You can tell a whole food because it has only one ingredient--itself! It appears in nature just as it is; you can close your eyes and imagine it growing. God made whole foods. People make all kinds of edibles out of whole foods, partial foods, distorted foods, and chemicals. A mere "part" of a whole food is not truly a whole food. One example is sugar. Sugar cane and sugar beets are whole foods. The refined granulated white or brown stuff derived from them is definitely not whole. A fresh vegetable salad, on the other hand, is made from a combination of whole foods. A kiwi fruit is another example of a whole food. So is a baked potato, or bowl of hot, cooked millet.