I have seen this term thrown around a lot lately and it nags at me. I know there is a magazine called Clean Eating but I am not sure if that is where the term originated or if they just picked it up. The thing that nags at me is that there doesn’t seem to be any sort of standard associated with it. Basically, anyone can put this label on what they eat and believe it is so. Perhaps it shouldn’t bother me, but it does. There are many people out there who are trying their best to eat in a way to maximize their health, but they don’t have time themselves to research what exactly is healthy. These people rely on others for information, and so it bothers me a great deal when people label something as “clean” when it really isn’t. Now, there are definitely debates about what is or is not healthy on a grand scale. There is debate on low or no fat versus a diet that includes fat. Arguments on whether or not eating grains is healthy or vegetarian versus “pescetarian” versus including other meats. Those are all definitely debatable, but there are some things that just aren’t healthy. There is nothing (besides marketing) that says they are, and yes they actually do damage. The main culprit I see is the use of sugar and agave (though I also think there are many oils that fall into this category as well). I just opened a recipe for “protein pancakes” in Clean Living and yep, there it is…agave. Is it a lot? No, but I bet if people saw high fructose corn syrup in the recipe they would throw a hissy fit if someone called it clean. Agave has MORE fructose than HFCS. Sugar is another thing, and I clicked on another recipe in Clean Eating for a cookie recipe, and yep, brown sugar. Now, yes someone could say that brown sugar is “better for you” than white sugar, but that doesn’t mean that brown sugar is actually good for you. To me that is what “clean eating” should mean. It should mean that the food is healthful, and isn’t overly processed (i.e. no “weird” ingredients, and as little nutrient loss as possible). I will even allow for things like wheat, meat, and dairy to be in there because they are whole foods, and there is debate on the health merits. They at least have something to add. Not only do agave and sugar not add anything to a healthy diet, but they do damage. I am not even going to get into the whole “moderation” thing. Yes, sure, if you want a little sugar here and there, for most people that may not be the thing that kills you. What I tend to see isn’t moderation though. I see people adding agave or sugar to some part of every meal. The problem with that is that it all adds up. I know many people who have gone off sugar, and they find that their tolerance for sugar also goes WAY down. I used to eat a pint of Coconut Bliss Ice cream every weekend this past Summer because I thought that agave “wasn’t that bad” and it was only once a week. Perhaps once a week isn’t too horrible still, but the thing I noticed recently was when I was wanting a little “ice cream” I got some Coconut Bliss and tried it and ick…SO SWEET! Too sweet for me now. Taste buds definitely change.
Now, I know that some people are going to feel defensive about this because they consume agave and sugar on a daily basis. Please don’t. I am not judging you as being a horrible human being, nor am I telling you you are unhealthy. What I am saying is that labels DO matter. When you actually label yourself as something you need to understand that others who are not as informed are going to look to you for guidance. I am also not trying to sound all high and mighty. I make sure I don’t label myself as anything other than a “pescetarian” because that is truly the only label that I always fall under. People ask me if I am vegan and I always say no. I do then explain that I make mostly vegan choices when I am away from my own kitchen, and if people want to know more than I do tell them a little. But I am definitely not vegan. I am not even vegetarian even if I do eat vegetarian more than 80% of the time. I can promise you that vegans hate it when people label something as “vegan” when it isn’t. You’d be surprised what isn’t necessarily vegan (wines, beers, fruit juices, sugar, etc.).
And don’t for a second think that I believe my entire diet all the time is squeaky clean. This past weekend I had to try some hemp soft serve that Matt was eating, and it was made with sugar or agave. We also split some fresh rolls from our local co-op and the dipping sauce had sugar in it. There was a little sunflower oil in the salad we bought as well. The difference is that I won’t tell you that these things are “clean” or “healthy” because they aren’t. I am only human though, and sometimes I just want to eat something pre-prepared. The thing is that I just don’t make a habit of it. The habit should be the whole foods, the least amount of processing as possible (if any), these should fill up the vast majority of your diet.
