Jamie Lee RDN

Sometimes the science has not caught up with a person’s experience and/or condition. It does not mean the person’s symptoms or illness are not valid.

What is heartbreaking, and well articulated in book: The invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness, is how people are gaslit and psychologized (“it’s all in your head”) when a disease/symptoms is poorly understood, e.g. the provider has no answers.

Vulnerable people can then be pushed into non-evidenced based care in hopes of being believed and to find answers…leading to unnecessary, costly test, interventions, dietary restrictions and copious amounts of supplements. book: The Wellness Trap, does a nice job breaking this all down.

There are shame-free, compassionate providers who will sit with the uncertainties and trust your experience…I am so sorry if you have not found these providers. You deserve better.

Posted • “Despite how open, peaceful, and loving you attempt to be, people can only meet you as deeply as they’ve met themselves.” — Matt Kahn

Want rich, connected relationships? Do your own work 💛

📷:
📣:
🔁

Eating disorders and/or food anxiety can keep people in fight-or-flight (or even freeze), which has a tremendous influence on the digestive system and eating behaviors.

How Tending to Your Nervous System Can Help Heal Your Relationship to Food Cold water stimulates the vagus nerve, supporting physical, emotional, and mental regulation. Try an ice pack or cold water on your face if you don’t love the idea of cold showers or swimming in freezing waters (like me).

Understandably, weight loss drugs and diet tricks to suppress hunger is appealing when we’ve been led to fear our appetite. Yet, as a wise client recently exclaimed, “my appetite is a gift;” denying hunger and food pleasure was the problem, not the answer. The evidence included the abundance of once forbidden foods in her home, no longer binged on or requiring intense “self-control.”

As Ragen Chastain shared earlier this month:

“Giving our bodies less fuel than they need in the hopes that they consume themselves and make themselves smaller (aka intentional weight loss interventions,) especially when this is accompanied by increases in exercise, can trigger our bodies’ many famine responses.

One solution to this is to get off the diet roller coaster and permanently fix our relationship with food. That works well for many people, but doesn’t make any money for the weight loss industry.”

https://weightandhealthcare.substack.com/p/reader-question-what-is-food-noise

Inconsistent eating and/or under-eating is a terrifying message to send the body. The body, rightfully, fights agains the threat of famine for its survival, e.g. increased food thoughts (preoccupation), eating more when food is available, along with a whole host of other physical and physiological outcomes.

The remedy/solution is food adequacy (including access) and regularity to offer a sense of safety overtime.

We will continue to hear about weight loss drugs and appetite suppressing tricks, so long as anti-fat bias and the weight loss industry is present. BUT you can remind yourself that healing your relationship to food and body is not rooted in control or denial. Your appetite is a gift.

*Note, food adequacy and regularity is also a HUMAN RIGHT and applies outside of disordered eating and dieting, including war zones and communities without equitable access.

Posted • wear the shorts today, cuties 😘

Text reads:
As Is

This body, as is,
deserves the warm sun on her soft legs
This body deserves a dip in the sea
a jump in the pool
a frolic on the beach
This body, without change, deserves silk
and lace and leather and linen—
in deep Vs and A lines and dolphin hems and cutoffs
This body deserves to let ice cream drip down her chin
and lick popcorn salt off of her fingers 
and bite into a juicy tomato like it’s an apple
This body deserves to be witnessed
in its present condition
in bad lighting
from the back
with the wrong underwear on
This unfiltered body deserves to exhale and expand
to hold and be held 
to wrinkle and crinkle and flex and fold;
To be considered nowhere near as important
as all of the gooey, gorgeous stuff she carries
inside

The author, Anahad O’Connor, has written a number of pieces against anti-diet dietitians. Virginia Sole Smith's essay sheds light on his commitment to the diet industry, e.g. author of two diet books, and how gender, classism and anti-fatness plays into it all.

