Why You Shouldn’t “Eat Clean” 100% of the Time
Before we get into today’s discussion, I think we have to try and define what clean eating is. You might be thinking “well that’s easy, clean eating is eating whole nutrient dense foods.”
Well, it’s not that easy.
Others might define it as eating only organic, or perhaps it means eating foods that are hormone and antibiotic free or to some it’s eating nothing but plants.
There’s no real definition of what clean eating actually is. Basically, clean eating looks different for everyone.
So, you might be asking, “what’s the big deal if there’s a difference in the definition? There’s no harm in the desire to eat clean, regardless of how that looks to you.”
While including healthy foods into your day is important and as a nutritionist, I highly recommend, those who strive to consume nothing but clean foods often develop un healthy behaviors and conditions such as orthorexia nervosa. This is defined as a an obsession with eating foods that one considers healthy. It’s a medical condition in which the sufferer systematically avoids specific foods in the belief that they are harmful.
There is a spectrum from a healthy concern with eating a healthy diet at one end to a harmful or even delusional obsession with a restrictive diet at the other.
Now you might be thinking that you are fine with the risk of developing orthorexia because the GMO’s, chemicals toxins or whatever it is you are trying to avoid is way more harmful.
But I am here to tell you that these things aren’t harmful at all. I know that’s hard to believe because we all have spent our entire lives being told to stay about from chemicals, GMO’s and organic is the way to go. It was hard for me to accept the fact that I was tricked at first too. The so-called healthy risks that come from consuming these foods are not actually science based and often a fear-based tactic.
Let’s break that down a bit further because I know some of you are listening to this in disbelief. So just hear me out for a second.
Let’s start with GMO’s. GMOs stand for Genetically modified organisms and are living organisms whose genetic material has been artificially manipulated in a lab through genetic engineering. This creates combinations of plant, animal, bacteria, and virus genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods. Based on this definition alone, I understand how that can raise some concerns.
However, there has been over 20 years of research regarding the existence of any health concerns when it comes to consuming GMO foods. And as of right now, there are none. There is no evidence of any long-term health risks regarding the consumption of GMO foods. In fact, it has been shown that there are no health differences between consuming processed foods compared to organic foods.
There has been over 50 years of research regarding organic foods and there is no evidence for any health benefit to eating organic. So, keep buying organic food if you prefer, but I would argue that it might be worth saving your money!
Now moving onto gluten. It’s actually been shown that approximately 1% of the population has a true gluten sensitivity. So, unless you have been diagnosed with celiac disease, struggle with IBS or other gluten related intolerances, there should be no concern or fear surrounding the consumption of gluten.
Ok, what about toxins? This is a big one! And of course, toxins in high enough doses can cause adverse health effects. There’s no arguing that. However, the missing component to this concern is the dose. It’s the dose itself that creates the actual poison. Did you know that water is a toxin if drunk in sufficient quantities? If we are going to avoid toxins, well add water to that list. Seems like a double standard, right? Considering we need water to survive, yet too much of it can be toxic. The important question is, what is the dose? It is easy to scare people with the notion that there are toxins in our food, however, we have to take the time to put that information into proper context.
These are just a few of many examples of how the delusion of eating only clean foods is created. There’s also sugar, salt, sweeteners, and many others, which we have discussed in previous episodes that I encourage you to check out if you are afraid of consuming these items.
Now I am not suggesting you stop eating these foods IF they work for you. If you enjoy the foods, you eat and it’s easy for you to adhere to, keep doing what you are doing. It’s when the fear of food is being developed from your food choices, where we need to take a step back and consider a healthier approach, so we don’t develop serious issues surrounding food such as orthorexia nervosa.
Ok so we just uncovered that “clean” foods technically do not exist because we can’t truly define it. Does that mean there are dirty foods? I would argue that there aren’t dirty foods.
I really do feel that the language that we choose impacts our relationship with food. ”I can have these foods because they are good. I can’t have these foods because they are bad.” Instead of bad foods, let’s call them treats moving forward. There’s actually no food in isolation that is inherently bad for you. I will say that again…
There are no foods in isolation that are inherently bad for you.
The difference between these foods is how satiated you feel after consuming them. Some are more calorically dense, and others are more nutrient dense.
That’s it.
Let’s break this down a little bit further so it makes sense.
To keep things as simple as possible, we have two different types of carbohydrates. (1) Simple carbs and (2) Complex carbs. Simple carbs have only one type of sugar. That sugar can be monosaccharide, like glucose or fructose. Or it can be disaccharide, like sucrose (aka table sugar). Complex carbs are usually polysaccharides. So, in short, simple carbs are typically higher in sugar, lower in fiber, while complex carbs are typically higher in fiber and lower in sugar.
Most people try to avoid simple carbs at all costs and focus on consuming all of their carbs from complex sources. The problem with this is it’s not so black and white. For example, an apple is considered a simple carb, yet we think of it as being fruit, therefore it’s healthy for us. So why would we avoid it? You can see how this can be extremely confusing and overwhelming when people are trying to decide what carbs to eat and which not to eat. I am going to easily solve this problem for you.
