Clean eating provides your body with nutritious foods that haven’t been overly processed, providing it with essential vitamins and minerals it needs for better heart and brain health, weight management and creating a stronger immune system.
Clean eating can become dangerous if taken to extremes; in such instances, orthorexia nervosa could occur. Therefore, it’s essential that your relationship with food be monitored closely and seek help if an unhealthy obsession develops with eating becomes evident.
Vegetables
Vegetables are essential components of healthy eating as they contain an array of essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals that provide your body with essential nutrition that can protect it against diseases while keeping it functioning at an optimum level.
Eating more vegetables can help protect against stroke, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity. They’re packed full of fiber to prevent constipation and digestive problems from occurring as well.
Take the time to enjoy a variety of vegetables at each meal. Make an effort to choose uncooked over cooked, and limit added sugars (such as in fruit juice). Consider including vegetables into stews, soups, pasta dishes or sandwiches or wraps using lower calorie techniques such as steaming, frying and roasting for optimal nutrition.
Fruits
Fruits provide essential plant chemicals not found in vegetables, while their variety of colors, shapes and sizes brings visual interest to meals. A balanced diet should consist of all food groups: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans & peas, dairy and high-quality animal or plant protein foods – as well as being free from ultra-processed foods with added sugar as well as unhealthy fats.
Fruits provide essential nutrition, including potassium, fiber, vitamin C and folate. Try eating several servings of a variety of colorful fruits each day for maximum benefits. Keep washed and cut fruits within reach so it’s easy to grab when hunger strikes; fruits also make tasty snacks when added into baked goods or desserts!
Meat
Meat can provide protein, iron and vitamin B12. Incorporating meat into a clean diet is vital as it supplies vital nutrition such as protein, iron and B12. But when purchasing processed meats like bologna, salami, pepperoni or hot dogs it may help decrease sodium consumption and is beneficial when purchasing locally produced and sustainably sourced options.
Participant read five vignettes and responded to the open-ended question about their definition of clean eating, with responses coded by a research assistant familiar with this trend. Responses were reviewed and categorized to identify distinct diet-related themes as well as more broadly impact-related themes; correlation analyses were then run between participant responses to each vignette and indicators of clinical phenomena; data were then analyzed with SPSS version 24.
Seafood
Seafood is an excellent source of lean protein. It provides many essential vitamins and nutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids which play an integral part in maintaining heart, brain and immune system health. Furthermore, seafood tends to have less saturated fat per ounce compared with other meat proteins.
At least six types of bony fishes exist: salmon, trout, sardines and herring. Other examples are sharks, skates, rays and sturgeons as well as crustaceans such as lobsters, shrimps crabs crayfish; crustaceans such as lobsters shrimp crabs crayfish; crustaceans such as lobsters shrimp crabs crabs crayfish; crustaceans such as lobsters shrimp crabs crabs and crayfish; cephalopods such as squids or octopuses; edible jellyfish species as well as two Echinoderms–sea cucumbers and sea urchins.
When purchasing seafood, always opt for options harvested or farmed using sustainable practices. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch online tool can be an invaluable source of guidance in narrowing down your choices.
Dairy
Dairy products, or dairy, is a broad category of foods made with or containing milk, and is a staple food worldwide. Grocery stores worldwide stock regular and lactose-free milk, yogurt, cheese and butter products in this category.
Dairy may not be essential to a healthy diet, but it still provides important nutrients like calcium and protein. Furthermore, dairy is an excellent source of vitamin D which can help strengthen bones.
Dairy products can be found in many foods, from salad dressing and lunch meat to milk and ice cream. While most recognize milk and ice cream as dairy products, others may be surprised that other food contain dairy as well. For instance, lactose intolerant people might be taken aback to discover that certain brands of salad dressing contain dairy as well.