"The question of whether anti-diet dietitians should accept sponsorships from Big Food is more complicated. Someone with RD in their Instagram handle has trained first and foremost as a healthcare provider. Their advice about how to eat land quite differently from that of a civilian influencer who posts mostly about how she feeds her own family. Does being on the payroll make these dietitian-influencers less likely to hold these brands accountable for harm caused? Or does it help turn the tide on how diet culture has demonized these foods and even give influencers (at least those with the biggest platforms) more direct access and opportunity to advocate with brands for positive change?"

Moral Panic! At the Cheerios Slide Why The Washington Post thinks Big Food has corrupted the anti-diet movement.

Posted • ❤️ Today on , let’s stand in solidarity with the millions of people around the world who are advocating for equal access to as a basic human right.

Every health system must provide quality health services—including reproductive health care—that reach every person.

Join the global call of so that we can uphold the right of all people to reach the highest possible standard of health
*
*
Image description: An illustration with a deep purple background. There is a diverse group of people of different ages, races and ethnicities, all gathered together. In the back left corner is someone holding a Progress Pride Flag. On the right hand side of the card is a woman wearing a purple hijab and a shirt that reads ‘Health for all’. In the center is a woman holding a large placard that reads ‘equal access to health care is a human right.’ On the left hand side is a young boy with his fist in the air wearing a shirt that reads ‘proud feminist’. On the right-hand side is a pregnant woman, with her right hand on her belly.

"A healthy life includes rich social relationships, time spent pursuing passions, enjoyable physical activity and enough brain space to find peace — all of which are hard to come by when you spend hours a day ruminating on what you “should” be eating."

Orthorexia: An eating disorder that few people understand and many accidentally applaud | CNN A focus on nutrition is great — until it takes over a life. Experts explain what orthorexia is and why an obsession with healthy eating can be an eating disorder.

A compassionate, caring way to be in relationship with one's eating disorder. (The analogies at the end of the blog post are worth the read!):

"This narrative (battling the eating disorder), while it initially allowed me to access anger and grief and even determination, was now perpetuating the hypervigilance, fear, and shame that kept me stuck.

And it felt like a betrayal, in a sense, to reject the part of me that had fought to keep me alive during the most painful and traumatic times of my life.

I could see that restricting my food intake, shrinking my body, and being inflexible with food was preventing me from the life I now wanted, but it felt deeply unkind to look at the part of me that relied on those behaviors to feel safe and disown them entirely.

It may not have been the most “rational” course of action to starve myself, but I now trust that the younger version of me — the one who leaned into these coping mechanisms because that’s what felt most available at the time — was doing the best that he could.

And dishonoring the ED by making it my enemy was, in a very real sense, dishonoring the younger (and very vulnerable) parts of me that did everything they could to ensure there was a future me still in existence today.

Suddenly, I went from seeing my eating disorder as an enemy lurking in the shadows — a constant threat within and around me — to being a younger and more vulnerable part of me, deeply deserving of compassion, patience… and even love."

Why I’m Not ‘Fighting’ My Eating Disorder Anymore Being compassionate toward my ED was the best thing I ever did for my recovery.

"Weight stigma, weight cycling, and healthcare inequalities are all correlated with health conditions that get called weight-related, which means that these conditions may actually be better explained as weight-stigma-related, weight-cycling-related, and/or healthcare-inequality-related conditions."

Reader Question – What are Weight-Related Health Conditions? This is the Weight and Healthcare newsletter! If you like what you are reading, please consider subscribing and/or sharing! Reader Marcella wrote: “I keep seeing the term weight-related health conditions. Can you explain what this means?” Thanks for asking Marcella!

You’ve probably heard about, or watched, Netflix’s latest shockumentary, “You Are What You Eat: A Twin Study.”

The series is full of claims without citations, like dairy causing Parkinson’s disease; and cheese is “biologically addictive,” which is false. The episodes are baked in bias, giving airtime to vegan activist and proponents. There is no nuance or counterbalance.

Dietitian and writer, Carrie Dennett illustrates this point by stating:

“There are some fair points as there are problems with industrial/factory production of these foods. Low-dose antibiotics use in livestock does contribute to antibiotic-resistant bacteria in humans, and wild fish populations have suffered due to overfishing. But there’s no balancing information about how more responsible stewardship is helping wild fisheries rebuild, and how there’s official pushback against irresponsible antibiotic use in livestock.”

