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“Clean Eating”- The Morality Diet

3/17/2017

Lindsay M. Adler. LMFT, CEDS, E-RYT 200

The other day I was listening to the radio and came across an advertisement by Panera Bread Company (a sandwich, salad and bakery restaurant). The ad emphasized that all of their food is “clean”. My immediate reaction was, “Really? Was their food ‘dirty’ before? I hope their food is clean!”

I am pretty sure if their food wasn’t always “clean” they would have been shut down by the health department years ago. So, why are they now plastering all over their advertisements that they are “clean”?

If you aren’t already aware, there is a new dieting fad called “clean eating”, and the food, diet and exercise industries are making a lot of money off of using the word “clean” on their products. If you haven’t noticed this dieting trend, open your pantry and check some of the marketing labels on your foods. You might find the word “clean” displayed on the front of the packages. There are also tons of books regarding “clean eating” and a magazine with the same title.

This “clean eating” diet trend is extremely harmful, and today, I am going to share with you why.

The link between morality and food consumption

People have been using food as a means to “heal” and “purify” themselves for centuries. For example, food has been used to cleanse the soul in many religions. Some religions have integrated rules with food to help purify the body and thus, purify the soul. In addition, religious food rules can show devotion, piety and commitment to the faith. For example, most traditionally observant Jews eat kosher, Muslims eat halal, and Buddhists practice vegetarianism. Fasting is also a common practice found in these and many other religious traditions. Catholics, for example, practice fasting during the season of Lent.

In the modern era, dietary restrictions shifted from primarily being a spiritual practice toward becoming a common means of healing earthly problems of the body, such as curing illness and creating weight loss. Believe it or not, one of the first popular weight loss diets was created in the 1860s by William Banting. And there have been hundreds of popular diet fads since.

The link between spiritual and earthly use of dieting is a key factor in how our society has moved towards moralizing our food consumption.

In the religious sense, food restraint and rules are often used as a means to show one’s devotion to one’s faith. Those who do not follow the rules of the religion or show less restraint with their food practices, could be considered weak, impure, undedicated or “bad”. These moral views on eating behaviors create a moral hierarchy for individuals. And this hierarchy has been integrated into views about food consumption not related to spirituality.

**Note: I am not placing judgement on religious dietary practices or how they are reinforced in a particular church or affiliation. These practices have special meaning for many people and can be encouraged in non-shaming ways by practitioners. My intention is to explore how our society is negatively encouraging moral judgments with food choices.**

The diet culture has integrated similar moral beliefs into what is acceptable to eat.

The diet, fitness and food industries have established ideas of foods which are considered “forbidden”, unacceptable and impure. These could be foods that are artificially (or not artificially) sweetened, processed, have preservatives, high in dietary fat or carbohydrates, contain gluten, etc. These industries relay messages to individuals that eating these foods can lead to a shameful way of being. Meaning, if you eat these “forbidden foods” then you are weak, undisciplined, “bad” or even disgusting.

When society or the diet, fitness or food industries use morality to define our food choices, they set the stage for us believing that foods which do not fit into their “clean” category are contaminated. We can then believe anything we put in our mouths that is not “clean” will cause us to be “gross” and “disgusting”, even when there may be little to no evidence that these foods actually poison our bodies.

If you are thinking the terms I am using seem harsh, such as “poison” and “contaminate”, there is a reason I use such terms. When we use the word “clean” to describe food, we are also using a very serious term. “Clean” should be used to describe if a food is actually free of contamination, such as salmonella. So, if your sandwich fell into a pile of dog poop, then it is unclean, not if it was simply made with store bought bread.

How does this impacts us?

By labeling food as clean or unclean we are placing a moral judgment on the foods we eat and thus ourselves.

We are saying, “If I eat ‘clean’ foods, I am a better person.” In turn, we could also be saying those who do not eat “clean” foods are weak, bad or shameful. This view also allows a place for individuals with similar beliefs to congregate together, just as people do in religious practices. For example, “clean eaters” are uniting and promoting their diet though sharing their newest recipes on social media or at the gym.

Therefore, we are allowing the food, diet and fitness industries to be our spiritual or moral guides. By accepting these industries’ perspective on clean/good and unclean/bad foods, we are developing rigid beliefs about foods and attaching value judgments to the food choices people make.

What needs to change in society?

Take the word “clean” out of describing foods, unless they are literally sterilized.
Stop placing moral values on how people eat. Moral values can be better applied to other aspects of peoples lives, such as how they treat one another.
Doctors, dietitians and other professionals should be thinking more about the words they use to describe the advice they are giving regarding dietary habits. And, it is important they look critically at the evidence for giving this advice. For example, if doctors are wanting a patient to add more Omega-3s, fruits and vegetables in their diet, they should say that exactly, not use the term “eat clean”.

What can you do?

