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What is Real Food?

In a world overflowing with protein bars that never spoil, neon-colored drinks with unpronounceable ingredients, and “cheese” that never seems to mold, one question has become more important—and more confusing—than ever: What is real food? We’ve become so used to packaged convenience that the line between edible and nourishing has blurred. Grocery shelves are filled with products designed in labs rather than grown in soil. And while food has never been more abundant, chronic illness, fatigue, and lifestyle diseases are at an all-time high. It’s no coincidence. Real food is more than just fuel. It’s medicine. It’s culture. It’s connection. And perhaps most importantly, it’s the key to reclaiming our health in the most natural, sustainable way possible. So lets clear the confusion, and get back to the roots—literally—of what real food truly is.

Table Of Contents

What is Nutrition?

In order to truly define food, we must first understand the concept of nutrition.

Nutrition can be described as “The process by which a living organism utilizes food and uses it to maintain and support life.” Wildwood College of Health Evangelism

I find this definition rather insightful as it also allows us to immediately identify the function of food. It would stand to reason that food is what we consume that helps to maintain us and support our life. If what we eat as humans does not maintain and support life, then what does it do? Your thinking is correct. It would do the opposite.

One of the most simple yet underrated understandings about food is that ” Food is meant to nourish and serve us, not deplete us.”

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations:

“Food means any substance, whether processed, semi-processed, or raw, which is intended for human consumption, and includes drink, chewing gum and any substance which has been used in the manufacture, preparation or treatment of food.”

I would like you to give thought to the following; Based on the function of food, should any substance, although meant for human consumption, be considered as real food?

What is Real food?

According to Mary Jane Doiron in a Healthline article, real food refers to items that are unprocessed, close to their natural state, and rich in nutrients.

We can summarize the characteristics of real food in this way:

  • Unprocessed: Foods that have not undergone significant industrial processing.
  • Nutrient-Dense: High in fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other beneficial compounds such as phytochemicals.
  • No Added Sugars or Preservatives and free from artificial additives.
  • Normally decays: typically not years of extended shelf life

Examples of real food include:

  • Whole fruits (apples, berries, mangoes)

  • Fresh vegetables (spinach, carrots, broccoli)

  • Whole grains (oats, brown rice, quinoa)

  • Starchy root vegetables (sweet potatoes, yams, dasheen)

  • Nuts and seeds (almonds, cashew, pumpkin seeds)

  • Legumes (lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans)

Eating on a variety of real foods in the right proportions and prepared in a manner as to avoid the least loss of nutrients, are the foods that should form part of our daily diet.

Organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO), American Heart Association, and American Institute for Cancer Research recommend minimizing ultra-processed foods and favoring whole, unprocessed plant-based foods to lower risk of chronic disease.   “Healthy Diet.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthy_diet.

 Moreover, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics states that “Appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. These diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle…”

Studies show that these foods in addition to providing adequate amounts of carbohydrates, protein and fats, also provide an abundance of essential micronutrients and phytochemicals.

Worth Noting:

  • Processed foods might be quick and easy, but choosing real food could make a big difference in your health.
  • A good diet does not ask us to deny ourselves of food to the injury of our physical strength, but a good
    diet does consist of a variety of foods that will best function to assist nature, and preserve our physical strength and health.
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