7 Tips for Clean Eating

You may be familiar with the concept of clean eating, but its precise definition might still be unclear. For us, clean eating involves prioritizing the consumption of the healthiest choices within each food category while minimizing intake of less nutritious options. This entails emphasizing whole foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins and beneficial fats while reducing consumption of refined grains, additives, preservatives, unhealthy fats, excessive added sugars and salt. It also involves steering clear of heavily processed foods containing ingredients that may be challenging to pronounce without assistance from a laboratory technician.

Some clean-eating plans call for eliminating many food groups—coffee, dairy, grains and more. We don't believe in being that restrictive. Not only does it take away some of the enjoyment of eating, but there isn't much science to back up any benefits. You need to find a clean-eating style that works for you.

If you only take a few steps toward eating cleaner—cutting back on highly processed foods that cause inflammation, for example, or eating more fruits and veggies—it can still make an impact on your health.

Here are some helpful tips to get you started.

Pictured Recipe: Cucumber, Tomato & Feta Salad with Balsamic Dressing

1. Load Up on Fruits and Vegetables

When it comes to fruits and vegetables, most of us aren't getting enough. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 10% of Americans eat the recommended number of servings daily. A 2021 study published in Circulation states that increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables can greatly decrease your chances of developing chronic diseases. Consuming at least five servings of fruits or vegetables daily can lower the risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity and cancer.

The fiber in whole produce also helps keep your microbiome—the collection of good bacteria that live in your gut—happy, which can reduce your risk for autoimmune diseases, fight off pathogens and infections and even improve your mood.

Choose organic produce when you can; focus on buying organic foods from the Environmental Working Group's Dirty Dozen list and cut yourself some slack with the Clean Fifteen foods list.

Pictured Recipe: Lemon-Pepper Linguine with Squash

2. Go Whole Grain

The cleanest whole grains are the ones that have been processed the least. Think whole grains that most resemble their just-harvested state—like quinoa, wild rice and oats. While some people abstain from eating any processed grains, we believe that whole-wheat pasta and whole-grain bread made with simple ingredients are also part of eating clean. Because, let's face it, sometimes you just need a hearty slice of avocado toast or a bowl of pasta.

Beware of getting duped by "whole-grain" claims on labels. To eat clean packaged whole grains, you will need to take a closer look at the ingredients. The primary ingredient in whole grains should always be whole grains themselves. The ingredient list should be brief and feature recognizable ingredients, ideally with minimal or no added sugar. Additionally, look for a yellow postage-like stamp on the package indicating that it is 100% whole grain. When you swap out refined carbs—like white pasta, sugar and white bread—for whole grains, you'll get more fiber, antioxidants and inflammation-fighting phytonutrients. Plus, people who eat more whole grains may more easily lose weight and keep it off long-term.

Pictured Recipe: Mushroom & Tofu Stir-Fry

3. Eat Less Meat

Veganism isn't a requirement for clean eating—just eating less meat can help reduce your blood pressure, reduce your risk of heart disease and help keep your weight in check. Plus, eating more plants helps bump up the vitamins and minerals, fiber and healthy fats in your diet.

Some people worry about getting enough protein when cutting down on meat, but it's pretty easy to get the recommended daily 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight—approximately 56 g daily for men and 46 g daily for women—even on a vegetarian or vegan diet. Eggs, dairy, beans and nuts are all suitable protein sources for a clean vegetarian diet. Choose dairy with no added sugar and simple ingredients.

When you do eat meat, choose options that haven't been pumped with antibiotics. It's even better if the animals have lived and eaten as they would in the wild (think: grass-fed beef, wild-caught salmon). Clean eating also means cutting down on processed meats like cold cuts, bacon and sausage.

