Clean eating—is it really necessary while competing in bodybuilding? Unfortunately, many people assume that just by eating clean, you'll be on your way to reaching your bodybuilding and nutrition goals, when in fact clean eating may limit those goals, and in some cases, be harmful.

Clean eating: What is it?

By definition, clean eating can have many meanings. What's clean eating to one bodybuilder may not be clean to another, so I can't give an exact definition. Instead, let's use beliefs that are commonly promoted through the clean eating method:

1. Processed food is bad. It's detrimental to your bodybuilding goals and may contain unnecessary sugar, fat or "bad" ingredients in general. Foods containing added sugars, such as high fructose corn syrup, are especially bad and should not be consumed. Some even go as far to say these added sugars are toxic. If it's not found in nature, it's "bad" for you.

2. Eat whole, natural foods regularly. This includes whole grains, fruits, vegetables and minimally processed food in general. It may also include eliminating alcoholic beverages, which are toxic.

3. Eat frequently. Clean eating involves eating five to six times a day, eating small meals that supposedly revv up the metabolism.

4. High fat, simple sugars, and in some cases, fruit and dairy are bad. This is pretty self explanatory.

4. Some also consider low-GI foods clean. These are the foods listed under the low-GI section of the glycemic index. High-GI foods are not clean, and therefore should not be consumed.

That's a basic summary of common clean eating beliefs, but they are certainly not the ONLY ones. For brevity's sake, let go with these beliefs for the time being.

Clean eating: Why it's not good

There are some things that are good about clean eating, namely its focus on wholesome, micronutrient-rich foods. Bodybuilders absolutely should eat more of these foods, as they are necessary to sustain a healthy body as well as a fit body.

But here's where it starts to get rough: Clean eating also bans foods that, by evaluating their macronutient and micronutrient composition, aren't toxic or bad. Take a simple food such as an apple, which is a good source of micronutrients and contains few calories, which may be preferable to bodybuilders who are cutting. Clean eaters won't eat it because it also contains fructose, which they errouneously believe can cause weight gain. In truth, fructose isn't bad in moderation—but when you consume so much that it results in a caloric surplus, you'll gain weight, which isn't good if you're cutting. But even that doesn't mean fructose is bad, because this occurs regardless of which food you eat in excess.

Touching on that point, clean eating incorrectly claims that eating clean leads to weight loss. This is simply not true. To lose weight, whcih means you need to lose fat, you must be in a caloric deficit. Weight gain occurs if you are in a caloric surplus—it takes 3,500 calories to create a pound of fat, for exmaple. The reverse is also true. If your calories are not in check, you can gain weight even if you're eating clean. Your body does not care how clean yoru food is, it cares about macronutirents, micronutrients and calories. Not food.

Other keypoints:

- Studies have shown that high GI foods don't contribute to weight gain or cause people to eat more food. See this study, for example.

- High fat doesn't necessarily mean a food is bad. Take almonds, for instance, which are high in fat but are considered a "healthy" food.

- Sugars aren't necessarily bad. People claim sugar can cause weight gain, when in fact a caloric surplus is to blame. Of course it's tastier to eat a lot of sugar instead of protein, but still, the laws of weight gain and loss do not change when you decide to eat sugar instead.

- The frequent eating myth has been debunked many times by peer-reviewed studies. See this review for more information.

Overall, clean eating has good intentions but isn't necessarily a better option for bodybuilders. Clean eating may also promote disordered eating behavior by banning foods or calling certain foods bad or good. The foods they do restrict may actually cause deficiencies—for example, restricting dairy consumption may result in a calcium deficiency.

Instead of embracing clean eating, try to make most of your diet nutrient-dense, but don't eliminate food groups entirely. If you have a craving for a piece of candy, eat it, but make sure it fits within your caloric allotment. Please note that I am not recommending that you binge on candy everyday—instead, I am advising you to practice moderation and common sense.

Ann Olson is a freelance health writer and amateur bodybuilder.

Source:

PubMed