Clean Eating

What is eating clean? Nope, it doesn’t include extra washing or Clorox-ing your fruits and veggies! Eating clean is the concept of eating only the most minimally processed foods. Minimally processed means no pesticides, no additives, no preservatives and no chemical processes. Produce, protein, whole grains, water, unsweetened teas and sparkling water can be consumed throughout the day, as much as you’d like! Your body recognizes these foods, since they are natural and not synthetic, and will level out to its personal best weight. You don’t need a degree in biochemistry or nutrition to start improving your body, health and life. Simply enjoy the clean foods and avoid the processed ones. Some of the benefits of eating clean are as follows:

• Weight maintenance (your body will regulate naturally if you need to to gain or lose)
• Lack of hunger and deprivation (because you can eat/drink until you feel satisfied)
• Blood sugar control (be careful of dried fruits, they usually have added sugar!)
• Cholesterol control
• Increased energy (your body uses less energy to digest complex foods so you feel more energized)
• Immune boost (natural fruits/veggies actually have immune boosting properties)
• Better sleep
• Better mood
• Simple-to-follow plan (the plan is – eat simply and eat until you are satisfied!)
• Overall increase in health and vitality
• Improved appearance and skin (because your body has less toxins to rid itself of, which usually occurs through the skin)

Eating clean doesn’t mean you need to spend your entire paycheck at Whole Foods or start eating vegetarian – you only need to ask yourself one question before putting an item in your shopping cart “what has been added to this product?” Was it fed antibiotics? Are there any preservatives? Added sugar? (Remember high fructose corn syrup is processed) You don’t need to go cold turkey, but make small changes where and when you can. Publix and Harris Teeter have a great variety of organic foods and produce, so you can pick up natural options while doing your regular weekly grocery shopping! If you are open to the idea I suggest:

Books

In Defense of Food
The Omnivores Dilema
The Paleo Diet

Online

EatingCleanRecipes.com
CleanEatingMag.com (They have a great free newsletter)