Orthorexia by Renee McGregor

Author:Renee McGregor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Orthorexia
ISBN: 9781848993341
Publisher: Watkins Media
Published: 2017-09-03T16:00:00+00:00

Undertaking a truly healthy plant-based diet is not just about cutting out all animal products. It requires education and then careful planning (weekly meal plans and shopping lists are a must, at least at the start) to ensure that the body gains the right amounts of protein, iron, calcium and B12 to meet its needs. All these nutrients are hard to find in a purely plant-based diet – you have to seek them out (see box, pages 103–4).

Trends for orthorexia

I would love to be able to write that recent fashion for plant-based diets is because we have become more aware of animal welfare and are making the choice to switch from eating meat for ethical reasons. However, I use the word “fashion” quite deliberately. Vegetarianism and veganism are popular because we have had a recent surge of media bloggers and even celebrities who have claimed it as a cure-all for human illness.

I want to be very clear that I am not anti-vegetarian nor anti-vegan: in fact, I have been vegetarian since I was 13 years old. Partly this is a result of my upbringing – my parents are of Indian heritage and they brought me up with a predominantly plant-based diet. A staple evening meal was dahl and rice, or chapati and chickpea and vegetable curry. My parents did not insist that I followed a strict vegetarian diet, but my mum never cooked meat, fish or poultry. She did serve up eggs, yogurt, milk and cheese for variety. While I was offered meat and fish at school and at friends’ houses, I never particularly liked the taste or texture of them. By the time I was 13, I felt very uncomfortable about the slaughter of animals as a food source and so decided to become fully, consciously vegetarian. I guess because of my upbringing, I have always naturally understood how to make vegetarianism a balanced way to eat and I have never suffered with the nutritional deficiencies, such as low levels of iron, B12 and calcium, that are often associated with a vegetarian diet. Every now and again I do toy with the idea of becoming vegan, but I love cheese, yogurt and butter too much.

For me, plant-based eating is not a way to restrict or control my diet in the name of purity or optimal health. I take care to ensure that I meet my nutritional requirements and, while I naturally avoid meat, fish and poultry, that is where the restrictions stop. I prefer to make most of my meals from scratch if possible, but if on the odd occasion I have to use a readymade pasta sauce or shop-bought pizza, then I will. I may add extra vegetables and pulses to the meal to improve the nutritional quality. This is the difference between someone who has a healthy approach to plant-based eating and someone who uses the food rules as a method of control and restriction.

NUTRIENT GAPS IN A PLANT-BASED DIET

There are some key nutrients that both vegetarians and vegans need to take special care to seek out.

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