The REAL Truth about Clean Eating (It’s Not What You Think!)

Did you see the BBC Horizon documentary ‘The Truth About Clean Eating’ last Thursday? If not, you missed out on something that could change your life, but not for the reason that it was created.

You see, this biased documentary attempted to do what no one has ever done in the history of television before- criticise eating healthily! (As if eating more veggies and cutting out processed junk could ever be a bad thing…but I digress).

And honestly, their negativity towards clean eating made me angry. 

Because most people aren't eating enough veggies as it is and popping 'clean eating' is sending the wrong message, suggesting that food doesn't have an impact negative or positive on our health and we know that’s not true.

So I’m here today to give you the functional nutrition side of the argument, and explain to you why clean eating isn’t all that bad, why fad diets spell bad news for our self-esteem and point you in the direction of a healthier diet.

Let’s take a look.

What does eating clean really mean?

Let’s get something clear- clean eating was a really wonderful, positive craze when it first emerged. 

The premise was simple- be more mindful of your food’s journey from its origin to your plate and make healthier choices wherever possible. This meant ditching the overly processed, refined, fat and sugar-filled foods in favour of the whole real foods like fresh veggies, fruit, nuts and seeds, healthy fats and animal or plant-based protein.

As you’ll know if you’ve been with me for a while, these are all foods that I strongly advise my clients to eat more of- real whole foods that have preferably been cooked from scratch.

And there’s no mention of fad diets like calorie-restriction, cabbage-soup diets or Atkins anywhere…

So what is the problem? Where did it all go wrong?

Where did it all go wrong?

The trouble is, these great healthy eating guidelines soon morphed into something quite different. They became a harmful food fad with the potential to damage your self-esteem and lead you into the arms of hormonal imbalance, health problems and eating disorders like orthorexia.

What is worse, the use of the term ‘clean eating’ also implies that if you’re not following these guidelines precisely, you’re eating ‘dirty’ or ‘bad’ and that simply isn’t true.

Food isn’t good or bad. It’s our choices that area. For the sake of our psychological health and relationship with food, it’s vital that we don’t label food in this way. Additionally, it’s implied that if you don’t ‘eat clean’ that you’re lazy and you don’t care about your health.

What better recipe could there be to feeling rubbish, battling food cravings and suffering from low self-esteem and negative body image??

It’s not about ‘how thin’, it’s about ‘how healthy’

Social media is a massive part of the clean eating fad, and many women find themselves getting sucked into Instagram, or Twitter, or Facebook…

They admire the super-skinny young girls plastered everywhere, envy their six-pack selfies and clear skin, and soon find themselves trying to emulate what they’re seeing on that screen. But not once do they consider what their own unique needs are. They blindly follow the fad instead of listening to themselves.

And this is ALWAYS ALWAYS terrible news for your health.

Because a flat tummy and model-looks aren’t a reflexion of health (or happiness, for that matter). You absolutely can be thin and unhealthy.

We’ve all heard stories of those individuals who practically live on junk food and haven’t seen a veggie since they were kids and they look slim enough. But all too often, these people still end up with health problems like high cholesterol, heart disease, skin problems and worse.

What you should really be eating

Let me highlight a really important point for you again: there is no ‘one-size fits all’ when it comes to your diet.

What you eat might be wrong for someone else, what triggers problems for you might be fine for your best friend and what your body needs might be different to anyone else.

That’s why it’s vital to seek the advice of a qualified professional (like me!) who understands functional nutrition and seeks to find the root cause of your problem.

Having said that, there is still some excellent general advice I can give:

#1: Get lots of veggies!

We could all do with eating more fresh produce. It’s packed with vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, antioxidants, soluble fibre and much more great stuff to nourish our bodies, provide us with tons of energy, balance our hormones and keep us feeling great. Pile your plate high!

#2: Don’t forget the fats

Contrary to what the diet industry has been telling us for decades, fat is vital for our hormonal health. We need fats and cholesterol to make the precursor for progesterone which helps maintain a healthy sex hormone balance and keep us feeling great. Without them we are likely to have a lower sex drive, poor sleep and poor bone quality. 

Great sources of healthy fats include avocado, nuts and seeds, olive oil, coconut oil ghee, and flaxseeds. 

#3: Protein is important

Don’t forget to eat enough protein. It helps nourish your body, keep you feeling fuller for longer and helps to balance your blood sugar, preventing energy dips, mood swings and even food cravings. You can opt for plant-based protein such as lentils and nuts, grains such as teff, millet and quinoa or including meats like fish, chicken, lamb or beef.

#4: Always avoid processed junk, refined sugars and excessive salt 

Processed junk foods are always bad. They add nothing in terms of micro-nutrients, but more than your body needs of high-calorie, damaging fats and sugars. And that’s not even mentioning all the other nasty additives and preservatives they have in there…. Be sure to read labels on pre-packed foods 

Eat fresh, cook more from scratch and eat more natural produce.

#5: Beware of the health claims

Just because a particular snack bar at your local supermarket looks healthy and is plastered with buzz words and health claims like ‘natural’, ‘100% gluten-free’ or ‘no added sugars’ ‘low calorie’ or so on, doesn’t mean that these are foods you want to choose.

They might still have as much sugar as a bar of chocolate, as much fat as a takeaway and a ton of strange binders and additives to make it gluten-free. If you’re hungry and want to snack, stick with fruits and veggies, healthy proteins, nuts, seeds and even boiled eggs.

“But, Pamela… what about gluten?”

Whether to include gluten in your diet can be quite an emotive topic for many women, because it’s everywhere. Something that is everywhere can’t be bad for us, can it?

Honestly, many women can eat gluten without much of a problem. But for many, gluten is the very thing that causes sensitivity, digestive permeability, poor health, leaky gut, candida and many other problems. This is a greater problem as you age.

Of course, people have been eating gluten for thousands of years without too many problems. But these days, gluten isn’t the same beast as it was back then. Flours are produced differently, using pesticides and fungicides, processed to within an inch of their life and then usually combined with other chemicals to make bread, pasta and so on. 

Next time you’re in the supermarket, pick up a pre-packaged loaf and check the ingredients. I think you’ll be surprised.

This is the reason why so many people are sensitive to gluten. If it was produced in the way it was hundreds of years ago, then we wouldn’t be seeing the widespread sensitivity we are now.  

Whether you eat it or opt for an alternative is up to you, but I’d highly advice you avoid it as much as possible.

Clean eating is a fad that deserves to stay within the realms of social media without leaking into your lives. Having said that, it means well, and anything that promotes more veggies can’t really be a bad thing.

But honestly, we should turn to eating real food that fits with our lifestyles, doesn’t cost a bomb and targets the root causes of our health problems. We need to treat the individual instead of wasting our time on fads.

As a women's health coach, I integrate functional nutrition, stress management, therapeutic tools movement and lifestyle skills to find the solution for your unique body. Please contact me if you have any questions or need my help.