If a food isn’t good, is it bad? If a food isn’t clean, is it dirty? Can food truly be categorized into these black or white categories that we place them in? Is this simply a marketing term to convince us to buy one food over another or is there some truth to the notion that we need to “eat clean”? Today, Tara’s Tuesday Tips take a closer look into the term “clean” when it comes to food as we uncover the truth behind clean eating.
Tara’s Tuesday Tips:
The Truth Behind Clean Eating
I spent most of my adult life categorizing foods into good versus bad, inferior versus superior, acceptable versus unacceptable, clean versus …. what? Contaminated? Dirty? If you think about it, and I mean really think about it, what is the rest of that sentence? There is no real way to fill in that blank. In actuality, there is no true definition of clean eating. One thing is for certain with attempting to eat “clean” all the time … it can and eventually will lead to orthorexia (the obsession with healthy eating) and a whole host of other issues surrounding food + ultimately is unsustainable. But eating clean, whole, unprocessed foods IS a good thing. Ugh, what is the truth behind clean eating. Let’s break it down together.
To avoid going all science- nutrition-nerd-DNP on you, I will give you my quick tips and you decide for yourself …
What clean eating might mean to you:
- Natural
- Organic
- Non-toxic
- Green or environmentally-friendly
- Unprocessed
- Safer
- Healthier
What clean eating is not:
- A cure-all for illness, obesity, aging, or wrinkles.
- Backed by evidenced, research, government regulations.
- Insurance that what you are buying or eating is of higher quality and/or is free of toxins, chemicals, pesticides, sugar, fat, or additives.
- Affordable or attainable for everyone.
- The best choice all the time.
How can following a clean eating lifestyle be beneficial?
- Helps us gravitate towards eating more fruits, vegetables, whole food products
- Steers us away from processed, packaged, higher fat/salt/sugar foods
- Forces us to prepare our own foods, stock our kitchens full of fresh staples + our backpacks full of “clean” snacks or meals
What about processed foods?
First + most importantly: there is no such thing as a hierarchy of foods. Clean does not equal pure. Food is nutrition + some foods offer us more nutritional content than others, but that does not make them bad or dirty or imperfect. If a food is in a package, it is processed and there is no way around that. Someone processed a food and placed it in a package for you to buy and eat. This does not make it unclean/dirty/toxic. A frozen bag of wild blueberries is processed, right? But it was picked at prime harvest + flash frozen + is likely the healthiest blueberry you will find in a store in some places. However, in the hierarchy of clean eating this is not clean because it was in a package.
We all eat food out of a box/can/wrapper at some point in our lives + we all live to tell the tale. Eating processed foods is not bad or dirty or contaminated. However, living ONLY on foods out of a box/can/wrapper is when you cross a line to having long-term health implications.
Not ALL food in a package is bad! Without nutrition in a package, I could not be an endurance athlete utilizing energy gels + drinks. Is that UNclean? hmmmmm
Caution with copying “what I eat in a day as a clean eater” posts:
The term clean eating has been taken to a cult-like level by wellness influencers, celebrities, and media publications. Many of whom do not hold ANY nutrition or medical qualifications, nor do they have any evidence to support a claim they are making about their experience with how their version of clean eating changed their life and cured their ailment. Eat in a way that works for YOU. Don’t use social media as your only resource! If trying to follow/copy what someone else is doing is causing you stress or financial pressures or isn’t making you feel good, stop it! That’s not clean or cool!!
Clean vs Naturally-Sourced:
The term clean is often used to denote that something is “naturally sourced”. This does not make the product better. Often times sourcing an ingredient from nature can be extremely detrimental to the environment. Some of these products leave a trail of destruction on a forest, animal habitat, or community + we never even see it. Does that make it better/cleaner/more natural? Again, clean has no true definition. A product labeled clean that took out the home of an entire population of monkeys to manufacture is not clean to me. Choose products that are made by companies with full transparency, match up with your budget, your values, your personality, and your needs, not because they say ‘clean’ on the box or are marketed by someone you liked in a movie.
Food For Thought
Nourishment comes in many forms. Some forms of nourishment give us more vitamins, minerals, fiber or protein than others. I chose to write about clean eating today not to sing the praises of clean eating. Nor am I being critical of choosing a clean or cleaner style of eating that encourages eating more nourishing foods. I chose to write about clean eating today because eating clean is a slippery slope + hope to prevent you from sliding down it. There are already far too many things in ads + on social media to make us feel bad about ourselves if we let them. The term clean eating has morphed into some sort of diet-culture driven hierarchy of food shaming which never leads to anything productive.
If you’ve made it this far with me today, I hope you take away one bit of advice: the truth behind clean eating is …
This is not a real term with any meaning or scientific backing. If you gravitate towards eating things that are colorful, nutritious, fresh, whole, and prepared in your own home, that is the best thing you can do for yourself + those you love. Please eat + buy things that support you in being the best version of yourself physically + emotionally not because they fall somewhere acceptable on a false hierarchy.
All the best,
Tara 💚
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⭐Did you learn the truth behind clean eating? Have anything to add? Leave a comment below!
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