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What is clean eating?
Replies
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »stevencloser wrote: »Now here's a question. I like fries.
I buy frozen, noname brand, packaged fries in a bag with barcode and everything. -> Definitely processed food, no doubt about it.
They only have 2 ingredients though: potatoes and sunflower oil. -> Nothing you can't pronounce and not exceeding the magical 4 ingredients.
Clean or not?
I'd bet you a tenner if we asked 100 clean eaters without each knowing what the others said, the answers would be split almost 50/50.
I go with a similar example on Cape Cod potato chips and Fritos. Each is as close to nature as possible (washed, sliced/ground and cooked), has only 3 ingredients which can be pronounced (chips: Potatoes, sunflower oil, salt; Fritos: Corn, corn oil, salt)
They both meet nearly every definition proposed above (can't meet them all because some are contradictory)
Sure they both have an added chemical preservative (salt). But it seems like the clean eating people are cool with that one chemical preservative.
Fritos are pretty far from the natural state of corn.
Because they're ground?
Does that mean that corn tortillas aren't "clean"? What about polenta?
Or is it something else?
Yes, because they are ground. Technically, shucked, decobbed (or whatever you call removing the kernels from the cob) and ground. I don't see how tortillas any different, polenta maybe a little cleaner as a single food.
Would all ground foods be unclean or is this specific to corn?
I'm not overly comfortable with the term 'unclean' when it comes to food. I'm old school and never heard it described as anything other clean in varying degrees (clean, sort of clean, not clean, stuff like that). And there is plenty of room for argument even amongst those that share my definition as it's not a black and white type definition. Lots of gray.
But to me, no. Ground foods would not be clean. Those ground with the bran and germ included would cleaner than those with it removed. Those with it removed that are then bleached (e.g. white flour) are not clean.
That's part of the debate we're playing with here. Too many people look at clean/unclean as a binary decision. I agree with you that it's not; it is a continuum. Take Strawberries:
Wild strawberry picked and eaten in a field
Farm-raised strawberry picked and eaten in a field.
Farm-raised strawberry picked by machine, washed, and boxed for sale.
Farm-raised strawberry picked by machine, washed, sliced, frozen, and boxed for sale.
Farm-raised strawberry picked by machine, washed, sliced, mixed with a little sugar, frozen, and boxed for sale.
Farm raised strawberry processed into strawberry preserves ...
etc. (I got tired of typing)
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diannethegeek wrote: »
So what is clean eating? And is it a useful descriptor at all?
I love that of those who have responded so far in an attempt to once-and-for-all define clean eating...everyone (not surprisingly) has offered a different definition!0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »stevencloser wrote: »Now here's a question. I like fries.
I buy frozen, noname brand, packaged fries in a bag with barcode and everything. -> Definitely processed food, no doubt about it.
They only have 2 ingredients though: potatoes and sunflower oil. -> Nothing you can't pronounce and not exceeding the magical 4 ingredients.
Clean or not?
I'd bet you a tenner if we asked 100 clean eaters without each knowing what the others said, the answers would be split almost 50/50.
I go with a similar example on Cape Cod potato chips and Fritos. Each is as close to nature as possible (washed, sliced/ground and cooked), has only 3 ingredients which can be pronounced (chips: Potatoes, sunflower oil, salt; Fritos: Corn, corn oil, salt)
They both meet nearly every definition proposed above (can't meet them all because some are contradictory)
Sure they both have an added chemical preservative (salt). But it seems like the clean eating people are cool with that one chemical preservative.
Fritos are pretty far from the natural state of corn.
Because they're ground?
Does that mean that corn tortillas aren't "clean"? What about polenta?
Or is it something else?
Yes, because they are ground. Technically, shucked, decobbed (or whatever you call removing the kernels from the cob) and ground. I don't see how tortillas any different, polenta maybe a little cleaner as a single food.
Would all ground foods be unclean or is this specific to corn?
I'm not overly comfortable with the term 'unclean' when it comes to food. I'm old school and never heard it described as anything other clean in varying degrees (clean, sort of clean, not clean, stuff like that). And there is plenty of room for argument even amongst those that share my definition as it's not a black and white type definition. Lots of gray.
But to me, no. Ground foods would not be clean. Those ground with the bran and germ included would cleaner than those with it removed. Those with it removed that are then bleached (e.g. white flour) are not clean.
I understand you're not comfortable with it, but if certain foods are clean, what would you call the rest? "Not clean" doesn't seem that different from "unclean."
But I don't want to get on a tangent with the "unclean" thing.
You would consider almond butter, ground beef (let's say it's grass-fed for good measure), coffee, pepper, and oat milk (made from ground oats) to be "not clean" foods?
