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A dietitian's guide to 'clean eating': what it is and how to do it right

'Clean eating' is the most widely followed diet

Clean eating can best be described as a holistic approach to finding foods that are fresher, less processed, and a higher quality. The broader idea comes from the belief that your health is the single most important investment you can make.

Observational studies have linked ultra-processed diets with poor health, weight gain, and early death. While there is no one right way, the clean eating approach prefer food in its natural state.

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A dietitian's guide to 'clean eating': what it is and how to do it right

theguardian.com

Key Ideas

'Clean eating' is the most widely followed diet

Observational studies have linked ultra-processed diets with poor health, weight gain, and early death. While there is no one right way, the clean eating approach prefer food in its natural state.

Clean eating mindset

Clean eating is about choosing whole foods and ingredients, products that are minimally processed, and as additive-free as possible. It is not a punishing mindset, but a prioritising one:

Whole foods and ingredients first.
Minimally processed foods made with whole and familiar ingredients.
Where possible, avoid synthetic chemicals, pesticides, and preservatives, as well as artificial sweeteners, flavours, and colours.

The practice also promotes home-cooking and developing a culture of food that leads to meals that taste great and are better for you.

What clean eating is not

It's not a hard science. It is a conceptual framework to help navigate the vast food choices available.
Exclusive and judgmental. It's not an all-or-nothing approach, nor a tool by which to measure someone's value.
Versus "dirty." Clean eating can only be contrasted with "messy," where western diets are complicated and confusing.
Inflexible. It is an inclusionary approach that you can adapt, whether you are vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, egg-free, or simply choose not to eat certain foods.
Only about avoiding processed foods or chemicals. It is about moving toward quality and making the healthiest choice.

How to shop for a clean diet

Whole foods come first. Wholefoods don't need labels with ingredients.
Cut or eliminate ultra-processed foods that contain synthetic chemicals, pesticides, and artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, and preservatives.
Choose minimally processed foods. It is food where, if you wanted to, you could find all the ingredients and make it yourself.
Focus on healthy oils such as olives and avocados.
Where you can, choose organic and no added hormone milk, cheese, yoghurt, and butter.
Select meats, poultry, eggs, and seafood with no hormones administered or antibiotics added.
Take care when choosing plant-based proteins as an alternative to meat as they can be highly processed and contain fillers, preservatives, and artificial ingredients.

Making clean eating stick

Declutter your countertops. Replace sugary or processed snacks for a bowl of fresh fruit.
Reorganise your fridge and pantry. Place unprocessed, whole foods in front, and make packaged foods less visible.
Stay positive. Don't beat yourself up for a food choice. Big changes take time.

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The art of eating

... is a question of psychology as much as nutrition. We have to find a way to want to eat what’s good for us.

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Food preferences are learned

All the foods that you regularly eat are ones that you learned to eat. Everyone starts life drinking milk. After that, it’s all up for grabs.

But in today’s food culture, many people seem to have acquired uncannily homogenous tastes: food companies push foods high in sugar, fat and salt, which means we are innately incapable of resisting them but that the more frequently we eat them, especially in childhood, the more they train us to expect all food to taste this way.

0.3% of young women are anorexic

... and another 1% are bulimic, with rising numbers of men joining them.

What statistics are not particularly effective at telling us is how many others – whether overweight or underweight – are in a perpetual state of anxiety about what they consume, living in fear of carbs or fat grams and unable to derive straightforward enjoyment from meals.

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The Last Conversation You'll Ever Need to Have About Eating Right

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It's beyond strange that so many humans are clueless about how they should feed themselves. Every wild species on the planet knows how to do it; presumably ours did, too, before our oversized brains found new ways to complicate things. Now, we're the only species that can be baffled about the "right" way to eat.

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Best foods don’t have labels

Because they are just one ingredient: avocado, lentils, blueberries, broccoli, almonds, etc.

There is no "best diet"

The “best” diet is a theme: an emphasis on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and plain water for thirst.

That can be with or without seafood; with or without dairy; with or without eggs; with or without some meat; high or low in total fat.

The "Age" of vegetables

The best vegetables are likely to be fresh and locally sourced, but flash frozen is nearly as good (as freezing delays aging). Those “fresh” vegetables that spend a long time in storage or transit are probably the least nutritious.

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Nearly three decades ago, when I was an overweight teenager, I sometimes ate six pieces of sliced white toast in a row, each one slathered in butter or jam. I remember the spongy texture of the bread as I took it from its plastic bag.

Key Ideas

Ultra-Processed Foods

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Our Everyday Foods

We consume ultra-processed foods every day without even realizing it.

The morning cereal and flavored yogurt.
The savory snacks and sweet baked goods.
The vegan hotdog and the chicken nuggets available on the street.
The doughnut or the premium protein bar we buy as a snack.
The carton-packed almond milk put in our coffee or the diet coke we have.

Apart from obesity, ultra-processed foods are responsible for depression, asthma, heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders, and even cancer.

More Light On Ultra-Processed Foods

Most cooked foods can be termed as 'processed foods', but ultra-processed foods are in a different domain, with few people having the clarity to differentiate.

A cooked carrot is processed food, but a bag of industrially-produced, carrot-flavored veggie puffs are ultra-processed and are still aimed at toddlers as a portion of natural food. Other examples include frozen peas or pasteurized milk.

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