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What exactly do you consider “clean” eating or “healthy” eating?

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2

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  • anthocyanina
    anthocyanina Posts: 86 Member
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    MikePTY wrote: »
    Clean food to me is food that doesn’t make me sick. I hate food-borne illnesses! :s

    The funny thing is foods that people traditionally consider "clean" are more likely to cause foodborne illnesses. You're more likely to get a foodborne illness from fruits and vegetables than you are from a bag of potato chips.

    I'll take my chances with fruits & vegetables, thank you.

    Putting a lettuce farm downstream from an industrial animal farm is just asking for trouble. Chopping and packing that lettuce into ready-to-eat bags is another source of potential contamination.

    Potato chips & ketchup are no substitute for potatoes, tomatoes, & other produce.

    Avoiding all produce because you might get sick is like not jogging cause you might trip & break your leg. Does it happen? Occasionally. Are the benefits worth the risk? Yes. Are there things you can do to minimize the risk, Absolutely.

    Don't buy bags of ready-to-eat lettuce. Shop farmers markets & get to know the people who grow your food & how they grow it. (If there's an industrial animal farm nearby, trust me, you'll know it) When in doubt wash in a silted bleach solution, peel, & cook.

    As for the original post, eating clean to me is just another label for eating healthful, minimally processed whole foods .

    I feel pretty sure the poster you quoted wasn't saying people should eat junk food to avoid food poisoning. Just noted a small irony in clean eating terminology

    The poster was probably joking (every time there's a vegetable scare the same tired old jokes make the rounds on Facebook about chocolate cake or whatever never killing anyone) but there is a grain of truth in satire & there are people who do seriously say things like that.

    I study nutrition & am interested in the reasons why people eat & avoid the foods they do, During the recent Yuma, AZ romaine scare I had conversations with people who absolutely did replace salads with junk food to avoid food poisoning (they were glad for a "good" excuse to not eat them & not willing to consider ways to eat veggies safely for various reasons) One particularly extreme example of the lengths people go to prevent food poisoning from fresh food: a person I know lived on little more than ketchup packets to avoid food poisoning on a trip to Mexico.

    I'm in favor of spreading knowledge, however clean eaters & junk food junkies alike don't always want to hear the truth.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    I literally never think about what clean eating is, I don't think it's important.

    I think healthy eating is a diet that is nutritionally balanced, calorie appropriate, and makes you feel healthy and energetic. I don't believe a food necessarily needs to be unprocessed to fit into a healthy diet, and I believe treat foods can be a part of a healthy diet in reasonable portions and frequency.

    this.
  • wmd1979
    wmd1979 Posts: 469 Member
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    MikePTY wrote: »
    Clean food to me is food that doesn’t make me sick. I hate food-borne illnesses! :s

    The funny thing is foods that people traditionally consider "clean" are more likely to cause foodborne illnesses. You're more likely to get a foodborne illness from fruits and vegetables than you are from a bag of potato chips.

    I'll take my chances with fruits & vegetables, thank you.

    Putting a lettuce farm downstream from an industrial animal farm is just asking for trouble. Chopping and packing that lettuce into ready-to-eat bags is another source of potential contamination.

    Potato chips & ketchup are no substitute for potatoes, tomatoes, & other produce.

    Avoiding all produce because you might get sick is like not jogging cause you might trip & break your leg. Does it happen? Occasionally. Are the benefits worth the risk? Yes. Are there things you can do to minimize the risk, Absolutely.

    Don't buy bags of ready-to-eat lettuce. Shop farmers markets & get to know the people who grow your food & how they grow it. (If there's an industrial animal farm nearby, trust me, you'll know it) When in doubt wash in a silted bleach solution, peel, & cook.

    As for the original post, eating clean to me is just another label for eating healthful, minimally processed whole foods .

