Gluten-free, sugar-free, oil-free, grain-free, legume-free, raw hummus wheat-free bread… the supermarket shelves have become shrines to ‘clean eating’ – a faith that promises happiness, healthiness and an abundance of energy at a go. The craze triggered by vegan food photos and social media hashtags like cleaneating, eatclean has millions of followers worldwide. In fact, cleaneating has over 60 million followers alone!
But as they say, too much of anything cannot be a good thing. And experts around the world have started talking about the obsession with clean eating that has, ironically, become quite unhealthy.
What is clean eating?
Simply put, when you choose whole foods as they are closest to nature, or in their least-processed state, you are choosing ‘clean’ foods. After that the definition varies according to the particular diet you have chosen – from dairy-free to grain-free, gluten-free and vegan and many more. So far, so good. But how did this trend — which depending on your body type promises to rid your body of toxins and make you fit and happy — become unhealthy?
Food not fad- The after-effects of the reductionist approach to food are long-term – nutritional deficiencies, poor stamina and risk to the immune system; all of which are detrimental to psychological health too.
Signs that clean eating has turned into an obsession:-
– You have rigid dietary restrictions and ritualised eating
–You attempt to control everything about the foods you eat
– There’s an extraordinary amount of fear to eat something that is outside your healthy eating programme
– Irrational concern over food preparation techniques, especially the washing of food or sterilisation of utensils
– Excessively eliminating certain food
– You’re terrified of tomatoes one day because some study says they cause heartburn. The next day, it’s sushi (mercury!). The following, it’s legumes.
– There is an increase in consumption of herbal remedies or probiotics.
– You have a superiority complex about your diet. You see yourself on a nutritional pedestal.
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