How does clean eating work?

Clean eating is not a new phenomenon but it is still a fashionable one. It isn’t a diet but rather a nutritional concept that is intended to ensure better physical well-being. Clean eating relies on the preparation of fresh, natural foods. This means eliminating highly processed products and instead turning to the freshest, most natural foods that are rich in important nutrients.

But how exactly does clean eating work? We outline the eight most important principles below.

1. Eat more often and eat smaller quantities: Regularity is important. Five or six small meals spread across the day help to reduce cravings and prevent increased levels of insulin.




2. Cut down on salt: Cook with fresh herbs as much as possible and keep table salt to a minimum as this can impact negatively on the cardiovascular system.




3. Combine proteins and carbohydrates: Ensure that your meals include foods that contain protein and complex carbohydrates – this regulates the metabolism and adds diversity to your plate.




4. Banish saturated fats from the menu: Replace saturated and hydrogenated fats, found in cheese, margarine and chips, with unsaturated fats. The latter can be found, for example, in flaxseed oil, rapeseed oil and walnut oil as well as in nuts and avocados. These foods ensure a balanced metabolism and flexible cell walls.




5. Cut down on sugar and forget about artificial sweeteners: Avoid conventional processed sugar or hidden sugars like glucose, fructose, dextrin, maltodextrin, galactose and maltose, and banish artificial sweeteners like aspartame and saccharin from your diet. Suitable alternatives include plant-based concentrated fruit juices, syrups and fruit.




6. Eliminate additives: Always read the list of ingredients before buying any food. As a general rule, the longer the list of ingredients, the more intensively the particular food has been processed.




7. Make a habit of eating breakfast: Carbohydrate reserves are depleted overnight. In the morning, the body needs a balanced staple food to be able to perform.




8. Drink, drink, drink: lots of water, minimum alcohol! You should drink between 2 and 3 litres of water over the course of the day. Drinking too little can cause tiredness, headaches and poor concentration.

Whether you follow all eight principles or just some of them, you can of course decide for yourself how clean you want to eat!

Your Dole Team