The clean eating concept revolves around minimally processed foods that are close to its natural origins. Clean eaters don’t care too much about calories or the nutritious values of the food they eat, but the path food takes from its natural sources to their table. This diet has become very popular in recent years, especially after several good looking celebrities, including Katy Perry and Gwyneth Paltrow, decided to follow it.
Although most people think that clean eating is one of the easiest diets to follow, it is actually very hard to avoid processed food, especially in today’s day and age, when the food industry is so developed and powerful. Like many other diets, clean eating also comes with its own batch of silly myths, and in this article we have tried to bust some of them.
Sugar Is Natural
The fact that sugar is made from sugar beets or sugar cane doesn’t make it all natural, because we’re talking about highly processed food. Sugar is also very addictive and bad for your health. The same goes for corn starch that’s now added to most sweets and sodas on the market.
Many people are addicted to sugar and removing it from their diet may cause headaches and fatigue. Even then sugar detox is one of the best decisions you can make, and it will improve your health and make you feel better. People who can’t live without sweets and desserts are advised to switch to stevia or other sugar alternatives.
All Fat Is Bad
Fat is actually not bad, if its intake doesn’t exceed a certain limit. Fat enables your body to absorb vitamins and minerals, and it also makes meals much tastier. It cushions your body from the inside and prepares you for the winter months. Of course not all fats are the same. Bacon is definitely a food you should avoid, and the same goes for French fries and pork scratchings, but there are also good fats that can be obtained from the following ingredients:
- Nuts;
- Low-fat fish;
- Sea food;
- Eggs;
- Fatty plants like avocado;
Low Fat and Low Sugar Products Are Good
If you are trying to cut the intake of fat or sugar, you should do it by eating less sweets or high fat foods, and not by replacing them with low fat and low sugar alternatives. These products are especially bad for people who follow the clean eating diet, since they are some of the most processed foods you can find on supermarket shelves.
Why does low fat sour cream taste like the ordinary one? Because the fat (which adds a lot to its taste) is replaced with a long list of chemicals, that are added only to improve the product’s taste. The same goes for many sugar-free products. We mention stevia as a good alternative to plain white sugar, but there are also dozens of other chemicals used for replacing the sugar in sweets and desserts that are very bad for your health.
Brown Eggs Are Better Than White Ones
The color of the egg shell doesn’t have anything to do with its quality. Both eggs will give you the same batch of nutrients and the color of the shell mostly depends on the chicken, duck or goose breed. On the other hand, when choosing eggs by color, people often neglect product declarations, where they can find out the ways the chickens were fed, which directly influences the egg’s nutritional value.
Eggs from chickens that are fed with more flaxseeds are healthier, because these seeds increase their Omega 3 content. Together with fish and seed oils, eggs are one of the best sources for Omega 3 fatty acids.
Healthy Snacks Are Good
Today you can find plenty of vending machines with more healthy choices and healthy snacks people like to eat while watching their favorite show on Netflix. Although healthy snacks and vending machine alternatives are great, they still have lots of calories and their high intake may lead to obesity and diabetes, same as with regular snacks. Did you know that one pack of Granola has 600 calories, which is more than you should take in one daily meal? Salads are also highly caloric when they contain chicken breast meat, cheese or mayonnaise, while smoothies (which contain plenty of healthy ingredients) should be taken as a replacement for full meals, not as snacks drank in between.
Clean eating is another great way to lose weight and become healthier. Followers of this diet sometimes need the help of experts who will provide them with good answers for all coaching questions they have to ask. Reading ingredient charts on product declarations can also be of great help in determining which food to eat. Believing in clean eating myths that are not confirmed by science is definitely the thing you should avoid, because it can easily nullify the good results achieved with this diet.
Author: Mathews McGarry
M
athews McGarry is passionate about many forms of strength training, and has spent years lifting, dragging and flipping all manner of heavy objects. After graduating from the Faculty of Health Sciences, he started writing about his experiences, and sharing tips for a better life. He is an all-around fitness adviser and his words are strong as an Australian Bull.