Veganism Is An Eating Diisorder

[PoS]

When Veganism Is an Eating Disorder - The Daily Beast

According to Dr. Angela Guarda, director of the Johns Hopkins Eating Disorders Program, many vegans (and vegetarians) who enter her treatment center initially deny an underlying problem—only to later confess that their efforts to avoid animal products were really an effort to avoid food in general. “In most of our patients, the vegetarianism is in the service of the eating disorder,” she said.

For this reason, Guarda and her staff try to dissuade patients from observing any form of vegetarianism while undergoing treatment, encouraging them to broaden their food repertoire to include some meat. Other eating disorder and nutrition specialists report similar approaches.

Dr. Marcia Herrin, founder of the Dartmouth College Eating Disorders Prevention, Education and Treatment Program and now a dietician in private practice, takes a stricter (if potentially problematic) approach: Herrin tells parents not to let their kids be vegetarian until they go to college, echoing that the diet can create a “ruse” that loved ones can’t see through. “Most families don’t have the time to prepare vegetarian entrées,” she said. “What’s at risk is the child’s growth and development, and potentially an eating disorder.”

Herrin may be onto something: A 2009 study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association revealed that young adults ages 15 to 23 who reported being vegetarian were, at some point, more likely to have also engaged in unhealthy weight-loss behaviors like bingeing, purging, and using diet pills or laxatives. And surveys show that the prevalence of vegetarianism among eating-disorder patients is higher than in the general population.

Proof is in the pudding, so to speak.

 

[azgreg]

Veganism is fine as long as it's mixed with ample amounts of beef, chicken, turkey, and bacon.

 

[Beaudreaux]

Veganism is fine as long as it's mixed with ample amounts of beef, chicken, turkey, and bacon.

Especially BACON...

Can't wait to read our resident Militant Vegan's response to Dr. Angela Guarda.

 

[Cephus]

Especially BACON...

Can't wait to read our resident Militant Vegan's response to Dr. Angela Guarda.

It will be stupid and irrational, I'm sure.

 

[Paleocon]

When Veganism Is an Eating Disorder - The Daily Beast



Proof is in the pudding, so to speak.

It's been my experience that vegetarians differ greatly (generalizing here) from vegans. Vegans tend to be more likely to be unhealthy, militant, angry, etc. (probably because they don't get enough food lol).

Obviously personal anecdotes don't prove anything, but I think conflating between the two groups may be problematic.

(For the record, I'm a proud omnivore)

 

[Chomsky]

Veganism is fine as long as it's mixed with ample amounts of beef, chicken, turkey, and bacon.

Agreed.

I find a steak is better with a side of veganism and a potato! :thumbs:

 

[PoS]

It's been my experience that vegetarians differ greatly (generalizing here) from vegans. Vegans tend to be more likely to be unhealthy, militant, angry, etc. (probably because they don't get enough food lol).

Obviously personal anecdotes don't prove anything, but I think conflating between the two groups may be problematic.

(For the record, I'm a proud omnivore)

Three days out of the week Im actually a pescatarian. Back in my younger days I did the lacto ovo vegetarianism thing too for most of the week. But youre right, vegans are the worst.

 

[Skeptic Bob]

So some vegans have eating disorders so veganism is an eating disorder? I wonder what percentage of people with eating disorders eat meat?

Every major medical organization agrees veganism can be a healthy lifestyle choice. Obviously someone with an eating disorder isn't going to eat a well balanced diet, be they vegan or omnivore.

I'm a 6 ft, 200 lb vegan in very good shape. But I work at it.

 

[DA60]

I don't know about veganism.

But I have been a vegetarian (off and on - about 90% on) for decades. Plus I used to be a medium intensity bodybuilder (again, about 90% while I was vegetarian).

Providing you take vitamins to make up for a couple of nutrients/vitamins that are difficult to get in non-meat sources, a vegetarian diet gives you everything you need to be healthy...including plenty of protein if you watch it right.

And it is much better for your overall well being - especially compared to a red-meat heavy diet. And it is cheaper to boot.


Why am I a vegetarian? Primarily because I think it is wrong to eat something you are not prepared to kill and dress/prepare yourself. And there is NO WAY I would ever kill a cow unless my life literally depended on it. The same more or less goes for a pig. A little less for a chicken and a lot less for a fish.
But I still would not want to kill any of them...to varying degrees.

