MARCH 19 2019 / WELLNESS
Simple Ways To Clean Up Your Diet
The term "clean eating" has become very popular among the health conscious. If you know how to do it right, you can incorporate more healthy food into your life!
Clean eating is an eating pattern that focuses on fresh, whole foods. This lifestyle can be easy and enjoyable, as long as you follow a few general guidelines.
To help you clean up your diet and reap the benefits, I’ve put together a few tips to help you clean up your diet. I suggest to start taking baby steps to adjust your diet, and you'll be eating clean in no time.
The best way to make a major lifestyle change is to make a series of small, conscious changes to your everyday routine. In time, they’ll add up to a big shift in your diet and to your overall level of health.
Toss Processed Foods
Processed foods are directly opposed to clean eating because they have been modified, to some extent, from their natural state.
Most processed foods have lost some of their fiber and nutrients, yet gained sugar, chemicals or other unhealthy ingredients during processing. Processed foods have been linked to inflammation and an increased risk of heart disease.
Even if unhealthy ingredients aren't added to processed foods, these foods still lack many of the benefits provided by whole foods.
In order to eat clean, it's important to avoid processed foods as much as possible.
Start by cleaning out your fridge and pantry of processed foods. Hint: the more ingredients on the label, the more likely it needs to go.
SAVANNA LEIGH
Hello! My name is Savanna and I am from the Virgin Islands. I love surfing, scuba diving and anything involving the beach. While relaxing, I enjoy blogging <3
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Cook More Meals
This is an easy way to shift more of your resources toward whole food and potentially save money.
Getting active in the kitchen is the only way to know exactly what you’re eating. When you cook at home, you’ll avoid the excess oils, fats, and sugars that are used in most commercial kitchens.
People who cook tend to eat more healthfully and weigh less than those who don't.
Keep Healthy Foods Nearby
You'll eat what's available. If you have healthy snacks handy, you'll eat them when you're hungry, and there's less chance that you will eat something unhealthy. When you get very hungry, you might make bad food decisions. But if you have plenty of healthy food at home, you're more likely to eat healthy.
If you work in an office setting, lunch can be one of the biggest pitfalls to a clean diet. Pack a light salad or healthy wrap instead of grabbing takeout.
Plan Meals Ahead
You’re less likely to fall back on old habits (like grabbing takeout) if you make a meal plan for the week. Another tip is to practice meal prep. One simple time saver is to cook a double batch of a healthy meal on Sunday. It keeps in the fridge for up to five days, and you can use it as a base for some dishes, including stir-fries and salads, which are easy to throw together yet filling.
Have a few healthy meals in the freezer at all times for easy access. This way, you’re less likely to resort to ordering a pizza or grabbing takeout on a busy weeknight. Here is a meal prep article I’ve written, click here.
Keep Healthy Snacks Around
When you have healthy snacks on hand, you’re less likely to visit the vending machine. Pick a few healthy snacks and keep them in your purse or desk drawer at all times.
Another tip is to avoid packaged snack foods. If a clean eating lifestyle is your goal, packaged snack foods should be avoided.
Crackers, granola bars, muffins, and similar snack foods typically contain refined grains, sugar, vegetable oils, and other unhealthy ingredients. These processed snacks provide little nutritional value and fail to satisfy.
Good snacks include nuts, vegetables, and fruits. These foods are tasty, rich in nutrients and may help protect against disease.
Drink Only Water
Water is the healthiest and most natural beverage you can drink. There are no additives, sugars, artificial sweeteners or other questionable ingredients. It is by definition a "clean" beverage.
Water is also consumed as an excellent source of hydration. Also, drinking plenty of water may also help you achieve a healthy weight.
Sugar-sweetened beverages have consistently been linked to diabetes, obesity and other diseases. Fruit juice may cause many of the same problems due to its high sugar content.
Unsweetened coffee and tea are good choices and provide several health benefits, but people who are sensitive to caffeine may need to moderate their intake.
Soda and processed drinks are so out of date. They've been proven to cause weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease. If you're craving a delicious drink, you can make fantastic tasting and healthy flavored water. I have created a list of healthy flavored water you can make yourself, click here.
Cut Out Sugar
Sugar is one of the most important things to stay away from if your goal is to eat clean. Unfortunately, it's found in many foods, including those that don't taste especially sweet, like sauces and condiments.
The results of several studies suggest fructose may play a role in obesity, diabetes, fatty liver, and cancer, among other health problems.
For truly clean eating, try to consume foods in their natural, unsweetened state. Learn to appreciate the sweetness of fruit and the subtle sweetness of nuts and other whole foods.
Cut Back On Salt
Cutting your salt intake will lower your risk of heart disease and reduce water retention that causes you to feel bloated.
The average American consumes 3,400 mg of sodium per day; that’s 1,000 mg more than the recommended daily intake.
Eat Real Foods
The closer a food is to its “whole” form, the better. Aim to make the majority of your meals with foods that have no added “ingredients,” i.e., bananas, apples, chicken breast, brown rice, etc.
Make sure to eat plenty of vegetables and fruits. They're loaded with fiber, vitamins, minerals and plant compounds that help fight inflammation and protect cells from damage.
Fresh vegetables and fruits are ideal foods for clean eating, as most can be consumed raw immediately after picking and washing.
Here are some easy ways to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet:
Make your salad as colorful as possible, including at least three different vegetables in addition to greens.
Add berries, chopped apples or orange slices to your salad.
Wash and chop veggies, toss them with olive oil and herbs and place them in a container in the refrigerator for easy access.
Choosing organic produce can help you take clean eating one step further by reducing pesticide exposure and potentially increasing the health benefits of fruits and vegetables.
Limit Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol does not provide any nutrients. Clean eating focuses on choosing fresh foods that have been minimally processed and retain their nutritional value.
Frequent alcohol consumption has been shown to promote inflammation and may also contribute to some health problems, such as liver disease, digestive disorders, and excess belly fat.
When following a clean eating lifestyle, alcohol intake should be minimized, if it's consumed at all.
Clean eating can help you learn to appreciate the natural flavors of foods, as they were meant to be consumed.
Also, it's a lifestyle that can help support the health of people, animals, and the planet.