What it’s not

When thinking about what clean living is, it's also useful to understand what it's not. Some of the things that are definitely not included in a clean lifestyle are:

• Processed or packaged foods
• Preservatives
• Additives
• Refined sugar
• Refined grains
• Fast food
• Bad fats
• Products like moisturisers, bodywash, shampoo & toothpaste that contain chemical ingredients

Health benefits of clean eating

Have you ever read the ingredient list on one of your favourite packaged snacks? More often than not, they're packed full of refined sugars and other ingredients that you've probably never heard of. The tip here is if you don't understand what it is, then it probably shouldn't be going into your body.

When it comes to healthy eating in particular, the elimination of pre-packaged and processed foods can harness a range of amazing health benefits. By eliminating bad foods in your diet, you'll also make room to eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and other wholesome foods.

Things like boosted immunity, increased energy levels, weight loss, improved mood, more restful sleep and reduced risk of heart disease are all fantastic health benefits that can be associated with clean living. In addition, people who suffer from things like allergies and arthritis also report reduced symptoms after adopting this way of living.

Other advantages of clean living

Although the health benefits are significant, clean living is also about creating minimal impact on the environment. This means finding foods that use minimal packaging and whose production processes are at least somewhat sustainable. In many cases, the two will actually work hand in hand. The healthier a food is, the less packaging it will need.

It's also a really great idea to source local produce to help reduce the distance your food travels from farm to plate.

Here’s to good health - Starting your journey to clean living

If you're feeling a little overwhelmed by the thought of starting a clean foods diet and lifestyle, there really is no need to. While the idea of clean living extends to all aspects of your lifestyle, it's totally up to you how far you want to take it.

To kick off your journey, start by simply removing refined sugars and processed foods, focussing on homemade meals and snacks. To help you get the right amount of natural flavour at this stage, you can swap out your normal table salt, cereals, snacks and sauces for some of these delicious (and nutritious) alternatives:

• Herbamare Herbed Seasoning Salt
• Herbamare Organic Vegie Stock Paste
• Kelpamare Seasoning Sauce
• BSKT Veganola
• BSKT Vegan Chocolate

Once you're comfortable with this, you might want to begin removing some of the chemical products from your daily routines. Nowadays, it's really easy to find natural, sustainable health and wellness products that won't cost the earth. Some of our favourites include:

• Dentaforce Herbal Mouthwash
• Echinacea Toothpaste
• Echinacea Cream
• Comfrey Cream
• Eco Bamboo Biodegradable Nappies

From here, you might decide that you're ready to take the next step which could be to remove refined grains and anything with additives or preservatives. It really is up to you, although you'll probably find that once you start, the benefits of your healthy lifestyle will encourage you to continue on your clean-living journey.