I was reading an article this week about Demi Lovato's poor froyo experience. Lovato explains that "sugar-free, vegan, gluten-free" options at restaurants can trigger people's eating disorder recovery. I see where Lovato is coming from, so I decided to sit down and provide my take on veganism and eating disorders.
When I try to promote veganism to others, I am met often with the "starvation diet" remark, to which I bring this point of substitution. When you go vegan, you don't have to give up your favorite foods but substitute dairy and meat products with plant-based alternatives. I struggled with this personally at the beginning of my journey, so I try to put out fun plant-based favorites each week. Because veganism restricts dairy and meat consumption, many people early into their eating disorder recovery make the change as another form of restriction. In these cases, victims avoid this principle of substitution and use veganism as a more "socially acceptable form of restriction."
Most people would think as a vegan, plant-based blogger, and activist, I agree with the notion that anyone can lead a vegan lifestyle. This answer comes with a yes and no. If you are recovering or currently battling an eating disorder, I would wait before transitioning into veganism. If you are interested in becoming vegan or vegetarian, for the matter, you need to know how to fuel your body adequately with plant-based sources. Although veganism is a relatively healthy, variant lifestyle, there are extremes at each end of this term. Some vegans restrict entire food groups and avoid any food cooked above a specific temperature. There are also juice-cleanses under the guise of veganism and health. More specifically, eating disorder victims lean towards fruitarian or raw-food diets that bring a bad name to this lifestyle. When women specifically go on fruitarian diets, it can become almost too easy to miss menstruation, a marker of health.
When I advocate for veganism, I don't only promote substitution but balance in each meal. Because veganism is popular among health gurus and influencers, it can be easy to think that vegan diets are 100% clean-eating at each meal. This mentality of perfectionism can lead to an eating disorder called orthorexia. Orthorexia is healthy eating to the point of malnourishment. Before society praises an image, a look, we need to consider how it was achieved. Just as anorexia takes the lives of tens of thousands of people each year, we need to bring the same attitudes to atypical and more socially acceptable eating disorders. They are, if not more deadly.
Veganism is a lifestyle rooted in ethical cause: the ultimate liberation of all animals and dissociation from animals and our desires. According to the National Institutes of Health (NCBI), individuals with a history of disordered eating transition to veganism and vegetarianism as a means for weight control, compared to non-disordered individuals. For these reasons, many ED recovery clinics will not provide patients with entirely vegan or, in some cases, vegetarian meal plans. Also, for health-related reasons, disordered eating individuals can resort to these lifestyles to restrict saturated fats and/or cholesterol further. Cholesterol, for one, is only found in animal products, completely void from plant-based foods. Although cooking fats and oils (even vegan) contribute to overall saturated fat intake, it can become too easy to restrict these in the name of veganism.
Although I advocate for veganism and all health-related goals, eating disorder recovery requires more calorie-dense foods for ultimate weight restoration. Of course, this applies to restrictive and subtype eating disorders. Many plant-based favorites are high-volume, and in the early stages of eating disorder recovery, the stomach has a hard time expanding to new meal plans. As a result, individuals can face uncomfortable bloating and/or weight distribution in the stomach. Painful stomachaches and discomfort accompany this. Although you can recover as a vegan, is this something better done in the future for your health? If you must, is it better to become vegetarian?
These questions are all raised when disordered eating individuals veer into veganism and vegetarianism. A general guideline is to wait a minimum of a year into your recovery before revolutionizing—if I should say, your diet. Lovato raises some great questions about these lifestyles and veganism—a discussion we can, but must-have. This discussion is essential whether you struggle with Anorexia Nervosa (AN) or opposite spectrums such as Binge-Eating Disorder (BED). Veganism is about respecting your body and the bodies of other animals. Recovery is uncomfortable if you do it right; it is a small sacrifice to a greater good. Once you recover your relationship with food, your body, and your mind, you can become the activist you never knew you could be.
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From, Jess
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