From Whole9, as a preface to our Manifesto series:
As we wrote in It Starts With Food, “We have a theory about food that directly influences the rest of this book. The food that you eat either makes you more healthy or less healthy. Those are your options.”
Of course, we spend the rest of the book explaining why a concept that sounds so simple is not that simple at all in practice. That’s why our Good Food recommendations are based on not just one foundation, but a combination of three:
Based on the science as we understand it today, and our clinical experience with the tens of thousands of people who have completed our Whole30 program, we make some general recommendations as to which food groups may make you less healthy–including legumes. Below, we’ll outline the basics of our case against consumption of legumes as part of your daily diet. But until you undertake your own self-experiment (via the Whole30) for yourself, you’ll never know for sure how consumption of legumes are affecting how you look, how you feel, and your quality of life.
Legumes
Legumes are a botanical family of plants that include dozens of varieties of beans, lentils, garbanzos, peas, soybeans, and peanuts. (Note, the coffee, cocoa, and vanilla “beans” are not, botanically speaking, legumes, and thus are excluded from this particular discussion.) While eating plants would generally be thought of as healthy, the part of the legume that we eat is actually the seed of the legume plant. As with grains, the seeds of legumes store a large amount of energy in the form of carbohydrate, which may or may not support healthy metabolic function (pending your individual context and health history).
Legumes are often recommended as a healthy dietary choice, based on their fiber, vitamins and minerals, and “high” protein content. But legumes aren’t really a dense protein source (most contain two to three times as much carbohydrate as protein), and they’re nowhere near as dense (or complete) as the protein found in meat, seafood, or eggs. In addition, when compared to vegetables and fruit, legumes pale in comparison in both micronutrient density and fiber.
Some legumes also contain considerable amounts of phytates — anti-nutrients which bind to minerals in the legumes, rendering them unavailable to our bodies. (This means some of the minerals technically present in the legumes aren’t able to be accessed by our bodies — and means that legumes aren’t as micronutrient-dense as nutrition data might suggest.*)
*Ancient cultures figured out that rinsing, prolonged soaking, cooking, and fermenting legumes reduces the anti-nutrient content. If you choose to eat legumes, we highly recommend you also take these steps to mitigate some of the potential downsides.
In addition, because some of the short-chain carbohydrates (sugars) found in legumes aren’t properly digested and absorbed in the digestive tract, they can act as food for bacteria living in the intestines. These bacteria then “ferment” these carbohydrates, which can create unpleasant symptoms like gas and bloating, and potentially contribute to gut dysbiosis – an inherently inflammatory condition.
Soy
Soybeans contain compounds called isoflavones, which are types of phytoestrogens (phyto meaning “plant,” estrogen as in that female sex hormone). These phytoestrogens are recognized in our bodies — male and female — as a female reproductive hormone. While phytoestrogens may be beneficial for a very specific population (such as perimenopausal women), the effects on other populations are largely unknown and, in our opinion, unduly risky.
Peanuts
Peanuts contain a unique, disruptive protein called a lectin. While lectins in other legumes are largely destroyed in the cooking process, the peanut lectins are not destroyed by heat, and are resistant to digestion. This means they arrive in your gut largely intact, and can fool your gut lining into letting them through, and into the bloodstream. Once inside the body, these peanut lectins provoke an immune response, promoting systemic inflammation.
It Starts With Food
These manifestos are not intended to be a comprehensive dissertation of our research or recommendations. For more information on the effects of legumes on health, our recommendations for vegetarians and vegans, and scientific references used to support our position, please refer to our book, It Starts With Food.
I don’t really miss legumes in my daily life (well, except peanuts but that’s only because I was hopelessly addicted to peanut butter…) I’m so thankful that the coffee, cacao and vanilla bean are not legumes…I would seriously have to reconsider then…
Yeah, lentils and rice are wicked cheap, but definitely not something I missed on the Whole30!
Question: Is there an research you can point me to related to peanuts and systemic inflammation?
@Katerina, we’ve got references listed in the appendix of It Starts With Food – plenty of them. That’s where you’ll find all the scientific back-up for the statements in our manifesto series.
Best,
Melissa
Kind of a wet-noodle condemnation of these foods. Which is actually a relief because I enjoy a small amount of beans in my diet.
I sometimes eat beans and soy, because I eat with a vegan often. I don’t think it is really a problem if you eat a normal portion once, maybe twice a week, if the rest of the food is ok and there is a lot of variation. It might be a problem if I would be eating it almost daily like my vegan friend, although she is still fitter than me.
