INTRODUCTION TO
WHOLE FOOD, PLANT-BASED LIFESTYLE EDUCATION
A whole food, plant-based lifestyle (WFPB) isn’t a diet, it’s a direct line to better health and stronger families that significantly reduces the risk of you or a loved one living at the mercy of lifestyle-driven chronic illness. Here’s the short, clear overview you need to make the best decisions for your wellness, your vitality and your longevity.
WHAT'S WHOLE FOOD, PLANT-BASED (WFPB) LIFESTYLE MEAN?
According to leading researchers and physicians promoting whole food, plant-based nutrition including but not limited to: Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Michael Greger, Nutrition Facts and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a whole food, plant-based (WFPB) lifestyle is a way of living that centers whole, minimally processed plant foods and removes the foods proven to raise inflammation, cholesterol and cardio-metabolic risk.
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But WFPB living isn’t just what’s on your plate, it's a lifestyle rooted in daily choices that support restoration and the significant reduction of degenerative or lifestyle-derived chronic illness risk.
WFPB living includes whole or minimally processed plant foods:
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vegetables
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fruits
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100% whole or sprouted grains
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beans and lentils
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nuts and seeds
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herbs and spices
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healthy hydration
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While eliminating the use of:
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meat, poultry and fish
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cheese, dairy and eggs
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oils
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moderate to ultra-processed foods
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high-salt
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moderate to ultra processed sugars
A WFPB lifestyle is supported by over 5,000 peer reviewed and published studies and decades of research showing that whole plant foods provide the fiber, antioxidants, phytonutrients and anti-inflammatory compounds that help prevent, slow and often reverse lifestyle-driven chronic illness.
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Power is Giving promotes a 100% WFPB lifestyle.
LIFESTYLE FACTORS THAT SHAPE WHOLE FOOD, PLANT-BASED (WFPB) LIVING
Clinicians leading WFPB research agree that healing doesn’t come from food alone, it come from food and lifestyle working together.
7 CHARACTERISTICS OF A WFPB LIFESTYLE
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1. Movement that fits your body and abilities
Regular physical activity, which is defined as no less than 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise (walking), improves endothelial function, reduces inflammation and supports heart and metabolic health.
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2. Stress reduction and emotional regulation
Chronic stress raises cortisol, inflammation and blood pressure. WFPB programs often include grounding practices like meditation, walking, journaling or community connection.
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3. Adequate, restorative sleep
Poor sleep disrupts insulin sensitivity, blood pressure and appetite regulation.
WFPB clinicians emphasize sleep as a core pillar of prevention and healing.
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4. Healthy community and social support
Ornish’s research, Dr Stancic’s work, PCRM cohorts and Batiste’s Heart Health Movement all show that connection improves compliance, outcomes and longevity.
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5. Avoiding substances that work against healing
Alcohol, smoking and engineered foods undermine the body’s natural repair systems.
6. Alignment with a compassionate, ethical and sustainable way of living
WFPB is health-centered, but many families integrate environmental justice, ethical eating and animal compassion as part of their lifestyle shift.
7. Culturally aligned and accessible practices
WFPB isn’t restrictive, it’s an invitation to reclaim cultural foodways with whole ingredients, flavor, familiarity and ancestral grounding.
“Our communities deserve more than diets or magic pills that deliver high costs, short-term results or side effects. Power is Giving promotes a 100% whole food, plant-based (WFPB) lifestyle because it helps prevent, halt and often reverse the chronic illnesses taking our loved ones too soon. Genetics influence risk but epigenetics is the constantly available light switch that can turn off what too many believe is DNA destiny. A whole food, plant-based lifestyle equips you with the evidence-based education and tools you need to experience accessible, affordable and sustainable change from the inside out.”
Dawn Hilton-Williams
NUTRITION EDUCATION GAP IN U.S. MEDICAL TRAINING
Most physicians in the U.S. enter practice deeply trained in diagnosing, treating and managing disease as well as executing needed acute care and their role in all of that work is respected and indispensable.
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However, the gap isn’t in their dedication, it’s in the U.S. medical school system that provides an average of under 20 hours of nutrition education across four years, and over 50% of medical students report receiving none at all.
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This means most physicians enter practice without the training needed to guide patients like you through dietary approaches that you likely ask them to advise you about. Unfortunately, many understandably fall back on personal eating habits rather than evidence-based nutrition guidance because they weren’t prepared to do otherwise.
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This isn’t a failure of individual doctors, it’s a failure of the system.
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Because nutrition, especially whole food, plant-based (WFPB) nutrition, is one of the most powerful tools we have to prevent, halt and often reverse the chronic illnesses driving premature death in our communities, we work collaboratively with board-certified physicians and subject matter experts who understand the evidence and support the WFPB lifestyle education embedded throughout our programs across Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, NC.
