I'm not a nutritionist or physician (my father had a Ph.D. in swine nutrition), but I've been reading much more about nutrition and immunity since COVID.

Your approach makes more sense than the accepted paradigm because your focus incorporates (whether by choice or chance) a more complex mix of micronutrients (polyphenols, etc.) rather than counting just calories, and because the low-processed diet with low-starch vegetables, whole fruits, legumes, and whole kernel grains will enhance the gut biome--which we now know is critical for the functioning of practically all body systems.

It would seem that the phrases "empty calorie" and "junk food" have some validity after all. It's what ultra-processed food lacks that most likely account for debits in health and immunity (plus the high load of sodium and unhealthy fats in most ultra-processed foods).

3.5 cups of strawberries have about as many calories as a frosted strawberry pop tart, but their impact on the eater is likely to be quite different.