Welcome to Debate Club! Please be aware that this is a space for respectful debate, and that your ideas will be challenged here. Please remember to critique the argument, not the author.

What is clean eating?

Options
1323335373846

Replies

  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Options
    J72FIT wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Ruatine wrote: »
    I haven't seen many people in that camp who define processed to include things like cottage cheese though, but maybe I just haven't been around MFP long enough. In a similar way to them meaning more nutrient-dense by "clean" they most often seem to mean "more calorie-dense" when they say "processed." For example, that guy who included the homemade rhubarb pie as junky processed stuff seemed to equate processed foods with calorie-dense foods.

    But cottage cheese simply IS processed. I find it annoying that people use words to mean something bizarre (like "processed" = anything I think is unhealthy and therefore protein powder is not processed).

    However, I agree we are going around in circles on this.

    I agree with this.

    But I also find it annoying when people try to say things such as picking a vegetable or shelling an almond = processed food. Yes, yes, those are technically "processes" but I don't believe for one second anyone really believes that's what anyone means by the term "processed foods".
    These conversations go much better when the term, highly processed is used. Does not cover all circumstances but it can eliminate the majority of comedy...

    Agreed.
  • Ruatine
    Ruatine Posts: 3,424 Member
    Options
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Ruatine wrote: »
    I haven't seen many people in that camp who define processed to include things like cottage cheese though, but maybe I just haven't been around MFP long enough. In a similar way to them meaning more nutrient-dense by "clean" they most often seem to mean "more calorie-dense" when they say "processed." For example, that guy who included the homemade rhubarb pie as junky processed stuff seemed to equate processed foods with calorie-dense foods.

    But cottage cheese simply IS processed. I find it annoying that people use words to mean something bizarre (like "processed" = anything I think is unhealthy and therefore protein powder is not processed).

    However, I agree we are going around in circles on this.

    Yes, I would agree on both points. Honestly, most of the time it seems to come down to how educated a person is in regards to how food is commercially prepared, and some people just have a bias when it comes to the "big, bad industrial machine" without actually understanding it.
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Ruatine wrote: »
    I haven't seen many people in that camp who define processed to include things like cottage cheese though, but maybe I just haven't been around MFP long enough. In a similar way to them meaning more nutrient-dense by "clean" they most often seem to mean "more calorie-dense" when they say "processed." For example, that guy who included the homemade rhubarb pie as junky processed stuff seemed to equate processed foods with calorie-dense foods.

    But cottage cheese simply IS processed. I find it annoying that people use words to mean something bizarre (like "processed" = anything I think is unhealthy and therefore protein powder is not processed).

    However, I agree we are going around in circles on this.

    I agree with this.

    But I also find it annoying when people try to say things such as picking a vegetable or shelling an almond = processed food. Yes, yes, those are technically "processes" but I don't believe for one second anyone really believes that's what anyone means by the term "processed foods".

    I also agree on this. There are degrees of processing (similar to how you describe your degrees of cleanness). Oftentimes we're (generalized "we") so caught up in our own worldview and definitions we ascribe to clean and processed that conversations go nowhere (such as in the latest "i'm addicted to sugar" thread).

    Communication would be so much cleaner if we could all agree on a single definition, wouldn't it? :wink:
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
    Options
    Ruatine wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Ruatine wrote: »
    I haven't seen many people in that camp who define processed to include things like cottage cheese though, but maybe I just haven't been around MFP long enough. In a similar way to them meaning more nutrient-dense by "clean" they most often seem to mean "more calorie-dense" when they say "processed." For example, that guy who included the homemade rhubarb pie as junky processed stuff seemed to equate processed foods with calorie-dense foods.

    But cottage cheese simply IS processed. I find it annoying that people use words to mean something bizarre (like "processed" = anything I think is unhealthy and therefore protein powder is not processed).

    However, I agree we are going around in circles on this.

