Going vegan is the newest fad and can be someone's primary base to their #transformationtuesday yet it can also lead to some unfortunate mental consequences. I know that if I went vegan, I could quickly exclusively rely on raw, clean foods for days and, although won't be satisfied, feel as though I'm reaching my health goals because being vegan is healthy, right?
The vegan craze is controversial as there are fevered but zen hippies super into the trend and others rebelling against the plant-based diet, or rather, lifestyle. However, no matter one's decision on why they've become vegan–for the animals or the world, to prevent or better certain health conditions, to get slim, etc.–going vegan requires research and an understanding of nutrition.
Some individuals, especially fragile teenagers who are already bombarded with ideas of the exemplary supermodel body, can quickly turn the platform of "healthy eating" into an obsession. Hence, orthorexia.
Although the vegan diet does not, itself, stipulate health, clean eating, or generate a higher percentage of individuals with eating disorders than other diets, it's something to be wary of since individuals can easily fall into this "fixation on righteous eating" and use veganism as their mask.
Deciding to go vegan does limit your field of food options and this change in lifestyle is mentally challenging for most beings to undergo. However, the vegan diet, itself, comes with a lot of variety and, in itself, is not restricting: "Veganism is about compassion and is not about restriction." It's all about getting through the period away from other foods, which should be done slowly.
Moreover, since veganism is still "a contrast to the greater world" regarding relationships with food, many vegans have dangerously defined themselves through their diet. Thus, allowing the diet and their food to control, consume, and conquer their lives. When identity comes into play, people can easily become haunted by the idea of perfection, health, and fitness.
But, people are more than what they eat.
Personally, I don't trust myself to go vegan. I know how obsessive I can get with notions of "the ideal" and how I execute all manners in an ultimate way–that's just me. I grew up in a community where more than half the girls and boys were bulimic and plagued with conceptions of body image, fitness, and, of course, social media: likes, the ratio of followers and following, and popularity. I can effortlessly imagine how my peers could use "going vegan" as a disguise to hide their phobias. Nothing against the individual, but society has done this to us.
We all need help and counseling in some shape or form to alter our way of thought in terms of health and perfection.
A social-media influencer and vegan blogger–The Blonde Vegan, now renamed The Balanced Blonde–Jordan Younger wrote "Breaking Vegan: One Woman's Journey From Veganism, Extreme Dieting, and Orthorexia to a More Balanced Diet," where she explains that after becoming mogul for vegan eating, she realized that she became obsessed with healthy eating and her body began to suffer. She had orthorexia: "an obsession with healthy, pure, clean foods from the earth, and a fear of anything that might potentially cause my body harm."
The vegan diet demands attention to how much protein and essential nutrients you're ingesting, "since avoiding animal by-products can naturally skew the vitamins and minerals you're consuming" (Jenna Berch). Your body needs these conditions to function properly.
Veganism is not about judgment and looking down upon others who aren't as pure. This is what promotes negative, menacing ways of thought.
As one scrolls through Instagram, he/she is thrown with the newest diets, juice cleanses, and detox teas, but it's time to step back and realize that society has been altering our thoughts as to what is ideal, cool, healthy, etc. At the end of the day, balance is crucial and as Young's case divulges, not everything is as it seems.
It's time for orthorexia to be recognized as a validated eating disorder.
Contact the National Eating Disorder Association if you or someone you know may need some guidance. #noshame
