“CLEAN” EATING - The Dirty Truth

Perhaps no area in the health fields generates more confusion, anxiety and misleading information than nutrition. Though most of us would not think to go to anyone other than a mechanic when our car breaks down, a veterinarian when our pet is sick, or a psychologist when we are depressed, for some reason we seem quite content to take nutrition counsel from just about anyone who is willing to offer it.

So, it is not surprising that one of the biggest splashes in nutrition in recent years has come from the so-called “clean eating” movement (type hashtag cleaneating into Instagram and get more than 35 million posts). This movement has spread throughout our country and many other parts of the world, mainly as a result of food blogs and books, often written by celebrities and other individuals describing personal journeys with regard to their dietary experiences.

Unfortunately, what started out as an approach that basically encouraged eating fresh, minimally processed, nutrient dense foods cooked from scratch (a laudable proposal although realistically probably not within the grasp of most people on the planet) the movement has morphed into a hodgepodge of unscientific and potentially dangerous diet promotions and practices.

The Opposite of "Clean" Is "Dirty"

It is not difficult to imagine how, thanks to the internet and our national obsession with food and weight, the clean eating approach has transitioned to encompass the belief that if you're not eating "clean," what you must be eating is dirty and/or unhygienic. By avoiding specific foods and sometimes whole classes of foods; from gluten, to grains, to sugar, to dairy, to meat, the belief is that, if you are not eating “clean” you are being sloppy and lazy and making yourself sick.

Unfortunately, as pediatrician Aaron E. Carroll writes in a recent The New York Times editorial entitled: Relax, You Don’t Need To ‘Eat Clean, there are consequences to this mentality.

“We talk about food in the negative: What we shouldn’t eat, what we’ll regret later, what’s evil, dangerously tempting, unhealthy. The effects are more insidious than any overindulgent amount of “bad food” can ever be. By fretting about food, we turn occasions for comfort and joy into sources of fear and anxiety.”

Not Just "Clean" – But "Skinny" Too

Perhaps not surprisingly, along with the myriad health claims made by proponents, the various clean-eating approaches are often touted as not only health affirming but “skinny” affirming as well.

The list of thin, young, wealthy, female celebrities with little or no nutritional training proselytizing these approaches simply gives credence to our already maleficent obsession with weight and youth. As one nutrition professional writing for Good Housekeeping put it:

“The piece of this (#clean, #vegan, #glutenfree) pie I dislike the most: It disregards the lack of access— including a lack of time or money — that many of us face when it comes to finding perfect, farmer's market fresh food. Frankly, it's elitist. Instead of educating ourselves about food, we're simply buying into the attempt to be thin (above all else), green-juice loving, yoga-practicing, perfect pictures of health."

Not Dirty – But Dangerous

But there is more to this than just creating anxiety, confusion and elitism around food. Professionals who treat eating disorders are seeing an alarming increase in the number of clients who started out on the clean eating path only to end up with big problems. Dr. Max Pemberton, psychiatrist, journalist and author working for The National Health Service in England discusses his clinical experience with clean eating.

“For those of us who work in treating eating disorders, ‘clean eating’ — a trend that focuses on avoiding processed foods and consuming raw, unrefined produce — is a phrase we have come to dread.”

He goes on to talk painfully about the patients he regularly sees, sick sometimes to the point of needing to be hospitalized to prevent death. The presenting issues range from low level malnutrition - flaky skin and loss of hair - to life-threatening emaciation, often shutting down the reproductive system, causing severe osteoporosis and muscle weakness, with some individuals barely able to walk or even keep their heads upright. He concludes with the warning that:

“At best, clean eating is nonsense dressed up as health advice. At worst, it is embraced by those with underlying psychological difficulties and used to justify an increasingly restrictive diet — with potentially life-threatening results.”

Belief vs. Science

In his powerful 2017 documentary, Clean Eating – The Dirty Truth, (from which the title of this post was borrowed), Cambridge neuroscientist Dr. Giles Yeo exposes the lack of scientific evidence for the often-outrageous health claims made by these approaches. The almost hour-long piece is worth watching for those who are confused by all the hype coming from these promotions.

Giles (as he refers to himself and is pictured here) tells the disturbing story of his visit with one of the most famous clean-eating proponents. Dr. Robert Young is best known for his series of books on what he calls The pH Miracle Diet. Dr. Young claims that all diseases are a result of an imbalance of pH in the blood – caused by eating the wrong foods. He claims that almost anyone can cure and/or prevent almost any disease by subscribing to his brand of clean eating, as the rather lofty title of his 1995 book – One Sickness, One Disease, One Treatment - suggests.

Dr. Youngs’ books sold millions of copies and were translated into 18 languages. He invited sick patients to his luxury Valley Center ranch in Sand Diego for “treatments” to the tune of $1295 to $2495 per night, encompassing lodging, meals, supplements, and often including bags of intravenous fluids mixed with baking soda at $500 apiece.

As Dr. Giles exposes however, there are some very serious flies in the ointment here.

• There is no scientific evidence to support the claims the Dr. Young makes about his diet and health outcomes.
• What people eat has very little if any impact on their blood pH.
• Dr. Young is actually not a doctor at all – admitting to no post high school degree from any accredited school!

"Dr." Young was recently stripped of his bogus medical degree and sentenced to 3 plus years in prison for practicing medicine without a license. Perhaps ironically and certainly good news for potential patients - we might say that he was forced to make a “clean” break from practicing medicine.

Take Home – Moving Forward

Thankfully even some of the original and most famous “clean” eating proponents have protested the direction the movement has taken. English food blogger Ella Mills, known internationally as Deliciously Ella, has a huge following and has made a career promoting clean eating. Recently however she reacted to the increasingly unreasonable direction the movement has taken saying:

“I would never use the word ‘clean.’ I think that’s what can be difficult at times: people put you in a box you wouldn’t necessarily put yourself in. I’m all about natural foods and cutting out processed stuff, but I hate the concept of ‘clean’ and ‘dirty.’

Even though she has used the word previously on her website, she has now distanced herself from the clean-eating food gurus who make claims for which there is no scientific evidence – including those like Young who con susceptible people suffering from cancer and other diseases into believing that they can be cured by the fad diets. She goes on to say:

"My problem with the word clean is that it has become too complicated. It has become too loaded. When I first read the term, it meant natural, unprocessed. Now it doesn’t mean that at all. It means diet. It means fad."

As for the outrageous health claims made by too many of these practitioners, Dr. Giles summarizes the evidence from a scientific perspective:

“So, what I’ve learned is that there are 2 worlds which coexist. The world of science, of evidence of objectivity, and the world of clean, driven by belief, where evidence is personal, and food can do what medicine cannot. As a scientist I know which should prevail.”

While there is certainly nothing wrong with experimenting with all different kinds of foods in an effort to figure out what works best for you in terms of health, it is important to keep in mind the role food should be playing in the bigger context of our lives. Again, pediatrician Dr. Aaron E. Carroll sums up the realities:

Food should be a cause for pleasure, not panic. For most people, it’s entirely possible to eat more healthfully without living in terror or struggling to avoid certain foods altogether. If there’s one thing you should cut from your diet, it’s fear.”

Interested in developing a healthy relationship with your food and your body, and helping others to do the same? Consider our online training – Health for Every Body(R). Our next session starts in March. Take care - Dr. Jon