stuff the inside groove with any of the following:

• peanut butter
• cashew butter (must be chilled because it will run out)
• guacamole
• cream cheese

(Always read the labels of any products that you purchase to make sure they meet the guidelines of the PWFD before using them.  For example, some brands of peanut butter contain sugar and some types of guacamole have lemon or lime juice.)

Cut the celery into 1″ segments and serve.

Some variation of this recipe will eventually appear in the cookbook being written by Jan DeCourtney entitled “The Whole Foods Secret Cookbook.”