Have we really moved on from #cleaneating?
Over 47 million Instagram posts fall under the hashtag of #cleaneating at last check…
Clean Eating has no known origin, but seemed to creep up on us then become a craze sweeping the nation in the early 2000s. But it was all said and done by 2016/2017 - so by 2024 (when this is being written) we’re over clean eating right? It’s our dirty secret of diet culture past. Or is it….
What is it?
There is no real universal definition of clean eating. As with all things food there’s not much regulation in the area. To take clean literally wash your food and voila, clean. But, to many ‘clean eating’ means “healthy” foods, unprocessed, others focus on organic etc. other associations include plant based, sugar free, gluten free, process free etc. - do you know what that signals? Things are being cut out. We’re talking restriction. Controlling what you eat under the guise of “health” isn’t new, it’s a trait of disordered eating and orthorexia.
Clean Eating is associated with -
The elimination of food groups including sugar, gluten, dairy, carbohydrates, meat, preservatives etc. (sometimes all of these - sometimes one or two)
Emotional distress (getting stressed / anxious when you can’t stick to the strict diet)
Functional Impairment (having a schedule you follow regardless of if you’re more or less hungry, normal life interrupted by the schedule e.g. school work)
Detoxes, 21 day cleanses etc. - short timelines to clear the body / purify etc.
Something to ask yourself - if unprocessed food is “clean” does that mean those eating processed foods are dirty? There’s that conflicting of morality and what we eat that’s present in diet culture.
What we eat has no bearing on our moral value. You’re not more / less worthy or more / less of a good person based on what you eat.
Why should I care?
Nigella Lawson wrote in 2015 “Food is not dirty” and Ruby Tandoh’s 2016 article garnered a lot of support (read it here if interested). BBC Horizon released an episode about the “Dirty Truth of Clean Eating”. Every clean eating influencer rebranded into the wellness space instead…
So in theory we’ve all ‘moved on’ from clean eating, is 75 hard still the latest trend or have we moved on again? I avoid diet culture online so I am always out of the loop. BUT. As is often the way diet culture runs in circles - avoiding ultra processed foods and other groups is the current thing. And it’s just as rooted in scientific misinformation as clean eating…
If you are interested in clean eating you might be entering back into the diet cycle.. And it’s a slippery slope.
It can mask eating disorder symptoms
It can encourage disordered eating behaviours
It can glorify restriction
It can lead to malnutrition
It can become a compulsion
It can affect your relationships
It can affect your studies / work life etc.
It can put you out of tune with your body
When does being healthy become orthorexia?
Orthorexia is not currently in the DSM which is used to diagnose eating disorders as it’s still a fairly new-ish phenomenon (apparently first coined in 1997). It is associated with a preoccupation with eating “healthy” “clean” etc. it often leads to anxiety, obsession and distress when this can’t be followed.
Some signs -
Obsessed / preoccupation with eating “healthy”
Emotional Distress when not adhering to these rules (which are often self imposed)
Impaired quality of life
Sometimes malnutrition and weight loss occurs
Sound familiar? - the crossover with ‘clean eating’ is a venn diagram suspiciously close to looking like a circle.
Some questions to ask yourself -
Are you skipping social events because of the food that may be present? How does that make you feel? Is it affecting your relationships? Are your celebratory experiences e.g. birthday being affected by food rules (low fat watermelon and yoghurt birthday cake anyone…)? Are you convincing yourself this isn’t affecting your quality of life?
Have you been steadily cutting out food groups? And introducing some food rules? How would you feel if a rule was broken? It’s easy to think they’re not strict rules, until the option to break one pops up…
Do you get anxious when you can’t stick to ‘eating healthy’? How does the idea of eating “unhealthy” or “not clean” make you feel?
Do you spend a majority of your day planning meals, what you’ll eat and analysing the nutritional components? Fitness trackers or working it out on pen / paper? Do you know the macros, protein values etc. of everything you eat.
What’s more important to you? How a food tastes or the nutrient it contains? Truthfully.
Do you have to ask for special requirements every time you eat outside the house (assuming you have no intolerances). Does this happen at every restaurant?
Have you stopped experiencing menstruation? Are you experiencing low energy? Hair loss? Trouble sleeping? Fatigue? How is your body reacting?
Some argue that clean eating can lead to Orthorexia. Or to give it the clinical title Orthorexia Nervosa (ON). And looking through the above you can understand why - the most important thing here is to recognise the impact such diets (because that’s what it is) have on your physical, mental and emotional health.
Shouldn’t I care about what I eat? I’m trying to be healthy?
“The true calamity of clean eating is not that it is entirely false. It is that it contains a kernel of truth - Giles Yeo”. We do want to be healthy, but what’s healthier - avoiding all social interactions in case of the food present? Or eating “unhealthy” food with friends. Of being scared of the calories in a piece of bread, or eating a sandwich you love the taste of filled with a range of foods?
Let me introduce you to Gentle Nutrition
What’s more important to you? How a food tastes or the nutrient it contains?
Gentle Nutrition is the sweet spot that allows you to get the best of both worlds (cue Hannah Montanah). It’s savouring food you love the taste of - that satisfy you - that also happen to meet your nutritional requirements. Ta da.
It’s taking those food rules, that information scientists come out with, and applying it to your life. Your circumstance. Your preferences. Because you know yourself and your body best (or at least you can if you work on tuning in with your body’s signals). Intuitive Eating anyone?
5 steps to help if you’re struggling with clean eating…
Admit you have a problem (I know I know it’s a bit cliche). But acknowledging something isn’t serving you is the first step to rejecting it.
Unfollow. Unfollow. Unfollow. They may have done the mother of rebrands but all those influencers focused on wellbeing while posting progress photos, macros, detoxes etc. while demonising “unhealthy” foods may not be the people you want to follow. What we see daily influencers that voice in our heads. Follow a range of people, nutrition wise or otherwise.
Check your facts. See a headline about sugar? Or the superfood effects of beetroot! Check the sources - double that if you saw it on social media.
Add not subtract - what can you add to your meals? Beetroot a good source of nitrates, add it to your sandwich for a slightly different taste. Juices meant to hydrate you - can you add a small juice to your breakfast? Or have some with a morning snack?
Check in with yourself. So you cut out dairy - how do you feel now? Maybe you should make a diary. Dairy diary. Do you feel better? More energise? Etc. It may be that some food claims are completely made up, BUUUT you feel great. As long as you’re not deficient (check with your doctor if you experience any symptoms that may signal deficiency) you can alter what you eat to suit your life and your preferences. Eating kale make you feel nauseous, maybe it’s not for you. Or not in this form.
Gentle Nutrition is the last principle of Intuitive Eating - keen to try all of the principles and start that Intuitive Eating journey? I’m here to help.
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