    Yes, I would agree on both points. Honestly, most of the time it seems to come down to how educated a person is in regards to how food is commercially prepared, and some people just have a bias when it comes to the "big, bad industrial machine" without actually understanding it.
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Ruatine wrote: »
    I haven't seen many people in that camp who define processed to include things like cottage cheese though, but maybe I just haven't been around MFP long enough. In a similar way to them meaning more nutrient-dense by "clean" they most often seem to mean "more calorie-dense" when they say "processed." For example, that guy who included the homemade rhubarb pie as junky processed stuff seemed to equate processed foods with calorie-dense foods.

    But cottage cheese simply IS processed. I find it annoying that people use words to mean something bizarre (like "processed" = anything I think is unhealthy and therefore protein powder is not processed).

    However, I agree we are going around in circles on this.

    I agree with this.

    But I also find it annoying when people try to say things such as picking a vegetable or shelling an almond = processed food. Yes, yes, those are technically "processes" but I don't believe for one second anyone really believes that's what anyone means by the term "processed foods".

    I also agree on this. There are degrees of processing (similar to how you describe your degrees of cleanness). Oftentimes we're (generalized "we") so caught up in our own worldview and definitions we ascribe to clean and processed that conversations go nowhere (such as in the latest "i'm addicted to sugar" thread).

    Communication would be so much cleaner if we could all agree on a single definition, wouldn't it? :wink:

    Do we have to agree on a definition? Or can we allow a person to think of their food choices however they choose?

    I do not label myself as a "clean" eater. If I were to I would think of it in terms that I have successfully managed to eat according to my eating plan.

    Disclaimer...I am supposed to eat low sodium due to health reasons.

    On a regular basis I stay away from "highly processed" foods. They are usually high in sodium. On a daily basis I rarely eat out due to the sodium. I need to keep my sodium between 1000-1500mgs. On the days that I managed all of this in my mind I have managed to eat a "clean" diet. In other words...I stuck to my diet plan.

    The days that it all goes up in smoke...would be my "unclean" days.

    I will reiterate...I do not label myself (not even a low sodium eater)...I just eat and try to make the most healthy choices for me.

    Words have always evolved to take on different meanings...used differently by different groups of people.

    Google..."words whose definitions have changed".
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    Options
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Ruatine wrote: »
    I haven't seen many people in that camp who define processed to include things like cottage cheese though, but maybe I just haven't been around MFP long enough. In a similar way to them meaning more nutrient-dense by "clean" they most often seem to mean "more calorie-dense" when they say "processed." For example, that guy who included the homemade rhubarb pie as junky processed stuff seemed to equate processed foods with calorie-dense foods.

    But cottage cheese simply IS processed. I find it annoying that people use words to mean something bizarre (like "processed" = anything I think is unhealthy and therefore protein powder is not processed).

    However, I agree we are going around in circles on this.

    I agree with this.

    But I also find it annoying when people try to say things such as picking a vegetable or shelling an almond = processed food. Yes, yes, those are technically "processes" but I don't believe for one second anyone really believes that's what anyone means by the term "processed foods".

    Indeed, what people mean when they say "processed foods" is "processed foods I don't approve of".
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Options
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Ruatine wrote: »
    I haven't seen many people in that camp who define processed to include things like cottage cheese though, but maybe I just haven't been around MFP long enough. In a similar way to them meaning more nutrient-dense by "clean" they most often seem to mean "more calorie-dense" when they say "processed." For example, that guy who included the homemade rhubarb pie as junky processed stuff seemed to equate processed foods with calorie-dense foods.

    But cottage cheese simply IS processed. I find it annoying that people use words to mean something bizarre (like "processed" = anything I think is unhealthy and therefore protein powder is not processed).

    However, I agree we are going around in circles on this.

    I agree with this.

    But I also find it annoying when people try to say things such as picking a vegetable or shelling an almond = processed food. Yes, yes, those are technically "processes" but I don't believe for one second anyone really believes that's what anyone means by the term "processed foods".

    Indeed, what people mean when they say "processed foods" is "processed foods I don't approve of".

