Do we all have an eating disorder?

[noelalexis2000]

This is the most ridiculous thing I think I have ever read. Hope this link works. I've really never tried to do this before. Copy and paste and you should be able to pull up the article! A must read!

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhe ... -they-real

[TominTN]

Yeah, I think there are a couple of factors here.

1) The medical industry has an incentive to medicalize all the conditions they can. It gives them more to treat (and therefore more ways to make money). Dr. Welch's book Overdiagnosed does a good job of discussing the issues and showing how conditions that were once considered benign get medicalized.

2) Some people really do struggle with obsessions and compulsions around food and for some this manifests as compulsiveness about limiting themselves to what they consider healthy (which we might or might not agree with).

There has been a fair amount of discussion about othorexia on the board already. If you do the search, you can find the threads.

[peasouper]

As far as I can see it, we McDougallers do not have an eating disorder, neither are we "picky eaters". Our choices of food are determined by scientific evidence of what we recognise is best for our body and our future health.

As far as I'm concerned the rest of world has gone mad with it's passion for junk food, people who are picky eaters cannot explain why they eat what they do they just "like" certain foods and thats all that matters.

Sue

[noelalexis2000]

I eat a more variety of vegetables and fruits on this plan then I ever did on the SAD. I guess the food nazi's are really worried that we will all be healthy.

[circle city vegan]

I'll take the therapy to help me deal with the otherwise lovely mother in law who says olive oil is health food.

[blondie]

Orthorexics: Those affected may start by eliminating processed foods, anything with artificial colorings or flavorings as well as foods that have come into contact with pesticides. Beyond that, orthorexics may also shun caffeine, alcohol, sugar, salt, wheat and dairy foods. Some limit themselves to raw foods.

Haha I love it! We have an official diagnosis! But they forgot to mention that we won't eat eggs or meat either!

[Vegankit]

Orthorexics: Those affected may start by eliminating processed foods, anything with artificial colorings or flavorings as well as foods that have come into contact with pesticides. Beyond that, orthorexics may also shun caffeine, alcohol, sugar, salt, wheat and dairy foods. Some limit themselves to raw foods.

Amazing how they can label making healthy choices as a disease. Similar to those who mix complex carbohydrates with highly processed junk carbohydrates and then claim they are all bad - not very deep thinkers.

As far as I can see it, we McDougallers do not have an eating disorder, neither are we "picky eaters".

I'm sorry, but I beg to differ - while many here do not have an eating disorder, some of us do and we will probably continue to struggle with it for many years. I lost 200 pounds following Dr. McDougall's Maximum Weight Loss plan, however I still struggle with binging from time to time. Sticking with this diet has allowed me to avoid weight gain from binging, but hasn't ended my lack of control when those urges hit. I eat a wide range of plants, but I will not eat any prepared meal that doesn't taste good to me, which makes me a picker eater even when binging. If I make a recipe and find I don't like it and I can't fix it's flavor - I can't force myself to eat it, it goes into the trash. I am so thankful I can afford to throw away good food because I know others with tight budgets can't. Also if I couldn't afford to toss food, I would be scared of trying new recipes and new veggies.

I'm so thankful I found this way of eating.

What I do agree with is that eating this way is making healthy choices.

[mrweetabix]

Lol,

To beat 'Orthorexia' you shouuld have therapy! " take a little bite of the Big Mac...you're taking a step to normality"....what a load of crap.

So to be 'average' you just have to not give a care about your health and just shove any greasy concoction into your face...otherwise you're suffering from a serious problem

What a joke

[hazelrah]

I've been following the threads that mrweetabix has been posting here, and I am interested to see if he does not anecdotally disprove the statement in the article:

Some researchers say that orthorexia may combine a touch of obsessive compulsive disorder with anxiety and warn that severely limited “healthy” diets may be a stepping stone to anorexia nervosa, the most severe - and potentially life-threatening - eating disorder.

That in fact it may be the antidote for anorexia nervosa.

Overall though, I think there is a certain level of healthy OCD that brings us all to this lifestyle, but there's something ironic about categorizing a condition that makes you healthier and live longer a, "Disorder."

Mark

[mrweetabix]

Regardless of OCD...surely putting good foods into the anorexic body is better than living on low fat yogurt, cottage cheese and turkey.

The health is already compromised without adding other toxins too.

I may also say I have been health concious prior to ED.

[circle city vegan]

I believe that the McDougall plan saved me from disordered eating. Before, I would be eating the SAD diet and be really desperate because I couldn't lose weight. That led me to try all sorts of fad diets and "tricks." You name it, I probably tried it.

I even used the slim fast diet plan. I can't believe I survived looking back over how I was at that time. Always hungry; starved crazy looking eyes. Upset stomache, binges every 5th day when I couldn't take the hunger anymore. That's disordered eating, not unprocessed whole foods!

[soliver]

The man who coined the term "orthorexia" was living in a commune and would only eat vegetables within 15 minutes of being plucked from the earth.

Now the term is broad brushed to mean anyone who won't eat like the SAD, and if you shun fattening processed foods and chemicals you now have an eating disorder.

[pinkrose]

If eating for health is a sickness...who wants to get well??? Ha ha!

Seriously, it is possible to become obsessed (overly focused) on good things! Ask yourself some questions to determine if you are out of balance:

1. Do I have other interests in my life (such as family, friends, work, my faith etc.)?

2. Do I spend more time thinking about healthy eating than about other things that are more important? In other words, am I neglecting my family, friends, work, faith etc. because of my interest in healthy eating?

3. Am I experiencing a lot of anxiety in regard to my food choices or I am comfortable with my choices AND the fact that most people eat differently?

What other questions would you add to help one determine if she/he has an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating?

[TominTN]

Do you often choose to forego an activity you would otherwise enjoy because of anxieties over food? Does your concern with food interfere with other aspects of your life?

[soliver]

Do you often choose to forego an activity you would otherwise enjoy because of anxieties over food? Does your concern with food interfere with other aspects of your life?

Tom - I am wondering if you mean to suggest that if one avoids certain social activities that revolve around toxic food and drink (bars, keger parties, bbq's, bake sales, cookie exchanges, Pampered Chef cooking demonstrations, etc) you think they have an eating disorder.

For instance I choose not to attend a lot of functions that revolve around food, but I don't avoid all food-centered functions. It's not so much that I obsess and worry about the food being served, more that I don't want to be bothered with having to deal with the food and questions/explanations of why I don't engage in eating it at the function.

Would someone have a disorder if they did not join their friends at a bar, or if someone declined an invitation to a cookie exchange because it revolved around eating and drinking very unhealthy substances?