 

[Militant_Vegan_]

I don't know about veganism.

But I have been a vegetarian (off and on - about 90% on) for decades. Plus I used to be a medium intensity bodybuilder (again, about 90% while I was vegetarian).

Providing you take vitamins to make up for a couple of nutrients/vitamins that are difficult to get in non-meat sources, a vegetarian diet gives you everything you need to be healthy...including plenty of protein if you watch it right.

And it is much better for your overall well being - especially compared to a red-meat heavy diet. And it is cheaper to boot.


Why am I a vegetarian? Primarily because I think it is wrong to eat something you are not prepared to kill and dress/prepare yourself. And there is NO WAY I would ever kill a cow unless my life literally depended on it. The same more or less goes for a pig. A little less for a chicken and a lot less for a fish.
But I still would not want to kill any of them...to varying degrees.

outstanding!!!

 

[Militant_Vegan_]

So some vegans have eating disorders so veganism is an eating disorder? I wonder what percentage of people with eating disorders eat meat?

Every major medical organization agrees veganism can be a healthy lifestyle choice. Obviously someone with an eating disorder isn't going to eat a well balanced diet, be they vegan or omnivore.

I'm a 6 ft, 200 lb vegan in very good shape. But I work at it.

obviously the logic wasn't too bright. do vegans and vegetarians without problems go see his doctor? duh.

 

[CaptainCourtesy]

When Veganism Is an Eating Disorder - The Daily Beast



Proof is in the pudding, so to speak.

This actually isn't true. As someone who works extensively with people with eating disorders, these people will often use vegetarianism or veganism as an excuse to restrict food. They are not "real" vegetarians or vegans; they don't follow the lifestyle around clothing or other products and once they are in successful recovery, they stop being vegetarian or vegan. It's a symptom of their eating disorder and not really either of those two food lifestyle choices. If you read what the article says, it focuses on people who enter treatment observing either vegetarianism or veganism. This has nothing to do with the non-treatment population that observe either of those two things.

 

[Paleocon]

This actually isn't true. As someone who works extensively with people with eating disorders, these people will often use vegetarianism or veganism as an excuse to restrict food. They are not "real" vegetarians or vegans; they don't follow the lifestyle around clothing or other products and once they are in successful recovery, they stop being vegetarian or vegan. It's a symptom of their eating disorder and not really either of those two food lifestyle choices. If you read what the article says, it focuses on people who enter treatment observing either vegetarianism or veganism. This has nothing to do with the non-treatment population that observe either of those two things.

Well of course if you discount all the unhealthy vegans, then veganism is a healthy lifestyle. This is what's called the "No True Scotsman" fallacy. It's similar to the "no democracies have ever fought each other" claim.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

I was watching an Alone marathon yesterday and one contestant, a vegan, ended up eating meat the first time in years (mice) to survive . . . because in the woods surrounded by green foliage some ****ing mice were the only foodsource he could find.

Human weren't designed to live without meat - or else we'd find much more edible food growing wild along a green shoreline.

 

[Militant_Vegan_]

I was watching an Alone marathon yesterday and one contestant, a vegan, ended up eating meat the first time in years (mice) to survive . . . because in the woods surrounded by green foliage some ****ing mice were the only foodsource he could find.

Human weren't designed to live without meat - or else we'd find much more edible food growing wild along a green shoreline.

some humans are smarter than the ones who died young thousands of years ago.

 

[PoS]

This actually isn't true. As someone who works extensively with people with eating disorders, these people will often use vegetarianism or veganism as an excuse to restrict food. They are not "real" vegetarians or vegans; they don't follow the lifestyle around clothing or other products and once they are in successful recovery, they stop being vegetarian or vegan. It's a symptom of their eating disorder and not really either of those two food lifestyle choices. If you read what the article says, it focuses on people who enter treatment observing either vegetarianism or veganism. This has nothing to do with the non-treatment population that observe either of those two things.

According to this article half the patients seeking treatment for anorexia were practicing some form of vegetarian diet. If that is true then your claim that these people are not "true" vegans, then the real number of "true" vegans must be considerably less. Either way, its a dangerous diet that has many pitfalls and untruths.

