There are so many dietary buzzwords out there that it can be difficult to keep up so you might be wondering what it means to eat clean? Clean eating is not a diet but a return to eating real and whole foods. This means more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy protein and fat—and fewer processed grains, sugars, and fats. Below are just a few of the benefits of eating clean.
IMPROVED NUTRITION
Statistics show that many Americans who eat 3 meals a day, including overweight kids and adults, are malnourished. How can this be possible? When a diet is high in fake food (processed foods, fast foods, chips, soda, candy, etc.) you may be consuming a high level of calories and sugar that lead to weight gain, but due to the lack of nutrients in your diet, you may be short on essential vitamins and minerals. By making the move to clean eating you will nourish and fuel your body in a way that fake foods cannot.
FOOD WILL TASTE BETTER
Your not so clean diet certainly tastes good but all the flavor you are enjoying is fake. Making the move to clean means cooking more of your meals, and more infusing your diet with flavorful herbs, spices, and natural ingredients. Yes, you may miss your go-to processed and fast foods at first but as you begin to feel the positive impact of nourishing your body—you will crave healthier options. And yes, you can still indulge and treat yourself but your primary diet will be clean.
IMPROVED HEALTH
While weight loss is often the primary goal of making dietary changes, when you eat at least 90 percent clean foods and beverages you won’t just lose weight but will boost your whole-body health. This includes:
- Increased energy
- Better quality of sleep
- Improved focus
- Increased immunity
- Stronger bones and teeth
- Improved heart health
- Stabilized metabolism
- And more!
DON’T LOVE TO COOK BUT WANT TO EAT CLEAN?
You are not alone if you made the transition to a primarily processed diet because you don’t enjoy cooking, or you simply don’t have the time to cook. Not to worry as you can still transition to clean eating without spending much more time in the kitchen than you already do. You can find a growing variety of clean and low-processed snacks to keep at home and work. When it comes to your meals shop your local health food store delis, make a list of clean restaurants you can eat at or order from, and even consider looking for a local chef who will cook a few meals for you each week. When you do cook, cook what you can in bulk and freeze your leftovers to have healthy defrost and eat meals on hand at all times.
STILL FEEL OVERWHELMED BY CLEAN EATING?
One of the challenges with clean eating is that it can be difficult to tell what is clean and what is not. For example, the difference between a true whole-grain cereal and a processed cereal that is labeled “made with whole grains”. To get you heading in the right direction we invite you to reach out to Personalized Nutrition Concepts today. We will teach you how to determine clean foods from fake foods and will design a delicious meal plan based on your individual needs.
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