Stop overthinking it because it really doesn’t matter.
When you are consuming carbohydrates, your body doesn’t have an indicator after you’ve ate sorting simple carbs from complex carbs. During the digestion process, the carbs being consumed are all broken down into glucose. All your body recognizes is glucose availability. So regardless of if you are consuming whole wheat rice or sour patch kids, they both end up as glucose, which is later used for energy. So, when you hear that a carb isn’t a carb, that’s actually not true.
A carb is a carb.
Now you might be thinking I am crazy for saying that there’s no difference between having broccoli compared to candy. And in isolation when they are broken down and used for energy, there is no difference.
However, the difference lies in how satiated you feel afterwards. Typically, you feel full after having a big plate of veggies or even whole wheat rice, correct? Yet one donut doesn’t even begin to fill you up and it feels like you could easily have 10 before you feel full. This is the biggest difference between simple and complex carbs – how satisfied you feel afterwards. And this is due to the differences in nutrients and fiber.
Of course, we all handle carbs differently from others, where some are more sensitive to the effects of insulin than others. So, it’s important to pay attention to how your body reacts when you are consuming carbohydrates and set your allotment accordingly.
Avoiding these foods, you think are bad, is only doing more harm than good when it comes to having a healthy relationship with food.
Instead of focusing on foods to avoid, I recommend focusing more on including healthy nutrient dense options, as well as variety into your day and then sprinkle in some treats here and there. Instead of obsessing over the things you can’t have, with this approach, I want you to focus more on including healthy nutrient dense foods into your day and focus on eating a sufficient amount of fruits, vegetables, fiber, protein and water. Once these targets have been met, be ok with enjoying one of your go to treats each day. You heard me correctly, each day.
Why am I encouraging you to do this? For a couple of reasons
#1 -- It increases adherence.
You can only restrict yourself from foods you enjoy for so long until your willpower runs out. It doesn’t refill at the start of each day. The more you restrict something from yourself, the more you want it. And we all only have so much willpower until it’s all gone. And what happens when it’s all gone? We cave and have an entire box of cookies when if we just had that one cookie 5 days ago when we first craved it maybe we wouldn’t have ended up having 12. Increasing adherence helps reduce those weekend binges that often happen when you are doing nothing but restricting all week and eating 100% of foods you don’t enjoy.
When I was dieting down for my first bodybuilding competition, I wanted to do an experiment where I ate one two bite brownie every single day. It’s pretty macronutrient friendly and was always a nice treat to look forward to during my afternoons. I barely felt restricted, I lost the amount of weight that I needed and actually came in first in my bodybuilding competition. Having one brownie a day kept my adherence levels 100% during a 30-week dieting period
#2 – Your body can only handle so many nutrients.
If you are listening right now saying that you aren’t much of a treat person, it’s important to understand from a digestive standpoint that having less nutrient dense foods in your day can make your life a lot easier. Often people struggle with eating more food saying they feel too bloated and full, even though they really aren’t eating all that much and need to actually prioritize eating more. When this occurs, what is often happening is people are loading up on nothing but complex carbohydrate sources and their fiber is through the roof. Your body can only handle so much fiber, where there is a turning point and inverse effects do occur. The best way to normalize your hunger is to balance the amount of nutrient dense foods you are consuming and when needed, be ok with including more calorie dense options (aka treats) into your day.
How do we do this?
I like the 80/20 rule! This is where you consume 80% of your food each day from whole nutrient dense foods and the remaining 20% can come from treats
I would set daily targets for yourself, where you focus on consuming an adequate amount of fruit, veggies, fiber, protein and water and once all of these targets are met, fill in the remaining calories you have leftover with a nice treat or two!
A good range to consider is to have:
1-2 servings of fruit for every 1,000 calories you consume
1-2 servings of veggies for every 1,000 calories you consume
10-15g of fiber for every 1,000 calories you consume
1g of protein per lb of bodyweight a day
And around 3-4L of water if you are a female and 4-5L if you are a male.
For example, say you are a female and you weight 130lbs and are consuming 2,000 calories a day
Your fruit and vegetable range would be 2-4 servings each
Your fiber range would be 20-25g
Your protein would be 130g a day
And your water intake would be 3-4L a day
Once all these metrics are met each day, enjoy a nice treat that still fits into your remaining calorie goals.
You can still hit your calorie targets for the day, not feel bloated or experience GI distress because these foods are less nutrient dense and it also helps satisfy any cravings that often occur during dieting, keeping you on track.
Overall, it's totally healthy and safe to incorporate treats into your diet every single day - if you wish. If you crave a pizza, you can have a slice of guilt free pizza! The 80/20 rule allows us to stop with this all or nothing mindset, that’s just crippling people from sustaining their results
Hope this was helpful!
Coach Krysten