How the clean eating diet was hijacked

Clean-eating came in with a bang and before we could even wrap our head around zoodles, the wellness world claimed it and shaped it into a social media behemoth.

Love it or hate it the push to eat food in a form as close as possible to its natural state is still 'in' - according to the New York Times food trend forecast.

In January the diet made headlines when a spinach and zucchini shortage in the UK left clean-eaters high and dry. The famous 'Courgette Crisis' as dubbed by The Guardian proved such an ordeal that clean-eaters took to Twitter in outrage; one tweeter going as far as to compare the scarcity to large scale world events: 'First #Brexit, then #Trump, and now what appears to be a national courgette shortage! What is this waking nightmare? #nothinglefttolivefor'.

Comical as it may seem, we too in Australia have faced our own clean-eaters' crisis, of sorts.

About Life, a wholefood supermarket in Sydney has seen a lack of supply for popular organic produce lines.. "While we heard of the famed 'national courgette shortage' in Britain we've experienced similar scenarios in Australia with certified organic produce, specifically avocados and carrots late year as well as berries," says Joel Aurisch, About Life co-founder and produce buyer.

Rest assured, we aren't at risk of a zucchini shortage (or Twitter chaos) any time soon. "Currently zucchini and spinach are available all year round in good supply, but at times zucchinis may increase in price when production or supply is less frequent," says Ausrisch.

As for sweet potato fries though, don't get too hooked on them as a year-round indulgence. "While more people are asking for them, certified organic sweet potato does not grow all year round. So despite asking other farmers to grow them for us, they are not that easy to grow in Australia."

Beyond organic grocers though, big supermarkets are feeling the effect too. With over 18 million customers each week, Woolworths has also felt the push to adjust their supply to accommodate the increasing amount of clean-eating consumers, according to Scott Davidson, Woolworths' head of trade produce.

"We have a growing number of customers who consider themselves to be highly concerned with clean eating, and because of this we have launched 'zucchini noodles' and 'cauliflower rice' as part of our summer range - both of which have had great interest from our customers already."

Yet despite the omnipresence of the clean-eating trend on Instagram, Australians are still more overweight than ever.

According to the CSIRO Healthy Diet Score report, more than one-third of Australians are eating more junk food than recommended (with only one per cent avoiding discretionary food altogether) - despite one in three cutting back on meat, dairy and gluten, all perceived clean-eating traits.

So, for one of the most talked about buzzwords of the diet world in a long time, where does the future of clean-eating lie? What has its impact actually been and is it on its way to being a dying fad or does its household name suggest its sustainability in the market is having a positive impact?

James Duigan, celebrity personal trainer, owner of wellbeing brand Bodyism and author of the Clean and Lean cookbook series believes its reputation as a healthy way of life has merited an ever-present position in the wellness world.

"A plate of kale is the new Rolex. Now more people than ever people are interested in clean eating - it's become sexy, covetable and aspirational and if bringing a bunch of people are now coming together to become smarter and more savvy about food then it's great to see."

He admits though that the term has taken a turn for the worst since he spearheaded the diet approach in his original 'Clean and Lean' cookbook 10 years ago.

"When I first published my cookbook there was only the Dukan and the Atkins diet and both were very traditional so 'The Clean and Lean Diet' was the first lifestyle book that really brought together what you think, how you feel with how you move and how you eat. Now young bloggers with no real qualification or accountability have hijacked it and reduced clean-eating to an obsessive, restrictive, damaging fad and it's really sad."

By hiding under the guise of 'clean-eating' Duigan believes these bloggers have damaged the original interpretation of the diet philosophy.

"Clean-eating should be about eating foods as close to their natural state as possible, as local, seasonal and organic as possible, and about having a clean, guilt-free, shame-free attitude towards healthy eating. However, unfortunately people are now dressing up their eating disorders with a green juice and pretending what they are doing is healthy - when it's not," says Duigan.

He says the bliss ball trend is a good example. "In most cases they have more sugar in them than a chocolate bar. Eventually the blogger gets called up on it they go back and say - 'I never said that was healthy' (even though they had) and amend their blog to say otherwise."

Dietitian Jo McMillan agrees the sources of information around it are misleading. "The trouble with bloggers is while they give some good information, many just give their own personal experiences, which isn't the full picture. I question what they think they know that people who have spent years studying nutrition science don't?"

