Whole30: A 30-Day Diet for Better Health?

 

The Whole30 diet is a strict 30-day elimination diet that many people turn to for weight loss or help with digestive concerns.

It was developed in 2009 by two certified sports nutritionists. The founders claim that strict adherence to the diet allows the body to reset in isolation from certain foods that may cause inflammation, gut disruptions or hormone imbalances.

The idea behind the Whole30 program is simple: For 30 days, you completely cut out foods that may harm your health.

Following the Whole30 diet involves eating as much as you would like from the approved list of foods while avoiding certain foods for 1 month.

You can eat meat, vegetables, fruit, tree nuts and seeds (except peanuts because they are legumes) and healthy fats.

However, you must avoid sugar, grains, legumes, dairy, alcohol, processed food additives and baked goods, snacks, or treats — even with Whole30-approved ingredients. Eliminating these foods from your diet is supposed to help your body recover from the negative effects and promote long-term health.

Smoking is forbidden for the duration of the diet.

Many people follow this diet in hopes of losing weight. Some may use the program to identify food intolerances or achieve some of its proposed health benefits.

During the month-long elimination period, no cheating is allowed. It is recommended that you start the challenge over from day 1 if you get off track.

Unlike many other diets, there is no need to track calories, measure portions or count points. Also, weighing yourself is strictly reserved for days 1 and 30 of the program.

Following the Whole30 diet perfectly for 30 days is said to have many health benefits, including:

• fat loss
• higher energy levels
• better sleep
• reduced food cravings
• improved athletic performance

The Whole30 diet is claimed to provide you with physical and psychological health benefits above and beyond simple weight loss. However, there is no sound evidence to back up these claims.

After the initial 30 days, you slowly reintroduce some foods while monitoring the effects they have on your body - the reintroduction phase.

In this phase, you slowly reintroduce certain foods into your diet. You evaluate how they make you feel in regard to your metabolism, digestive tract, immune system and relationship with food.

The suggested way to reintroduce off-limit foods is to add back only one food group at a time. For instance, dairy can be reintroduced on day 1 after completing the Whole30 program.

You are then encouraged to return to the Whole30 diet and avoid milk on days 2 through 4, while paying attention to any potential symptoms. If all goes well, you can reintroduce a different food group on day 5, then repeat the process.

Reintroducing only one food group at a time while keeping the rest of the diet the same is promoted as a way to better identify which foods cause negative symptoms, such as bloating, skin breakouts or achy joints.

Once all food groups have been individually tested, you can add the ones your body tolerated well back into your regular diet.

Naturally, individuals are not required to reintroduce all foods. In fact, you are strongly encouraged to avoid reintroducing foods that you do not miss.

Before the diet, some people may unknowingly have food intolerances that cause digestive symptoms, which the diet’s reintroduction phase can help identify.

In addition, several aspects of the Whole30 program are in line with a nutritious diet, for instance, consuming minimally processed foods and a high intake of fresh fruits and vegetables.

However, avoiding nutrient-rich foods like legumes, soy, and dairy may make meeting all the daily nutrient recommendations more difficult. And there is also no strong reason to restrict dairy, grains, or legumes.

This may create negative health effects if the diet is continued for more than 30 days.

And although rigid rules can be a good way to reset eating habits for some people, restrictive diets with no allowance for indulgences are generally not sustainable over time.

A calorie deficit is needed for weight loss. Because of its restrictive nature, the Whole30 diet will likely help create this calorie deficit. But unless the food choices you make on this diet become a habit, the weight loss you experience may not be sustainable in the long term.