Relationship Between Vegetarianism and Eating Disorders such as Anorexia | Eating Disorder Hope

 

[CaptainCourtesy]

Well of course if you discount all the unhealthy vegans, then veganism is a healthy lifestyle. This is what's called the "No True Scotsman" fallacy. It's similar to the "no democracies have ever fought each other" claim.

Incorrect. The issue is that people with eating disorders often use veganism as a TOOL for their eating disorder. These people are not vegans, as evidenced by not respecting animal rights with their clothing or other products and they ceasing veganism AFTER being in recovery. Now, there are some folks who ARE vegans and do have eating disorders, but they both respect animal rights and remain vegans after recovery. By definition, these people are vegans, whereas the others are not; they are just using "veganism" as a dietary tool to feed their eating disorder. Therefore, you completely failed, and the no true scotsman fallacy does not apply. Please learn how logical fallacies work before making these kinds of errors.

 

[CaptainCourtesy]

According to this article half the patients seeking treatment for anorexia were practicing some form of vegetarian diet. If that is true then your claim that these people are not "true" vegans, then the real number of "true" vegans must be considerably less. Either way, its a dangerous diet that has many pitfalls and untruths.

Relationship Between Vegetarianism and Eating Disorders such as Anorexia | Eating Disorder Hope

Veganism is often a tool for anorexics to restrict their diets but to CLAIM that they are not. It's manipulative. When I start treating someone with an eating disorder who says they are a vegan, I ask them when they became a vegan. If it was BEFORE the onset of their eating disorder symptoms, I might consider that they really are. If it was AFTER, I never do. After recovery they may stay vegan, but from my experience, this second group rarely does.

Here is an excerpt from the article that you posted that agrees with what I just said:

However, they also found that people with an ED on a vegetarian diet reported ED symptoms before choosing to be vegetarian with an average of one year between the onset of ED symptoms and eating vegetarian. Consistent with earlier studies (for example, O’Connor, Touyz, Dunn, & Beumont, 1987), these authors suggest that though ED sufferers are more likely to be vegetarian, it seems that vegetarianism is not usually a specific precedent to an ED.

Veganism is not a cause for eating disorders. It's a tool used by the sufferer to mask their unhealthy eating patterns.

 

[Northern Light]

I've made no secret of my dislike for veganism, but it's wrong to say that vegans and vegetarians secretly have an eating disorder. Conflating the two does a major disservice to people who are making a lifestyle choice, and people who have true eating disorders.

I don't have a problem with vegetarianism. I feel that veganism is out of proportion, based on misinformation. It's not a medical condition though. The article is disappointing because there are so many other points you could use to discredit veganism. There's no need to fabricate a medical bias about it.

That doctor is a quack.

 

[Paleocon]

Incorrect. The issue is that people with eating disorders often use veganism as a TOOL for their eating disorder. These people are not vegans, as evidenced by not respecting animal rights with their clothing or other products and they ceasing veganism AFTER being in recovery. Now, there are some folks who ARE vegans and do have eating disorders, but they both respect animal rights and remain vegans after recovery. By definition, these people are vegans, whereas the others are not; they are just using "veganism" as a dietary tool to feed their eating disorder. Therefore, you completely failed, and the no true scotsman fallacy does not apply. Please learn how logical fallacies work before making these kinds of errors.

Right. They're not true vegans, just like democracies that attack other democracies aren't real democracies, Scotsmen who put salt on their porridge aren't true Scotsmen, etc.

 

[CaptainCourtesy]

Right. They're not true vegans, just like democracies that attack other democracies aren't real democracies, Scotsmen who put salt on their porridge aren't true Scotsmen, etc.

In other words, since you were completely defeated and shown to not know what you are talking about, you choose to repeat your failed argument in some odd hope that NOW it would sound more intelligent. Guess what? It doesn't.

 

[Militant_Vegan_]

Poor PoS and his goose egg of a thread.

 

[Abbazorkzog]

I don't have anything personally against veganism or vegans, but I don't understand........we have canines and hunted Mammoths for a damn good reason.

 

[Militant_Vegan_]

I don't have anything personally against veganism or vegans, but I don't understand........we have canines and hunted Mammoths for a damn good reason.

we also died young because we lived off from meat. this shouldn't be that confusing.

 

[CaptainCourtesy]

Poor PoS and his goose egg of a thread.

Instead of behaving like a jerk, how about adding something INTELLIGENT to this thread from a vegan standpoint. I've already done so from an eating disorder standpoint.