One thing that really distresses me about this line of nutritional thinking is how privileged it is. This is completely unsustainable eating. The future of global agriculture depends on high fibre, high protein, low cost, easy to grow grains. It is misinformed to accept that the world could or should eliminate legumes and grains as food groups. One of the greatest pieces of advice in regards to running training i ever received was ‘eat like a poor person’. I am a medical doctor and I certainly appreciate any website promoting health and self-awareness regarding lifestyle choices. Its just in the 2050, the date of the presumed global food shortage, this form of eating may become completely impossible.
@Loz…3 things 1) so people who are priviledged shouldn’t enjoy anything they can have that less privileged folks can’t have? Doesn’t make sense…basically socialism! 2) The authors never said that the whole world should eat like this. They wrote the book for those who are interested. It is a choice. It has drastically changed my family’s life as well as several close friends and clients and they thank me daily for turning them on to it. For that I thank them. 3) No one has ANY idea what will be happening in 2050. Period. It is unlikely that the world would ever be able to sustain a diet like this (possibly) but I doubt poverty will ever be conquered so rice will always have a place in many people’s diet. Have you tried the whole 30? If not you are speaking out of ignorance….
So you discount the message out because it doesn’t apply to everyone on the planet? That makes no sense.
We get the whole “you can’t feed the world on grass-fed beef” argument – and there are some scientifically-based rebuttals to that which I will not get into here. But for those of you reading this post and reading our book, in privileged first-world countries with access to higher quality food, why wouldn’t we take advantage of that? I appreciate that there are people surviving on grains and legumes in other parts of the world. But I don’t have to do that, because I am blessed enough to have the resources available to make better choices. And if you’re responding to this comment on your MacBook Pro, so do you.
For those of us fortunate enough to not have to survive on less than optimal foods today, we should make better choices. Period.
Best,
Melissa
“One of the greatest pieces of advice in regards to running training i ever received was ‘eat like a poor person’.”
Poor people eat the way they do because of a lack of options. This sounds like the sort of ridiculous, romanticized nonsense that people come up with when they don’t have a legitimate reason for advocating something. Legumes are nutrient poor relative to other options, but they’re cheap. That’s why a lot of poor people eat them as a staple, not because they’ve stumbled onto some ancient wisdom for distance running.
As for the article itself, more great stuff. Your book is changing my life. Thanks for the hard work y’all put in, it’s making a huge difference.
As an aside, the graphic at the top has the word “delcaring” where I’m assuming you meant “declaring.”
I work third shift and wonder if I can still perform whole30 successfully?
Thank you.
For me, no soy and no rice is probably going to be the biggest challenge to commit to this in the long run. I am Chinese and we use soy sauce in the majority of the dishes (and then eat it with rice no less). But then again it is probably no harder for people to give up bread and cheese. I am starting my whole 30 today and I look forward to all the good things promised in the book
@Cecilian, you know, it kind of is. There isn’t enough really convincing scientific literature for us to say, “All legumes prepared in all ways are unhealthy!” We like to err on the side of caution, however, and there is enough evidence specifically for us to recommend against peanuts, and (in our opinion) soy. As for the other legumes, this is where the self-experimentation piece comes in. As for the “wet noodle,” some people (not you) have criticized us for not really making a good case against some of these non-Paleo foods… but we’re not big fans of overstating the science just to make our recommendations, or articles, or program sound sexier. People have to figure some of these things out for themselves.
@Brett, thanks for the comment, and for pointing out our typo! We’ll correct that forthwith.
@Michelle, you certainly can, but it may be more difficult. First, you’ll have to plan and prepare your meals a lot more than a normal daytime worker, because I’m assuming at 3 AM you can’t just pop next door to the cafe for a chicken salad if you forgot your lunch. Two, lack of good, appropriate sleep (which you miss out on by default when you’re up all night and sleeping all day) makes it that much harder to make good food choices – and often leads to uncontrollable cravings for sweets and carbohydrates. So make sure you’ve got good food on hand at all times, and remind yourself that any cravings for sweets is actually more due to your lack of healthy sleep than an actual need for sugar. If you focus on sleeping as much as you can, doing low-intensity exercise (movement), and keeping your stress levels down, you can absolutely rock your Whole30 on a night shift. Good luck! (And use our free forum for support – there are people posting any time of day or night! http://forum.whole9life.com).
@Jeff: You can use coconut aminos as a great sub for soy sauce during your Whole30 – some folks say it doesn’t taste the same, but I honestly don’t notice the difference, especially in recipes. But yes, we all have our struggles with giving up foods that are staples in our diet – but I think you’re going to do great! Keep us posted.
