Last week my mom showed me a brochure that came in the mail a while back. The message on it was about foods that are better for your health versus foods that are not. It appeared to be written as a healthy eating piece to educate the public.

It seemed the audience they are trying to reach are folks who don’t eat too many fruits and vegetables every day. It might also include people who usually eat frozen meals at home or dine out at fast-food establishments.

On one side of the page, it says “Discover food secrets. At least one will surprise you.” Below it has an infographic about different fruits and vegetables and their health benefits—the superstars. When I first read it, the tone concerned me. The wording takes on an all-or-nothing approach.

Then I flipped the brochure over to the other side and saw the words, “We name names!” Below that heading, the body copy delves into food examples from a popular frozen food company and fast-food restaurants. Calorie amounts, sodium, sugar, and fat grams are listed for each food and beverage. The punitive tone was enough to make me, a practicing RD, cringe with guilt after seeing my favorite ice cream as one of the examples. It was called, “Extreme ice cream.” The paragraph goes on to describe how ice cream squeezes large amounts of calories and sugar into fat cells. Whatever that means. I don’t know about you, but when I want to enjoy dessert, that’s not something I want to think about. I certainly don’t want to feel guilty about my decision to enjoy ice cream, ever!

The brochure was created by a non-profit organization working for public interests. I do not doubt the good intentions. I visited the website and observed recipe books, magazines and newsletters. It’s very professional and appears creditable. They’re part of another larger organization that’s been around for a while. But I’m not going to divulge who they are. Bashing others who are working hard for the benefit of the public isn’t my goal. But I want to tell anyone who will listen, who doesn’t already know, that there are folks out there that won’t take this information the way it might be intended. After reading it, I see the potential for these words to be triggering for those who don’t feel good in their own body and are dealing with more than just a desire to eat healthier.

With the recent rise in disorder eating diagnoses, my experience with patients suffering from eating disorders compels me to give constructive criticism. These individuals often have negative thinking patterns which can lead to extremely unhealthy eating behaviors. Traditionally it was thought to be usually white females suffering from anorexia or bulimia, but people coming from every age, race, gender identity and sexual orientation represent a growing portion of individuals who are getting diagnosed with eating disorders. If you’re not too familiar with disordered eating, it’s more troublesome than you think. Taking the approach “just eat what I tell you and you’ll be fine” while pushing personal nutrition beliefs onto someone with an eating disorder can be more harmful than helpful.

When I was in college, this area of dietetics didn’t get enough attention. Students taking classes in nutrition don’t learn enough about disordered eating unless they had a specific interest in it. I remember eating disorders were only discussed during a lecture in one of my clinical nutrition courses. Later I learned some of my fellow students were engaging in unhealthy eating habits.

Human nutrition is a science that also deals with human behavior. Like it or not. To maintain discussions that put food into good or bad categories leaves out the fact that for some individuals it will stir up strong feelings of guilt and shame. Others can get stuck and become confused about what to eat. It’s these negative thought patterns that can raise an individual’s risk of engaging in disordered eating patterns. Over time this can lead to poor health outcomes that have nothing to do with the food they eat.

Orthorexia at the very basic is healthy eating thoughts and behaviors that go awry, which can cause serious malnutrition. A person suffering from orthorexia will choose not to eat at all when they believe they are limited to foods perceived to be unhealthy. It can be personal. But feeling bad about oneself while believing they are eating the wrong foods is not acceptable. No one should ever starve themselves just because a certain kind of food is on a naughty list.  

The brochure goes on to say there are better alternatives. I agree! But not from a food choice standpoint. A better alternative is to teach nutrition gently, without blame or punishment. Foods should be described as they are. Some foods are high in protein, while others are high in sugar. That’s it. Food is just an inanimate object. That piece of chocolate cake is innocent after all. It can’t think or make decisions. It just sits on a plate. We as humans are the ones that bring all the emotion and judgment to it. We bring our appetites and our opinions to the table every day.

Public health should be more inclusive with more safe places for individuals to talk about disordered eating without shame or guilt. Places where people feel comfortable enough to ask for the help they need. Only truthful discussions will bring this illness out of the shadow and into the light. Believe it or not, chances are higher these days, that we all will run into somebody silently struggling with an eating disorder stemming from a self-loathing standpoint. You don’t know how much they might hate themselves or the body they live in. It could be the stranger on the street waiting for an Uber, or someone you know and work with every day that seems a little down recently. It could be even someone that lives under your roof that you love dearly. No one ever really knows all the chapters in someone else’s story.

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder click to talk, text, or chat: NEDA (nationaleatingdisorders.org)

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