    I feel pretty sure the poster you quoted wasn't saying people should eat junk food to avoid food poisoning. Just noted a small irony in clean eating terminology

    The poster was probably joking (every time there's a vegetable scare the same tired old jokes make the rounds on Facebook about chocolate cake or whatever never killing anyone) but there is a grain of truth in satire & there are people who do seriously say things like that.

    I study nutrition & am interested in the reasons why people eat & avoid the foods they do, During the recent Yuma, AZ romaine scare I had conversations with people who absolutely did replace salads with junk food to avoid food poisoning (they were glad for a "good" excuse to not eat them & not willing to consider ways to eat veggies safely for various reasons) One particularly extreme example of the lengths people go to prevent food poisoning from fresh food: a person I know lived on little more than ketchup packets to avoid food poisoning on a trip to Mexico.

    I'm in favor of spreading knowledge, however clean eaters & junk food junkies alike don't always want to hear the truth.

    Funny, I don't know of anyone who replaces salads with "junk" food to avoid food poisoning, although I am curious what your definition of junk food is. I see no issue eating any food as long as it is in moderation and fits into a persons goals. I have a very hard time believing that someone lived on ketchup packets to avoid food poisoning as there are plenty of other options besides ketchup.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    edited March 2019
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    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    aperis2615 wrote: »
    I know for me clean eating is weighed portions, and primary veggies and fruit. Trail mix, dried fruit, most cheeses and breads are what I consider junk or more iffy foods. And anything like pretzels, chips, usually popcorn and etc are junk junk food. What exactly does your clean eating consist of?

    I do not find the term "clean eating" to be useful.

    A healthy diet is one that is calorie-appropriate, has sufficient vegetables and some fruit, sufficient protein, sufficient fiber, and is primarily based on nutrient-dense foods (I prefer that most be whole and home-cooked, but that's not necessary). I also prefer to limit animal-sourced foods, and focus on omega 3 to 6 ratio.

    "Junk food" doesn't really have a defined meaning, I suppose for me it's foods that are higher in cal and lower in nutrients per cal. I am more likely to think of dessert type foods or foods I eat less often or for special occasions (in theory some really good cheese or naan or fries as part of an overall meal could be considered "junk" based on my definition, but given the meal as a whole is likely to have plenty of nutrients and fit in my day I don't find it wildly useful.

    Popcorn isn't especially high cal unless you add oil or butter, so I don't really think of it as junk food. Dried fruit I don't either, although I normally eat it as part of a recipe, not on its own. I don't really snack just because I find snacking unsatisfying.

    ^All of this. Except the naan. Cuz I can't eat it. And when I eat popcorn, I make it in an air popper and spritz it with olive oil. It's a whole grain. There is absolutely nothing junky about that in the least.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
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    wmd1979 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    MikePTY wrote: »
    Clean food to me is food that doesn’t make me sick. I hate food-borne illnesses! :s

    The funny thing is foods that people traditionally consider "clean" are more likely to cause foodborne illnesses. You're more likely to get a foodborne illness from fruits and vegetables than you are from a bag of potato chips.

    I'll take my chances with fruits & vegetables, thank you.

    Putting a lettuce farm downstream from an industrial animal farm is just asking for trouble. Chopping and packing that lettuce into ready-to-eat bags is another source of potential contamination.

    Potato chips & ketchup are no substitute for potatoes, tomatoes, & other produce.

    Avoiding all produce because you might get sick is like not jogging cause you might trip & break your leg. Does it happen? Occasionally. Are the benefits worth the risk? Yes. Are there things you can do to minimize the risk, Absolutely.

    Don't buy bags of ready-to-eat lettuce. Shop farmers markets & get to know the people who grow your food & how they grow it. (If there's an industrial animal farm nearby, trust me, you'll know it) When in doubt wash in a silted bleach solution, peel, & cook.

    As for the original post, eating clean to me is just another label for eating healthful, minimally processed whole foods .

    I feel pretty sure the poster you quoted wasn't saying people should eat junk food to avoid food poisoning. Just noted a small irony in clean eating terminology

    The poster was probably joking (every time there's a vegetable scare the same tired old jokes make the rounds on Facebook about chocolate cake or whatever never killing anyone) but there is a grain of truth in satire & there are people who do seriously say things like that.