    Yeah? Because I think Fritos are a processed food you assume I don't approve of Fritos? I guess again I'm the weirdo in the group because I think Fritos are not clean, are a processed food and would even call them junk food but I still enjoy eating them.
  • megang2188
    megang2188 Posts: 14 Member
    Options
    Plain and simple with clean eating, if you can't pronounce an ingredient in the food, then DON'T EAT IT.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    Options
    megang2188 wrote: »
    Plain and simple with clean eating, if you can't pronounce an ingredient in the food, then DON'T EAT IT.

    It saddens me when the decision of whether or not to eat certain foods are determined by whether or not someone can sound out a word.

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Options
    megang2188 wrote: »
    Plain and simple with clean eating, if you can't pronounce an ingredient in the food, then DON'T EAT IT.

    Of all the clean eating definitions, this is by far the wackiest.

    So people who are comfortable pronouncing foreign words or words that are "sciency" get to eat more foods than other people. And people with a lisp get to get fewer foods than the rest of us. People like me, who are *terrible* at pronouncing words, even ones we know well (my husband -- in a good natured way -- even pokes fun at the way I say "milk") just get to sit in the corner with . . . I guess an apple and some spinach.

    And none of this is related to understanding what is actually in a food or what it does it us or how it helps or hinders us in meeting our nutritional goals . . . it's the ultimate abdication of personal agency and self-education.

  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Options
    megang2188 wrote: »
    Plain and simple with clean eating, if you can't pronounce an ingredient in the food, then DON'T EAT IT.

    Oh, the countdown to someone sharing the chemical makeup of a fruit has started.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,951 Member
    edited February 2016
    Options
    megang2188 wrote: »
    Plain and simple with clean eating, if you can't pronounce an ingredient in the food, then DON'T EAT IT.
    What if my vocabulary is superior to yours? Does that mean the food will kill you and not me? To base your nutritional choices on your command of language is nonsensical...
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    Options
    I like it when someone bases their choice of foods on their own lack of knowledge with no intention of increasing it.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
    Options
    Not eating anything that can't pass the 5 second rule.
  • Ruatine
    Ruatine Posts: 3,424 Member
    Options
    Annie_01 wrote: »
    Ruatine wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Ruatine wrote: »
    I haven't seen many people in that camp who define processed to include things like cottage cheese though, but maybe I just haven't been around MFP long enough. In a similar way to them meaning more nutrient-dense by "clean" they most often seem to mean "more calorie-dense" when they say "processed." For example, that guy who included the homemade rhubarb pie as junky processed stuff seemed to equate processed foods with calorie-dense foods.

    But cottage cheese simply IS processed. I find it annoying that people use words to mean something bizarre (like "processed" = anything I think is unhealthy and therefore protein powder is not processed).

    However, I agree we are going around in circles on this.

    Yes, I would agree on both points. Honestly, most of the time it seems to come down to how educated a person is in regards to how food is commercially prepared, and some people just have a bias when it comes to the "big, bad industrial machine" without actually understanding it.
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Ruatine wrote: »
    I haven't seen many people in that camp who define processed to include things like cottage cheese though, but maybe I just haven't been around MFP long enough. In a similar way to them meaning more nutrient-dense by "clean" they most often seem to mean "more calorie-dense" when they say "processed." For example, that guy who included the homemade rhubarb pie as junky processed stuff seemed to equate processed foods with calorie-dense foods.

    But cottage cheese simply IS processed. I find it annoying that people use words to mean something bizarre (like "processed" = anything I think is unhealthy and therefore protein powder is not processed).

    However, I agree we are going around in circles on this.

    I agree with this.

    But I also find it annoying when people try to say things such as picking a vegetable or shelling an almond = processed food. Yes, yes, those are technically "processes" but I don't believe for one second anyone really believes that's what anyone means by the term "processed foods".

    I also agree on this. There are degrees of processing (similar to how you describe your degrees of cleanness). Oftentimes we're (generalized "we") so caught up in our own worldview and definitions we ascribe to clean and processed that conversations go nowhere (such as in the latest "i'm addicted to sugar" thread).

    Communication would be so much cleaner if we could all agree on a single definition, wouldn't it? :wink:

    Do we have to agree on a definition? Or can we allow a person to think of their food choices however they choose?

