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Wholefoods It will surprise some people to know that Arjuna is not actually a health food shop, but a wholefood shop. Together with a healthy lifestyle, Wholefoods alone can supply all the nutrients necessary for a healthy diet. Wholefoods simply means unrefined or processed foods such as grains, pulses and nuts which are still naturally full of vitamins and minerals, unlike highly processed foods from which they have been removed or destroyed. At Arjuna we aim to provide a wider range of Wholefoods than you will not find in mainstream shops, and at reasonable prices; from basics such as red lentils, to recently publicised grains such as quinoa. Wholefoods are about more than brown rice, and you don't need to be any kind of hippy to enjoy them - the length of the hair of Arjuna workers in the 1970s notwithstanding. The essence of the wholefood philosophy is the belief that we should base our diet on those kinds of foods that our bodies have spent millions of years evolving to digest and use. This means living mostly or entirely on plant foods - we have the long digestive system of an herbivore. Dairy products are similarly unsuitable, at least in large quantities. Only one living thing has evolved to live on cows' milk: the calf. For most people, there should rarely be a need to think about the specific nutrient content of the foods they are eating. A diet based on a wide variety of whole grains, pulses, and above all, fresh fruits and vegetables will, in most cases, effortlessly provide all you need. In certain circumstances this will not be true; if you suspect that you may not be receiving an optimum amount of certain vitamins or minerals, for instance, then you should consult a nutritionist, herbalist, or other practitioner of natural medicine, who will be able to advise you on this. If there is a deficiency, eating more of foods rich in the nutrient in question, or taking steps to enhance the body's ability to absorb nutrients, will usually be the answer. One attractive feature of the wholefood philosophy is that it does not require an all or nothing approach to diet. Any move you make towards eating more wholesome, unprocessed, fresh, lightly prepared foods will benefit you. Any reduction in congestive, additive-loaded, or sugared foods is similarly worthwhile. Indeed, trying to alter the diet of a lifetime too quickly may be counterproductive because of the stress it may cause: stress is, after all, a major cause of illness. So don't try to force things on yourself, but do treat the process of changing your diet as an adventure. Arjuna is full of exciting foods, and we are happy to offer recipe ideas and cooking tips. We have come to feel that it is worthwhile to offer healthier versions of the convenience foods on sale in supermarkets. There has also been a growing interest in vegan, organic and fair trade products; this represents a deepening and widening of the wholefood ideal, but has also led to compromises. Thus we now sell Green and Black's Chocolate, a product which should not feature prominently in any wholefood diet, but is vegan, organic and fair trade. Obviously, the foods we are most proud of score well in all areas. A food shop filled with only products selected on the strictest of criteria would, however, have very hungry customers - and very impoverished workers.
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