Additionally, the 8-week Stanford Twin study, the show is based around, is a small study with no long-term data. The associations made within the study are based on biomarkers, not actual health improvements. The vegan participants’ LDL and insulin dropped, although both data points are within range at baseline and at the end of the study. Their B12 availability declined by over 60% and they lost more muscle mass than their meat eating twin.

Note, I am not saying a plant-based or vegan diet is “bad,” rather promoting it through unchallenged bias and fear-mongering is problematic, and increases unnecessary food anxiety. Some have called the Netflix series, vegan propaganda, and as Reality Blurred shares it bluntly:

“So a documentary directed by a vegan, based on a study done by a vegan (who directs a program funded by vegan food), somehow miraculously comes to the conclusion that we should all be vegans.

And absolutely none of this is disclosed. Huh.”

PLEASE, be cautious of the claims from the study and documentary AND always prioritize your eating disorder + food relationship healing.

“This “documentary” has created fear and urgency in many people, and that itself is not good for health.”

“The diet industry is a virus, and viruses are smart. It has survived all these decades by adapting, but it’s as dangerous as ever. In 2019, dieting presents itself as wellness and clean eating, duping modern feminists to participate under the guise of health. The wellness industry is the diet industry, and the diet industry is a function of the patriarchal beauty standard under which people either punish themselves to become smaller or are punished for failing to comply, and the stress of this hurts our health too. Wellness is a largely white, privileged enterprise catering to largely white, privileged, already thin and able-bodied people, promoting exercise only they have the time to do and Tuscan kale only they have the resources to buy.”

Jessica Knoll
H/T Center for Body Trust

Opinion | Smash the Wellness Industry (Published 2019) Why are so many smart women falling for its harmful, pseudoscientific claims?

"They found that participants thought feeding strategies seen as coercive were not helpful in increasing their food variety. Coercive strategies included being forced to eat something, parents becoming angry due to their food avoidance, and not being allowed to leave the table until they finished eating. On the other hand, participants thought parent strategies seen as encouraging and expressing an understanding of their challenges were helpful in expanding their food variety, increasing pleasure around food, and improving their enjoyment—or decreasing their stress—in social eating situations. Participants expressed this even if they continued to have some form of food avoidance in adulthood."

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-news/2022/adult-picky-eaters-recall-helpful-parent-feeding-strategies

h/t edrdpro

Adult “Picky Eaters” Recall Helpful Parent Feeding Strategies Researchers asked a group of self-identified adult “picky eaters” to reflect on their parents’ feeding strategies to better understand which strategies were helpful and which weren’t.

Today I had someone say, “I’m dying to know, how did you, as a dietitian, deal with all the candy from Halloween?”

The answer, we were excited about the holiday and approached it like we do all eating experiences, with enjoyment and letting the boys eat sugar without anxiety, worry or extra energy around it.

Our youngest didn’t even want to trick or treat because he said, “I can have candy whenever I want.” But ultimately dressed up to join the fun and to get compliments on his Han Solo costume. Our oldest came home with a huge bag of candy, organized it, then said, “this is so overwhelming I don’t even know what I want.” Then made some candy trades, ate a Fun Dip, and went to bed.

Their candy stash is in their rooms, and they will eat candy here and there. Ultimately, they don’t have to get my permission or enter a power struggle around how many Kit Kats they can or cannot eat. We maintain structured eating, 3 meals and snacks, so they are not ravenously eating Snickers. Note, this is what has worked for our family and not the only approach for kids to experience habituation.

The goal of food neutrality, intuitive eating, raising competent eaters (or however we want to define my way of child feeding) is not to make candy so basic that they don’t want it. It’s to create an environment where they trust that fun food is available to them reliably, so they do not have to enter into last-supper-eating, secretive eating, binge or rebellious eating, etc…. all of which disconnects them from their body and breeds shame…leading to a disruptive relationship with food and their body.

Please, don’t take this as a judgement, if you are parenting differently, or as a my-way-is-the-right-way. I’d love for this post to be an invitation to explore your own sugar anxiety and/or diet mentality if Halloween becomes a stressful time in your household.