Best,
Melissa
Greetings W30 parties,
I am on day 6, very good response so far. My motivation is systemic inflamation (carpol tunnel specifically). The rub: I smoke, 2-5 self rolled American Spirit/day. I decided not to wait on the W30, but as I felt better I would have a leg up on quitting altogether. I swear, my hands feel perfect after only a few days on the food program. The pain in my wrist is directly related to smoking now. Why can’t I quit? I have lozengers, they contain a small amount of sweetner. I’m starting to think during the whole30 that would be the least of the evils, compare with my 2-5 ration of cigs. I’m also thinking of hypnotherapy for the smoking at this point. Rant at me if you will, but any suggestions or comments will be read with a willingness to “hear” you.
Hi Carmen,
You should feel proud of yourself for wanting to quit smoking and go on a Whole30. I think I read somewhere that Dallas and Melissa say to either quit smoking first or quit while doing Wole30. So, you may want to focus on quitting smoking and then coming back to do a new Whole30. Or, another option could be looking into getting the nicotiene patches (probably no sugar in them). But, I think a less than perfect Wole30 (using the lozenges) is better than no Whole30. And, you can always do a new absolutely strict Whole30 once you have conquered the smoking.
I quit smoking using the gum. It was a godsend!
Good luck!
-Hilary
I am very new to all of this, but I am contemplating this new adventure. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetis 11 years ago . Well throughout the years in turned to Type 1. I am 5 ft 8 and weigh roughly 140. What I would like to know if this is diabetic friendly ?
Raquel,
We believe this program is ideal for managing blood sugar and insulin levels, and
for preventing (and even reversing!) type 2 diabetes. We have seen firsthand
the effects of our Whole30 program and healthy-eating guidelines on
those with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and the scientific literature also
supports our protocol.
However, diabetics must work very closely with their doctors to ensure
that the powerful effects of these dietary changes are monitored and medications
are properly adjusted. We have seen dramatic results in as little
as one week, with one client being able to cut his oral medication in half.
Radical improvements, in just seven days—which means that you’ll need
to speak with your doctor before making changes in your diet, so that together
you can decide how to monitor and adjust your medications.
In addition, those with type 1 diabetes will need to make changes
far more gradually than the Whole30 program calls for. Start with small
modifications to meals, gradually substituting your “less healthy” foods for
high-quality meats, vegetables, fruits, and fats. Working with your doctor,
adjust your insulin dose and/or oral medication as necessary to accommodate
these new foods, until you’ve successfully replaced all the less-healthy
foods on your plate with more-healthy choices.
Always speak with your doctor before beginning any new diet or exercise
program.
Best,
Melissa
I have been on the Whole 30 diet since September 5. Have lost 20 pounds and feel good. But everybody around me is concerned that the diet doesn’t include grains and feels it is just an “Atkins-type” low carb/no carb diet. Also my cholesterol was a bit high and people are asking why I can eat meat, but no beans or grains. With a family of heart problems I’m also wondering why I can’t have heart-healthy food such as grains, beans and legumes. Is this really a lifetime way of eating, or can I incorporate ‘occasional’ things to keep food enjoyable.
@Toni,
We answer every single one of these questions in great detail in our New York Times bestselling book, It Starts With Food, I highly recommend giving it a read, so you better understand our approach.
Best,
Melissa
Regarding the “poor person’s protein” aspect of legumes – it is easier for me to raise rabbits in my back yard than it is to try and grow an equivalent quantity of legumes for protein (the rabbits can be fed all the weeds and scraps that are no use to me directly).
I don’t buy in to the argument that this can’t apply to the vast majority of people in the world.
Having said that, I still grow and eat runner beans and peas, for the taste, and also for the fact that they fix nitrogen and so improve the soil.
Declaring is still “delcaring.”
Thanks.
@Stjackso: Corrected – thanks for the reminder.
Melissa
I have to say that most of the “diet” advice out there today is extremely confusing! On the one hand you have the low card, paleo camp such as this website and others. Then on the other side is are those such as Dr. Furhman, Dr. Barnard & Dr T Colin Campbell. Each respective side is has their facts and graphs and statistics and some research they have done or come across that someone else has done. There seems from all I have read in both camps and it has been considerable that there is a compelling case for BOTH camps, but I guess my question is which is the BEST camp? The more I read and study and ask questions it seems the less I know what is right. Very discouraging.
Any one wan to weigh in on this issue?
@Cyndie: First, I’d just like to clarify that we are not advocating low carb. And, to answer your question, the BEST camp is the one that makes you feel the healthiest and most vibrant allowing you to live your best life. And the only way to figure out which camp that is, is to try this stuff out for yourself. We agree, it can be really confusing sifting through all the contradictory information out there, but all you can do is educate yourself and then eat the food that makes you the most healthy.
For @Carmen and anyone else wanting to quit smoking – I highly recommend Allen Carr’s book The Easyway Method… Sorry for the plug, but I speak from personal experience!