    I study nutrition & am interested in the reasons why people eat & avoid the foods they do, During the recent Yuma, AZ romaine scare I had conversations with people who absolutely did replace salads with junk food to avoid food poisoning (they were glad for a "good" excuse to not eat them & not willing to consider ways to eat veggies safely for various reasons) One particularly extreme example of the lengths people go to prevent food poisoning from fresh food: a person I know lived on little more than ketchup packets to avoid food poisoning on a trip to Mexico.

    I'm in favor of spreading knowledge, however clean eaters & junk food junkies alike don't always want to hear the truth.

    Funny, I don't know of anyone who replaces salads with "junk" food to avoid food poisoning, although I am curious what your definition of junk food is. I see no issue eating any food as long as it is in moderation and fits into a persons goals. I have a very hard time believing that someone lived on ketchup packets to avoid food poisoning as there are plenty of other options besides ketchup.

    Same here. During the romaine lettuce issue, people I know continued to order salads at restaurants and make salads at home. They were just more aware of what went into the salad (and by "more aware" I mean obsessed with being absolutely certain not a leaf of their greens had touched a leaf of romaine anywhere along the line :) ). Certainly nobody traded salads and vegetables for dessert in order to avoid food poisoning.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    It's not a useful distinction, so I don't worry about it at all.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    glassyo wrote: »
    Clean food to me means food that hasn't fallen on the floor. And even then, the 5 second rule. And EVEN THEN, green m&ms mean all bets are off.

    I have a problem with the 5 second rule.

    Actually two problems.

    9r2jx4wf8aeq.jpg

    Your dogs are adorable!
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
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    glassyo wrote: »
    Clean food to me means food that hasn't fallen on the floor. And even then, the 5 second rule. And EVEN THEN, green m&ms mean all bets are off.

    I have a problem with the 5 second rule.

    Actually two problems.

    9r2jx4wf8aeq.jpg

    Have you timed them?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,195 Member
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    Phirrgus wrote: »
    I had a nice long reply typed out and realized it was all full of empty words. I'm fortunate enough to be able to eat what I choose, and continue to enjoy good health at a pretty steady weight.

    I don't think it's productive for me personally to spend the time trying to define something I probably wouldn't listen to anyway. :p

    I wish I had that level of self-discipline and insight. :(

    Or that it were harder to touch-type.
  • Phirrgus
    Phirrgus Posts: 1,894 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Phirrgus wrote: »
    I had a nice long reply typed out and realized it was all full of empty words. I'm fortunate enough to be able to eat what I choose, and continue to enjoy good health at a pretty steady weight.

    I don't think it's productive for me personally to spend the time trying to define something I probably wouldn't listen to anyway. :p

    I wish I had that level of self-discipline and insight. :(

    Or that it were harder to touch-type.

    *reads post
    *looks at Ann's well muscled youthful arm, shoulder in avatar pic
    *reads post again...

    Um....what?

    😉👍
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,598 Member
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    CSARdiver wrote: »
    glassyo wrote: »
    Clean food to me means food that hasn't fallen on the floor. And even then, the 5 second rule. And EVEN THEN, green m&ms mean all bets are off.

    I have a problem with the 5 second rule.

    Actually two problems.

    9r2jx4wf8aeq.jpg

    Have you timed them?

    3.2 sec on average.

    :)

    Hah! I *was* gonna say the 3 second rule but who was I kidding? I would go another 2 second for fallen deliciousness in my tummy.
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
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    I think of it as a general avoidance of overly processed food. The bulk of the diet consists of minimally processed foods or foods found in nature.
  • lleeann2001
    lleeann2001 Posts: 412 Member
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    glassyo wrote: »
    Clean food to me means food that hasn't fallen on the floor. And even then, the 5 second rule. And EVEN THEN, green m&ms mean all bets are off.

    lol