I'd say there were fairly clean if the beef were raised without antibiotics, hormones and steroids. Not sure about oat milk since I'm not familiar with how that's made. Is it basically just oat broth?0 -
juggernaut1974 wrote: »diannethegeek wrote: »
So what is clean eating? And is it a useful descriptor at all?
I love that of those who have responded so far in an attempt to once-and-for-all define clean eating...everyone (not surprisingly) has offered a different definition!
I'm still anxiously waiting for someone to answer your lettuce question. Every time I see that picture get posted my hopes are at an all time high, then two pages later they are let down as usual........
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clean eating = preparing everything you eat yourself, knowing every single ingredient in your food because you put it there. Nothing premade at all. You start with raw ingredients (preferably bought from local sources you know). It is pretty much a meaningless term, but this is my definition of it.
I like the intent of this idea but wouldn't that mean a meal you make would be clean for you but not for me, and vice versa?0 -
juggernaut1974 wrote: »diannethegeek wrote: »
So what is clean eating? And is it a useful descriptor at all?
I love that of those who have responded so far in an attempt to once-and-for-all define clean eating...everyone (not surprisingly) has offered a different definition!
I suspect the individualization of the rules is one of the reasons why it may be such a popular term. People can give up the things they won't miss that much anyway and find a way to include the things they really don't want to live without.0 -
There's no debate. It means whatever it means to the individual. Who cares what other people are doing or what they call their WOE? Maybe focus on what you are doing instead.
It's normal for humans to come up with descriptors of things and it's normal that different people will see it differently. Who cares?
What I don't understand at all here on MFP is how so many people will bash/ridicule others who choose less processed foods, and more whole foods. Somehow people who think the what they eat matters must be a threat to the "eat all the things, quality doesn't matter, it's only calories in and out" crowd.
Also, it goes the other way, if people are eating processed foods and reaching their goals, terrific, not my business. I don't think anyone should assume that one WOE or lifestyle works for all, no matter what works for you personally.
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californiagirl2012 wrote: »It's about the silliest word ever for food. We all know what healthy is. Just do it.
sums it up. lol 0 -
juggernaut1974 wrote: »I was surprised to see some of the things on the list such as food that comes in a box or has a bar code. I had some really nice supermarket bought fish the other day. It came in a box and had a barcode, but for me that did not make it any less fishy.
Yeah, my standard response to those is this:
Clean...or not clean?
To date, I've never gotten an answer from someone using that definition.
I don't use the definition re: boxes, bags or barcodes but I'd consider it clean. It if were grown without synthetic pesticides/fertilizers even better.0 -
ForecasterJason wrote: »I never really thought of eating as being "clean" or not until I came on these forums. For me, the word I would always use would be "healthy". And this begs the question, is "healthy" and "clean" eating synonymous?
No it isn't. There are some foods that would be considered clean that are unhealthy for ME. There are foods that are healthy for me but maybe not for you. So both "clean" and "healthy" are very subjective. It comes down to that judging the food choices of others is pointless.
Take my avatar for example. I think it's funny and it applies to me. I don't care what others do....unless it's bad advice relating to a medical issue that they have no experience with. Yeah, that gets my goat.0 -
Akimajuktuq wrote: »There's no debate. It means whatever it means to the individual. Who cares what other people are doing or what they call their WOE? Maybe focus on what you are doing instead.
It's normal for humans to come up with descriptors of things and it's normal that different people will see it differently. Who cares?
What I don't understand at all here on MFP is how so many people will bash/ridicule others who choose less processed foods, and more whole foods. Somehow people who think the what they eat matters must be a threat to the "eat all the things, quality doesn't matter, it's only calories in and out" crowd.
Also, it goes the other way, if people are eating processed foods and reaching their goals, terrific, not my business. I don't think anyone should assume that one WOE or lifestyle works for all, no matter what works for you personally.
For what it is worth, I have never seen anyone here (let alone a "crowd") argue that it doesn't matter what foods we eat. Let's try to keep strawmen to a minimum here.1 -
Akimajuktuq wrote: »There's no debate. It means whatever it means to the individual. Who cares what other people are doing or what they call their WOE? Maybe focus on what you are doing instead.
It's normal for humans to come up with descriptors of things and it's normal that different people will see it differently. Who cares?
What I don't understand at all here on MFP is how so many people will bash/ridicule others who choose less processed foods, and more whole foods. Somehow people who think the what they eat matters must be a threat to the "eat all the things, quality doesn't matter, it's only calories in and out" crowd.
Also, it goes the other way, if people are eating processed foods and reaching their goals, terrific, not my business. I don't think anyone should assume that one WOE or lifestyle works for all, no matter what works for you personally.