I thought about getting a subscription to Clean Eating but now I am just not sure. It doesn’t look like I would actually get that much out of it. I am also thinking that a lot of this whole phenomenon is a bit like green washing. Saying your bar is “healthy”just doesn’t make it so. A friend recently told me she picked up a bar that was supposed to be “healthy” and it had THREE different sweeteners in it. Ugh…
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You know I have struggled with this a lot (and still do) but I think it gets easier. I used to be one of those people who would say “oh, a little sugar here won’t kill me” but “a little sugar” adds up, so I’ve been working on reading ingredients thoroughly and really being conscious of it. It isn’t that I will never consume it, because like you mentioned, eating out can be difficult when sometimes you just want something premade, but I made a conscious decision to STOP bringing this stuff into my house. Added sweetners are added sweetners, no matter what name they go by. Brown rice syrup, agave, maple…it all has the same amount of sugar per tablespoon, and while one might be “healthier”, it’s still a little problematic. I mean, all sugar is NATURAL save for the stuff that is bleached and processed with bone char, but it doesn’t mean it’s good for us. Science has proven time and time again the effect it has on our bodies, so I’m glad that sugar and I have split ways.
Anyway, I haven’t picked up Clean Eating in a long time. I think the recipes are hard to love even as a pescetarian, right, since most are meat heavy? I’m not positive, but yeah. I got a free subscription of “Eating Well” from Vitacost and I’ve never read it but will be intrigued to see what their definition of “well” is.
I was interested in Clean Eating after reading about the publication on another blog. I am nowhere near as healthy an eater as you are, or most of your readers, but I do try and eat mostly vegetarian and whole foods.
Anyway, I looked it up online and managed to find a few recipes from the magazine and I was not impressed. And like I said, I’m not even that healthy of an eater! So, I appreciate this post because I was totally influenced by the name “Clean Eating” and yet, it didn’t live up to my expectations.
I also like your point about how other people who don’t take the time to do the research are easily influenced by what other well-read people state as fact. This is so true. Thank you for being so objective and careful about the things you say on your blog. :)
OMG Marissa, this is fabulous post. I feel like paragraph 2, staring with Now…
was written for me! First few sentences.
I also agree that vegans FLIP out on mislabeled things. I do consider myself vegan but it’s for health reasons & food allergies. I am not actually into labels, but for 99% of people, the term vegan suffices for me. But it’s the 1% that read food blogs and get really really into the nitty gritty. I just dont. I dont try to intentionally mislabel raw or vegan, but I am not perfect. And I had another hurtful comment come in today about my Vegan Status and labeling. sigh.
Anyway, I love this post. I am far from perfect. Or squeaky clean. We all must follow our own path and doing the best we can is all we can ask of ourselves. :)
The main premise of clean eating, at least to my understanding, is focusing on natural foods without preservatives. This is how I eat the vast majority of the time.
To me, the main problem with sugar is its presence in almost all processed, packaged foods, in places you least expect it if you’re not savvy enough to look for it. If you avoid pre-packaged & processed foods, you will be able to control the amount of sugar you allow in your diet. I think sugar does have a place – it is present in breast milk so that tells me it must have some value – it’s just not necessary for it to have the gigantic presence it seems to have in the diet of the average person. I personally strive to get whatever sugar my body requires from fruits, but if I eat a cookie occasionally I don’t feel bad about it.
I’m bothered by the idea of “clean” food because I think such a thing doesn’t really exist. I hear this sometimes from raw foodists, that their food is so clean. I can see how that might apply as Gina said, a lack of preservatives and other additives. But food is not “clean” in any true sense of the word. Food is actually really dirty from a biological standpoint. The emphasis on clean food reminds me of Dr. Kellogg (of cornflakes fame) and his Battle Creek Sanitarium where attendants would recover from their rich diets with five enemas a day and “scientific eating.” Kellogg was actually a kind of genius, with his emphasis on intestinal flora, but he was also weirdly obsessed with creating a “squeaky clean” colon in his patients, which is obviously insane – and yet this is a focus for many people even now, 150 years later.
I don’t feel defensive about agave, but I do feel a little frustrated about it. As you know, I eliminated most grains and sugars at the beginning of the year. I don’t use any added sugars except maybe 1/2 tsp. agave in my coffee once a day. I understand the reports that agave is harmful, but it’s the only sweetener I’ve ever used that doesn’t noticeably spike my blood sugar. At this time I feel pretty comfortable using it at such a small rate; I don’t add it to anything else so it’s not adding up for me. I don’t buy or make anything else with added sweeteners, but having my cup of coffee a day, an indulgence in its own right, keeps me balanced. And I really need that balance, especially while I’m making such a huge lifestyle change. I tend to be OCD in my eating habits as it is, and I feel a LOT of pressure to be perfect all the time because of my education and professional intentions.
