Clean eating is a

fad diet A fad diet is a diet that becomes popular for a short time, similar to fads in fashion, without being a standard dietary recommendation, and often making unreasonable claims for fast weight loss or health improvements. There is no single defini ...

based on the belief that consuming

whole foods Whole Foods Market IP, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon, is an upscale American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. A USDA ...

and avoiding

convenience food Convenience food, also called tertiary processed food, is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) to optimise ease of consumption. Such food is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily por ...

and other

processed foods Convenience food, also called tertiary processed food, is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) to optimise ease of consumption. Such food is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily por ...

offers certain health benefits. Variations of the diet may also exclude

gluten Gluten is a structural protein naturally found in certain cereal grains. Although "gluten" often only refers to wheat proteins, in medical literature it refers to the combination of prolamin and glutelin proteins naturally occurring in all grain ...

grains A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legume ...

, and/or

dairy products Dairy products or milk products, also known as lacticinia, are Food product, food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, dairy goat, nanny goat, and Sheep, ewe. Dairy products include commo ...

and advocate the consumption of

raw food Raw foodism, also known as rawism or a raw food diet, is the dietary practice of eating only or mostly food that is uncooked and unprocessed. Depending on the philosophy, or type of lifestyle and results desired, raw food diets may include ...

. The diet has been criticized for lacking scientific evidence and potentially posing health risks. Clean eating is not supported by nutritionists, as it may lead to

malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...

and the formation of unhealthy eating practices.

Definition

Clean eating is the belief that consuming

and avoiding

and other

offers certain health benefits. Variations of the diet may also exclude

, and/or

and advocate the consumption of

Proponents

While there is limited research on the health effects of clean eating, clean eating trends have become increasingly popular through the use of various media outlets including blogs, television segments, and magazine articles. Many of these media are supported and headed by various health and wellness gurus who typically base the information they provide on personal experience. Advocates include

Ella Mills Eleanor Laura Davan Mills (''née'' Woodward; born 31 May 1991) is a British food writer and businesswoman, best known for the 'Deliciously Ella' food blog and brand. Early life and family Woodward was born on 31 May 1991 in Rugby, Warwickshire ...

, Natasha Corrett, and the Hemsley sisters.

Criticism

The idea of clean eating has been criticized as lacking

scientific evidence Scientific evidence is evidence that serves to either support or counter a scientific theory or hypothesis, although scientists also use evidence in other ways, such as when applying theories to practical problems. "Discussions about empirical ev ...

for its claims, and cutting entire

food groups A food group is a collection of foods that share similar nutritional properties or biological classifications. List of nutrition guides typically divide foods into food groups and Recommended Dietary Allowance recommend daily servings of each gr ...

out of the diet to pose health risks in extreme cases. It has also been claimed that

have been modified to prevent diseases and therefore have some health benefits (in the form of food safety) over a clean eating diet. It has also been claimed that a clean eating diet may increase the risk of

osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to bone fragility, and consequent increase in fracture risk. It is the most common reason for a broken bone ...

due to a lack of

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...

from dairy products. Health risks associated with this diet include

food poisoning Foodborne illness (also foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the spoilage of contaminated food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food, as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease) ...

and diseases from

parasites Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted structurally to this way of lif ...

References

External links

* {{Fad diets Fad diets

Definition

Proponents

Criticism

See also

References

External links