Foods to Focus On: Low Fat and Whole Foods Diet

I am a big fan of targeting fat (versus carbs or protein) as the macronutrient to regulate when selecting foods to eat. There are two basic reasons I think this makes sense.

On the one hand, fats are twice as energy dense as both carbs and protein, having about 8-9 cal per gram versus 4 cal per gram for protein and carbs. So much of weight balance is tied to metabolic balance, specifically the energy balance in your body. This means how much energy you take in from food and the amount you use is crucial as it determines whether your body must store extra fat or burn extra fat to fuel the body. Therefore, reducing the intake of fat means you get less calories per gram of food and can avoid taking in too much energy relative to your needs.

Further, many foods that are especially high in fat are also poor sources of nutrition. Most fried foods fall into this category and its fairly noncontroversial to acknowledge that donuts, fried chicken, and bacon are not the most nutritious foods to eat. Moreover, we know pounding the butter, mayonnaise, and ice cream do not help the waistline either. Finally, it helps us choose better sources of the things high fat foods do supply. For instance, red meat is often defended as a good source of protein. However, relative to its fat content, most white fish is a superior source of protein alone as cod, for instance, is often 95% protein by weight with no additional fat. By making these comparisons one can still supply nutritional needs, like protein, while avoiding blowing their energy balance out of proportion.

One of the diet plans that focuses on reducing fat and increasing healthful food intake is the Ornish Diet. Dr. Ornish sees foods are existing on a continuum of healthfulness such that you never bust the diet if you eat some ice cream one day. It is just preferential to increase intake of more healthful foods while reducing the intake of the high fat foods. Here is a list of some of the other recommendations from his plan:

Avoid foods with greater than 3g of fat per serving
Avoid white flour

Avoid simple sugars

To help you identify low fat foods, you can use tools like the caloric ratio pyramid from nutritiondata.self.com. Foods with scores in the bottom left picture are ideal.

Finally, here is a modified list of low fat/healthy foods to focus your diet on in my opinion. For Ornish's precise recommendations, visit: http://ornishspectrum.com/proven-program/nutrition/

