LoraF83 wrote: »

I was one of those new MFP members obessed with the cleanliness of my food. I was brainwashed into thinking that I had to eat organic, prepared at home meals and that restaurant and packaged food would be the death of me.

While I still make certain whole food choices based on my dietary needs, I realize the error of my former ways. It's just too easy to get caught up in the nonsense......especially when you barely know what you are doing anyway. I'm glad stuff like this is around so people can learn and see that it doesn't have to be as hard as some people want to make it.

Soybeaner wrote: »

Please provide scientific studies to back up the above claim regarding taste. My husband and I raise cattle and have experienced no difference in taste whether raised according to biodynamic standards or not. I do agree with no difference in nutritional value.

Soybeaner wrote: »

However, my point was that to draw a wide brush of non organic farming operations as having less than ideal worker standards or lower ethics is an insult to hundreds of thousands of growers. I had to point that out in case an uneducated reader would take that as a fact.

SideSteel wrote: »

Often times the topic of "clean" eating shows up on the forums.

What is Clean Eating?

Clean Eating is somewhat of an ambiguous term that, depending on the group or dietary philospohy behind it, might have different definitions. A paleo dieter will likely have a different definition of clean eating vs a non-paleo bodybuilder for example. A vegan may have a different definition as well.

It's basically a partitioning of foods into good and bad buckets.

Here's an example:


A typical clean eating bodybuilder would call the following meal "clean"

1c oats
4oz chicken breast
1 scoop whey protein
1c milk
100g broccoli


A paleo adherent would not call the above meal clean as they certainly wouldn't enjoy those oats and milk.

Tosca Reno (author of SEVERAL clean eating books) probably would not call the above "clean" because whey protein is processed and the oats are too.

Mark Sisson, from marksdailyapple (primal diet) has been quoting as calling clean food as being grass fed, and organic, and he also advocates the avoidance of chips, cookies, crackers, grains, pasta, beans, bread, popcorn, energy drinks, soda, juices, candy, vegetable oils and fast food. Oh, but he also sells a protein powder (which is processed and contains added sucrose and maltodextrin). LOL

So essentially, ambiguity is a problem when using "clean" as a determinant in whether or not you should eat or avoid something.

Alan Aragon covers this and other aspects of clean eating quite well, in this article:

http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-nutrition/the-dirt-on-clean-eating/

There's an additional issue with the idea of clean eating and it extends beyond clean vs dirty itself, and that's the idea that people are bucketing their food into good and bad instead of looking at the diet as a whole. Diets can be nutrient deficient. They can contain too much of something or too little of something and that excess or shortage could make the diet itself in need of improvement. But an individual food item is only a small portion of that entire diet and as such, you can't conclusively say that a given food item is detrimental without viewing the entire diet and considering how that food item contributes to it.


Here is an example of looking at the entire diet vs looking at an individual food item: If someone were well over their protein requirements and very deficient in their fat requirements, peanut butter and an avocado might be excellent additions to their diet. But if that same person were well over their fat needs, and far under their protein needs, would the same foods be "good" additions to their diet? In the latter case, whey protein might be an ideal fit whereas in the first case it really wouldn't. This is why you can't always look at individual food items and judge them, at least to the point of labeling them as arbitrarily good and bad.


Aside: Nutrient density, satiety, personal reasons (ethical, religious etc), medical conditions, gym performance, taste, are all reasons that you should consider when constructing a diet. A Pop Tart will contain fewer nutrients then the equivalent calories in vegetables and fruit. This doesn't mean that pop tarts are bad and that you should never eat them under any circumstance. As an aside, I know at least one competitive bodybuilder who eats pop tarts as a pre-workout. He eats a very nutrient dense diet, he eats a reasonable amount of calories and macronutrients to meet his goals, and for him, those pop tarts are perfectly fine. Conversely, someone who has no control over their calorie intake and isn't meeting micronutrient needs, should obviously make some dietary changes and for them, including pop tarts is probably not a good idea.


Steve Troutman, who is a successful trainer and owner of Body-Improvements.com, has this to say:

Moral of the story – look at the nutritional quality of your overall diet rather than each individual piece of food on its own. Be aware of the categorizations you’re using to help make decisions and make sure they’re logical.

You can find more of Steve's articles here, and I'd recommend them. As a side note, he also contributes to myfitnesspal.com on the forums.

http://body-improvements.com/resources/eat



Lyle McDonald is, to put it bluntly, brilliant. Call this appeal to authority if you want, but for the most part you'd be a fool to not seriously consider his information. Lyle goes into clean eating in this interesting research review. The review has limitations, which Lyle acknowledges, but this post helps to illustrate that at least in terms of body composition and hormonal response, clean vs unclean is irrelevant. You should really read this entire article but I'll quote this gem as I'm very much against creating additional restrictions on a diet when they aren't needed or even beneficial:


It’s not uncommon for the physique obsessed to literally become social pariahs, afraid to eat out because eating out is somehow defined as ‘unclean’ (never mind that a grilled chicken breast eaten out is fundamentally no different than a grilled chicken breast cooked at home) and fast food is, of course, the death of any diet. This is in addition to the fact that apparently eating fast food makes you morally inferior as well. Well, that’s what bodybuilders and other orthorexics will tell you anyhow.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/hormonal-responses-to-a-fast-food-meal-compared-with-nutritionally-comparable-meals-of-different-composition-research-review.html


You'll see evidence of some of the confusion that clean eating causes if you pay attention to the main forums. Every few days someone will ask for a list of foods or even worse, they'll ask permission to eat a certain food because they don't know if this food item is "clean" or not. I don't fault the people for asking, but it's evidence that the concept of clean eating can lead people to total confusion.


If you have to ask whether or not it's okay to eat one serving of a specific food, and you don't have a medical reason, then I'd claim that you're doing it wrong.

In closing, I'm all for people eating a nutrient dense diet. I'm all for people looking at their health in addition to body composition. I'm all for people eating in a way that makes you feel great, perform with intensity, and meet both your fitness needs and your ethical parameters.

But I object to the notion that an ambiguous partitioning of foods into good and bad, irrespective of the entire diet, is the means to accomplish the above.

EDIT: Adding this -- http://www.shreddedknowledge.com/home/a-talk-with-the-doc-dr-layne-norton/ First segment is on clean eating.

Recent add: BioLayne Video Log 12 - Clean Eating vs IIFYM (If it fits your macros):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6H2edyPLU8