No nicotine patches, pills what have you, or other substitutes (candy etc.) will ever help you. The most important thing is your approach and mindset when quitting (once and for all – cutting down or other half-ass attempts do not help, but make it worse). I had great results with this book – stopped craving cigarettes in a matter of days, stopped thinking about them completely in a matter of weeks (my overall physical/mental condition also improved very quickly) and then could only pity the smokers, who I would have envied (which makes absolutely no sense) in the past.
As far as the “eat like a poor person” comment it is actually quite amazing if you look at “cancer maps” which show patterns of cancer throughout the globe. The people who get the most cancer are wealthier Westernized parts of the world where lots of high fat animal foods are consumed – Europe, Australia, the US. The poorer parts of world whose diets consist mainly of grains, roots, tubers, legumes, veggies are hardly affected by cancers. This could clearly be attributed to many factors – bad factory farming practices, sugar and processed foods but I do think there is some wisdom in that advice and maybe it is that grains and legumes aren’t necessarily the enemy either. @Brett research the Tarahumara tribe where it is customary for the men to run distances around 30 miles a day many of them octagenarians and their diet consists mostly of corn. Not to say the Whole 30 isn’t a good plan, just that when it comes to disease there is enough evidence to take notice that plant-based diets have a lot of merit as well and not just because some people can’t afford meat. It seemed to me that Loz was pointing out the notion that “we are in this together” and if as a population we continue down a path of unsustainable eating then it affects whole globe – it’s not an issue of money but an issue of clean water, arable land, clean air etc … the amount of animal agriculture needed to meet the demand of “wealthy” eaters is very toxic to the environment. What I do like about this “paleo” advice is that the animal products recommended are far more sustainable that conventional agriculture and for those who want to eat them bravo for spending more of your hard earned money for a better product!
I’ve been attempting to understand the reason why some dietary advice advocates not consuming legumes. The argument that carbohydrates from legumes are fully absorbed by the body and feed bacteria in the gut isn’t a good one for me. Fiber is also a carbohydrate that isn’t digested by the human body and feeds bacteria in the gut. Should I stop eating fiber for this reason?
Also, the argument that some of the micronutrients in legumes are not absorbed seems relatively weak to me when there is a body of research to support the health of eating a diet with legumes. To my knowledge, legumes have a net anti-inflammatory effect. For example, Hermsdorff et al (2011) in The European Journal of Nutrition found that a legume-based calorie-restricted diet reduced C-reactive protein (CRP is a measure of inflammation) more than a hypocaloric diet without legumes. Also, legumes help to improve leptin levels, a hormone that plays a role in inflammatory response, satiety, and fat mass. As for being a high protein food, I agree that they don’t have the same percentage of calories from protein as an egg or even spinach. Legumes are highest in carbohydrates. In terms of nutrient density, legumes aren’t as calorie dense as vegetables or fruit which is why I think that you should eat more of these than you do of legumes.
After reading this, I still think that legumes have a place in some peoples’ healthy diet. I say some people because there are people that have a difficult time digesting beans. There are also people whose natural gut flora is disturbed which causes a higher absorption of lectin from legumes, which is not good for the body.
Melissa, While no one can make an argument against eating more fruits and vegetables, and the value of a diverse diet (plants and some meat), it is very misleading to have a “legume manifesto” that knocks legumes without explaining their potential health benefits, especially if you’re using science – which is supposed to be unbiased and thorough – as the foundation of your philosophy. Sure, there is scientific evidence that some legumes, especially soya and peanuts, which mind you are anomalies among edible legumes, can have negative health consequences in general or under certain conditions, but so do meat and eggs and other protein sources; your article implies that if a food has a potential negative health effect then it is simply bad. Nutrition is not so simple! What about the negative and positive effects relative to each other: the net effect? And what about the good vs bad of other protein sources? It seems like you’ve chosen to give emphasis to the good of some, and the bad of others, but not the good and bad of all.
And to follow up on Loz’s comment, and to those who responded, it is errant to think that your consumer choices in the developed world do not affect both food producers and consumers globally, and our ability to feed 9 billion folks in the near future. Given current trajectories of population growth and food demand, relative to trajectories of yield improvements, it’s pretty darn likely we’ll need to change something (a lot really) about the way we grow and consume food. Something’s gotta give. Legumes may have to be a part of that.
Erin, I like your philosophy. Is that the Whole9 philosophy? Finding what makes you feel the best is the way to go, so long as your intuition lines up with health. I’ve found a diet that works for me (lots of legumes, woops), and I’ve never felt or performed better in my life, and it’s affordable on a low income. It seems diversity and moderation are best.
If I’ve misunderstood the Whole9 perspective based on this article, please inform me!