Thank you for this post! I am currently on an elimination diet, and agave is one of the only sweeteners I’m allowed. But I was just looking through my food log, and it shows up a fair amount, in smoothies, or in a frozen fruit bar. I think I am going to try cutting back, or cutting out, agave. I forget, what do you use? I know you aren’t a stevia fan. Thanks for always providing links to good information and research! xox
Hi Marissa,
I want to start this conversation by being transparent, I do work for Coconut Bliss. I respect that you find Coconut Bliss too sweet. I myself do not have a huge sweet tooth and often satisfy it with fruit.
I do want to contribute to the agave discussion that has been raging around the internet for the last year or so. When the articles about fructose & agave started breaking we stepped back and did a lot of research into the subject. I invite you to read these 3 articles that helped convince us that agave was still a good choice as a sweetener.
http://www.realrawfood.com/article/response-just-say-no-agave
http://www.coconutbliss.com/assets/Agave_Syrup_9.4.09.pdf
http://www.coconutbliss.com/Buck_Levin.pdf
I’m not advocating that agave be used in all the products you talked about above, or all the time. Like yourself I read every label that comes into my home & I do not eat much processed food.
Blissful Regards,
Kiley
Thank you for your comment Kiley. The main problem I have with agave is its effect on the liver, and unfortunately I didn’t see that brought up in any of these articles. There is also the problem that I can see beginning to happen which is that agave is showing up in many different foods, not just one singular item eaten in a day. I see people using it in coffee, in sodas, in bars, ice cream, salad dressings, cookies, sauces, smoothies, etc. They are using it just as people use table sugar or HFCS. Yes, a small amount of agave may not be as terrible as I make it out to be, but it isn’t something that one needs to add to their diet to be healthy either. Do I ever consume agave? Yes. Do I make a daily habit of it? No. Do I say it is in any way “healthy” definitely not! That is the issue I have, when people call it a “Healthy” sweetener.
I do enjoy Coconut Bliss from time to time though, as it is one of the only commercial “ice cream” product that doesn’t use dairy or soy. I just wish there was less agave in it as it is now overly sweet to my apparently sensitive taste buds. When it comes down to it I do agree that Coconut Bliss is healthier when you compare it to Ice Cream made with soy and with table sugar, but it is just something that one can only eat on occasion. Thank you so much for your input! I really appreciate it and also I appreciated reading those articles.
Yes, yes, yes.
Do not subscribe. :)
Hi Marissa,
I’ve been trying to find research on the connection between agave & the liver that you talked about-can you point me in the right direction?
Thanks,
Kiley
First, let me say that I’m not in any way connected to any company that makes agave nectar! Having said that, I also think that people are getting their knickers in a knot over this sweetener, for no apparent reason. Would you boycott maple syrup as well? It’s also a naturally-derived sweetener that’s been around for centuries. And it’s converted to glucose in the blood just as quickly as white sugar. So why is maple syrup okay? Like any food-related fad, my feeling is that this will die down eventually and some people will continue to use it while others won’t. Same as artificial sweeteners, same as oat bran for high cholesterol, same as “low fat,” etc.
Like anything else that raises blood sugar or stresses the liver (did you know that eating grapefruit affects the liver? Eating coconut oil affects the liver. Eating ANY high-fat food affects the liver), it should be taken IN MODERATION. An occasional treat with agave nectar–or maple syrup, or evaporated cane juice (gasp), or any sweetener–isn’t going to kill you.
I think the REAL problem is that we are all so addicted to sugar and junk food that the concepts of “occasional” and “moderation” have become impossible for most people in our society. So we seek out some savior, like agave nectar, that will allow us to continue to eat our desserts.
(As a side note, I used to write for Clean Eating. They banned any recipes with agave nectar about a year ago–so I was very surprised to read that they now included it again! Maybe they’ve found out something we’re not seeing on the Internet? Or was it an older issue of the magazine?)