Dietitian's Guide to "Clean Eating": What Is It and How to Do it Properly | American News

reyou have probably heard the term a dozen times. In fact, a survey conducted this month by the International Food Information Council's Nonprofit Board of Directors revealed that "clean consumption" was the most popular diet for US consumers.

But what is it exactly? As a practicing dietitian with a doctorate in public health who has written books on the subject, I am often asked to explain how to eat "healthily". And it's not always easy.

I can best describe it as a holistic approach to finding fresh, less processed and better quality foods – individuals defining each one in a personal way. But the broadest idea comes from the belief that the most important investment you can bring your health daily is eating well. And eating well starts with eating "clean".

To base the term on research, we can compare the health effects of whole food consumption to those of a highly processed diet. Observational studies have badociated ultra-processed diets with poor health, the risk of certain cancers, weight gain and premature death. This month, researchers published a highly controlled clinical trial showing that consuming highly processed foods can increase the speed of consumption, the total number of calories consumed and weight gain, compared to a diet complete, unprocessed or "clean".

Although there is not a single way to do it, a clean consumption approach focuses on whole foods and their ingredients. It also limits or avoids ultra-processed foods, long-shelf-life products, and certain ingredients that you would not be able to buy at retail in supermarkets. In short: Healthy eating favors food in its natural state.

So where should you start? Let's say it in several stages.

What is eating clean?

In simple terms: it's about choose whole foods and ingredients, as well as products that are like little transformed and without additives as possible. The mentality should be affirmative and not punitive. When choosing what to eat, give priority:

• Whole foods and ingredients first. By definition, whole foods do not contain added sugar, salt, fat, preservatives or synthetic chemicals.

Where it is possible, Avoid foods containing synthetic chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, preservatives or sweeteners, flavors and dyes. Ultra-processed foods often contain artificial ingredients and excess or added sugar, fat or salt and, at the same time, have limited nutritional value.

Pesticides in your breakfast cereals. Carcinogenic chemicals in your furniture and contaminated drinking water.

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Photo: Guardian design

Practice also favors cook at home, developing a food culture that leads to meals that taste better and are better for you.

In the end, it's a commitment for the long game: healthy is a journey that involves lasting changes in the way of life and our relationship to food.

What it is not

A hard science. A healthy diet is not based on rigid scientific guidelines. It is a conceptual framework to help us navigate the vast ocean of food choices available to us. It's not "all or nothing" – but a continuum where you focus on fresh, complete and nutritious foods when you can. Evidence-based science should guide your decision-making, in order to be informed of your best choices all the time.

Exclusive and discretionary. Healthy eating may seem elitist – but that should not be the case. It's a road map to guide choices, not a tool to measure someone's worth. It's about evaluating your food options and figuring out what's good, better, better – not bad, worse and worse.

Dieting. We do not focus on the size of the portions, the calories consumed or the extra pounds. Although you can lose weight by eating healthy, the main goal is to improve health.

Against "dirty". If eating healthy was to be in contrast with something, it would be "messy", as modern Western diets are cumbersome, cluttered, complicated and confusing. Think of eating healthy as simple or rational, recognizable and real.

Inflexible. Eating healthy is an approach of inclusion and not exclusion. The basic principles of healthy eating can be adapted depending on whether you are vegetarian or vegan, pescadarian, gluten free, nut free, dairy free, egg free or simply choose not to eat certain foods. And if you follow a doctor's diet and eat carbs for diabetes, or manage cholesterol, high blood pressure, digestive problems or allergies, you can still follow a healthy lifestyle.

Only to avoid processed foods or chemicals. More importantly, it's about moving to quality, making the healthiest choice in any circumstance.

How to shop

Whole foods come first. The ingredient in a nut is: the nut. The ingredient in a blueberry is: blueberry. Increase your consumption of foods that do not need labels.

Slash or eliminate ultra-processed foods which contain synthetic chemicals, pesticides and artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners and preservatives. Reduce refined sugars and enriched and refined flours.

Choose poorly processed foods made from a single plant or animal, or from a list of ingredients that you recognize. Avoid packaging that may also contain undesirable additives. Read the ingredients label as it's a shopping list for a recipe. If you could prepare this food – all the ingredients are listed and you can find them individually – it's a good sign.

To focus on healthy oils from food sources such as olives and avocados.

To opt for biological when you can. To choose bio and / or hormone free milk, cheese, yoghurt and butter.

To select meat, poultry, seafood and eggs without antibiotics, hormones or preservatives. Avoid cold cuts preserved with nitrites / sodium nitrates.

If you avoid meat or dairy products, be careful when choosing vegetable proteins. Complete food choices – beans, peas, nuts and seeds – are excellent, but read the ingredient lists. Meat substitutes, such as hamburgers and packaged meals, can be highly processed and contain fillers, preservatives and artificial ingredients.

Make it stick

Declutter these counters. Swap sweet or processed snacks for a bowl or basket of fresh fruit.

Reconfigure your fridge and your pantry make unprocessed whole foods prominent, with less visible packaged foods.

Stay positive: it takes practice and you have to feel good. No, you fight for a choice of food. Big changes take time.

Wendy Bazilian is a registered dietitian with a doctorate in public health and author of several books on healthy eating.