Usual no one cares until someone pops into a thread and says someone needs to do x, y, or z for weight loss or to break their stall. It's even more entertaining when that advice is to "eat clean" because as you just pointed out, it's a highly individualized definition.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »juggernaut1974 wrote: »diannethegeek wrote: »
So what is clean eating? And is it a useful descriptor at all?
I love that of those who have responded so far in an attempt to once-and-for-all define clean eating...everyone (not surprisingly) has offered a different definition!
I suspect the individualization of the rules is one of the reasons why it may be such a popular term. People can give up the things they won't miss that much anyway and find a way to include the things they really don't want to live without.
And (I suspect) a way to feel morally superior to those who DON'T subscribe to their particular rules.1 -
All I know is, I started eating better and cutting out processed foods and loading down on carbs about 2 weeks ago and started doing my workouts and then today I ate an asiago bagel with cream cheese and I feel like I'm about to die right now! So eating clean or not, no more bagels for me! haha1
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californiagirl2012 wrote: »It's about the silliest word ever for food. We all know what healthy is. Just do it.
We all know what healthy is??? Have you ever read through these forums. I was shocked by how few people know what healthy eating is.1 -
Ketzalitzli2 wrote: »All I know is, I started eating better and cutting out processed foods and loading down on carbs about 2 weeks ago and started doing my workouts and then today I ate an asiago bagel with cream cheese and I feel like I'm about to die right now!
If you feel you are approaching death, I would suggest getting medical attention quickly.1 -
Ketzalitzli2 wrote: »All I know is, I started eating better and cutting out processed foods and loading down on carbs about 2 weeks ago and started doing my workouts and then today I ate an asiago bagel with cream cheese and I feel like I'm about to die right now! So eating clean or not, no more bagels for me! haha
It's the mixing of asiago and cream cheeses. A deadly combination.
Bagels were meant to only hold one kind of cheese (ie cream cheese) at a time.1 -
Ketzalitzli2 wrote: »All I know is, I started eating better and cutting out processed foods and loading down on carbs about 2 weeks ago and started doing my workouts and then today I ate an asiago bagel with cream cheese and I feel like I'm about to die right now! So eating clean or not, no more bagels for me! haha
How do you know you aren't dying from the cheese?2 -
I'm sure there are benefits to the various methods and definitions of clean eating that people follow, but I just struggle to care. It's hard enough to follow calorie goals and macro goals and try to get more protein and fiber. Throw in clean, organic, or whatever else and it's just too many categories to pay attention to.1
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Ketzalitzli2 wrote: »All I know is, I started eating better and cutting out processed foods and loading down on carbs about 2 weeks ago and started doing my workouts and then today I ate an asiago bagel with cream cheese and I feel like I'm about to die right now! So eating clean or not, no more bagels for me! haha
That sounds awful. But it also sounds like it may be an allergy or intolerance of some kind to one of the ingredients in the bagel. Which seems like it would be a different subject than clean eating.0 -
clean eating is a term used by certain people on pay roll lol.. example, after i became certified (long ago) in nutrition we where given a list of supplements to push and using certain words like "healthier" "substitute" "better"
clean eating (the phrase) is just a marketing ploy to get you to buy more of certain foods!! and we health lovers eat it up due to fear and give in. in "real life" clean foods are common sense!! loaded baked potatoe or just a baked potatoe? bag of cheetoes or bowl of grapenuts and milk.. thats all it really is.. this is my opinion of course and we all have one lol.0 -
californiagirl2012 wrote: »It's about the silliest word ever for food. We all know what healthy is. Just do it.
"Healthy" is no less a vague, subjective term. There are people who believe that "healthy" means eating nothing but plant-based foods. There are others who believe that "healthy" is coffee with a huge dollop of butter in it for breakfast and a diet consisting of 80-90% fat. Some seem to believe that if you even go near anything with HFCS, GMO or sugar, you'll immediately bloat up with huge tumors. There's just as much woo and derp about "healthy" as there is about "clean". The thing they have in common is that context and dosage are usually not taken into consideration.1 -
Another one that really gets me is the honey vs high fructose corn syrup debate ... one is awesome and clean and great for you, and the other is the processed scourge of the earth, killing us all.
But they're nearly the same thing. Their Glucose to Fructose ratios are quite similar and they act the same way in the body.
They're both made pretty much the same way too. Both start with sugar water from plants, add enzymes to convert about 45% of the sugar to fructose, evaporate until sticky.
