Let’s talk about food labels, healing diets and autoimmune disease.
This is a BIG topic for me. Perhaps one of the hardest things I’ve had to face and work on.
I have taken my diet to the extremes. What I’m eating, when I'm eating to the point of it becoming an obsession. I’ve tried all of the “healing” diets; paleo, autoimmune paleo, vegetarian, vegan, raw, fruitarian, juicing, water fasting, the grape cure (yes only grapes). And not only have I tried them but I was STRICT. Like iron man strength strictness.
All these diets have their place and have helped so many people heal their health conditions, leaving them thriving and even coming off medications (I am all for this!!) but it also comes with a dark side that needs to be addressed and nurtured when diving into trying out these restrictive diets that heal.
Orthorexia is an eating disorder that’s only just beginning to be widely talked about. The definition of this refers to an unhealthy obsession with eating “pure” food. This label of pure will differ from person to person based on their beliefs of which foods are good or bad. This can become damaging - not only to the body from being so restricted and often under-eating but also to the mind. It can become a form of OCD and can enhance feelings of anxiety and isolation that are already highly present for most people going through health challenges.
For someone facing a health challenge It ultimately isn’t about the food, but the overwhelming need to control the symptoms/ the diagnosis and the future of their health and well-being. And the chosen method of control becomes what they feed themselves.
So it isn’t wrong, the intention is so great as who doesn’t want the best life possible for themselves? But it doesn’t get spoken about or recognised usually until it’s become so extreme.
In my case I reached a point in my health journey where all food was evil and I regularly just had water for the day when my anxiety around food was so high I couldn’t cope.
And I didn’t even realise how much of a problem I had until I had been in the cycle for years and began to see how much food was consuming my mind and my day to day life. I literally thought about food all day and would stay at home instead of going out for meals just so I could control every ingredient on my plate.
When working on refining your diet for your health I feel it’s important to work with someone who understands this and can help you work through the deeper layers of that control and what’s coming up for you around food along the way. Because I do feel food is a massive component to healing, I just also know from experience it has to be balanced and underlying issues have to be worked on at the same time.
We also have to recognise there is no one diet fits all approach. You can start with elimination diets but then it's helpful again to work with someone to fine tune the right diet for your body. And on top of this there is no one right diet forever. Your bodies needs are constantly changing based on seasons, location, weather, stress levels and hormone changes.
If this has resonated with you and you’ve found yourself restricting food and experiencing something similar to this I would love to hear your thoughts/insights. Drop me a comment or send me an email.
Healing is a long, often overwhelming journey that comes with a lot of challenges that arise along the way. Know that I see you and I have been there myself with food obsession/control. There is a way to tap into your innate intuition once more so that you can find peace and freedom when it comes to nourishing yourself through food.
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