Despite wide use of the term ‘clean-eating’ on social media, there is no official agreement as to what ‘clean eating’ actually means. To learn more about clean-eating, read our previous post: The dirty truth behind ‘clean eating’
‘Clean-eating’ is a term used by many wellness bloggers and self styled nutrition experts and generally incorporates the following principles:
* Elimination of processed food and refined sugar
*Reduced salt intake and alcohol
* Choosing whole grains
* In some cases, being ‘clean’ requires you to eliminate gluten and dairy, and some social media bloggers go as far as promoting a raw food diet
Whilst many of the clean-eating principles are in line with healthy eating guidelines (eating more fruit and veg, reducing saturated fat intake), unnecessary elimination of food groups and demonising particular foods can lead to disordered eating and certain nutritional deficiencies.
The dangerous consequences of clean-eating have been all over the press this weekend- the Guardian have written about the dangers of such extreme and restrictive eating patterns in young people. We need to continue to promote clear cut, evidence-based food and nutrition advice, and debunk the abundance of misinformation that is floating round on social media. Therefore, Fight the Fads will be tackling some of the clean-eating trends and faddy products in the coming weeks. If you see something that you think is worthy of #fightingthefad then please do bring it to our attention!
