Vegetarianism is a way of eating based mainly on vegetables, eliminating meat and derivatives. There are different variants such as ovo-lactic products that, in addition to vegetable sources, include the consumption of eggs and dairy products, but exclude the rest of foods of animal origin, or vegans, in which there is no consumption of food from animal origin, everything is vegetable. There are also flexitarians, those who mainly eat a vegetarian diet, but occasionally include food of animal origin.
Vegetarianism or veganism, if it is not well established, is not healthier than an omnivorous diet. If you are a vegetarian or vegan and you eat margarita pizza and nachos with guacamole, you would not be opting for a good option, the same as in an omnivorous diet based on sausages or ultra-processed meat. Depending on how the menus are prepared, the eating styles can be healthy or not.
The only truth is that a plant-based diet is more respectful of the environment and animals.
A diet in which mainly vegetables, fruits and legumes are chosen can go largely unnoticed, as something that is covering up a severe restriction, which is why it is quite common for people who suffer from an eating disorder (TCA) to make a turn towards a more vegetable diet.
By this I do not mean that vegetarianism can cause eating disorders, but rather that some people may choose this type of diet to restrict foods of animal origin, or more caloric, and what in principle can be seen as healthy is hiding restrictive and dangerous behavior.
Is veganism a trigger for eating disorders?
The reality is that no. Despite the fact that studies tell us that there is a higher prevalence of anorexia in patients with a vegetarian diet, it cannot be determined if the disease developed as a result of this new diet, or if it was prior to it.
When treating these patients, it is appropriate to respect their eating pattern; however, in some treatment units it is not allowed to eat a vegetarian diet.