4. Watch Out for Processed Foods

It's important to note that the acts of chopping, mixing and cooking at home constitute forms of food processing. Nutrient-dense meals can still be achieved while incorporating processed or ultra-processed foods, according to a 2023 review published in the Journal of Nutrition. However, the concern arises from the fact that many packaged items found in grocery stores undergo excessive processing, altering them beyond recognition. Nature certainly didn't intend for chips to be neon orange or for cereal to be candy-colored blue. It's crucial to watch out for products with high levels of sugar and refined grains, extensive ingredient lists featuring unfamiliar items, and those containing partially hydrogenated oils. Nonetheless, there are clean processed foods available, such as cheese, plain yogurt, whole-wheat pasta and packaged baby spinach.

And while you can make salad dressing, pasta sauce, mayo, hummus and broth at home, you can also find clean versions at the store. Just read the ingredient list.

Our bodies digest processed and unprocessed foods differently. In the case of white bread versus whole-wheat bread, the machine has already started to process the white bread for you, stripping away the bran and germ and leaving your body with less work to do. Limiting packaged foods can also reduce your exposure to BPA (present in some canned foods) and other chemicals found in plastics.

Pictured Recipe: No-Sugar-Added Oatmeal Cookies

5. Limit Added Sugar

Most people eat too much added sugar. The American Heart Association recommends no more than about 6 teaspoons per day for women and 9 teaspoons per day for men. The average American gets about four times that amount—28 teaspoons of added sugar per day.

To clean up your diet, reduce added sugars by limiting sweets like soda, candy and baked goods. But it's more than just desserts—keep an eye on sugars added to healthier foods like yogurt (choose plain), tomato sauce and cereal. Read the labels and look for foods without sugar as an ingredient—or make sure it's listed toward the bottom, which means less of it is used in the food.

And you don't have to worry as much about naturally occurring sugars in fruit and dairy. They come packed with fiber, protein or fat to help blunt the effect of sugar on insulin levels. They also deliver nutrients so you're not just getting empty, sugary calories.

Pictured Recipe: Spaghetti with Quick Meat Sauce

6. Keep an Eye on Sodium

Like sugar, most of us get far more sodium than we should. The American Heart Association recommends capping sodium at 2,300 milligrams daily (about 1 teaspoon of salt) with an ideal limit of less than 1,500 mg—especially if you're over age 50, of African American descent or have high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease or diabetes.

Most of the sodium in our diets comes from processed, prepackaged and prepared foods. Cutting back on these foods will help you reduce your salt intake, as most packaged foods contain more sodium than homemade versions.

To help minimize salt while you cook, flavor your food with citrus, vinegar, herbs and spices. Clean-eating recipes can still use salt, which is essential for bringing out the flavor of foods, but use it smartly and sparingly. Coarse sea salt or kosher salt can add punch when sprinkled on dishes at the end of cooking, and teaspoon for teaspoon, they contain less sodium than table salt.

Pictured Recipe: Broccoli & Parmesan Cheese Omelet

7. Consider the Environment

Clean eating might be better for you and for the planet. The food we eat takes resources to get to our plates. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, agriculture accounts for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions, much of it from the meat industry. Although great strides have been made and continue to be made in this area, it takes a lot of resources to raise and feed an animal. The methane released from digestion and manure makes that carbon footprint even bigger (especially for cows, goats and sheep), according to a 2020 study published in the Journal of Animal Science. So going veg-heavy and light on meat may help preserve the earth's resources, especially if you're choosing organic fruits and vegetables—produce production can also take a toll, with certain types of herbicides, pesticides and synthetic fertilizers impacting water and soil quality.

It is estimated that a vegetarian diet requires three times less water and 2.5 times less energy to produce than a meat-heavy diet, per a 2021 review in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Shifting from a meat-forward style of eating to a plant-based style may also slash greenhouse gas emissions, according to a 2022 study published in the Journal of Cleaner Production.

Choosing organic or grass-fed meat and purchasing sustainably caught or farmed seafood makes your proteins a more environmentally sound choice. If it fits your budget, fruits and vegetables can be purchased organic as well as local and in-season to help cut down on their carbon footprint.