#ICED2020 #Veganism and #EatingDisorders: Meeting clients where they are with Melainie Rogers, MS, RDN, SERD-S... thread

#ICED2020: When it comes to my professional training so far, I acknowledge that I have always been taught to ask patients who require nutritional stabilisation for their #eatingdisorder to cease #vegetarianism or #veganism during treatment.

#ICED2020: The rationale that has been provided to me about avoiding a #vegetarian or #vegan diet during the nutritional stabilisation stage of #eatingdisordertreatment is that "we can't be sure it's not an ED behaviour" and "we get better nutrients from a full diet."

#ICED2020: One question I have always had is how does this sit with the experiences of patients who have strong ethical and moral reasons for following a #vegetarian or #vegan diet? And what about their personal preferences and right to choice despite having an #eatingdisorder?

#ICED2020: Melainie Rogers acknowledges that there has been a significant increase over the last couple of years in particular, who wish to follow a #vegan diet.

#ICED2020: For too long perhaps the #eatingdisorder field has viewed a desire to follow a #vegan diet in #eatingdisorder treatment as "smokes and mirrors." How can we think about this more thoughtfully? Is this always the case?

#ICED2020: It is extremely hard for someone with an #eatingdisorder to present for treatment, & research suggests that if the person does not engage in treatment (due to a lack of respect for #veganism), it can take another 2 years for that person to reach out again (if at all).

#ICED2020: Given this, if we recognise the importance of patients coming forward for treatment, is it ethically and professionally more responsible to meet our patients where they are and treat #eatingdisorder patients with a #vegan eating plan?

#ICED2020: Questions about #veganism and #eatingdisorders? Is being #vegan a form of #disorderedeating or #orthorexia or an eating choice that can be sustained without disordered eating behaviours?

#ICED2020: Questions about #veganism and #eatingdisorders? If a #vegan diet is a method of #disorderedeating, is it ethically responsible to treat these patients with a vegan diet? And are we enabling an #eatingdisorder if we don't treat vegan patients?

#ICED2020: Questions about #veganism and #eatingdisorders? Are we enabling an #eatingdisorder if we do treat vegan patients? And can we adequately and sufficiently provide #nutritionalstabilisation to a vegan patient? And if so, at what level of care?

#ICED2020: "Whether or not #veganism exists alongside a person's #eatingdisorder, or is part of #disorderedeating, as health professionals we must consider how we walk the path with our patients effectively and ethically towards full recovery" - Rogers

#ICED2020: What we need to know and understand about #veganism and #eatingdisorders - Melainie Rogers

#ICED2020: The respect for a patient's choice to practice a #vegan diet includes an acknowledgement of the and associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals (there is a great ethical concern for animals, and that the use of animals for food sources is not ok)

#ICED2020: We need to be mindful of another term that is used, which is a #plantbaseddiet. This is an umbrella term that relates to both #vegetarian and #vegan diets.

#ICED2020: Here is a map of ideas about why there may have been an increase in popularity in a #vegan diet over recent years (includes public health messaging, transparency in the food industry, social and media influences and the focus on health and a healthy life) - Rogers

#ICED2020: As there has been a trend towards a #vegan diet in the past years, our goal as #eatingdisorder professionals is to determine whether the person is following a trend, or follows the ethical and moral reasons to follow a vegan diet.

#ICED2020: It is harder to utilise a #vegan diet during #nutritionalstabilisation of an #eatingdisorder. As a result, it's crucial to have a #registereddietician to oversee the #eatingdisordertreatment of a vegan patient so that biological, psychological and mental needs are met.

#ICED2020: In the #eatingdisorder field, we need to understand the nutritional implications of following a #vegan diet (especially if we are working on weight or nutritional restoration) because vegan diets tend to lack specific and important nutrients

#ICED2020: Another very important reason to have a registered #dietician to oversee any patient with an #eatingdisorder following a #vegan diet is to help with psychoeducation to overcome the prolific misinformation about nutrients and food that is available on the internet!

ICED2020: A cheat sheet for #eatingdisorder health professionals in relation to the sources of essential nutrients in a #vegan eating plan (not to be replaced with the advice of a registered #dietician and a personalised #nutrtionalstabilisation plan) - Rogers