This is a phenomenal resource.

"Project HEALs Insurance Navigation Program helps individuals understand their often confusing insurance benefits and advocate to get their treatment covered."

The resource includes a glossary of health insurance terminology, how to secure coverage, short term insurance plans and much more!

Insurance Resource Hub - Project HEAL INSURANCE resource hub The current healthcare system in the United States routinely, unfairly denies coverage for treatment at the clinically appropriate level of care that someone struggling with an eating disorder needs to heal. HOW CAN PROJECT HEAL HELP? Project HEALs Insurance Navigation Program...

It's understandable that people with digestive symptoms desire relief, making food sensitivity test a promising route. HOWEVER, these test are NOT evidence-based and unnecessarily restrict foods from the diet.

For an explanations on why food sensitivity/intolerance tests (IgG) do not produce accurate results, read the following:

The myth of IgG food panel testing | AAAAI The AAAAI offers this article written & reviewed by allergy experts on the myth of IgG food panel testing.

As I share with parents, protecting your child from an eating disorder and/or lifelong battle with food FAR OUTWEIGHS any perceived or associated concerns with processed food.

I know there’s a lot of fear right now about processed food, and of course we all want to do our very best as parents. But labeling food good/bad, healthy/unhealthy and even processed/unprocessed can open the door for an eating disorder. All foods fit! We need to be careful of what we worry about when we're parenting our kids, because they’re always listening ❤️

"After monitoring the way the current system works for the past few years, one official called it "incredibly disappointing" and largely not compliant with the 2008 law. Analyses showed that people can access nutritional counseling if they have diabetes, for example, but not if they have eating disorders. The proposed policy, an official said, will "put a lot more teeth around how health plans have to actually measure parity."

H/T Juleeanna Andreoni

White House pushes private insurance companies to cover mental health care The new policy is part of a broader push by President Joe Biden to improve mental health care in the United States.

National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) continues to prove it is not a safe organization for body liberation and healing; especially if you are in a larger body. Ragen Chastain's most recent blog post goes into the details, and list eating disorder organizations worth following + supporting instead.

"To sum up, we have an organization that bills itself as “the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting individuals and families affected by eating disorders” that:

Rapidly replaced their entire helpline staff (a helpline that received over 60,000 requests in 2021 according to their filings) with a chatbot just days after the helpline paid staff voted to unionize

Responded to concerns about the dangerous things the chatbot was saying by publicly calling the person bringing the concern to light a liar

Tried to erase the interaction when it turned out that it was the VP of the organization who was lying

To me, these are not the actions of a reputable, ethical, non-profit organization. Again, NEDA was also one of the very few eating disorders organizations that failed to clearly denounce the disastrous American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines for higher-weight youth (which had multiple conflicts of interest with weight loss industry funding)..."

Eating Disorders Support ChatBot Promotes Weight Loss This is the Weight and Healthcare newsletter! If you like what you are reading, please consider subscribing and/or sharing! Recently I was made aware of something that was happening with the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) helpline. For the past twenty years, NEDA has run a helpline pro...

This article discusses mid-life eating disorder prevalence and risk, along with the concerning health conditions. Plus, how few (only 27%) receive the care they deserve and need.

"The risk of bone fracture is seven times higher in someone who’s had anorexia than in the general population."

"Chest muscles become weaker over time, especially in people who repeatedly force themselves to vomit. This raises pneumonia risk."

"Reflux, bloating, nausea, vomiting, constipation, or diarrhea may be dismissed as consequences of aging but instead may be related to an eating disorder."

https://www.health.harvard.edu/womens-health/eating-disorders-in-midlife?fbclid=IwAR2lSMG_yWYVWAVlusF67pg79SnDBjMjANuqFhhmg0uM-Wskb1zu8-Ebwhw

Eating disorders in midlife - Harvard Health By age 40, one in five women has dealt with an eating disorder. Risks for anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating can rise at midlife. Health effects can include bone loss, heart problems, lung conditi...