	Low Fat Foods List (Selections from Ornish Diet)
Description	Lowest in bad stuff, highest in good stuff.
Fruits	Fresh; choose locally grown fresh fruit when available. Apples, Bananas, Berries, Cranberries, Cherries, Currants, Figs, Grapes, Guava, Kiwi, Lemon, Lime, Litchi nuts, Mango, Melon, Oranges, Papaya, Persimmons, Pomegranates, Quinces, Rhubarb, Starfruit , Tangerines, Watermelon, Winter melons, Zapote, Dried fruit, without added sugar (Cherries, Cranberries, Dates, Mango, Papaya, Raisins)
Vegetables	Fresh, frozen or low-sodium canned: Choose locally grown fresh vegetables when available. Artichokes, Arugula, Asparagus, Bamboo shoots, Bell peppers (red, green, yellow or orange), Bok choy, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots or celery, Cauliflower, Celery, Chilies, Chinese celery, Corn, Cucumber, Dandelion greens, Edemame (soy beans), Eggplant, Escarole, Fennel, Garlic, Ginger, Grape leaves, Green beans, Green leafy vegetables, Jicama, Kale, Leeks, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Mustard greens, Napa or Chinese cabbage, Okra, Onions, Parsnips, Pickles, Potatoes, Radicchio, Scallions, Seaweed, Shallot, Spinach, Squash, summer and winter, Sun dried tomatoes (not in oil), Swiss chard, Tomatoes, Tomato paste, Tomato sauce, Water chestnuts, Watercress; (Group 2) Avocados, Olives
Grains/Cereals	100 percent Whole grain bread, bagels, English muffins, pita bread, 100 percent Whole grain low-fat crackers (Woven Wheat, Finn Crisp, Wasa), Amaranth, Barley, Brown rice, Buckwheat, Bulgur, Corn, Corn tortillas (not fried), Couscous (whole wheat,) Faro, High fiber whole grain cereals (containing at least 4 grams fiber per 100 calories and less than 5 grams sugar), Hominy grits made without fat, butter or bacon, Kasha, Millet, Oatmeal, Oats, Pasta made from whole grain, Polenta, Polvillo, Potatoes, Quinoa, Rice crackers (whole grain), Rye, Soba noodles, Spelt, Sweet potatoes, Tabouli grain salad made without oil, Tortillas (fat free), Udon noodles, Wheat, Wheat berries, Wheat tortillas (fat-free), Wild rice, Yams; (Group 2) Reduced fat flour tortilla
Legumes	Fresh, dried, frozen, canned (no added salt), jarred (no added salt), vacuum sealed (no added salt): Black beans, Black-eyed peas, Cannelinni or butter beans, Chickpeas (garbanzo beans), Fava beans, Great white northern beans, Italian white beans, Lentils, Lima, Mung beans, Navy beans, Peas, Pinto beans, Red beans (kidney beans), Sprouted beans, Wax (yellow) beans
Protein	Egg whites or liquid egg substitutes, Hummus made without oil or Tahini, Soy and soy alternatives: Tofu, Tempeh, Natto, Edemame, Soy hot dogs, Soy fat free sausage, Veggie burgers; (Group 3) Anchovies (fresh), Arctic char, Butterfish, Canned light tuna, Catfish, Caviar, Clams, Cod, Crab, Crawfish, Flounder, Halibut, Herring, Lobster, Mahimahi, Monkfish, Mussels, Orange roughy, Pacific flounder, Pacific sole, Pollack, Salmon, wild Alaska and Pacific, Sanddabs, Sardines not packed in oil, Scallops, Sea bass, Shrimp, Snapper, Squid/calamari, Striped bass, Sturgeon, Tilapia, Trout, Tuna, fresh or canned light
Dairy and dairy substitutes	Enriched oat milk, Enriched rice milk, Enriched soy milk, Fat-free or skim milk, Fat-free buttermilk, Fat-free sour cream, Fat-free cream cheese, Fat-free cottage cheese, Fat-free yogurt, Canned evaporated milk, Fat-free (skim), coconut water, Fat-free dry milk powder; (Group 2) Low fat dairy (1 percent), Sweetened non-fat and 1 percent yogurt, Fat free frozen yogurt, Fat free puddings and sweets (up to 2 servings daily), Parmesan cheese as a flavor enhancer
Fats/oils	Fish oil (omega 3 fatty acids), Fat-free non-dairy salad dressings, Non-stick cooking spray, Fat-free margarine spreads; (Group 2) Canola oil, Flaxseed oil, Olive oil, Safflower oil, Sesame oil, Nuts and nut butters: Almonds (unsalted), Cashews (unsalted), Mixed nuts (unsalted), Peanuts (unsalted), Pecans (unsalted), Pumpkin seeds (unsalted), Sesame seeds, Sunflower seeds (unsalted), Walnuts
Herbs, spices and other flavor additives	Bonito flakes, Brewers yeast, Broth (vegetable, mushroom), Capers, Chili flakes, Chutneys, Fennel seeds, Flax seeds, Fresh or dried herbs and spices, such as allspice, cinnamon, basil, cumin, curry powder, corriander, parsley, oregano, etc., Garlic, Green chiles (canned), Hoisin sauce and plum sauce, malt powder, Miso, Mustard, Natural vanilla, Pepper, Plain and flavored vinegars, Poppy seeds, Rice wine vinegar, low sodium, Salsa or picante sauce, Vinegars, Yeast, Wheat germ
Sweeteners	Stevia, Honey (Sm. Amts.)
Beverages	Green Tea (iced and hot), Caffeine free herbal teas (iced and hot), Fruit juice (up to 8 oz daily), Beer (up to 12 oz daily), Wine (up to 6 oz daily), Sake; (Group 2) Black tea