Clean eating has the potential to have devastating repercussions, often by demonizing certain foods. Such restrictive dieting can even give rise to orthorexia nervosa – where an unhealthy obsession with healthy food becomes unhealthy eating habits.
Reducing your intake of processed and refined foods can significantly help achieve health and wellness goals. In this article we’ll look at what clean eating entails to promote sustainable long-term habits.
Fruits
Fruits are nutritious foods that form the core of a clean-eating diet, providing essential vitamins, minerals, high-quality proteins and essential fats such as omega 3s. Fruits like bananas, berries, apples, oranges, peaches and other citrus fruits fit well into this plan; fresh frozen and canned varieties (excluding any that contain added sugars ) should all be considered excellent choices.
Eat an assortment of colorful fruits and vegetables to maximize health benefits. Fruits containing plant chemicals that boost immune systems, prevent disease and slow aging can all be added into each meal for maximum effect. Choose unsweetened low-sodium options when possible to lower risks of kidney stones or high blood pressure.
Vegetables
Vegetables are packed with essential vitamins and minerals, not to mention fiber-rich goodness. Plus they’re low-calorie foods that boast essential elements such as potassium – an important player in controlling blood pressure that’s abundantly found in leafy green vegetables such as kale and spinach.
Benefits of yogurt consumption for health include reduced risks of heart disease, strengthening immunity and creating a healthy digestive tract environment, as well as helping to decrease high cholesterol levels.
Swapping out processed food for its raw alternatives may seem intimidating, but taking one small step at a time can make a big difference. Instead of reaching for sugary creamer in your coffee, why not switch it out for plain yogurt with fruits and nuts or raw vegetables instead? Or consider swapping out processed snacks like chips for raw veggies and nuts!
Meat
One of the cornerstones of clean eating is to steer clear of processed foods, which includes anything with an edible label as well as anything altered from its original state by cooking, freezing, canning or drying – including adding extra sugars, salts or preservatives to foodstuffs.
As part of clean eating, meat provides both protein and iron but should be limited in order to limit saturated fat and sodium intake. When choosing meat sources, pick those free of hormones or antibiotics and are environmentally sustainable; 2021 research indicates that shifting to more vegetarian eating could also lower greenhouse gas emissions as producing meat requires more water and energy than producing plant-based diets.
Dairy
Dairy products are an integral component of clean eating, providing calcium for strong bones while also providing protein and other essential nutrients needed to support gut and immune health.
Dairy food products include those produced with animal or plant-based milk sources such as fluid milk, cheese and yogurt. Dairy also refers to foods made with plant-based sources, such as soymilk.
The clean eating movement promotes a diet comprised of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean proteins – in other words a balanced diet that includes vegetables, fruit, whole grains and lean proteins – as a way of eating that will both prevent chronic diseases and be good for our planet. At DFA we’re pleased to offer dairy products made by our farmer-owners using sustainable farming practices – for delicious dairy that supports your health as well as that of those who make it! We believe DFA makes quality dairy that supports your health while supporting our farmer-owners using sustainable farming practices – great tasting dairy that both tastes great while supporting both your health as well as those who make it!
Other Foods
Clean eaters typically eschew processed foods like white sugar and corn syrup. Others may view some processed items with little to no added sugar as acceptable, such as whole-grain bread and pasta, nondairy milks and nut butters made with simple ingredients; but this can lead to inconsistency and overreliance on packaged food choices.
Eating clean involves selecting diet-rich, unprocessed fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins from sources that are free from processed oils or additives and limited in saturated fat and sodium consumption – helping reduce the risk of high cholesterol, heart disease and obesity while improving overall health and immune system functions – along with decreasing inflammation-causing conditions such as joint pain or autoimmune diseases.