The Body is Not an Apology's 10 Tools for Radical Self Love Intensive is a self-paced 4 module e-course "created to move you from self-doubt, body shame, and disconnection to LIVING POWERFULLY IN RADICAL SELF-LOVE!"

It is currently being offered via teachable for free.

Go sign up!

Dive Into the Power of Our 10 Tools for Radical Self Love This self-paced 4 module e-course is designed to help you put our powerful 10 Tool for Radical Self Love into powerful practice in your daily life.

"The focus on physical body size over all other measurements of health can be deadly for children.".weight control efforts “rarely result in health improvement or sustainable weight loss and are instead associated with disordered eating and greater weight gain.”

When it comes to worrying about health associated risk, Alissa Rumsey emphasizes, “If you took a sample of 100,000 children, only 12 would have type 2 diabetes, whereas 2,900 would meet the criteria for an eating disorder.”

Lots to consider in this article. Note, the article uses o-words.

A Child’s BMI Does Not Determine Their Health Every day, children see their doctor for a regular checkup or a cold, but they leave with a clear message: "Your body is wrong. Go on a diet."

IT DOES NOT TEST FOR FOOD ALLERGIES

Food allergies and intolerances are often communicated in an interchangeable way among consumers. A quick peak at online reviews illuminates this point.

A food allergy activates the immune system and can lead to a range of symptoms, including an anaphylactic reaction. Whereas a food intolerance is often characterized as lacking a chemical or enzyme necessary for digestion, e.g., lactose intolerance.



This is an important distinction. If people are turning to food intolerance test to determine a food allergy, the false negative can be life-threatening.





THERE IS NO GOOD EVIDENCE THAT THEY WORK



There is currently no peer-reviewed and independently validated test for food sensitivities. You can find oversimplified explanations of how the test determines food triggers; however, it is all about marketing vs the science. Companies can sell the test without FDA-regulation or validity (don’t have to prove it works!).



THE IgG ANTIBODIES LIKELY SHOW FOOD TOLERANCE



From the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology’s Position Paper on IgG4:



"Serum antibody levels for IgG4 or IgE (or other IgG subclasses) indicate the presence of specific antibody but do not make a diagnosis. The presence of antibody does not indicate disease"

From the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Blood testing for sensitivity, allergy, or intolerance to food by Elana Lavine, MD:

"The detection of food-specific IgG shows a physiologic response of the immune system to exposure to food. For IgG4 in particular, this may be the normal human response.5 Immunoglobulin G antibodies directed at specific foods can be found in healthy children as well as adults.6 Higher levels of IgG4 to foods in infancy may be associated with tolerance to those foods later in childhood.7

The relation between IgG4 and food has been further explored through the recent developments in oral immunotherapy to foods. Efforts to induce permanent tolerance to allergens such as milk or peanuts have been accompanied by increases in patients’ IgG4 levels to those foods.8 Therefore, IgG4 is believed to be a marker of exposure to food and possibly of tolerance."

In short, food specific IgG is a normal, expected response to ingestion. It proves that the body has been exposed to the food and your body is fine with it. Not a reason to eliminate/restrict.

MISDIAGNOSES KEEP PEOPLE FROM APPROPRIATE TEST & CARE



These test are often touted as a way to empower people to eat according to their body. However, there is nothing empowering about a misdiagnosis. It keeps people from knowing what is truly going on for them, along with the appropriate treatment and care. Plus, it activates anxiety and unnecessary food restriction; in some cases, worsening or triggering an eating disorder. The nutrients lost from the restricted foods can lead to malnutrition and the symptoms that accompany it, e.g. exhaustion, poor concentration. Along with a loss of preferred meals and snacks, and overall food enjoyment.

For parents and caregivers who are rightfully outraged and concerned about the new American of Pediatric Association (APA) guidelines, this resource from Sunny Side Up Nutrition prepares you for doctor appointments, along with suggestion for before, during and after visits.

