A co-worker approached me last week to share that she had lost 10 pounds recently after she started to “eat clean”. I smiled the way I usually do when I really want to be happy for someone because they are happy….. yet my insides start churning because I absolutely hate the diet industry. I have learned that it does not help to freak out on anybody who is on a diet. It does not help to tell them that over 50 decades of research prove that diets don’t work in the long term and they often lead to food obsession and binge eating. People don’t want to hear that. They tune me out. So I just smile, but then usually ask what it is they are doing (if it is something scary I WILL share my opinion). It struck me that I honestly was not sure exactly what “clean eating” was. When I hear the word “clean”, I don’t think of food. I think of Lestoil. Or Comet cleanser, Windex, Pledge. Maybe Mr. Clean. You know, soap kind of things.
Anyway, when I asked this sweet person what it was exactly, she said it was about eating more whole foods instead of processed foods. Now that sounded pretty harmless. Still, I thought I should check it out a bit.
As it turns out, “clean eating” can mean a lot of different things to different people. The diet industry and diet world is pretty confusing (I think because they must have to change it up a bit, to keep making money off of promising something our culture values more than anything else: weight loss). Anyway, some clean eaters might fast intermittently, while others might eliminate many foods, considering some foods to be “bad” while others are “good”. But the basic premise of “eating clean” is to focus on whole foods verses processed foods. Hmmmm. Sounds like eating healthy, which can’t be bad. Or can it?
If we have the means to buy fresh foods, such as good meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, real cheese verses processed, good yogurt and bread made from real ingredients, then of course we should do that as much as we can. The problem lies in the extremes people go to eliminate foods, the guilt they feel when they break down and eat something processed, and the ultimate goal of eating this way (to lose weight). The thinking is at risk of morphing into the typical “diet mentality” or black and white thinking when it comes to foods and eating that lead to trouble. When this happens, then it becomes just another “diet” that will likely end in just another failure. Not good for our bodies or our self esteem (in other words, our physical and mental health).
If you are curious about this fad you need to be smart about it (sorry, I have to call it a fad because of it’s focus on weight loss). There is also sometimes a focus on unscientific claims about promoting fat-burning, and a yucky feeling of superiority I have sensed (if I don’t want to eat clean, does that mean I am eating dirty? I don’t get it). If you start believing you are totally going to eliminate any food from your diet (such as your favorite cookie, or favorite fast food burger) then you are setting yourself up, just like any other dieter. If, on the other hand, you truly are working on eating healthier, then trying to do more cooking, buying more whole foods instead of processed foods and being more moderate in your intake of those “fun foods” that don’t contribute much to your nutrition might be ok. Denying yourself totally of foods you really enjoy will only make you obsess about them more, and could likely lead to binge eating the very foods you have decided you shouldn’t eat.
So, as usual, my advice is to continue to care about your health and work on learning how to cook healthy but yummy foods. Work on getting more in tune with your body, your hunger and fullness, and getting rid of impossible food restrictions that do nothing to promote your health while draining your spirit and enjoyment of life. Eating should not be a moral issue and we should not be judged by what we do or don’t eat. In reality, it is quite simple, just like it always has been. I just wish we could return to the good old-fashioned lingo of “healthy” verses “clean”. To me, clean will still always refer to Lestoil.
For a great article on the topic, by another dietitian, see Clean Eating from Good Housekeeping Magazine.
PS If you are not eating any healthy foods like fruits and vegetables, meats and grains, and you drink lots of soda instead of water, and then suddenly stop drinking that soda and start eating more healthy foods, you may indeed lose weight. It has nothing to do with eating “clean” and more to do with making some healthy choices.
I have never heard a man complain about the size of his butt. Women, on the other hand, seem to scrutinize almost every inch of their bodies. Their hips are too big, their tummy too fat, their arms jiggle too much. Their neck is getting saggy and so are their breasts. We just can’t win in the body image world (or sometimes it seems). With eating disorders awareness week coming up, and without a week going by when I don’t hear at least one complaint from someone about their physical body, I thought it might be good to write about it. In particular, I was remembering a handout I used to use with my eating disordered patients called “The Theory of Expando Thighs” by 
I woke up at 5:10 am today, a Saturday morning, because of it. Lying there in bed telling myself I should just try to sleep in did not work. I figured I might as well just get up and do what I wanted to do. The several random thoughts floating about in my head since about 3:30 am were kind of interesting (or so my sleepy mind thought) and I did not want to lose them. And then it struck me how joyful it felt to be compelled to get out of bed because you want to do something that you enjoy so much. And after THAT I realized, even though it is not specifically about eating, food, weight, health and all that, I wanted to write about it. Because, in a way, it’s all inter-tangled.
Margaret is in her 20’s, almost done with law school, an A student with a promising career ahead of her. Debbie is 54 years old. If you saw her you might think she’s got it all together for a woman her age. She is a smart dresser, hair always perfectly in place and she has energy galore. Pedro, on the other hand, is only 17. Tall and handsome with a shy smile who is the star swimmer for his high school. One of the “cool” kids, you would think he must be enjoying every minute of his teenage years. Robert is a 62 year old man, recently retired with his wife and known for his super fit physique. He still works out at the gym several hours a day and everyone knows him there.
much time in Italy can really ruin you. After a wonderful 3 week trip over a year or so ago, to celebrate our friend’s 25th anniversary it was not easy to transition home to New England. There were no platters of beautiful homemade pastries and espresso to wake up to every morning. No liter jugs of amazing red wine sitting on the table at lunch time. No longer did we have 2 hours to linger over dinner. Back to rush rush rush. With the exception of one little habit I seemed to have fallen into. Wine.
I woke up yesterday morning, falling into my usual routine (heading straight to the coffee pot) and found an open magazine, folded over to a page entitled “The Verdict on GMO Foods: Safe to Eat””.Once in awhile my husband will come across an article on nutrition in one of his financial magazines he likes to read. He then will leave it out for me to read (in this case, it was Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine). It was a short but informative article on a very recent and important report that was just released after a “2 year review of 900 research publications” by 20 scientists (according to the one page article). In addition to reviewing the research studies, the committee of scientists also looked at the incidence of certain conditions (cancer, obesity, autism,food allergy, diabetes, celiac disease, kidney disease) in Western Europe (where GMO’s are restricted) and North America (where they are not). They found no differences in the incidence of these diseases and conditions (suggesting that differences would be expected if GMO’s played a role). I don’t give much credit to “associations”……just because they didn’t find any is somewhat meaningless to me, but that is just my opinion.
I was not surprised when my doctor told me I needed to take a calcium and vitamin D supplement after a recent bone density exam. Being at the age where bone density starts to diminish, and being a dietitian on top of it, I was fully aware that my intake of calcium was sub-optimal. But time flies by, doesn’t it? No matter how much I know about nutrition, somehow here I am. Although I do believe in good nutrition I have never been a fan of thinking about it too much (unusual maybe for someone in my field of work).
Joanne Arena MS, RD 