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Login Here Signup Here Signup using FacebookI recently read something online where someone was claiming that adopting a raw foods diet helped people with eating disorders recover, particularly bulimics. I have been struggling with eating disorders for a few years now and while I know that there are core psychological/emotional issues that no diet will “cure” I am wondering if anyone else thinks that the raw food lifestyle would at least help. Any opinions or experiences would be very much appreciated:)
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Hi berryraw! A member of goneraw, who was recently featured on 20/20, may have some helpful information on his website. His videos related to raw food are available here:
http://www.finddesirenotdemise.com/content/inde…
He said that raw helped him tremendously with his eating disorders. Check out this thread on maca:
http://www.goneraw.com/forums/being-raw/topics/...
And a thread where Johnny talks about his experiences: http://www.goneraw.com/forums/being-raw/topics/...
I have no personal experience; just reading what others have said on this site. It won’t necessarily “cure” the disorder, but it seems it helps some people who are bulimic because it isn’t junk food that they are putting in their bodies. Just be aware that there are other disorders (orthorexia, etc.) that can come up, and some people trade one disorder/addiction for another. Professional help is definitely a must in dealing with any eating disorder, but it sounds like you’re aware of that. You can also search the forums for things like “eating disorders”, “bulimia”, etc. & find some of the forums already posted about this topic.
I’ve struggled with eating disorders in the past. First I was starving myself, then I was puking all the time, then I was just binging on crap 24/7.
Going raw helped SOOOOO much with these issues. I don’t binge or purge or starve myself now, and I almost never feel the guilt or depression associated with food. Raw has helped me accept myself and love myself for who I am and what I look like more than almost anything else.
That being said, I did make other changes in my life to get rid of my eating disorders. It took a lot of effort and it was very difficult, both emotionally and physically. I also have to keep in mind that relapse is possible, no matter how good I feel now.
So I guess my point is that going raw helps TONS, but is definitely not a cure-all for eating disorders.
Thank you all so much for your replies! I read the threads Winona suggested and have learned a few things already. I haven’t heard of Maca before or orthorexia.
Slosh-uh: Your experiences closely resemble my own, only it sounds like you’re doing a lot better than I am at this point! Thank you for the inspiration:) I know raw is not a magic cure and I definitely don’t want to trade disorders either. I am hoping by going raw I will be physically healthier and happier!
This is a delicate topic. Eating disorders are more about what’s going on in our minds and less about food. Changing your diet won’t necessarily sort out self-esteem issues and disordered thought processes. However, as a recovering bulimic and one-time anorexic, I can say that the detoxification process that has taken place since I stopped consuming caffeine, aspartame, sugars, processed and refined foods, animal products and chemical additives has virtually eliminated my trigger-food cravings and urges to binge. Without the perpetual state of dehydration that accompanies bulimia, I’m not swinging wildly between water retention and constipation. Both have sorted themselves out naturally, over time. My digestive system is slowly starting to function properly again, owing to the fact that I’m no longer throwing up all of the enzymes and stomach acids necessary to process food. Because the living foods take less time to digest, I don’t suffer as much indigestion and acid reflux, bloating and gaseousness. I’ve had far less anxiety regarding feelings of fullness, particularly knowing that the fullness comes from the fact that I’ve just ingested beautiful, healthy foods. My inclination to overeat has diminished somewhat. I still eat large quantities, but a huge bowl of spinach leaves with a simple, raw olive oil and lemon or apple cider vinegar (and garlic) dressing, satisfies my psychological need to eat a big meal in a sitting, while the actual caloric content is quite low. I am finally giving my body the nutrition it was starving for. I’m sure the nutritional deficiencies were largely behind the physiological component of the binge and purge cycle. My body needed nutrients. My brain needed to feed its disorder, so I stuffed myself ... with all the wrong foods. They satisfied the disorder’s desires and triggered the purge response, leaving me with fewer nutrients than when I had started the binge. This happened every single time!
Eating raw has helped me break free from old habits. It’s an entirely new way of thinking and eating. Once you’ve detoxed, you will start to recognize what real hunger is (versus psychological hunger). This was a breakthrough for me. I’m absolutely advocating a well-balanced raw foods lifestyle for a variety of reasons. But, although it will be helpful on so many levels, it will not resolve the issues that swirl around in your head. You might prefer the person you see in the mirror AFTER going raw, but the disorder that plays with your rational mind will still lurk around inside your head … until you address it, preferably with the guidance of a professional. I did not go through any “program”. I did hit rock bottom, twice, in a period of a couple of months. It was the wake-up call I needed. I sought help from a psychologist, but the real changes have come from me. To put a value on the raw diet is impossible, but to claim that I’d have had as much success with the SAD diet is also impossible. As a bulimic virtually all SAD foods were potential binge-triggers. With such a messed up digestive system, my body couldn’t work hard enough to derive nutrition from those dead foods and food combinations. I was exhausted and gaining weight, which was very difficult to deal with. Once I transitioned to raw, the weight gain stopped and the extra pounds are now slowly coming off (as they should). Now that all the inflamation of my organs has subsided and my system is starting to function properly, sometimes I actually look in the mirror and see a body shape that is more attractive than the one I longed for as an anorexic and bulimic. That’s a monumental gain! I used to look at my body with a sense of loathing. I was too fat, too thin, too this or that. I still feel fat a lot of the time—old habits die hard, but to be able to look in the mirror and see something I like is something I never thought I’d feel. Of course, I also never thought I’d recover from bulimia and, look at me today. Have I recovered completely? That’s too bold a statement. I’m in recovery and getting better every day. I strongly recommend the raw lifestyle, with a little moderation thrown in (a great lesson for bulimics!) but I more strongly recommend getting help to accompany it. Good luck. If you want to talk more, contact me at jweiser68@gmail.com.
