Healthy Over Clean

Sure we rinse our apples before slicing them, or wash our lettuce before making a salad, but when did referring to our eating habits as ‘clean’ become such a fad? Clean eating is a trend that has been picked up by celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow and Jessica Alba. It involves a strict diet where processed foods, gluten, dairy, and ex
cess sugar do not belong. Since when do we take advice from celebrities on what to eat?
Instead of educating ourselves we are buying into the fad that has generated millions in book deals, and a countless hashtags.
The problem is that clean eating creates a lot of “if then” dichotomies. For example, foods are either clean or unclean. If you’re not eating clean then you are probably unhealthy, and lazy.

Did you know there is actually no official definition of clean eating? Resist the cultural fixation on clean eating and try these tips instead:

Fruits and Vegetables: With it being summer, adding  more fruits and veggies to your diet is super easy! There are plenty of fun recipes to try which are better tasting and better for you than processed foods. Fruits and veggies are high in fiber but low in calories which helps to fill you up in a healthier way

Cook from home: It’s inevitable that we will form certain habits like pizza and movie Friday. However, restaurants and takeout are often more concerned with flavour and appearance than with nutrition.

Moderation: Finally, remember that indulging is part of a healthy lifestyle. Obsessing over labels and ingredients to determine how ‘clean’ our foods are is no way to live. What is life without a piece of cake or an ice cream cone the odd time?

We should give up the attempt to be green-juice loving, picture perfect health fanatics. No one wants a life where they live on kale and fish; and neither would anybody want to live on a diet solely of processed foods. Eating healthy isn’t something we should do because hashtags prove it’s popular or famous people tell us it’s the thing to do. We must pursue a diet that favors moderation, not some fad that doesn’t even have its own official definition.