"Clean"

"Everything is all about 'clean' foods, a 'clean' diet, but there is absolutely no definition of what 'clean eating' means. Many athletes refer to 'clean' as eating natural, wholesome, real foods and fewer processed options. I think that makes sense, but I don't know why we need to call it 'clean' instead of healthy eating. I'm starting to see marketers say their processed products are made with "clean" ingredients, so to me this is just a meaningless term. I think, 'You've been had!' when I hear friends use the term."--Julie Upton, MS, RD, CSSD, Appetite for Health "I shy away from the term 'clean eating'. I appreciate that people use the term to describe eating plans that include high-quality, unprocessed foods and perhaps organic and locally-grown foods, and I applaud their efforts to eat nutritious foods. But I have a hard time with the clean-eating label because it makes me think that if you're not eating 'clean' then you're eating 'dirty.' Also, clean eating doesn't necessarily equal a balanced diet. As much as I've tried to embrace the clean eating term, I sense some shame in it. For example, people may feel bad that they can't 'eat clean,' because the cost is prohibitive or it's inconvenient. And I sometimes get the idea that die-hard clean eaters look down on people who don't eat the same way, and that they use the term to define themselves rather than their eating. I'd love it if we could ditch the eating labels and try to eat the fewest processed foods possible as part of a balanced diet we can afford and live with in the long-run."--Elizabeth M. Ward, RD, author of MyPlate for Moms, How to Feed Yourself & Your Family Better