Considering how honey is produced by bees, it's definitely not "clean" (unless eating bee puke is on the Okay to Eat list).2 -
diannethegeek wrote: »Ketzalitzli2 wrote: »All I know is, I started eating better and cutting out processed foods and loading down on carbs about 2 weeks ago and started doing my workouts and then today I ate an asiago bagel with cream cheese and I feel like I'm about to die right now! So eating clean or not, no more bagels for me! haha
That sounds awful. But it also sounds like it may be an allergy or intolerance of some kind to one of the ingredients in the bagel. Which seems like it would be a different subject than clean eating.
I used to have them all the time but I think because I've been watching more of what I eat and cutting out things not so good for me, my stomach was just not ready for the onslaught! hehe.. But I do get what u mean.0 -
Another one that really gets me is the honey vs high fructose corn syrup debate ... one is awesome and clean and great for you, and the other is the processed scourge of the earth, killing us all.
But they're nearly the same thing. Their Glucose to Fructose ratios are quite similar and they act the same way in the body.
They're both made pretty much the same way too. Both start with sugar water from plants, add enzymes to convert about 45% of the sugar to fructose, evaporate until sticky.
Considering how honey is produced by bees, it's definitely not "clean" (unless eating bee puke is on the Okay to Eat list).
Raw honey is natural, HFCS is not. So one is clean and the other is not.0 -
clean eating is a term used by certain people on pay roll lol.. example, after i became certified (long ago) in nutrition we where given a list of supplements to push and using certain words like "healthier" "substitute" "better"
clean eating (the phrase) is just a marketing ploy to get you to buy more of certain foods!! and we health lovers eat it up due to fear and give in. in "real life" clean foods are common sense!! loaded baked potatoe or just a baked potatoe? bag of cheetoes or bowl of grapenuts and milk.. thats all it really is.. this is my opinion of course and we all have one lol.
Bag of cheetos EVERY TIME. As someone who suffers from hereditary hemochromatosis, the 122% of your daily iron that the grape nuts contains is potentially toxic to me. The cheetos are healthier.
And on the baked potato example - I know people who are WAY into the glycemic index thing, and adding the "loaded" to the potato significantly slows down the carb absorption and is therefore "healthier". In ISOLATION, the plain potato may sound "better" for .. reasons. But if I'm looking at my macros for the day, and I have a whole bunch of fat and carbs available, the loaded baked potato can be a heck of a healthy choice.
The simple fact of the matter is that humans can eat an enormous variety of things and remain healthy. To me, the "healthiest" diet has always been the one with the most variety, regardless of if an individual item can claim some arbitrary definition of its worthiness.
All answers are correct. Everyone gets a trophy.
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Another one that really gets me is the honey vs high fructose corn syrup debate ... one is awesome and clean and great for you, and the other is the processed scourge of the earth, killing us all.
But they're nearly the same thing. Their Glucose to Fructose ratios are quite similar and they act the same way in the body.
They're both made pretty much the same way too. Both start with sugar water from plants, add enzymes to convert about 45% of the sugar to fructose, evaporate until sticky.
Considering how honey is produced by bees, it's definitely not "clean" (unless eating bee puke is on the Okay to Eat list).
Raw honey is natural, HFCS is not. So one is clean and the other is not.
They're made the same way.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Another one that really gets me is the honey vs high fructose corn syrup debate ... one is awesome and clean and great for you, and the other is the processed scourge of the earth, killing us all.
But they're nearly the same thing. Their Glucose to Fructose ratios are quite similar and they act the same way in the body.
They're both made pretty much the same way too. Both start with sugar water from plants, add enzymes to convert about 45% of the sugar to fructose, evaporate until sticky.
Considering how honey is produced by bees, it's definitely not "clean" (unless eating bee puke is on the Okay to Eat list).
Raw honey is natural, HFCS is not. So one is clean and the other is not.
They're made the same way.
Um, no I don't think so. What kind of bees make HFCS?0 -
I use it as a personal term to gauge whether I believe I'm eating well, for me it is when I have healthy whole, home cooked foods, minimal out wrappers and not junk0
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Another one that really gets me is the honey vs high fructose corn syrup debate ... one is awesome and clean and great for you, and the other is the processed scourge of the earth, killing us all.
But they're nearly the same thing. Their Glucose to Fructose ratios are quite similar and they act the same way in the body.
They're both made pretty much the same way too. Both start with sugar water from plants, add enzymes to convert about 45% of the sugar to fructose, evaporate until sticky.
Considering how honey is produced by bees, it's definitely not "clean" (unless eating bee puke is on the Okay to Eat list).
Raw honey is natural, HFCS is not. So one is clean and the other is not.
They're made the same way.
Um, no I don't think so. What kind of bees make HFCS?
oh. You care whether humans or bees made it.
Either way, it's sugar water + enzymes + time.2
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