Does she believe then that clean-eating has become a dirty word? "Clean eating implies there is also dirty eating and unless you're eating food from the floor, dirty eating is not the correct term for bad food. I think 'clean-eating' implies a layer of judgement over the foods we choose to eat," says McMillan. "It makes you think - are clean-eaters therefore cleaner people? It has become a moral term that makes me uncomfortable. Healthy eating is a much better term for eating well."

Duigan on the other hand believes if people can trust their gut and celebrate the original message of clean-eating it will remain a positive trend into the future.

"Hopefully people are wising up to it being hijacked and it won't remain what it is right now - which is a damaging, irritating, annoying fad. To rescue it back we need to understand that we eat to nourish ourselves and celebrate the fact it's keeping you alive."

"If someone on Instagram is telling you to eat 30 bananas a day, I can tell it's stupid but you have to take responsibility and look at what's being said.If it sounds crazy or feels wrong it definitely is. Trust your intuition - you are the expert of you," says Duigan.

Likewise don't always believe food labels. "Be wary of buzzwords and question everything - even if it says gluten-free, if it's rammed with sugar and chemicals it won't be good for you."

In terms of a clean diet itself, McMillan advises cautioning against cutting carbs. "It can be very hard to meet fibre requirements by cutting carbs and the knock on effect can mean increased risk of bowel cancer, constipation, bad breath, sluggishness, a lack of energy, reduced brain power to concentrate or be creative and a limited ability to exercise to intensity."

She says while our bodies can adjust to a lower-carb diet, there is no evidence to suggest it is any better in the long-term for weight control than any other diet. There's also an environmental argument for sticking with carbs. "We need to be eating fewer animal foods and more plant foods, but by cutting out grains it difficult for us to get enough nutrients."

They both agree on the one thing though, if it continues to become ingrained in our every day, we need to cultivate a healthy relationship with our food.

"Clean eating is a good thing if people are thinking about their food choices, but I think this mode of thinking is flawed and potentially dangerous - not just physically but in terms of harming your relationship with food," says McMillan.

However Duigan believes it's only going to continue to grow and with the right message, convert more people to a healthier lifestyle - so we may as well make friends with it!

"When I first wrote 'Clean and Lean' my publishers didn't want me to put kale and quinoa in it because they said no one has ever heard of it… now it's on t-shirts," says Duigan.

"The way the landscape has changed is unbelievable. It's gone way beyond a fad, it's part of people's lives now and there's no going back. It's almost like saying the internet is a fad, when we're never going to ever go back to using pens and pencils. This is a new world, and wellness is a part of it whether people like it or not."

If you want to get on the clean-eating bandwagon, try Mike McEnearney's (of Kitchen by Mike's) favourite brunch recipe.

Grated beetroot, carrot and fennel with alfalfa and poached egg

"This is my go to brunch dish. I love the textures of the grated vegetables and the richness of the egg. It's not heavy so I can have an active morning and still feel satisfied."

Serves 4

1 large beetroot, peeled and grated

2 carrots, peeled and grated

1 large fennel bulb, grated

1 punnet alfalfa sprouts

½ bunch tarragon, leaves picked

½ bunch chives, finely sliced

½ bunch parsley, leaves picked and torn

½ bunch mint, leaves picked and torn

1 punnet baby coriander or a handful of regular coriander leaves

salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

juice of ½ lemon

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

4 tablespoons white quinoa

4 eggs

1-2 teaspoons vinegar

Method

1. Place the grated vegetables, alfalfa sprouts and all of the herbs except the coriander in a large bowl and toss together. Season with salt and pepper, then dress with lemon juice and olive oil.

2. Heat a heavy-based frying pan over medium heat and toast the cumin seeds until aromatic, then transfer to a mortar and coarsely crush with the pestle.

3. Add the quinoa to the frying pan and toast until it smells nutty and starts to pop then stir into the crushed cumin.

4. Bring a deep narrow pan of water to the boil (I find the deeper the pan, the better the poached egg, as the egg grows a ail as it cooks and assumes a lovely ghost-like form), then add 1 teaspoon of vinegar and 2 teaspoons of salt per litre of water.

5. Crack each egg into a cup. Turn the heat down so the water is just simmering, then stir the water in one direction to form a vortex.

6. Slip the eggs, one at a time, into the vortex and allow to solely circle down to the bottom of the pan. The eggs will float to the top when they are ready. A perfectly poached egg should feel like a balloon – soft but resilient. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towel.

7. Divide the grated vegetable and herb mixture among four bowls and place a warm poached egg on top of each one.

8. Season the egg with salt, scatter with the toasted cumin and quinoa, then drizzle with a little extra olive oil and immediately serve.