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Vegan and eating disorders?

4K views 11 replies 10 participants last post by  VatanRestaurant 
#1 ·
Hello
So I was wondering does being a vegan lead to eating disorders? Because you need to keep track of what you're eating what if that gets your mind obsessed with it and you and you restrict yourself from eating so many kinds of foods. I only ask because eating disorders are super common in my family and i'm worried that if i go vegan i'll fall into it and wont be healthy or happy because i'll be obsessed with getting the right nutrients and not eating so much junk foods. Also can you recommend any multi vitamins for teen vegans so i can keep up with iron and b12 low iron runs in my family too because of our Russian side of the family and many vegetarians so no matter how much iron foods we have its still pretty low
 
#2 ·
I cannot say anything about eating disorders, but I know people who have b12 and iron deficiences (they are not vegan) and they either need injections or specific pills. Over the counter b12 and Iron doesn't get absorbed so well, especially if you already have pre existing conditions. Better to talk to a doctor.
 
#3 · (Edited)
The only association I am aware of with Eating Disorders and Veganism is that many papers have been published about Anorexics who disguise or camouflage their eating disorder with veganism.

You know, like, "Oh, I can't eat that. It's not vegan."

The papers mostly describe underweight teenage girls.

Anyway, as far as your concerns go. I don't think a person who is " obsessed with getting the right nutrients" could have a typical eating disorder. Most eating disorders are "anti-calories", not "pro-nutrition". Although any obsession could be classified as an OCD, I can't see how it could negatively affect your physical health. Although I do think it could affect your mental health.

It would not be a bad idea for you to discuss this with your family doctor. Although if they have been reading those articles I mentioned AND if you are an underweight teenage girl, I think he will discourage veganism reflexively .

As far as dealing with "obsessed with getting the right nutrients", goes, my favorite piece of advice is to start a CronOmeter account. There is a tiny bit of a learning curve but after a while, it takes only a few minutes a day. The website is free, and it even can remind you to log on. The app costs money - but try it for a while before you buy it. The app also unlocks some extra features.

CronOmeter is really easy to use and Understand. Color-coded bar graphs and pie charts. You can see each night before you go to bed how well you ate. and even make adjustments to what you were planning to eat tomorrow. And like I said, once you learn how to use it, it just takes a few minutes a day. So as far as obsessions go - its pretty mild. Probably no worse than someone who is "obsessed" with brushing their teeth before bed.

As an alternative, you could try SparkPeople. It's also free. but way more complicated but also more comprehensive. It even makes a healthy week long meal plan for you. With recipes and a shopping list. It has no vegan checkbox. but it's not hard to adapt it the meal plans.

I also have issues with anemia. but multis with too much iron make my poops too hard. I found that DEVA's Tiny Tablets give me just enough iron to keep me AND my butt happy. They have 50% of the RDA of iron. And I found thru trial and error that I don't want anything with over 66% iron. You could also take a multi without iron. They make them. and then take a separate iron supplement. The iron in plant foods is not as absorbable as the heme iron in animal protein. So vegans should shoot for over 100% of the RDA. Anytime you get a checkup they test your iron levels. So its pretty easy to stay on top of it. But if it is an issue - they have affordable home kits for testing iron. All you need is one drop of blood.

If you do take an iron supplement - take it with a glass of OJ or a Vitamin C supplement - or your multi - or any combination of the above. the vitamin C helps you absorb iron.

Oh, by the way, DEVA tiny tablets are vegan and inexpensive. They also contain 100% of the mRDA of B12.
 
#4 ·
Thank you!! Haha I am a underweight teen girl due to my high matablism my doctor says im a healthy underweight though so i'm safe haha OCD is something I have as well as everyone in my family but I can keep mine under control really well. I'll check out sparkpeople as my family doctor does not want anyone in my house to keep track of calirous or anything due to lots of my sisters eating disorders.
 
#6 ·
If you are underweight and seeking to change that, then I would say go all in on nuts. They are delicious, you can easily eat large portions in one sitting or snacking session.

I don't think I'm qualified to speak on the rest of it, but I have read that nixing meat actually INCREASES your body's ability to take in B12, because meat damages the gut and its absorption surfaces. I don't know the specifics of your disorder, though, so I don't know if that applies to you.
 
#7 ·
I highly recommend visiting the Core Spirit community: Services
The platform allows you to filter sessions, consultations and trainings by your concern or category. You can easily find the practice you need, including veganism and vegetarianism. The point is that services are provided by good specialists and you can be sure that all your peculiarities will be taken into consideration. They also have lots of hight quality articles on the topic so you can educate yourself. I personally found out every single detail there before going vegan. I recommend you just to take a look!
 
#8 ·
Also can you recommend any multi vitamins for teen vegans so i can keep up with iron and b12 low iron runs in my family too because of our Russian side of the family and many vegetarians so no matter how much iron foods we have its still pretty low
I'd rather recommend talking to a doctor about vitamin deficiencies. I don't think taking multivitamins is a good idea because some vitamins may be harmful when taken in high doses.
 
#10 ·
#11 ·
Eating disorders are very complex diseases.first off, there are a number of genes involved in EDs, and changes to diet or weight can trigger these genes to turn on. So someone without a genetic predisposition to ED can go vegan without developing an ED. However someone like you, with a family history of ED is at risk of developing an ED if there are changes to diet or weight ( this could be going vegan, vegetarian, paleo, keto, increased exercise or even getting food poisoning or the flu)

Eating disorders are genetically linked to other mental illnesses like OCD, anxiety, depression, ADHD, bipolar, autism….,

People with EDs tend to be drawn to veganism and other diets that restrict the types of foods they can eat.

People of any age can develop an ED, however teens and young adults are especially vulnerable due to changes in body and hormones, major life changes, a high level of impressionablity etc….although not talked about as much, this is also true with menopause and pregnancy.

My recommendation is to begin exploring plant based foods, meals and recipes, but not to label yourself a strict vegan. Have fun with cooking and sharing vegan food with others. Consider why you want to be vegan, and incorporate other ways to impact those causes ( e.g. volunteer with local conservation projects, volunteer at an animal sanctuary, start a compost, cook vegan meals for friends/family, choose vegan clothing and products…) While i obviously encourage minimizing animal consumption, I also believe it shouldn’t come at the cost of your health. You don’t have to be 100% vegan to have a positive impact. If labeling yourself fully vegan causes you to become unhealthy and obsessive, you could end up having a net negative impact by reinforcing negative stereotypes and turning people away from plant based diets.

I also encourage you to seek support from a registered dietitian and therapist who specializes in eating disorders. They can help you explore veganism while being proactive in preventing the development of an ED.

Just to be clear, Veganism is not synonymous with eating disorders. However you are at a high risk for developing an eating disorder so you should take a gentle approach to incorporating more plant foods, and be proactive in seeking professional help before you develop an ED.
 
#12 ·
Unfortunately, some people become attracted to vegetarianism and veganism as a way to reduce calories and food intake. This is a warning sign that the person may have disordered eating practices and be at risk of developing an eating disorder. If dietary omissions are occurring to serve eating disorder patterns of rigidity and restriction, or from a place of fear, it is important to find out why.
 
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