Five Principles Of Clean Eating

In the world of nutritionists there is a concept thoroughly discussed lately and that is „clean eating”.

Eating clean puts an emphasis on the consumption of healthy, whole and unprocessed foods.

Nonetheless, the phrase might be relatively new but the basic principles underlying the plan are not.

Public health organizations promote clean eating because it can maximize your energy and optimize your health. Please note that this is not just another diet.

It is a lifestyle in itself. So, here are the seven core principles of „clean eating”.

1. Choose whole, natural foods and seek to eliminate or minimize processed foods

It is not a secret anymore, processed foods are bad for our health, whether they come in a box, bag, can or package. They contain many food preservatives and sometimes harmful chemicals. With a few exceptions (like a bag of fresh green beans or baby carrots) most of the foods you eat should be eaten fresh.

2. Choose unrefined over refined foods

This is really important if you want to maintain your body healthy. Therefore, you should increase your intake of whole grains like brown rice, millet, amaranth and quinoa. Do not forget about beans and legumes because they are also very healthy.

As for the sugars, you should resort to the clean ones like honey, maple syrup and dehydrated sugar cane juice.

3. Include some protein, carbohydrate and fat at every meal

Most of the people eat meals that are well-balanced in carbohydrates and fat but they often lack protein. This should be avoided, especially in the early part of the day, like at breakfast and lunch. Proteins are very useful in building muscles and to curb your appetite.

If you eat them throughout the day, they will keep you fully satiated. This will prevent you from consuming sweets or sweet drinks every time you have cravings.

4. Watch out for fat, salt, and sugar

Cutting out processed foods will not be enough. You have to mind your daily intake of fats, sodium and sugars. You are the only one who can keep under control the excess calories ad well as the high levels of fat, sugar and salt. Clean foods are usually naturally low in all of these ingredients.

5. Don’t drink your calories

Drinks such as specialty coffees and soft drinks contain more than 50 calories/100 g and they can add to your weight more than you would think. To prevent this from happening, you should choose water or unsweetened tea.

Other clean drinks are the low-fat or skim milk and the 100 percent fruit juice which can be diluted with sparkling water.

Share on Facebook