When asked about their biggest health goals, most people say they want to lose weight. Losing weight alone will affect things like blood pressure and lipids in the short term, but long term health requires more than simply losing weight. For example, when the diet is higher in fiber from whole grains, fruits and vegetables and legumes, and low fat dairy products, its going to be lower in calories but higher in bioactive compounds like polyphenols, flavonoids, and antioxidants as well as minerals like calcium and potassium. All of these interact and affect the microbiome, which appears to have a much larger role in health than previously known.