    I do not label myself as a "clean" eater. If I were to I would think of it in terms that I have successfully managed to eat according to my eating plan.

    Disclaimer...I am supposed to eat low sodium due to health reasons.

    On a regular basis I stay away from "highly processed" foods. They are usually high in sodium. On a daily basis I rarely eat out due to the sodium. I need to keep my sodium between 1000-1500mgs. On the days that I managed all of this in my mind I have managed to eat a "clean" diet. In other words...I stuck to my diet plan.

    The days that it all goes up in smoke...would be my "unclean" days.

    I will reiterate...I do not label myself (not even a low sodium eater)...I just eat and try to make the most healthy choices for me.

    Words have always evolved to take on different meanings...used differently by different groups of people.

    Google..."words whose definitions have changed".

    I have absolutely zero problem with people eating however the hell they choose. Even if what they choose to eat will eventually be harmful to them (not saying you or anyone eating "clean" is doing this), I really don't care. But then, as I've already said, I'm an *kitten*.

    Having agreed upon definitions for words just makes communication easier. The purpose of words is to communicate. Sure the definitions of words change over time, but that doesn't mean that definitions serve no purpose. On the contrary, the reason why we have dictionaries is so that people can understand one another. When someone is using a word or phrase with definition A in mind and another person joins the conversation with definition B in mind, we end up with 10+ pages of people talking in circles never understanding each other. I will say that I think it very unlikely that there will ever be a single definition of clean eating, but the more we debate and pick apart the definitions here, the better understanding we all have of what people mean when they use it in conversations and the better we can communicate with those that use it.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    Options
    Annie_01 wrote: »
    Ruatine wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Ruatine wrote: »
    I haven't seen many people in that camp who define processed to include things like cottage cheese though, but maybe I just haven't been around MFP long enough. In a similar way to them meaning more nutrient-dense by "clean" they most often seem to mean "more calorie-dense" when they say "processed." For example, that guy who included the homemade rhubarb pie as junky processed stuff seemed to equate processed foods with calorie-dense foods.

    But cottage cheese simply IS processed. I find it annoying that people use words to mean something bizarre (like "processed" = anything I think is unhealthy and therefore protein powder is not processed).

    However, I agree we are going around in circles on this.

    Yes, I would agree on both points. Honestly, most of the time it seems to come down to how educated a person is in regards to how food is commercially prepared, and some people just have a bias when it comes to the "big, bad industrial machine" without actually understanding it.
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Ruatine wrote: »
    I haven't seen many people in that camp who define processed to include things like cottage cheese though, but maybe I just haven't been around MFP long enough. In a similar way to them meaning more nutrient-dense by "clean" they most often seem to mean "more calorie-dense" when they say "processed." For example, that guy who included the homemade rhubarb pie as junky processed stuff seemed to equate processed foods with calorie-dense foods.

    But cottage cheese simply IS processed. I find it annoying that people use words to mean something bizarre (like "processed" = anything I think is unhealthy and therefore protein powder is not processed).

    However, I agree we are going around in circles on this.

    I agree with this.

    But I also find it annoying when people try to say things such as picking a vegetable or shelling an almond = processed food. Yes, yes, those are technically "processes" but I don't believe for one second anyone really believes that's what anyone means by the term "processed foods".

    I also agree on this. There are degrees of processing (similar to how you describe your degrees of cleanness). Oftentimes we're (generalized "we") so caught up in our own worldview and definitions we ascribe to clean and processed that conversations go nowhere (such as in the latest "i'm addicted to sugar" thread).

    Communication would be so much cleaner if we could all agree on a single definition, wouldn't it? :wink:

    Do we have to agree on a definition? Or can we allow a person to think of their food choices however they choose?

    I do not label myself as a "clean" eater. If I were to I would think of it in terms that I have successfully managed to eat according to my eating plan.

    Disclaimer...I am supposed to eat low sodium due to health reasons.

    On a regular basis I stay away from "highly processed" foods. They are usually high in sodium. On a daily basis I rarely eat out due to the sodium. I need to keep my sodium between 1000-1500mgs. On the days that I managed all of this in my mind I have managed to eat a "clean" diet. In other words...I stuck to my diet plan.

