Clean Eating seems to be the latest diet of choice for wellness enthusiasts, with clean eaters focusing on consuming healthier, whole, unprocessed foods. However, while clean eating may seem like the latest in a long line of fad diets, the truth is that the principles of this diet plan are by no means new, and might provide real benefits to your wellbeing. The principles of clean eating are based on current nutritional science. Moreover, you’ll find that public health organisations make similar recommendations. Clean eating, therefore, is more than just a diet; it’s a lifestyle that maximises your energy and optimises your health. Moreover, the flexibility of the eating plan means you can adapt it to fit your routine. That said, there are eight core principles of Clean Eating that are always worth following:
1. Choose Whole Natural Foods: First and foremost, get rid of anything that came in a box, bag, can, or package – these are processed foods and have no place in a clean and lean diet (however, there are a few exceptions to the rule, like a bag of fresh green beans). If you want to eat clean and lead a healthy, holistic life, the majority of the foods you eat should be fresh, whole and natural, as most processed food has added preservatives and chemicals to increase shelf life.
2. Eat with the Changing Seasons: Our society no longer has respect for the seasons, or eating with them. This means that the produce you eat is not as nutritional as it could be due to a lack of freshness and the time it has spent in transit. Any foods that are harvested for shipping all over the world are intentionally picked under ripe and sometimes sprayed with chemicals to maintain their freshness. Try to choose foods that are available locally and seasonally – shopping at a local farmer’s market or greengrocers instead of a supermarket can help you to do this.
3. Choose Unrefined Over Refined Foods: While refined foods may taste a bit nicer, this is because they have had most of their nutrition and fibre value stripped away in order to make the food more palatable and longer lasting. Whenever possible – which, we admit, is not all the time – increase your intake of whole grains like brown rice, millet, amaranth, and quinoa. Moreover, you should try to eat lost of beans, legumes and clean sugars such as honey, maple syrup, and dehydrated sugar cane juice.
4. Watch out for Fat, Salt, and Sugar: When you’ve cut out processed foods, avoiding fat, salt and sugar is far easier than you might think. Processed foods are often responsible for the excess levels of calories, fat, sugar, and salt in your diet, while clean foods are usually low in all of these ingredients.
5. Eat Some Protein, Carbohydrate and Fat at Every Meal: While you may need no encouragement to eat carbohydrates and fats, you might lack a certain amount of protein in your diet, especially during breakfast and lunch. Protein is important for building and strengthening your muscles and helping to curb your appetite – both of which are important for weight loss. However, it’s important to note that not all protein is created equal, so make your choice a little more wisely. Space it out and be aware of the kinds of meals you put together.
6. Don’t Drink Your Calories: If you’re trying to cut down on calories, why would you waste them on a beverage? By eliminating high calorie drinks like specialty coffees and soft drinks, you could lose an extra 400 to 500 calories a day. The top clean drink are water or unsweetened tea (any flavour), but you might also like to try low-fat or skimmed milk, buttermilk, lemonade sweetened with honey and 100% fruit juice diluted with sparkling water.
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