Most of us are familiar with the term ‘clean eating’. It has reached the zenith of popularity, which has been proved by the multitude of posts on social networking sites. However, many do not know how to start with it.
Clean eating typically refers to consuming more of the naturally occurring foods and abstaining from packaged and processed foods as much as possible. Some features of the clean diet include eating whole ingredients, home cooked food devoid of food coloring, preservatives, and other additives, as well as consuming minimally processed foods. As a matter of fact, a clean diet includes fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains, in addition to healthy fat and protein.
Clean eating is the first step towards a healthy lifestyle. Here is listed a few tips on how you can eat clean properly for a healthy lifestyle.
Embracing a Healthy Lifestyle With Clean Eating
- Include More of Natural and Whole Foods in Your Diet
Adding a considerate amount of natural food like fruits and vegetables to your daily diet can make a great positive impact on your health. Consuming these natural food products can significantly help you to combat chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obesity, heart disease, and much more. Furthermore, the fiber content in natural produce keeps our gut in a healthy condition by letting microbiomes thrive. This helps in combating against pathogens and infections and also safeguards us from autoimmune diseases. So, start replacing all unhealthy foods in your diet with these nutritious whole foods.
- Eat Unrefined Whole Grains
Whole grains, like brown rice, quinoa, oats, and many more such unrefined whole grains with high fiber content can be added to the diet as a part of clean eating. These fiber-rich foods alleviate the risk of coronary heart disease, lowers blood cholesterol levels, and also counters chronic constipation. Incorporating whole grains in your diet helps in maintaining optimum body weight, as consuming lesser amount of these food products provides a feeling of fullness, which deters the individual from eating more.
However, refrain from having refined grains, which get digested quickly and makes us feel hungry quite often. This, in turn, increases insulin secretion in the blood sugar level. Refined grains, such as white rice, white bread, pasta, and processed breakfast cereals should be cut off from your daily intake.
As per the Harvard School of Public Health, consuming refined grains increases your exposure to various diseases, like overeating, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. These researchers have also stated that including whole grains in your meals can help you to maintain optimal health. These grains are beneficial in keeping your blood sugar and insulin levels balanced, making you feel less hungry, preventing diseases, and keeping your weight in check.
- Limit Added Sugar Consumption
Added sugar in food products is highly detrimental for your health and increases the risk of many diseases, such as obesity and diabetes. Cutting down on added sugar by avoiding few foods, like cookies, bread, some brands of pasta sauce, and a few brands of salad dressing Is a major step towards clean eating. Furthermore, reduce your intake of soda, candy, and baked goods to clean up your diet. Similar to potatoes and refined grains, sugary drinks and beverages are rich in quickly-digested carbohydrate.
As recommended by the American Heart Association, women must not consume more than 6 teaspoons, and men must not exceed 9 teaspoons of sugar intake per day.
While purchasing food products, go through the nutrition labels and avoid buying items that contain sugar. Look out for some food sweeteners in the items, such as honey, agave, fruit juice, syrup, coconut nectar, and turbinado, that contain added sugar.
- Keep Your Salt Intake in Check
Like added sugar, it is recommended to make less consumption of salt. The Institute of Medicine approves safe consumption of sodium at 2,300 milligrams regularly, which is about one teaspoon of salt. The researchers have reported that high levels of sodium intake can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Reducing salt consumption not only improves cardiovascular health but also helps in controlling blood pressure levels.
80 percent of sodium content in our diet comes from satiating food products. You must avoid processed and packaged foods that contain high sodium. While cooking, you can use spices and herbs, citrus and vinegar to limit added salt.
As salt enhances the taste of any food, clean eating recipes are not completely devoid of salt. Coarse sea salt or kosher salt can be sprinkled on delicacies after being cooked. This salt contains a lesser amount of sodium in comparison to table salt.
- Reduce Red Meat Intake
Eating less meat has beneficial effects on your health, as well as on the eco-system. If you are a non-vegetarian and love to eat meat, choose lean meat, like turkey, skinless chicken, and fish. Consuming high-fat meat like red meat can increase blood pressure, increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, as well as weight gain. Opt for eggs, beans, nuts, lentils for incorporating lean protein into your diet. Also, avoid processed meats, such as bacon, sausage, and cold cuts for clean eating.
Concluding Note
These tips will initiate you to opt for clean eating and lead a healthy lifestyle. This diet should be continued life long so as to have a positive impact on your overall health and wellbeing. Start from today by including a few of these ideas daily and inculcate the habit of eating healthy.