    The days that it all goes up in smoke...would be my "unclean" days.

    I will reiterate...I do not label myself (not even a low sodium eater)...I just eat and try to make the most healthy choices for me.

    Words have always evolved to take on different meanings...used differently by different groups of people.

    Google..."words whose definitions have changed".

    Only if we want to provide meaningful suggestions if asked and don't want to take a shotgun method approach. I don't think it's necessary to hammer out all of the fine details of what an individual means by "clean eating", but if they ask for advice on their diet or for recipes, etc, I'd want to at least have an idea of what they're trying avoid. Bonus if they'll explain something about why - then I've got a better shot at being useful.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
    edited February 2016
    Options
    megang2188 wrote: »
    Plain and simple with clean eating, if you can't pronounce an ingredient in the food, then DON'T EAT IT.

    Enjoy your all-natural, pesticide-free, non-processed, home-raised organic strawberries then. Oh wait....

    d72tn00511bg.jpg
  • ClosetBayesian
    ClosetBayesian Posts: 836 Member
    Options
    senecarr wrote: »
    I'll never trust Himalayan salt. It purports to contain 85 elements - yet of the 94 naturally occurring elements, 2 have all decayed out of the Earth's crust, 2 more at least have only been observed in specialized labs, 6 are gases that would stay in a salt - well that leaves 84 elements. The bigger problem I have is even if the 85 number is true, several of those left in the 84 I mentioned are rather radioactive (uranium, thorium and other actinides) or poisonous (arsenic, mercury (which could, admittedly, come in no poisonous forms)).
    Why am I paying extra to eat a pinkish salt that contains poison and radiation?

    Would like @Need2Exerc1se to comment on this.

    Oh, well I'm not familiar with Himalayan salt or how many elements are naturally occurring or why anyone other than me chooses to eat what they eat, so not sure what type of comment you are looking for from me.

    Because you said that table salt was processed. Perhaps the processed (therefore less "clean"?) is better than the raw version?
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    Options
    megang2188 wrote: »
    Plain and simple with clean eating, if you can't pronounce an ingredient in the food, then DON'T EAT IT.

    I'm very good at pronunciation and can typically pronounce anything I read.

    So everything is clean eating for me?
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Options
    senecarr wrote: »
    I'll never trust Himalayan salt. It purports to contain 85 elements - yet of the 94 naturally occurring elements, 2 have all decayed out of the Earth's crust, 2 more at least have only been observed in specialized labs, 6 are gases that would stay in a salt - well that leaves 84 elements. The bigger problem I have is even if the 85 number is true, several of those left in the 84 I mentioned are rather radioactive (uranium, thorium and other actinides) or poisonous (arsenic, mercury (which could, admittedly, come in no poisonous forms)).
    Why am I paying extra to eat a pinkish salt that contains poison and radiation?

    Would like @Need2Exerc1se to comment on this.

    Oh, well I'm not familiar with Himalayan salt or how many elements are naturally occurring or why anyone other than me chooses to eat what they eat, so not sure what type of comment you are looking for from me.

    Because you said that table salt was processed. Perhaps the processed (therefore less "clean"?) is better than the raw version?

    Maybe so, in that case I do not know. Cleaner doesn't always mean better IMO. Raw milk, for example.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
    Options
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    megang2188 wrote: »
    Plain and simple with clean eating, if you can't pronounce an ingredient in the food, then DON'T EAT IT.

    I'm very good at pronunciation and can typically pronounce anything I read.

    So everything is clean eating for me?

    Doesn't it make you feel so sad for all the illiterate people in the world, though? Resigned to a life of unclean eating because they can't pronounce the words. So sad.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Options
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    megang2188 wrote: »
    Plain and simple with clean eating, if you can't pronounce an ingredient in the food, then DON'T EAT IT.

    Enjoy your all-natural, pesticide-free, non-processed, home-raised organic strawberries then. Oh wait....

    d72tn00511bg.jpg

    And there it is. :laugh: