0:00:01 > 0:00:05I'm Grace Victory, and I make YouTube videos on beauty, fashion,
0:00:05 > 0:00:07body image and mental health -
0:00:07 > 0:00:09sort of like the Internet's Big Sister.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13The latest fashion in health right now is clean eating,
0:00:13 > 0:00:17with over 30 million #eatclean hashtags on Instagram
0:00:17 > 0:00:19and self-styled wellness bloggers leading the way
0:00:19 > 0:00:21in pushing plant-based diets
0:00:21 > 0:00:27that are dairy-free, sugar-free, gluten-free, meat-free, joy-free.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31I have struggled with eating in the past and some people say that
0:00:31 > 0:00:35extreme clean eating can just be another eating disorder.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37So, should we worry about the latest trend,
0:00:37 > 0:00:42or will clean eating really result in a hotter, happier, healthier you?
0:00:47 > 0:00:50The number of wellness bloggers promoting the benefits
0:00:50 > 0:00:53of their diets on your body and mind has exploded.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56I'm going to try some of these diets.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59So, I am going to type in clean eating and see what comes up.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01- Hi.- Hi.- Hey, guys.- Hi, guys!
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Hey, banana bitches!
0:01:03 > 0:01:05Am I beautiful?
0:01:05 > 0:01:06What?
0:01:06 > 0:01:11There's thousands and thousands of videos on clean eating.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15I've come across Deliciously Ella, which I have heard of before.
0:01:15 > 0:01:16I'm Ella from Deliciously Ella
0:01:16 > 0:01:19and I am going to be sharing loads of stuff
0:01:19 > 0:01:21on health and happiness with you guys.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25The other UK person is Madeleine Shaw.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29Check out my website for more tips and tricks to enliven the hottest,
0:01:29 > 0:01:32happiest and healthiest you.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34So, all these clean eaters are preaching
0:01:34 > 0:01:37that what they do is the best way to live.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41But I am thinking now, are these people trained in this stuff?
0:01:41 > 0:01:43Do they know what they are talking about? I don't know.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46I'm Melissa Hemsley and this is my sister Jasmine.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48The Hemsley sisters have got a new cookery show
0:01:48 > 0:01:50and say their clients experience...
0:01:56 > 0:01:58..a result of the diets they promote.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01But they are not qualified nutritionists or dieticians,
0:02:01 > 0:02:04so why are people listening to them?
0:02:04 > 0:02:05Could I, tomorrow, be like,
0:02:05 > 0:02:11"My new eating trend is I am going to eat full-fat food and no carbs"?
0:02:11 > 0:02:13Could that be a thing? I think it could be,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16if people want to believe something to make themselves feel better,
0:02:16 > 0:02:18so that's what I think is happening.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25I found a voucher to become a nutritionist -
0:02:25 > 0:02:27like, an actual nutritionist,
0:02:27 > 0:02:31a raw food nutritionist diploma course -
0:02:31 > 0:02:33for £29.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35£29. 29!
0:02:35 > 0:02:40So, I am going to enrol and then start my training and my studying.
0:02:40 > 0:02:41It's like going back to school.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53The number of vegans in the UK has more than tripled in ten years.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57But the bloggers like to call themselves plant-based instead.
0:02:57 > 0:02:58This is Ella Woodward's, kind of,
0:02:58 > 0:03:01like, basic "what we should be eating."
0:03:01 > 0:03:07As a plant-based diet, I can't eat meat, fish,
0:03:07 > 0:03:11wheat, dairy, no white flour, white rice, white pasta,
0:03:11 > 0:03:13no refined foods, no chemicals,
0:03:13 > 0:03:15no additives, no flavourings.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18Let's go. Can't have that.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20No cheese. No yoghurt.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22Dairy Milk chocolate is my life.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24I'm saying goodbye to my life.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27No. No.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31No. Branston pickle is my favourite with cheese.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34This contains calcium chloride.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37I'm not actually sure what calcium chloride is.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40That's made me feel really sick.
0:03:40 > 0:03:45My chilli contains sulphur dioxide.
0:03:45 > 0:03:46What's that?
0:03:46 > 0:03:49Basically, I can't have anything on my top shelf.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51I'm...I'm feeling stressed.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54That is all that's left.
0:03:54 > 0:03:55I'm depressed.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Well...
0:04:01 > 0:04:03Look how green that is.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09I got rid of the stuff that clean eaters say I shouldn't eat.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11So, if I am going to try a plant-based diet,
0:04:11 > 0:04:13I'd better get some clean food.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16So, I am in Wandsworth
0:04:16 > 0:04:18and I am going to Planet Organic
0:04:18 > 0:04:20to buy some organic food.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23That's all I can eat, so...
0:04:23 > 0:04:24That's the plan.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28Here we have seeds. Dark chia.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Sprouted risotto.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32Sprouted chia seed powder.
0:04:32 > 0:04:33Mulberries.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35What's that? Argh!
0:04:35 > 0:04:39I could just eat that, I could just eat that.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41I feel like I should lick it,
0:04:41 > 0:04:43so that nobody can have it and I can buy it.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45£12 for pollen.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49They look tasty, but they are £5.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52I'm not a millionaire, so...
0:04:52 > 0:04:55Quinoa bread, buckwheat bread, linseed bread, rice bread,
0:04:55 > 0:04:59buckwheat three-grain bread, sourdough bread, brioche bread.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01Spelt, sourdough...
0:05:02 > 0:05:05That...is £6.75.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07For that. THAT.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11What is happening?
0:05:11 > 0:05:14I kind of feel like this whole clean eating vegan thing
0:05:14 > 0:05:16is a class.
0:05:16 > 0:05:21Like, very middle-class, very, like...middle-class,
0:05:21 > 0:05:24and I just...I mean, I make money,
0:05:24 > 0:05:26but I can't afford to eat like this all the time.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28It's very expensive.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35But clean eating isn't just about what you eat.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39The wellness bloggers are selling a whole lifestyle.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41I am at Be Fit London,
0:05:41 > 0:05:45which is a three-day event for fitness fanatics,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47people that watch what they're eating
0:05:47 > 0:05:50and generally live a really healthy lifestyle,
0:05:50 > 0:05:52so that's where I am today.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Yeah!
0:05:57 > 0:05:59I want one of them.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01But I've heard it's really expensive - like, £300.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Which is ridiculous.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08I have watched you on YouTube for...
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Since the beginning, girl.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12Look who I bumped into. It's only Grace Victory!
0:06:12 > 0:06:14Look how great you look and how terrible I look.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16I have just literally woken up.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19It's amazing.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Tell me, do you clean eat?
0:06:26 > 0:06:27- I try to.- Try to.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30What is clean eating to you guys, though?
0:06:30 > 0:06:33It's about knowing what is good for you and what works for you,
0:06:33 > 0:06:35and what makes you feel good and what makes you not feel good.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38- I think it's about balance.- Balance.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43We need to eat more plants.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45We need to eat more real food, not processed foods,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48food that comes from the earth and comes from trees
0:06:48 > 0:06:49and comes from bushes. So, to me,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52plant-based living is just about adding more vegetables
0:06:52 > 0:06:54and more greens into your diet.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56Basically, seven-and-a-half years ago,
0:06:56 > 0:07:00when I started on my healthy eating journey, that...think about it,
0:07:00 > 0:07:04it was before kale got a publicist and it was, like,
0:07:04 > 0:07:08when everybody was calling quinoa "quin-oh-ah" - everybody.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14So, clean eating is, like, a booming thing at the moment.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16Huge at the moment. I think,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20with the kind of boom of Instagram and the InstaFit,
0:07:20 > 0:07:22I think it's fashionable at the moment.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25- Oh, my God, this is... Yeah. On trend.- It's like the new black.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27Everybody wants to be drinking a green smoothie.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31Everybody wants to be, like, going to the hottest yoga class.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33It has become, like, a social thing, now.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Like, if you're not eating clean, it's, like, "Who are you?"
0:07:36 > 0:07:38It is a bit of a problem because there is a lot of people out there
0:07:38 > 0:07:40who are giving out nutritional advice,
0:07:40 > 0:07:41personal training advice,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44and they don't necessarily have the qualifications,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46but nobody is really questioning them.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48- No.- They just think, "Oh, that girl has a great body.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50"She has a lovely smoothie bowl on her Instagram.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53"She must know what she's doing."
0:07:53 > 0:07:55- There's no way we can stop it, or monitor it.- Yeah.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57I think it is just going to continue to grow
0:07:57 > 0:07:59because the industry is just growing.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Everybody wants to be a part of it, everybody wants to be Insta famous.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05- Fitness fanatic, abs on Instagram... - Yeah.
0:08:05 > 0:08:06That's the thing. So, I mean,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09I think we do need to be careful about, like,
0:08:09 > 0:08:11who we are taking advice from.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17What are the main bloggers saying
0:08:17 > 0:08:18and can we really trust them?
0:08:18 > 0:08:20Deliciously Ella says that...
0:08:27 > 0:08:29Is that really true?
0:08:29 > 0:08:30This woman should know.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33She's literally a proper scientist with a PhD in nutrition.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36This is just scientific nonsense.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Milk is a really good source of calcium.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42The danger of giving up milk is that you don't replace that calcium
0:08:42 > 0:08:44in your diet with something else
0:08:44 > 0:08:47and that has long-term consequences for your bone health.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54I haven't had lunch yet.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58It's, like, three o'clock.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00Mainly because I don't know what I want.
0:09:03 > 0:09:04And I am watching, like...
0:09:05 > 0:09:07..clean eating videos and I am just, like,
0:09:07 > 0:09:11"I'm not inspired by this. It's unattainable to me."
0:09:11 > 0:09:14I don't want to live this lifestyle.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16I don't want to.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18And I really, really miss eggs.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22I miss eggs so...much.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25An egg sandwich, an omelette,
0:09:25 > 0:09:30egg with avocado on toast, poached egg, fried egg, scrambled egg...
0:09:33 > 0:09:34I also can't stop farting.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39I literally... It's like, I eat a vegetable...
0:09:40 > 0:09:42..and I fart straightaway, so...
0:09:44 > 0:09:45Great... Great(!)
0:09:45 > 0:09:48I have been eating a plant-based diet for two weeks now
0:09:48 > 0:09:50and I am really struggling.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54But one of my followers has suggested that I speak to fellow YouTuber High Carb Hannah.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57She calls herself a diet coach and has inspired loads of people
0:09:57 > 0:10:01to eat a clean diet and lose weight, so maybe she can help me.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04The all-potato diet - I am just going to be having potatoes.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07She and her followers once did a potato cleanse for 30 days
0:10:07 > 0:10:10as a weight-loss experiment.
0:10:10 > 0:10:11That sounds ridiculous.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16I have been told that you are the girl to go to for,
0:10:16 > 0:10:19like, weight loss and to get healthy.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21So, who did you follow for inspiration
0:10:21 > 0:10:23when you went vegan straightaway, years ago?
0:10:23 > 0:10:27I was following Freelee - Freelee the Banana Girl.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30I'm here, about to eat one banana after my run this morning,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32and I'm going to hit some more bananas later,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35so we'll see how many I can have, maybe 40, 50, today?
0:10:35 > 0:10:37Her boyfriend, Durianrider...
0:10:37 > 0:10:39My advice for fat people?
0:10:39 > 0:10:41- Get off your- BLEEP- arse, eat like we do.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43There's lots of other people...
0:10:46 > 0:10:49And, back then, like, everybody was kind of 100% raw.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53It was, like, you had to be 100% raw to be healthy.
0:10:53 > 0:10:54I wasn't having any nuts,
0:10:54 > 0:10:57I wasn't having any seeds, no fats, no salts...
0:10:57 > 0:11:00Nothing that had any type of stimulation in it.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04So, no caffeine, no cocoa powder, nothing like that.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07So, how did you, like, find out about the starch diet,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10or eating that way?
0:11:10 > 0:11:12What happened was...
0:11:12 > 0:11:14The 100% raw thing kind of turned into "raw till four",
0:11:14 > 0:11:17which is basically just eating fruit until four o'clock,
0:11:17 > 0:11:19and then having a big, starch-based meal.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23And then there was actually a YouTuber named Potato Strong...
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Hey, guys, it's Will from Potato Strong, here.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27I wanted to talk about calories today.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29..who promoted eating a starch-based diet,
0:11:29 > 0:11:33and he had lost a lot of weight and after failing so miserably
0:11:33 > 0:11:34on a fruit-based diet, I was just, like,
0:11:34 > 0:11:36"I'm going to try eating starch-based."
0:11:36 > 0:11:38Now, for, like, the potato cleanse,
0:11:38 > 0:11:42which was a 30-day experiment that I did on my channel,
0:11:42 > 0:11:46I just wanted to see if I could survive off of potatoes for 30 days
0:11:46 > 0:11:47and what would happen.
0:11:47 > 0:11:52And in our group, like, tons of people have lost 20lbs, 30lbs...
0:11:52 > 0:11:54In 30 days?
0:11:54 > 0:11:58- Yeah, just eating potatoes... - Shut up!- Yeah.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Do you think that you should just
0:12:01 > 0:12:03literally just have, like, starchy food?
0:12:03 > 0:12:07I would say do the potato cleanse for a week.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09Like, that's what I recommended - people do it for a week,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12and then they transition to a starch-based diet.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15And instead of thinking that it's restrictive,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17they think that there's so much that they can eat
0:12:17 > 0:12:20because if you come from a potato cleanse and then, after that,
0:12:20 > 0:12:23I can have rice and beans and fruit and, like, all this stuff,
0:12:23 > 0:12:27- then it seems very, like... - Yeah.- ..you have all these options.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29OK. Well, this is it, then.
0:12:29 > 0:12:34I am embarking on the potato cleanse and then starch-based.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37I can do this. Hannah, I can do this.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39You can do this!
0:12:39 > 0:12:44Breakfast is a sweet potato with maple syrup.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48Yes! Not really. I hate it, it's gross.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53I've lost...
0:12:54 > 0:12:56..one more pound.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02So...I have to leave for a meeting...
0:13:03 > 0:13:05..and I haven't eaten.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10Number one, I just cannot eat potatoes for breakfast.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13Number two, I'm running slightly late.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16So usually, I would go up to central London
0:13:16 > 0:13:20and get food up there, which I am going to try and do today,
0:13:20 > 0:13:23if I can find potatoes.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Oh! All I want is avocado on toast with poached egg.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Potatoes, onion, garlic.
0:13:35 > 0:13:36Another day.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41Another potato.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46I feel, like, bloated, and I'm not pooing.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48I have broken out.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51I feel like I look really bad.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53I just... Look at the state of me.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55Like, I'm not about this.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57No.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02I just feel really crap about myself.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04Nothing to do with how I look, as such,
0:14:04 > 0:14:08but it's a bit more like I feel like I can't see my friends.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14And I feel socially isolated, a little bit.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17I just don't see why you would put yourself through this, to be honest.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Like, it might be because of my lifestyle - like, I...
0:14:22 > 0:14:24..am constantly on the go.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27I don't have time to constantly cook food.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30And it's not easy. Like, I feel like people on the internet
0:14:30 > 0:14:33and people who do this make it sound so easy and so great
0:14:33 > 0:14:37because you lose all this weight, but it's not easy - for me, anyway.
0:14:39 > 0:14:40I just don't like it.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44I've been doing the potato cleanse for a week
0:14:44 > 0:14:47and I am finding it pretty tough going.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51I am now on my way to meet Ursula, a dietician,
0:14:51 > 0:14:56and hopefully she is going to tell me the potato cleanse is wrong.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59So, potato cleanse...
0:14:59 > 0:15:03Am I going to benefit from this? Because it's driving me crazy.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05- Do you just want a one-word answer? - BOTH: No.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07# Hallelujah... #
0:15:07 > 0:15:10Thankfully, I've been let off the hook from the potato cleanse,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13so now I'm trying the cleanest plant-based diet out there -
0:15:13 > 0:15:15raw vegan.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18Hello, everyone, it's Brianna JackFruitson and...
0:15:18 > 0:15:20Nikocado Avocado.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23I am at Brianna's house. We're going to make raw pad Thai, aren't we?
0:15:23 > 0:15:26Yeah, it's going to be a really, really simple recipe,
0:15:26 > 0:15:28there's just a few ingredients, just some raw vegetables,
0:15:28 > 0:15:30a delicious peanut sauce, so I think you'll like it.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33- Ooh, nice.- Yeah.- Let's go, then.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36- One red pepper.- Yeah. - Courgettes and carrots
0:15:36 > 0:15:38and Portobello mushrooms over here.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42- So I'm going to have raw mushrooms? Will I die?- No!
0:15:42 > 0:15:44What is that? Powdered peanut butter?
0:15:44 > 0:15:46- Yeah.- And ginger. OK, cool.
0:15:48 > 0:15:49Nah.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Next we've got carrot courgetti.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54- Carrot-getti. - So, you've never tried raw mushroom?
0:15:54 > 0:15:58- Never in my life.- I promise you it's not going to be as bad as you think.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00Nah.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02Tamari.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05Nice. Do like a bit of lime juice.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09So, Brianna has made the dish complete.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12It's not the prettiest version I've ever made, but...
0:16:14 > 0:16:18I feel like it's a starter, for my main dish to come!
0:16:18 > 0:16:21But that sauce, Brianna, I'm impressed.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24- Oh, thank you so much. I'm glad that you like it.- It's so good.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27Brianna's battled with anorexia for the past six years.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Two years ago, she relapsed after following wellness bloggers,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33but since then she's become a wellness blogger herself.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35Tell me your story.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38When I was 12, I started to actually try and eat healthily,
0:16:38 > 0:16:40I guess you could call it, like, clean eating in a way,
0:16:40 > 0:16:42just to lose a bit of weight, feel a bit more confident,
0:16:42 > 0:16:46and then that kind of spiralled into an eating disorder.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49- Did you get diagnosed with anorexia, or...?- Yes.- OK.
0:16:49 > 0:16:50It was just after my 17th birthday.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53so it was about two-and-a-bit years ago now,
0:16:53 > 0:16:58and I had a really major relapse, and whilst I was, like,
0:16:58 > 0:16:59starving my body, of course,
0:16:59 > 0:17:02all my body could think about was food,
0:17:02 > 0:17:03right, cos it was so, so starved.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06I would go on Instagram and I would just look at these food accounts.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08- "I think I need that." - Yeah.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11That's when I kind of came across these vegan accounts,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14and one of the people that I came across first of all
0:17:14 > 0:17:16was a woman called Freelee.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Freelee again? I wonder what Dr Sarah thinks about her.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22Protein, yes, it is bad to have lots of protein, girl.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26- Protein is- BLEEP- like acid for your body and for your bones.
0:17:26 > 0:17:27Well, it's like amino acids.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29Yeah, so you don't want that.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31I don't even know where to start.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34It's absolute rubbish.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38It just goes against everything that we know about nutrition
0:17:38 > 0:17:39and nutrition science.
0:17:39 > 0:17:44Clearly she hasn't got a brain in her head.
0:17:44 > 0:17:45She also says...
0:17:52 > 0:17:54It's not scientifically accurate.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57It's scientific rubbish and it's almost comical.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00There is a process by which,
0:18:00 > 0:18:02when the gut cells are shed,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05that the protein is reabsorbed into the body,
0:18:05 > 0:18:09but the contribution to your diet is absolutely minuscule
0:18:09 > 0:18:12and you couldn't live healthily from it.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17She has a lot of guidelines that she likes people to follow,
0:18:17 > 0:18:19or she recommends to people to follow,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22in order to succeed on a vegan diet,
0:18:22 > 0:18:24and it really just confused me in terms of, you know,
0:18:24 > 0:18:26"Should I eat this amount?
0:18:26 > 0:18:28"How much should I eat, What should I eat?"
0:18:28 > 0:18:31It almost spiralled into another eating disorder, in a way,
0:18:31 > 0:18:33because I was obsessing over food so much.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36- Orthorexia. - In a way, yes, I was just...
0:18:36 > 0:18:39I was just so scared to not get veganism "right",
0:18:39 > 0:18:42even though I wouldn't say there is one right way to do veganism at all.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44This is my issue,
0:18:44 > 0:18:46is that every person I come across who's vegan
0:18:46 > 0:18:48has a different way of doing it,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51and I think that the vegan community, it's quite cult-ish,
0:18:51 > 0:18:54and if you put up a photo on Instagram
0:18:54 > 0:18:57and no-one agrees with what you're eating, you just get attacked.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59"You're going to die if you eat that."
0:18:59 > 0:19:00And it's just, like,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03"How about you eat how you eat and I eat how I eat?"
0:19:03 > 0:19:07Yeah, I completely agree that there's no one-size-fits-all.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10I've tried many different varieties of the vegan diet
0:19:10 > 0:19:14and I've tried to be as healthy as everyone else wanted me to be.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17But what I actually realised through all of that is, like, OK, well,
0:19:17 > 0:19:18perhaps I could eat in a way
0:19:18 > 0:19:20that would live up to everyone else's standards,
0:19:20 > 0:19:22but even though perhaps my...
0:19:22 > 0:19:24They think my body would be really physically healthy.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27- In my mind, it's not mentally healthy at all.- No.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41So, today, I am at a eating disorder recovery clinic,
0:19:41 > 0:19:45and I'm with the clinical director, Emmy.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48What is your opinion, or what do you think about
0:19:48 > 0:19:51the whole "eat clean" phenomenon that's been going on?
0:19:51 > 0:19:55It's dangerous for us, it's really dangerous,
0:19:55 > 0:19:58and what we've seen is an increase in sufferers coming forward
0:19:58 > 0:20:01who have basically attempted to strive
0:20:01 > 0:20:03for a greater sense of wellness
0:20:03 > 0:20:07through clean eating and avoiding or restricting entirely food groups.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11- Yeah.- And, basically, what that means is that people get really ill,
0:20:11 > 0:20:13and some of the people that we see here,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16even the people with anorexia and binge-eating disorder,
0:20:16 > 0:20:18started off with orthorexia.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20Orthorexia.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34I find it frightening, the amount of negative guidance there is
0:20:34 > 0:20:36that's also under a veil of something positive,
0:20:36 > 0:20:38because it really isn't.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41Encouraging people to restrict food groups,
0:20:41 > 0:20:42to be really self-critical,
0:20:42 > 0:20:46and to praise people for depriving themselves of things
0:20:46 > 0:20:50isn't positive - it's really, really quite nasty.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53But it's got a very pretty face on the front of it,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55some might say.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57The orthorexia self-test.
0:20:57 > 0:21:0211 questions to determine if someone has orthorexia.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05"Do you feel an increased sense of self-esteem
0:21:05 > 0:21:06"when you are eating right,
0:21:06 > 0:21:08"and look down on others who are not?"
0:21:08 > 0:21:10Yes, I do.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14"Do you skip foods you enjoy to eat the right foods?" Yes.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17"Does your diet make it difficult for you to eat away from home?" Yes.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20"Are you being socially isolated?" Yes.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24I have a modest case of orthorexia, apparently.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26So there you go.
0:21:26 > 0:21:31- Have you seen any bloggers in this clinic?- We have.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35We've seen probably at least a third, or at least heard from
0:21:35 > 0:21:37a third of the top bloggers in the country,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40and they're really not in a position to be giving advice,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43and they know that, because they're looking for help elsewhere.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49I'm shocked that Emmy claims
0:21:49 > 0:21:51a third of the top clean eating bloggers in the UK
0:21:51 > 0:21:55have been in touch with the Recover Clinic about their eating disorders.
0:21:55 > 0:22:00This link between clean eating and orthorexia is a bit mad.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04I found someone who says clean eating nearly killed her.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07She developed anorexia, and then after that,
0:22:07 > 0:22:10it kind of developed into something else,
0:22:10 > 0:22:13and instead of restricting everything,
0:22:13 > 0:22:17she then was restricting by just clean eating.
0:22:18 > 0:22:19I would find recipes online
0:22:19 > 0:22:22from people like Deliciously Ella and Madeleine Shaw,
0:22:22 > 0:22:24where, basically, I could eat what I wanted
0:22:24 > 0:22:27and just substitute the carbs for cauliflower.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31And within something like six months,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34I lost about 20% of my body weight.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38I got to a weight where I was told my organs were shutting down
0:22:38 > 0:22:42and, you know, I ended up in hospital,
0:22:42 > 0:22:45and as soon as I gave my body the things that those health bloggers
0:22:45 > 0:22:47were telling me not to give my body...
0:22:47 > 0:22:49- You felt better. - ..I was healthy again.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52And I would argue that health bloggers
0:22:52 > 0:22:54are really, really responsible
0:22:54 > 0:22:59for the increase in accessibility to restricting calories
0:22:59 > 0:23:02in a way that doesn't look so abnormal.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05See, cos I never looked at it like that.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07I follow, like, health accounts on Instagram,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10and because the food looks so appetising...
0:23:10 > 0:23:12You strip it back and realise that because it's chia seeds...
0:23:12 > 0:23:15- There's nothing in it. - ..there's nothing it in.
0:23:15 > 0:23:20It is. they are, I guess, glorifying restricting your calories.
0:23:20 > 0:23:25Also, it's demonising certain foods that we need, our bodies need.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28Our bodies need carbs, our brain needs carbs.
0:23:28 > 0:23:29I've seen first-hand what happens
0:23:29 > 0:23:31when your brain is starved of carbohydrates.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35You need those carbohydrates, and the fact that, no,
0:23:35 > 0:23:37not everybody is gluten intolerant.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40- Gluten insensitivity is very, very, very rare.- Yeah.
0:23:40 > 0:23:41Why all of a sudden now...?
0:23:41 > 0:23:4450 years ago, people ate bread and they didn't have a problem.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Now all of a sudden, don't touch it, it's poisonous.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49The Hemsley sisters say...
0:23:52 > 0:23:54Madeleine Shaw says...
0:23:56 > 0:23:59So, people that suffer from coeliac disease,
0:23:59 > 0:24:02gluten does actually damage their gut,
0:24:02 > 0:24:07but they make up, you know, 1% of the UK population.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10But for the rest of us, we've been eating and tolerating gluten
0:24:10 > 0:24:14for thousands of years, and nothing has changed in our genetics
0:24:14 > 0:24:18to suddenly make us all intolerant to it.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20I really want to know what the wellness bloggers will say
0:24:20 > 0:24:22in response to Dr Sarah.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24Not answering.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26But even though I've been trying for two months,
0:24:26 > 0:24:30none of them will take my calls or give me an interview.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34Finally, a wellness blogger has agreed to meet me.
0:24:34 > 0:24:41Her name is Natasha Corrett, and she promotes the alkaline diet.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44So you now have a brand called Honestly Healthy.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47- Yes.- Tell me a bit more about that, what it involves...
0:24:47 > 0:24:54So I write cookbooks, and based on nutritional principles
0:24:54 > 0:24:57that a nutritionist, Vicki Edgson, put together,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00I created what we call the green and lean plan,
0:25:00 > 0:25:04which is a 90-day fitness and food transformation plan,
0:25:04 > 0:25:06and the great thing is people are doing this,
0:25:06 > 0:25:07they're learning to cook,
0:25:07 > 0:25:10they're sleeping better, they have way more energy,
0:25:10 > 0:25:12their families are on to it as well,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15so it's not really about those sort of deprivation plans out there,
0:25:15 > 0:25:17where it's all or nothing.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19- Restricting...things like that. - Not at all.
0:25:19 > 0:25:20This really teaches you
0:25:20 > 0:25:25day-to-day techniques and how to incorporate it into everyday life.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28How come you went down the alkaline route?
0:25:28 > 0:25:31Basically, our bodies are naturally alkaline
0:25:31 > 0:25:35and always will put ourselves back into that state.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40If we are fighting our food rather than fighting disease on a regular basis,
0:25:40 > 0:25:43you put yourself under unnecessary stress,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46so then your body will have to draw on...might have to draw on
0:25:46 > 0:25:48the minerals from your bones
0:25:48 > 0:25:52to help pull yourself back to that alkaline state.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55So it's just putting yourself in an unnecessary stress
0:25:55 > 0:25:58when...by the food you eat is really your fuel.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01I spoke to a doctor, and he basically said to me
0:26:01 > 0:26:05that your food won't affect your pH.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08- Is that...?- Sorry, I'm not... I'm not going to answer this.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10I'm not going to answer this one, yeah?
0:26:10 > 0:26:12- OK.- OK.- No worries.- Yeah, sorry.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15There isn't a scrap of scientific evidence
0:26:15 > 0:26:17behind the so-called alkaline diet.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20We have a very acidic pH in our stomach,
0:26:20 > 0:26:24we have a slightly alkaline pH in our blood,
0:26:24 > 0:26:29and there are different processes in the body that are there
0:26:29 > 0:26:33to make sure that those pHs are maintained,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36and it's nothing to do at all with the food that we eat.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39So your nutritionist and co-author, Vicki Edgson,
0:26:39 > 0:26:43has said that she was influenced by Robert Young.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46No, I'm sorry, I'm not doing that, because he's just been arrested,
0:26:46 > 0:26:48so I'm just not going down there.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Robert Young.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54He is the father of the alkaline diet, and in 2012,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57he made more than 5 million.
0:26:57 > 0:27:02He claimed that acid is the cause of all diseases, including cancer,
0:27:02 > 0:27:05and he has said that you can basically cure yourself of cancer
0:27:05 > 0:27:08if you follow the alkaline diet.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11He was arrested in 2014 and is now in prison
0:27:11 > 0:27:14for practising medicine without a licence.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Neither Natasha nor her co-author
0:27:17 > 0:27:20have ever made claims about the alkaline diet curing cancer,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23though they do claim your food can affect your body's pH.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26But as the only wellness blogger who's been willing to speak to me,
0:27:26 > 0:27:30I also wanted to ask her about the business side of clean eating.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34Do you think it is the trend and people are just making money?
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Well, I think everyone finds a way of making money,
0:27:37 > 0:27:40- because it's business, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:27:40 > 0:27:41But in what way do you mean?
0:27:41 > 0:27:46I think sometimes people promote this whole clean eating lifestyle
0:27:46 > 0:27:50and every day, someone's making up a new blog or bringing out a book.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54Are they just jumping off the back of, like, seeing your success
0:27:54 > 0:27:56or someone else's success and thinking, "I'm going to, like,
0:27:56 > 0:28:00"brand myself as this wellness person and make loads of money"?
0:28:00 > 0:28:02It's possible. I mean, I don't know,
0:28:02 > 0:28:04I'm not one of those people, so I wouldn't be able to...
0:28:04 > 0:28:07I've been doing this longer than probably all of them put together,
0:28:07 > 0:28:10but I think it's the same with every industry, isn't it,
0:28:10 > 0:28:13whether it's fashion or restaurants or, you know, even in the City.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15I think everyone always...
0:28:15 > 0:28:18We need to make money to eat, to have a...
0:28:18 > 0:28:22You know, live, really, so I'm sure if someone,
0:28:22 > 0:28:24I don't know, is inspired by something
0:28:24 > 0:28:26or they think it might make them money,
0:28:26 > 0:28:27then maybe they will.
0:28:36 > 0:28:42I am here at the first UK wellness summit
0:28:42 > 0:28:47and there's, like, entrepreneurs here, there are start-ups,
0:28:47 > 0:28:50and it's all about making a business, essentially,
0:28:50 > 0:28:54and making money off the wellness industry,
0:28:54 > 0:28:59and I sort of feel like people are looking at me,
0:28:59 > 0:29:01wondering what I'm doing here.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04I don't know, I've got my hair in plaits, plus-size...
0:29:04 > 0:29:07I don't know, I just get... I feel like I'm being judged
0:29:07 > 0:29:09and people are thinking, "She doesn't look healthy",
0:29:09 > 0:29:13or, "She doesn't look like she's into wellness," so...yeah.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18We're all walking around in our yoga pants and our trainers
0:29:18 > 0:29:21and we're drinking green juice and we're meditating,
0:29:21 > 0:29:24and this is the industry that you're involved in, right,
0:29:24 > 0:29:27you're leading that movement and you're leading a new way of thinking
0:29:27 > 0:29:30toward how we think about our bodies and our minds
0:29:30 > 0:29:34and how we look after ourselves in a very stressful generation.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37But some people in the wellness business
0:29:37 > 0:29:40do accept there are problems.
0:29:40 > 0:29:45I am with Sarah Wilson, and she quit sugar, basically.
0:29:45 > 0:29:46- You quit sugar.- Yeah.
0:29:46 > 0:29:491.5 to 1.8 million people have quit sugar
0:29:49 > 0:29:52via my books or my programme, my online programme.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56And then I've got books in, I think, 40-plus countries now.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58- That's amazing. - Around the world. Yeah.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02So you studied at the IIN, the same as Madeleine Shaw,
0:30:02 > 0:30:05but you've said that that doesn't really make you...
0:30:05 > 0:30:08- Qualified in anything in particular. - Yeah.- I'm very careful about that.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12I think what you're picking up on is a trend at the moment
0:30:12 > 0:30:14amongst the clean-eating, wellness-warrior set
0:30:14 > 0:30:17where they go and do a nine-month online course
0:30:17 > 0:30:19and feel that they're qualified to go out there
0:30:19 > 0:30:22and show people how to eat and be well.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25- Yeah.- And, look, there's a certain amount
0:30:25 > 0:30:27of genuineness to all of that,
0:30:27 > 0:30:30but the problem is that often, it can actually skew
0:30:30 > 0:30:32into very large problems, and in Australia...
0:30:32 > 0:30:35I think you've heard of Belle Gibson.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38Belle Gibson was the first wellness blogger
0:30:38 > 0:30:42and she actually inspired many people who are nutrition bloggers,
0:30:42 > 0:30:44food bloggers today,
0:30:44 > 0:30:49and she's been prosecuted because she told the public
0:30:49 > 0:30:52that she cured herself of brain cancer
0:30:52 > 0:30:55by basically becoming a clean eater.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59And she had an app out that was promoted by Apple,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02she had a book out, she made a lot of money,
0:31:02 > 0:31:05but it's all come out that it's all been one big lie
0:31:05 > 0:31:10and that she never had cancer.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13- I couldn't believe that. - No, she landed in a lot of trouble,
0:31:13 > 0:31:15and, basically, is up for fraud charges at the moment
0:31:15 > 0:31:18and has dragged down Apple, Penguin Publishing...
0:31:18 > 0:31:21Everyone got swept up, you know, in this movement,
0:31:21 > 0:31:26so as an old person, I actually feel like saying to other old people,
0:31:26 > 0:31:28you know, these brands, "You know what?
0:31:28 > 0:31:30"Wake up to yourselves. These people are doing their thing,
0:31:30 > 0:31:33"but you should actually be taking responsibility."
0:31:33 > 0:31:35So, actually, with the Belle Gibson example,
0:31:35 > 0:31:38I have a problem with the companies that bolstered her
0:31:38 > 0:31:42and gave her money and worked with her and used her as an influencer.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44- They just see... - That's where the issue is.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46They just think, "Money" and that's all they care about.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49Yeah. And millennials, they want to get through
0:31:49 > 0:31:51to the millennials who've got money.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01So, look what's come in the post.
0:32:01 > 0:32:09I am now a raw-food nutritionist with a diploma.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12Can you see that?
0:32:12 > 0:32:16Woo-hoo-hoo, I'm a nutritionist.
0:32:16 > 0:32:18Mm-mm-mm-mm-hmmm!
0:32:18 > 0:32:20So I'm a nutritionist now!
0:32:20 > 0:32:23- Yeah, which is a worry. - What is your opinion on that,
0:32:23 > 0:32:25how easy it was for me to become...?
0:32:25 > 0:32:28And bearing in mind I have... I have eating problems,
0:32:28 > 0:32:30and that's so easy for me just to become a nutritionist.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32Unfortunately, the law in this country
0:32:32 > 0:32:34is that anyone can become a nutritionist
0:32:34 > 0:32:37and you can give your opinion to people about what to eat.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41You have a lot of followers, you have a lot of people that listen to what you say.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44If you started saying tomorrow, "Don't eat this and don't eat that,"
0:32:44 > 0:32:45people would do it.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47- They would. - Which is really worrying.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50So I've obviously been looking at different people online
0:32:50 > 0:32:54and meeting people who follow certain diets,
0:32:54 > 0:32:57and in my opinion, they don't look that healthy to me,
0:32:57 > 0:32:58they don't look that well.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01I would agree. Looking at most of them, I would say,
0:33:01 > 0:33:02"You have an eating disorder.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05"You meet all of the criteria for an eating disorder."
0:33:05 > 0:33:07You know, from the way they speak about food,
0:33:07 > 0:33:09and they push themselves with exercise
0:33:09 > 0:33:11and they obsess around food.
0:33:11 > 0:33:13So you get a bunch of people
0:33:13 > 0:33:16all with very strange, odd relationships with food,
0:33:16 > 0:33:19who are validating each other's behaviours and saying, "This is OK,"
0:33:19 > 0:33:21- when it's not!- No.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23It's a trend, and it will be a bubble
0:33:23 > 0:33:26that eventually probably bursts and people take the backlash.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29- Yeah.- The main message is, throughout a couple of hundred years
0:33:29 > 0:33:32that haven't changed, eat a little bit of what you fancy,
0:33:32 > 0:33:34eat in moderation.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37- Eat food, you know, that looks like food.- Actual food.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46So I've arrived in Portugal. I am here, part-holiday, part-work.
0:33:46 > 0:33:54And...we are going to a Mexican restaurant, so...
0:33:56 > 0:34:01..raw vegan...might have to go out the window.
0:34:03 > 0:34:04I'm sorry.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08# I will never let you go
0:34:08 > 0:34:10# Never let you go
0:34:10 > 0:34:13# I will never let you go
0:34:13 > 0:34:16# Oooh-ooh
0:34:16 > 0:34:19# I will never let you go
0:34:19 > 0:34:21# Never let you go
0:34:21 > 0:34:24# I will never let you go
0:34:24 > 0:34:26# Never let you go... #