What Is Clean Eating, Really?
WINE&DINE|January/February 2018

We consult three dietitians to find out

Charlene Chow
What Is Clean Eating, Really?

Clean eating isn’t a new concept but its definition is somewhat amorphous. During the 1960’s hippie era in America, clean eating for ethical, social, environmental or health reasons included eating less processed foods, sourcing food from nature stores or food co-ups, and exploring organic agriculture and holistic health. In more recent times, health gurus like Tosca Reno, author of The Eat-Clean Diet, and Dr Mehmet Oz from the Dr Oz Show speak of clean eating as a lifestyle which includes eating whole, unprocessed foods, avoiding refined sugar, and eating smaller meals more frequently. Others like Dr Alejandro Junger, author of Clean, think of clean eating more as ‘cleanse’, putting forth a strict clean detoxification programme— famously endorsed by actress Gwyneth Paltrow— designed to ‘restore the body’s natural ability to heal itself’.

Fast forward to the present and the clean eating lexicon has further evolved. Ranging from plant based to gluten-free food, clean eating runs the gamut of a wide range of diets. What’s more, it seems to be gaining mainstream appeal, led by several young female champions who post images of healthy food on social media, offering recipes on the meals they eat.

It’s all well and good if pretty pictures encourage more people to eat healthily, but it could also make it easy for people to mistake clean eating for a catch-all, cure-all concept.

CONNOTATIONS OF CLEAN

This story is from the January/February 2018 edition of WINE&DINE.

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This story is from the January/February 2018 edition of WINE&DINE.

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