Drinking Whole Foods

by Anonymous

Anonymous question:

Does it matter if you drink those whole foods?

Suzy's Answer

I'm not sure I understand the question, so I apologize if I don't get it right.

Naturally, it doesn't make a difference, from a nutrition standpoint, if you chew an apple, or puree it first and then drink it, as long as you are including the whole food.

However, you may find that drinking a pureed apple, does not give you the same gustatory pleasure as biting and chewing an apple with all of its sweetness and texture.

If your talking about a diet based on "juicing" which removes most of the fiber in favor of the juice, then you are no longer talking about "whole foods." If you want to drink your fruits and vegetables, it would be better to puree them and keep the whole food intact.

Having said that, it is difficult to imagine that you would be able to drink all of the whole foods that make up a healthy diet. Fruits and vegetables lend themselves to being changed into a liquid form, but I'm not sure how you would do that in a satisfactory way with most protein foods and whole grains.

Unless you have no choice, and must eat a liquid diet, it seems like it would be a lot of work and a highly unsatisfying way to eat. If for some reason you are forced to eat a liquid diet, you can get all the nutrients you need, but this is not generally done using whole foods.

As I think about this, I suppose you could make soup with lentils and brown rice and then puree it into a liquid that you could drink, but again, unless you don't have a choice, it's probably not the best way to enjoy your food!

I hope I have answered your question. As you know from reading pages on our healthy eating website, we suggest that you eat a healthy diet consisting of whole foods with emphasis on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean meat or other protein foods, healthy fats and with a minimum of processed foods and added sugar and salt.

Thank you for visiting our website and please feel free to contact me if you have further questions.

Regards,

Suzy

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