Explore the beliefs you have about food. Gain awareness, understanding and insight into how you may or may not place certain values on food intake. And also be aware, the dieting, fitness and food industries are making tons of money off of the insecurities you might have about yourself.
Don’t give in to the idea that your morals come from the foods you do and don’t eat. Who you are is based on much more than the food you ate for lunch.
Don’t be rigid with how you think about foods. Foods are not all bad or all good. Be balanced, meaning eat foods from all food groups.
Talk to a specialized professional such as a dietitian or a therapist who is knowledgeable and trained to challenge unhealthy views about food. (Be aware, there may be professionals who accept the diet industry’s standards; so be careful about who you choose.)
If you want to congregate or explore your moral values, do so with friends, family or other supports in other ways. This can include establishing a club, reading books, or going to a spiritual or religious service. There are much better ways to define who we are and who we want to be, rather than accepting the industries’ view.

Social Media and Mental Health

3/11/2017

Lindsay M. Adler, LMFT, CEDS, E-RYT 200

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog about how social media is changing the way we communicate with each other (see blog titled, “Social Media: A “managed state of being”). In that blog, we learned about the extensive time people spend on social media and how controlled or “managed” it is by the individual. With these two ideas in mind, it’s important to now look at how social media might impact our mental health.

Let’s look at some findings

There have been a few research studies conducted on social media and mental health issues such as depression, low self-esteem and anxiety. Here is a synopsis of some findings from a literature review published in the academic journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.

Social media use can relate to depressive symptoms because the “managed” communication can lead to people getting the wrong impressions of physical and personality traits from what is posted online. For instance, if someone is always showing edited pictures of themselves or how much money they are making, it could evoke feelings of jealously or resentment from others. Such as, believing “life isn’t fair” or “I am so ugly; they always look amazing!”
People already struggling with mental health issues, such as depression or an eating disorder, can experience an increase in symptoms by focusing on content related to their struggles or content encouraging unhealthy behaviors. This can also be seen in other areas of the Internet, such as “pro-ana” or pro-anorexia websites.
Adolescents can spend excessive time on social media, which may slowly impact their mental health. And, they might be more likely to engage frequently in social media when they already have mental health issues.
Self-esteem can be lowered by objectifying ourselves through externalizing who we are, such as talking about ourselves and posting “selfies”. So, if we don’t get the responses we would like from a post, we might end up feeling more negatively about ourselves.
Social media has the potential to take time away from face-to-face interactions and relationships with others. Some professionals even have concerns about addictions to social media (as well as gaming and other Internet use).
Most importantly (and as stated in my last blog): Social media might be creating more superficial and inauthentic interactions and relationships as we focus too much on how we portray ourselves on screen. Also, if we decrease face-to-face interactions, we may come to accept this overly managed state of being as normal in relationships.

Overall, there is no evidence that shows causation between social media and mental health problems. However, there is correlation, meaning there is some relation between the two (e.g., individuals who are depressed, anxious or have low self-esteem could be using social media more often than others).

Social media isn’t all bad!

Social media has also shown to have some positive aspects in mental health. These are import to understand as well.

Self-esteem could increase through someone being able to share something they are passionate about. And, through deciding what aspects of themselves they want to share with others, they might feel more able to have positive interactions with others. Thus, increasing their self-worth. However, it is important to understand this is a managed way to engage with someone.
Social media can be a way to strengthen connection with family or friends, particularly those you may not see regularly face-to-face.
Social media can be a way to gain positive messages when struggling with mental health issues and help people become involved with a support network. For example, there have been individuals struggling with eating disorders who have used social media as a way to gain support during the recovery process.

These positive aspects of social media are promising, since individuals are on social media so frequently.

Experts believe it could positively influence mental health, if there is more content related to increasing mental health education and positive messages related to being healthy.

Integrating this information

With all this information regarding social media, here are some thoughts about how to foster a positive environment to interact with others.

Think about what your intentions are when you use social media. Why are you wanting to connect with others? What are you hoping for when you connect with others in social media? Create intentions that are life fulfilling. In other words, find ways to engage in social media which lead to healthier relationships and a richer life.
Think about how much emotional significance you are placing on what you experience from others in social media. Try to not let the experience(s) have power over how you feel about yourself or others. Remember what you experience (or don’t experience) from social media is not the same as face-to-face interactions.
Understand that what you see in social media may be altered, edited or censored. So, have fun, but if you notice someone always seems to be living life on top of the world, they might intentionally be sharing only the positive experiences in their life.
Do not use social media as a way to engage in unhealthy behaviors. Meaning, if you are struggling with an eating disorder, depression or anxiety, stay away from posts which might increase unhealthy behaviors rather than encourage healthy ones. And, use social media to connect with others who provide positive encouragement.
Spend more time with others face-to-face, work on having authentic connections and use Facebook as an extension of these relationships. Remember, face-to-face relationships come first and social media relationships come second!

Resource: Pantic, I. (2014). Online Social Networking and Mental Health. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 17(10), 652-657. doi:10.1089/cyber.2014.0070

“Clean Eating”- The Morality Diet

Social Media and Mental Health

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