I have been struggling with anorexia and bulimia for 8 years now. Eating raw has helped me out a lot. The only problem I have is sticking to a raw diet because it’s so hands-on. I get so frustrated with food so easily and end up rather not eating at all most of the time, but I’m working on it.
If you get help for the emotional/psychological factors that drive your eating disorder and get to where you can maintain a raw lifestyle, it would probably help you out so much. I wish you luck!
hi. i havent actually read what anyone else wrote because im too lazy to read it hahah
buutt um i found it does help with bulimia, personally anyways ;-) good hunting!
just a quicky, a lot of the reason we feel depressed, negative and down on ourselves is becasue of the crap we have been eating all these years, additives, stodgy foods, coffee, processed “foods” etc.
nearly everybodys mood and outlook seems to be brighter on a raw diet as you feel so good, your body responds to the good foods you are eating and ceases to be an enemy. your body will function better, it will look healthier, your skin will eventually glow, and instead of your bones and teeth being abused by your diet and eating disorder they will become stronger, you will feel and look a lot better.
I will say that I am not completely raw, I do still steam food and have hot oatmeal sometimes in the morning. All of my life I have battled with eating disorders. Anorexia and then bulimia and then both. I never really ate bad things, I have always ate really bland. Since I was little Ive always had restrictions on my food. So I never quite new when I was hungry, when I wasn’t, how to really eat at all, and the whole eating disorder was definitely mental.. always trying to be in control, fearing food, stressing, I couldn’t help but think about food twenty four seven.
Transitioning into raw, and the more raw I eat, its as if poof my eating disorder went away. I have also taken part in ballet, so that could be a part of it too. All I know is, I feel on this awake spiritual high all the time. I don’t think about food all the time. For the first time, I actually know when I’m full and I’m actually satisfied too. I have had more energy than I have had in my whole life and I eat everything and anything I want and don’t feel bad about it… I feel as if I’ve been released and free.. I can go out freely and not care what any other person thinks.. I actually for the first time feel strong, and appreciative to myself, without even trying!
a definite cure, i tell ya.
well said meloe. i think the raw diet also helps you know when you are full up becuase on a SAD you are eating stuff that your body doesnt really know what to do with and you just feel bloated, when you eat food your body can utilise easily it feels and contented satisfied full instead.
i had anorexia for many years, and bulemia prior to that. binging in between etc, and have lost and gained weight with monotonus regualrity, the most unfullfilling part of my life so far. i beat it pretty much 3 or 4 years ago now but its always been in my head until i started raw. i can honestly say calorie content doesnt even cross my mind now, i use oils and avocados and bananas, dried fruits, nuts, seeds without hesitation becuase my body knows how to use them and stops me when its happy.
i am slowly but surely reaching my bodys ideal, im losing weight gradually and unintentionally, my stomach is flatter becasue of not being full of undigestable food
good luck to any of you that are struggling with ED’s. EDs are about power, control, i say turn the tables, still have power and control, but make that power and control about healing your bodies and minds and not about damaging and depriving yourselves. you are all strong enough to beat this shit, heck if i can do it you can, have faith in yourselves to love yourselves enough to get well again
namaste x
((((berryraw)))) I’m a recovering anorexic turned binge eater (no purging). I have been underweight and in a few short years I was in the extreme obesity category. I have disordered eating, most recently it has been in the form of binge eating. 100% Raw is THE ONLY thing that keeps me from binging. After being 100% I tried to incorporate some cooked grains into my diet and 3 months alter I hit rock bottom when I found myself binging on cold hot dogs from the fridge. Cooked food is like heroine to me. I dont’ know why, but I do know that I MUST stay away from it, lest I fall into binging again and gain back the 80 lbs I have lost.
In the begining I was P!SSED OFF that I “had” to eat this raw to stay mentally well. I just wanted to be NORMAL around food, and not steal it, hide it, horde it, lie about it, or sneak around trying to “score” it. But now, I just plain thankful that I have found something that works.
