In our past blogs we have voiced our clinical opinions regarding the need for increased screening for disordered eating. Who should be screening? Primary providers such as pediatricians, therapists and dietitians come to mind. In the news this past week it was reported that there is no clear evidence at this time to recommend specific guidelines for or against screening for eating disorders (HealthDay, 2022).

A celiac diagnosis can turn your world upside down and totally change your relationship with food. Whether you were diagnosed as a child or later in life, it can take a toll on the way you interact with food. Feelings of scarcity, hypervigilance, and even greif are normal - but this doesn’t mean you can't have a healthy and enjoyable relationship with food!

Vegan lifestyles are becoming ever so popular over the past decade. People from all walks of life are deciding not to eat animal or animal products.

HAES® is the acronym for a movement that has been around since the 1960s, otherwise known as Health at Every Size®. HAES® is a weight-neutral approach to health, emphasizing healthy behavior changes to promote health rather than weight loss. It encourages individuals to appreciate their bodies for what they can do and provide rather than for how they look.

There’s always been discussion among professionals about the brain and eating disorders. At surface level, we often see changes in mood, behaviors and of course, eating habits with our clients. But what if there was more to this story? How would it help us during the recovery process?

Often, as eating disorder specialists we get asked WHY eating disorders surface. Parents, providers and those dealing with eating issues wonder what factors contribute to disordered eating. The answer remains complex. Eating disorders involve many different layers and variables. Genetics, trauma and life transitions have been studied and reported as contributors to disordered eating. An article just this week out of healthday.com, highlighted another factor to consider, especially in younger people dealing with disordered eating. Bullying.

A new study was recently published addressing stress and eating disorders. This study was unique in that it had the controlled variables of a residential setting. Both clients and clinicians perceive on some level that binge eating symptoms often come as a result of stress. This study highlights the contrary. These “hot off the press” findings came out last month in the Journal of Neuroscience

Like many eating disorder nutrition practices, this year we’ve seen an influx of complex, complicated and even atypical cases come to our virtual doorsteps. The pandemic has given us an opportunity to work with a more robust and complete picture of eating disorders that span the spectrum of age, gender, race and symptom presentation.

Has being diagnosed with COVID messed with your relationship with food? You aren’t alone. Many people who have suffered from COVID experience smell and taste changes. Parosmia (a distortion of smell) and anosmia (a diminished sense of smell) can cause previously enjoyable aromas, like a warm cup of coffee or fresh flowers, to become unpleasant, intolerable, and even disappear altogether.

As a practice dedicated to eating disorders, it’s common for clients, families and colleagues to assume we treat the more known disorders of Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating Disorder, and OSFED. Although Integrated Eating does work with clients with these diagnoses, more and more we are referred clients reporting ARFID symptoms. New to the term? Join the club.