One of the possible statements to advocate for your child's wellbeing:

“We are not interested in any referral with the goal of only reducing body size. If you have concerns about my child’s nutrition, I would like to be referred to a Registered Dietitian who is weight-inclusive and understands the risks of dieting
and eating disorders.”

https://crcfored.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Parent-Resource.pdf?mibextid=uc01c0&fbclid=IwAR00cIL3mmd4sUqzWXEEUlwXWL0bMH2-BicsGh8chQD6C13Tq22qSb5T_Us

A study involving 362 children under age 4 with a peanut allergy, presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting, found that using a skin patch, containing the equivalent of about 1/1,000 of a single peanut, placed between the shoulder blades daily for a year increased the amount of peanut protein necessary to trigger an allergic reaction and reduced its severity, compared with a placebo. Researcher Matthew Greenhawt noted that "one of the advantages of this type of therapy is that there are no restrictions based on illness or day-to-day activities, unlike certain other therapies."

Immunotherapy skin patch shows efficacy for toddlers with peanut allergy LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Epicutaneous immunotherapy conferred a significant response after 12 months among children aged 1 to 3 years with peanut allergy, according to results of the phase 3 randomized, double-blind EPITOPE study.These results were presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma...

Of course kids are pumped up on Halloween; they are rocking their favorite superhero costume, filling their candy bag with an exciting variety of candy and running around the neighborhood with friends.

When sugar is unfairly blamed for a child's behavior they are no longer in touch with what is truly going on for them, e.g. bright lights and loud noises are overwhelming to me; all of this excitement feels like anxiety in my body. Along with what they need from their parents/guardians, e.g. support with regulation, validation (understanding) of their experience.

In the case of a child who has limited or inconsistent access to candy, intensity around sugar is to be expected. Dietary deprivation leads to making up for what has been restricted when limits are lifted, e.g. made available, temporary permission. It can sound like I'm going to eat it all while I can, because it is going to be hidden/taken when we get home.

As Sumner Brooks & Amee Severson share in How to Raise An Intuitive Eater: Raising the Next Generation with Food & Body Confidence:

"Loss of trust, or mistrust, occurs (for example) when dieting or during times when food is scarce. You stop giving your body the food it needs and then your body responds by enacting changes in hormones and neurochemicals that create urges to overeat or binge, compensating for the lack of food. This is the beginning of a cycle of mistrust and disordered eating."

When the blame is on the Halloween candy, the concern is narrowed down to the Twizzlers, rather than widening the lens to observe all the factors at play and the long-term implications on a child's relationship and trust with both themselves and food.

Note, bouncing around, big emotions and being loud are NOT "abnormal" behaviors. This is especially true for neurodivergent children who use these behaviors to self-regulate.

Workplace weight loss programs do NOT deliver improved wellness. In many cases they trigger disordered eating and food preoccupation. Plus, perpetuates the yo-yo weight cycling, a factor in premature mortality and health risk.

This article outlines the problem with corporate wellness programs that ignore what employees desire to feel supported in their overall wellbeing: generous paid time off, flexible work options, and paid family leave. AND "If we truly wanted to discuss health, we would be talking about equal and equitable health care, access to food, mental health, social connections, access to green spaces, and much more. We would focus less on what a body looks like and more on behaviors that can help promote actual health."

https://www.self.com/story/workplace-weight-loss-challenges?fbclid=IwAR2vtkmI-eqAr8zeJ6I1VEQbAXYvrhPwy6H7fKxtIYgFzBKuEzk-t1Wd364%20

Why Weight-Loss Challenges Have No Business in the Workplace There are better ways to employee well-being.

""Being positive and loving your body is a huge ask for a lot of people, especially those who feel their body doesn't belong to them such as pregnant or postpartum individuals whose bodies have changed substantially," says MacPherson. "The pressure that comes with it can cause stress, anxiety, and feelings of failure."

Enter the body-neutrality movement, which basically ignores any expectation that our bodies need to be "beautiful" because that's not their purpose."

https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/rihanna-postpartum-body-critique-48922137?fbclid=IwAR1dYuasluI7TvUlNgicNcNiS0MJp2DmMV93gfhCMrXEwYBwhd7CDIK6co8

Rihanna's Postpartum Body Is Just a Body, Not "Inspo" For the Body-Positivity Movement Rihanna is being praised for "embracing her thickness," which only contributes to snapback culture and toxic body positivity.