"Clean-eating": is it bad for your health?

Documented journeys to health and wellness through 'clean eating' have positively exploded across blogs and social media sites and now the humble vegetable is well on its way to being celebrated again. Rather than being boiled or baked into oblivion, we’ve started jullien-ing, spiralizing, steaming and dehydrating our veggies.

Despite all of this veggie positivity, there are growing concerns that cutting out food groups could lead to missing out on vital nutrients. Here we explore the facts and look at how you can make sure your diet is working for you.

What is clean eating?

The term ‘clean eating’ could initially be defined as eating whole foods (i.e. vegetables, fruit, whole grains, plant and animal proteins, nuts, seeds and oils) and avoiding as many processed foods as possible, including pre-packaged foods and anything that's been mass-produced in a factory. Under the clean-eating banner, home cooking with well-sourced ingredients has been encouraged. By its very nature, a ‘clean’ diet is free of any preservatives, flavours or artificial colours, free of genetically modified foods, and any other foods considered “unhealthy”. More extreme versions of the diet may exclude gluten, dairy, refined sugar and grains.

Is there anything wrong with clean eating? 

Unfortunately, over time, the term ‘clean eating’ has become synonymous with something unhealthy: an obsession towards perfectionism. Moreover, some eating disorder groups have coined the term ‘Orthorexia’: a fixation of food quality and purity, such that a person’s eating style becomes more rigid and self-punitive if you stray off the beaten path (i.e. stricter eating, fasts and exercise)1. 

Recently, there have been warnings that "clean eating" could cause long-term health problems as cutting out certain foods may cause specific nutrient deficiencies. The National Osteoporosis Society, for example, is now warning that a dairy-free diet could be a risk to your bone health2. The NHS also recently published an article warning that a gluten-free diet might do more harm than good for people without coeliac disease³. 

However, many people have reported feeling healthier thanks to 'clean eating'. Some also have no choice other than to cut out certain foods, simply because they are intolerant to them. 

How can I prevent nutrient deficiencies whilst 'clean eating'?

If you'd rather continue avoiding dairy products, it's important to focus on other dietary sources of calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B2, B12, and make sure you are getting sufficient protein.

• Calcium: Calcium is essential for bone health and teeth as well as proper functioning of nerve cells and muscle contractions. Great non-dairy sources of calcium include: broccoli, almonds, quinoa and tofu
  
• Vitamin D: like calcium, vitamin D is also really important for bone health, as well as immunity and low levels of vitamin D have been associated with depression4. Often known as the sunshine vitamin, we produce it ourselves when we expose our skin to sunlight. We can also get some vitamin D from food, of which dairy is a good source. Other food sources include oily fish, liver and fortified products, as well as mushrooms
  
• Vitamin B2: found in dairy products, vitamin B2 is an antioxidant and plays a key role in energy production. Key non-dairy sources include: egg yolks, salmon, tuna, almonds, and whole grains 
• Vitamin B12: another B vitamin key in producing energy. Deficiency in B12 can lead to anaemia and non-dairy sources include: meat and organ meats (i.e. liver), shellfish (i.e. clams), some fortified products (i.e. cereals and nutritional yeast). Vegans, in particular, need to consider supplementation as there are few sources of non-animal sources of B12 
  
• Protein: an essential nutrient for energy and for building/repairing body tissue. Protein is obtainable from both non-animal and animal sources: meat, nuts, seeds, beans and pulses, lentils, and non-whey protein powders (i.e. soy, hemp, rice, quinoa) 
  

If you'd rather continue avoiding gluten, it's important to make sure you're getting enough of the heart-healthy B vitamins, minerals, and fibre that cereals and whole grains normally provide. 

• B vitamins (particularly B1, B2, B6, B12 and folate): B vitamins are really important for producing energy, as well as for producing mood-boosting serotonin, growth and even hormone balance. To get your gluten-free fix of these, look to chickpeas, dark green leafy vegetables like spinach and gluten-free whole grains (i.e. rice), meat and poultry 
  
• Fibre: if you're not consuming wheat, barley or rye, to get your fibre fix, turn to gluten-free cereals, pseudo-cereals and grains (i.e. rice, quinoa, buckwheat, gluten-free oats) as well as fruits and vegetables (i.e. potatoes, broccoli), nuts (almonds are surprisingly high fibre) and beans, pulses and lentils
  
• Iron: Important for helping our blood cells carry oxygen, iron also plays a role in energy production. Non-gluten sources include: clams, soybeans, lentils, tofu, quinoa, kidney beans, chickpeas, dark green leafy vegetables (i.e. swiss chard and spinach)
  
• Magnesium: magnesium plays a key role in multiple functions in the body, including maintaining the electrical charge in our cells, and it’s really important for energy production. You can get magnesium from green leafy veg, kelp, nuts and tofu 
  
• Calcium and vitamin D: other than dairy, broccoli, almonds, quinoa and tofu are good sources of calcium, and oily fish, liver and fortified products, as well as mushrooms, are good sourced of vitamin D 
  
• Zinc: super important for enzyme function, protein synthesis and cell growth, non-gluten sources include pumpkin seeds, nuts, buckwheat, and some lentils and pulses 
  
• Selenium: selenium can be hard to come by when you consume gluten-free cereals. Selenium is a potent antioxidant and important for thyroid function. Gluten-free sources include: brazil nuts, oats, swiss chard, meat and fish 
  

Listening to your body and checking in with your emotional wellbeing and relationship with food is key to avoid obsessing over how 'clean' your diet is. Strive for balance and don't forget that some foods that might be demonised by the 'clean eating' crew have their health benefits, too. If you do decide that you feel healthiest avoiding certain foods, focus on variety in your diet to ensure you're not missing out on any vital nutrients.