It was not an easy road. I have a personal theory that when our cells are dumping toxins as we detox, there is some genetic memories stored in there and they get released too. Emotional detox is ROUGH. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done-but with the help of a therapist/life coach I have resolved some old hurts that were holding me back. I don’t talk to him re: my food issues, as they seem to be a symptom rather than the cause.
I wish you the best of Health, both emotionally and spiritually.
Sharing and hearing others’ words on this topic is like an auxiliary (and free!) therapy session for me. It reinforces my own feelings about my recovery and why being raw is so important for me. I’m not 100% raw, but the cooked meals cause trouble for me that the raw ones do not. I too, feel like the cooked foods make me feel bloated. My brain and body seem unable to determine what’s enough and when I’m truly satiated. Eating raw, I seem to have no problem eating … then stopping. My boyfriend thinks that I don’t need to overeat raw meals because the food isn’t interesting enough to lead to overeating or bingeing. I don’t agree. The more raw foods I eat, the less I like the taste of cooked foods (with exceptions, of course). I think it’s the concentrated nutrients and the ease with which I’m digesting it which is sending signals to my brain that I’m satisfied and can stop eating before getting to the point of overeating. I’ve NEVER experienced this, even as an infant, so this, to me, is a breakthrough. I’m not afraid of cooked food and I’m willing to eat it in social situations, but I never feel good afterward and the tendency and desire to overeat returns instantly. It’s strange, but perhaps it’s simply that there is so little of nutritional value left in the cooked food and my body needs so much nutrition right now to undo the damage I’ve done via eating disorders, that I’m given to stuffing myself in a sad (pun intended) effort to meet my nutritional (but not my caloric) needs.
Thanks, everyone, for sharing your personal stories. With a disorder that is by nature so secretive, it’s nice to learn that we aren’t really as alone in our thoughts and behaviours as we think. Granted, it helps to be able to hide behind avatars, pseudonyms and our computers, but I feel really empowered by what I read, for the most part, on these forums.
I know this is an old topic but I looked it up again because I wanted to say thank you to everyone who replied and shared here:) It was very helpful and inspiring. Also, I wanted to report a little bit on my personal experience with the raw lifestyle's affect on my eating disorder. I'm 100% raw and have only been about 90-95% raw for a pretty short period of time but I already see and feel some improvement! The binging and purging episodes have greatly decreased. I feel better physically, mentally, and emotionally.
I know a raw diet is not a cure for the disorder but it is certainly helping me!
Berryraw, that's so good to hear!
Continued success. There are loads of people here ready to support you however we can.
berryraw, i have been reading these forums for months, but came across your post, and actually had to join to post back. i have been living with anorexia and bulimia for over twenty years now (i am thirty years old.) i can tell you there is no cure, but there are ways to deal with it, and raw foods has helped me. osteoporosis set in while i was in my twenties, and i was hospitalized countless times, my teeth are hell, my heart is permanently damaged, along with my liver and kidneys.
aw, poor little me, i have the body of an 80 year old and i am 30. (one of those 'i did it to myself' moments) but i can tell you raw foods has helped. i can eat food, enjoy it, be "okay" with my weight, and feel healthy. and "orthorexia" is such a BS term. a guy made it up so he could write a book. it is NOT a medical term. it is NOT an eating disorder. it is not even a disorder. or a mental illness or a disease or anything.
it is just a word that was coined so a man could make a fast buck by making people paranoid to think they have yet another problem.
good luck.
jL
Hi berryraw- . i think it would help alot. I use to stuggle with a trace of that in the past. there is a book Heal Your Body - it helped me with a ton of issues.
It says -
Bulima - Probable Cause_ hopeless terror. a frantic stuffing and purging. feeling toxic???
New thought pattern_
I am loved and nourished and supported by Life (God is what i used). It is safe for me to be alive.
sounds funny but everytime something would surface i would think/ say this and the feeling would pass .
Also beleive it or not COLONICS helped a whole lot.
hope this helps
My 2 cents: Having issues with eating started in middle school, but I have found that gaining knowledge about food and nutrition and making informed choices gives me a sense of control in my life and I think that is why raw foods diet help someone with an eating disorder. But self-esteem and self love are a little more difficult to come by, but totally possible- trust me!!!
I've beaten this myself and helped others as well. I would not count on diet change alone to help more than 30%, but it will help. I would highly recommend some good self work. I would start with breathwork since it's simple and without dogma, rules and details. I'd do Rebirthing-Breathwork since it works every time for everyone. Why not be reborn into a new 'eating disorder free' you? If you contact me here purelyraw@yahoo.com I will help you find a worthy facilitator in your area and answer any questions you may have.
Lovebows, Chris
You are so worth doing this right and beating this! Anything I can do, would be a pleasure. Thank you.
DR - I love you man, trust me. But I'm not sure detailed plans like 811 are the place to start for someone with a history like this.