Eat a Cleaner Diet to Reduce Chemicals in Your Food

As you begin your journey of learning to live a more natural and holistic life, you will be 
much more aware of what you put in your body. So many processed foods contain 
chemicals, additives, MSG, and so many more ingredients that you not only want to 
digest, but are completely unnecessary. That is why eating a clean diet is 
recommended so often. 


Types of Food Additives

It helps to first understand what food additives might be in your food, which tells you 
which direction to go. Look closely at the ingredients of any processed food you eat, 
specifically for some of these ingredients:

High-fructose corn syrup – There is no reason you should ever need to buy 
something with high fructose corn syrup. This is a type of additive that makes your food 
sweeter, and is even used in foods you wouldn’t need to sweeten. For example, some 
store-bought premade chicken salad that is used in chicken salad sandwiches contains 
high fructose corn syrup, even though it should be naturally sweet with the cranberries 
and apples used.

Nitrates and nitrites – These are most often found in deli meat and other processed 
meats. It is a type of preservative that is going to help keep the food fresher longer, as 
well as giving it the salty flvor you want. The problem is that it has been linked to a 
higher risk of certain cancers, higher cholesterol, and just in general not a healthy or 
necessary additive.

Food coloring – Lastly, look out for artificial food coloring in your food, yet another 
unnecessary ingredient often used in processed foods. All it does it change the color 
and brightness of food to make it look more appealing, but there is no reason to use it. 
You might see ingredients like Yellow 6 or Red 40, which are just food dyes.


When to Choose Organic

Now that you understand what chemicals and artificial ingredients might be used, you 
can start eating a cleaner diet. This often means going organic, but when do you really 
need organic foods? Here are some things to start with. 

Will you eat the skin? – A really easy way to choose what produce to buy organic is if 
you will eat the skin. For example, bananas get peeled, which means it doesn’t really 
need to be purchased organic if you are on a budget. However, fruits and vegetables 
like apples and pears, you typically do eat the skin, so in this case it might be better to 
choose the organic option.

Dirty dozen – There is a list known as the dirty dozen, that includes 12 fruits and 
vegetables that tend to contain more pesticides. If you can purchase these organic, that 
is highly recommended. They include spinach, kale, strawberries, grapes, cherries, 
peaches, apples, nectarines, celery, pears, potatoes, and tomatoes.

Eggs, meat, and fish – Beyond produce, it is also a good idea to go organic, farm 
fresh, and pasture raised with things like eggs, meat, poultry, and fish. 

When you can afford it – Lastly, don’t underestimate the importance of sticking to a 
budget. This allows you to have extra money for other areas of your new holistic living 
journey. If you can’t afford organic, don’t worry too much about it.

How to Eat a Cleaner Diet

For some final tips, here are some things to consider with your new cleaner diet.
