The Whole 30 diet is a diet designed to change the way you eat. It’s not a weight-loss method, but an elimination diet.
It works by stripping your diet of potentially damaging food groups – sugar, grains, and dairy – in order to find out which of these food groups is disrupting your life (inflammation, gut problems, hormone imbalances, etc).
Many people have been touting the life-changing effects of this diet, claiming that after the diet they have had improved sleep, higher energy levels, fat loss, reduced food cravings, and improved fitness performance.
Skeptics have claimed that this diet is too “extreme” and that there is zero scientific evidence to support its claims. Other worrying health aspects of the diet include the non-restricted consumption of sodium and saturated fats, as well as the complete elimination of nutrient-rich foods like legumes and dairy products.
The rules of the Whole 30 Diet are simple – the objective is to eat whole foods for 30 days. That means nothing processed, and nothing containing more than one ingredient. After 30 days, you can slowly reintroduce the restricted food groups (sugar, grains, dairy, etc) while carefully monitoring their effect on your mental and physical well-being. After learning which food groups negatively impacts your mental or physical health, you can adjust your lifestyle to allow for these changes.
Yes, You Can:
- Meat
- Eggs
- Poultry
- Fish
- Fruit
- seafood
- vegetable
- walnuts
- seeds
- oils (vegetable oil, coconut oil)
- butter
No, You Can’t:
- Sugar: raw sugar, honey, maple syrup, agave syrup and all products containing these sweeteners, as well as artificial sweeteners
- Alcohol: all types of beer, wines, liqueurs
- Grains: Regardless of their degree of processing, all grains, including wheat, corn, oats, and rice
- Vegetables and legumes: Most peas, lentils, and beans, including peanut butter
- Soybeans: all soybeans, including tofu, tempeh, edamame and all soy products, such as miso and soy sauce
- Dairy products: milk (cow, sheep, goats), yogurt, cheese, ice cream
- Processed additives
- Smoking is forbidden.
