Clean Eating??? Everything I eat is clean, right???

     Good evening, Fam...  So, recently I told you I was going to check out this "clean eating" concept.  I heard of this a long time ago, but never really looked into it.  Apparently, there are many books on the market that discuss clean eating.  There is "Eating Clean for Dummies", "Eating Clean in a dirty World  An easy to follow guide to cleaning up your Diet:", "The Eat Clean Diet", just to name a few.  The reality is, you could start this process without a lot of research because eating clean is not a "diet" as we know it, but a lifestyle a little different from what most of us are used to.

     First of all, clean eating is just that, getting the dirt out of your diet.  Everything I eat is clean, right?  No.  What you want to do is eat your food as close to it's original form as posssible.  What?  That means eliminating artificial colors, artificial flavorings, processed or refined foods like sugar, white flour, white rice, and artificial sweeteners.  The elimination of the processed food products has been proven to help with an increase in energy, fat loss and weight loss just to name a few things.  According to Dr. David Ludwig a pediatric endocrinologist, "...when we take sugars and concentrate and refine them in massive amounts...this causes hormonal changes that in many people drive hunger, cause overeating, and increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease."  That being said, we need to at least think about cleaning up our diets. 

     Here are some basic things you should consider in your attempt to do some clean eating:

•      Stay on the perimeter of your supermarket.  Remember the healthier foods are on the perimeter of the market.  Fruits and veggies, lean meats, seafood, dairy...think about it...
•      Stay away from anything processed.  Most items we eat have been processed to some degree.  But if it has a label and you can't pronounce or readily identify an ingredient, it has been majorly processed and should not be consumed in the scheme of "clean eating".    
•      Stay away from most things white.  Think about it.  White flour, white rice, white sugar, salt have ALL been "refined" and processed.   Try whole wheat flour, brown rice, quinoa, brown sugar.  Use more herbs and spices to give your food a good taste.
•      Stay away from fried foods.  We all have been told that the saturated fats in fried foods have been linked to  heart disease, high cholesterol and  blood pressure issues etc.  What more needs to be said?
•      Eat more often.  Yes, eat more often, BUT SMALLER amounts of HEALTHIER foods.  This will help keep your metabolism up and running, and keep you from feeling  extremely hungry throughout the day.  Snack on some veggies or fruits, not potato chips, pretzels, and sweet cakes.  
•      Cook your own meals.  Trust me, I know for some folks not stopping to pick up that greasy burger (yes, I know it tastes good) or that bucket of fried chicken (you know it doesn't taste like your Momma's) may be hard, but you cannot do that every night.  By cooking your own meals, you can control the sugar, salt, and refined products that go into the preparation.

     Remember, for some of us, it will be a major undertaking to change from consuming all processed, boxed, salt and sugar-laden food products, to eating foods that are in their natural state.   It's okay to start changing slowly.  For me, I doubt that my entire diet will consist of "clean" foods, but I am working on most of my diet being "clean".  I think eating clean may be too restrictive for some of us, so work it out the best you can, but try making a change toward healthier food consumption.   SMOOCHES...

Special thanks to www.dummies.com, webmd.com, eatingwell.com