Why Clean Eating Is Better For You Than Any Other Diet

While flexible dieting and If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) might be trending, and clean eating may no longer be as popular as it was, it still has merits for your fitness goals. Here’s why. 

Processed foods are filled with fat

A diet of processed foods might fit within your macronutrient constraints for the day, but there’s more to food than just carb, protein and fat content. Foods with generous nutrients compared to calories, contribute to how you look, feel and perform.

Processed foods don’t help muscle growth and recovery

Processed food simply doesn’t supply the body with the raw materials it needs for muscle growth and recovery. And as body fat levels rise, you can gradually decrease insulin sensitivity, which impedes muscle growth. If you decrease your sensitivity to insulin, your muscles no longer efficiently use glucose (carbs) and amino acids (protein), and you wind up converting more calories into fat.

Nutrients are what helps you feel full

Digesting quality nutrients helps you feel full because you can eat a lot more chicken breast for 300 calories than you could pizza slices.

Your gut health affects all of your health

There’s a strong link between gut health and overall health. Food additives, stabilizers, artificial sweeteners, chemicals and preservatives in processed foods are linked to negatively impacting your digestive system.

As much as 70% of your body’s immune system is in your gut, so optimal digestion is incredibly important when it comes to your body being able to use incoming food to fuel muscle growth and recovery.

Find nutritional information and more in every issue of TRAIN for HER.