Trend of clean eating – A dangerous one
The not so new trend of clean eating has taken the health and nutrition world storm. There has been an increasing desire to abandon all that is artificial and rely on local fresh plant-based diets. This, coupled with celebs joining the league of ‘clean eaters’, has influenced many youngsters and fitness enthusiasts. They have tried to abandon all the fatty and greasy food products that they classify as junk. On the surface, this seems to be a positive trend, considering the many others the world has seen over the years. But that is not entirely so.
A study in the ‘Journal of Eating Disorders’ suggests that clean eaters are prone to eating disorders. That is because of their obsession with ‘clean diets’ and the lack of complete knowledge regarding the subject. Most of the time people go to the extent of eliminating gluten, grains or dairy from their diets. This is often done without consulting an expert. Such decisions may prove detrimental to an individual’s health.
The trend of clean eating was brought in vogue mainly through the social media chatters of celebrities who are clearly not an expert on the topic. An enhanced understanding of the subject is required in order to make claims equivalent to the ones these social media personalities make. Moreover, there is no scientific consensus around what constitutes ‘clean eating’.
The study’s results “highlight the need to train consumers to better distinguish between trustworthy and fraudulent sources of information on nutrition,” said Suman Ambwani, a noted scholar in the field. Ambwani and a team of researchers asked nearly 150 college students to define ‘clean eating.’
What do you think about this trend of clean eating? Should it be allowed to prosper?
