Clean eating includes more nutritious meals and less unhealthy items in each dietary group. Consume a variety of veggies, fruits, whole grains, proteins, and healthy fats.. It also means limiting processed grains, additives, preservatives, bad fats, added sugar and salt, and highly refined meals with components you require a lab technician to pronounce.
Some clean-eating diets ban caffeine, dairy, wheat, and more. We don’t limit. You won’t like eating, and there’s little research to support it. Find your clean eating style. If you cut out on processed foods, eat more fruits and veggies, and buy a few more organic, it can still improve your health. Start with these tips.
1. Choose Whole Grain
The least-processed whole grains are cleanest. Quinoa, wild rice, and oats resemble freshly picked grains. We think whole-wheat spaghetti and whole-grain bread produced with basic ingredients are clean too. Sometimes you need avocado toast or spaghetti. To consume clean packaged whole grains, check the contents, not the “whole-grain” label. The first component should be whole grains, the ingredient list should be brief and recognized, and there should be no added sugar. Whole grains include more fiber, antioxidants, and inflammation-fighting phytonutrients than processed carbohydrates like white pasta, sugar, and bread. Whole grain eaters may also lose weight easily and keep it off.
2. Limit Meat
More study reveals that reducing meat consumption is good for you and the planet. Clean eating doesn’t need veganism—eating less meat helps lower blood pressure, heart disease risk, and weight. Plants boost fiber, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals.
Cutting meat won’t affect your protein intake. Most Americans consume more protein than the required 0.8 grams per kilogram (56 g for men and 46 g for women). Vegetarians and vegans can also receive that much protein. Eggs, dairy (for a clean alternative, pick dairy with no added sugar and basic ingredients), legumes, and nuts provide protein—see our top vegetarian protein sources for more possibilities.
When eating meat, consider antibiotic-free, grass-fed beef or wild-caught salmon. Clean eating entails reducing processed meats like bacon, sausage, and cold cuts.
3. Stay away from processed foods
Nature didn’t develop brilliant orange chips or blue candy-colored cereal. Stay away from products with loads of sugar and processed grains, extensive ingredient lists with unfamiliar ingredients, and partly hydrogenated oils. Plain yogurt, cheese, whole-wheat pasta, and baby spinach are clean processed foods.
You can also get clean salad dressings, spaghetti sauce, mayo, hummus, and broth. Read the ingredients. Processed foods are digested differently. White bread has already had the bran and germ removed by the machine, so your body has less work to do. Limiting packaged meals reduces BPA (found in certain canned foods) and other plastic toxins.
4. Reduce Sugar
Most consume too much added sugar. The American Heart Association advises 6 tablespoons for women and 9 for men. Americans use 28 teaspoons of additional sugar each day. Avoid drink, candy, and baked goods to clean up your diet. It’s not just desserts—watch out for sweets in yogurt (plain), tomato sauce, and cereal. Look for sugar-free or low-sugar foods.
Fruit and dairy sugars are less of a concern. They include fiber, protein, or fat to lower insulin levels. They provide nutrition, not just sweet calories.
5. Consume less Salt
Like sugar, we consume too much salt. The Institute of Medicine advises a daily sodium limit of 2,300 milligrams, or one teaspoon. You may wish to decrease to 1,500 mg per day if you’re over 50, African American, or have high blood pressure, chronic renal disease, or diabetes. Convenience foods supply 80% of our sodium. Most manufactured foods have more sodium than handmade ones, so limiting them will lower your salt consumption.
Herbs, spices, citrus, and vinegar reduce salt during cooking. Salt enhances food taste, therefore clean-eating recipes can utilize it sparingly. After cooking, coarse sea salt or kosher salt adds flavor and has less sodium than table salt..
