Worlds Healthiest Foods

100 foods that can serve as the basis of your Healthiest Way of Eating. Links to the articles about these foods can be found below. In addition to questions about our foods, we often get asked about beverages and sweeteners. In the beverage category, water and green tea have been especially popular topics, and in the sweetener category, so have blackstrap molasses, honey and maple syrup.
Of course, there are many other nutritious foods other than those that we have included on our list that we feel are wonderful, health-promoting foods; if there are other whole foods – such as fruits, vegetables, nuts/seeds, whole grains, etc – that you like, by all means enjoy them. Just because a food is not on our list doesn’t mean that we don’t think that it can be included in a diet geared towards the Healthiest Way of Eating as long as it is a whole, natural, nutrient-rich food.

To find out why some of your favorite nutritious foods are not included in our list, read The Criteria Used to Select the World’s Healthiest Foods.

Vegetables

Asparagus
Avocados
Beet greens
Beets
Bell peppers
Bok choy
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Collard greens
Corn
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Fennel
Garlic
Green beans
Green peas
Kale
Leeks
Mushrooms, crimini
Mushrooms, shiitake
Mustard greens
Olive oil, extra virgin
Olives
Onions
Potatoes
Romaine lettuce
Sea vegetables
Spinach
Squash, summer
Squash, winter
Sweet potatoes
Swiss chard
Tomatoes
Turnip greens

Fruits

Apples
Apricots
Bananas
Blueberries
Cantaloupe
Cranberries
Figs
Grapefruit
Grapes
Kiwifruit
Lemon/Limes
Oranges
Papaya
Pears
Pineapple
Plums & Prunes
Raspberries
Strawberries
Watermelon

Seafood

Cod
Salmon
Sardines
Scallops
Shrimp
Tuna

Nuts & Seeds

Almonds
Cashews
Flaxseeds
Peanuts
Pumpkin seeds
Sesame seeds
Sunflower seeds
Walnuts

Beans & Legumes

Black beans
Dried peas
Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
Kidney beans
Lentils
Lima beans
Miso
Navy beans
Pinto beans
Soy sauce
Soybeans
Tempeh
Tofu

Poultry & Meats

Beef, grass-fed
Chicken, pasture-raised
Lamb, grass-fed
Turkey, pasture-raised
Eggs & Dairy

Cheese, grass-fed
Cow’s milk, grass-fed
Eggs, pasture-raised
Yogurt, grass-fed
Grains

Barley
Brown rice
Buckwheat
Millet
Oats
Quinoa
Rye
Whole wheat

World’s Healthiest Herbs & Spices

Basil
Black pepper
Chili pepper, dried
Cilantro & Coriander seeds
Cinnamon, ground
Cloves
Cumin seeds
Dill
Ginger
Mustard seeds
Oregano
Parsley
Peppermint
Rosemary
Sage
Thyme
Turmeric