One of the biggest trends is wellness, and over the past six years there has been a massive increase in the amount of people who are “eating clean” on social media or following a “healthy” lifestyle. It has become “aspirational, a status symbol” (Glass, 2016). However, as someone who became anorexic through clean eating, I can tell you that in reality, following these diets could possibly be one of the most damaging things that you could do to your body and is actually “unhealthy” in reality as it could lead to a lifelong mental disorder. In February 2015 I was diagnosed with Anorexia & Orthorexia nervosa; an obsession with eating foods that are healthy and avoiding others perceived to be harmful. However, after a food reintroduction programme and intensive counselling, I am now fully recovered. The effects of this illness were extreme weight loss, depression, anxiety, muscle weakness, poor circulation, low energy levels, yellowed skin, hair loss, absent menstrual cycle, permanent dizziness and lack of concentration; all of which could of lead to hospitalisation and a long-term recovery plan including months or years’ worth of counselling.
Fig. 1 Woman holding a glass of green smoothie with eco-friendly reusable metallic straw (2020)
Sadly in our society eating disorders are very common and can happen to anyone; over 1.6 million people in the UK are estimated to be affected by eating disorders and 80-90% of people with anorexia are obsessed with clean eating. Society has an obsession with the quality and health content of food, and when taken to an extreme it can become a pathological fixation (Sanghani, 2015). Furthermore, all “clean” diets involve cutting out certain food groups (e.g. gluten, dairy, grains and meat) which isn’t real health advice and is unfortunately “embraced by those with underlying psychological difficulties and used to justify an increasingly restrictive diet — with potentially life-threatening results” (Petter, 2017). One of the main problems with “clean eating” (and a major trend in the wellness industry) is that many of the diets involve becoming vegan. Over the past 10 years in the UK there has been a “350% estimated rise in the number of vegans;” with 63% being female and nearly half aged 15-34 (Glass, 2016). This diet can be dangerous, as if it is badly planned there is a high chance of deficiencies in both vitamin B12 and iron (it can also be challenging to consume enough calories daily).
Another issue with the wellness industry is that many of the health bloggers (influencers and celebrities) who promote clean eating are unqualified. Although they don’t claim to be nutritionists, they can give misleading/incorrect information and what they are advocating can lack scientific support (Glass, 2016). For example, the Hemsley Sisters (famous health gurus) were incriminated by their support of Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride’s gut and psychology syndrome diet, which contains no valid nutritional advice and completely false information (Clean Eating: The Dirty Truth, 2017). When influencers take advantage of their followers for profit they are forgetting that their younger, more impressionable followers will be following a diet that consists of incorrect or twisted facts that could potentially lead to a lifelong mental illness.
Fig. 2 Outdoor Yoga (2019)
The wellness industry is worth $4.5 trillion (McBain, 2020). I see myself as a Guinea pig for all of the wellness trends, as I have grown with them in many ways. During my recovery from what I thought was a “healthy” lifestyle, I became yoga and mindfulness obsessed (I was exercising compulsively before, so was banned from doing traditional fitness). I also noticed a rise in the number of health experts on social media who worked to educate people about mental health and the misinformation around food, or ‘nutribollocks’ as Dr Joshua Wolrich calls it. Wolrich challenges weight stigma, fad diets, restrictive eating and “cure-all” supplements or diets, and has helped many people with their relationship with their body (Happiful, 2021). Next came the Body positive movement, which admittedly helped me to gain confidence. Needless to say I ignored the optimal health gym trend (as it would still be triggering), and now I am extremely passionate about sustainability.
To conclude, wellness encodes the idea that you alone are in charge of your health, and it is a privilege; “wellness gurus treat the self as the source of endless improvement while acting as though a person’s socio-economic environment is as immutable as the laws of physics.” Wellness makes self-love something that can be purchased, although alongside clinical therapy it can be crucial in helping many people. Having said that, those who need wellness the most probably do not have access to it (McBain, 2020).
Bibliography
Clean Eating: The Dirty Truth (2017) [Television programme] BBC Horizon 19/01/2017.
Glass, K. (2016) “The Clean Eating Myth” In: The Sunday Times Magazine. pp.16-23.
Happiful (2021) Dr Joshua Wolrich: Food isn’t medicine - challenge the nutrib&llocks! At: https://happiful.com/dr-joshua-wolrich/ (Accessed 03/05/2021).
McBain, S. (2020) The dark side of the wellness industry At: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/health/2020/06/dark-side-wellness-industry (Accessed 03/05/2021).
Petter, O. (2017) “Clean eating is ugly, malevolent and damaging, says eating disorder specialist” In: The Independent 20/07/2017. At: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/clean-eating-disorders-ugly-damaging-health-diet-food-pemberton-ella-woodward-a7848381.html (Accessed 03/05/2021).
Sanghani, R. (2015) “The shocking truth about clean eating - it's anything but healthy” In: The Telegraph 6/11/2018. At: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/the-shocking-truth-about-clean-eating---its-anything-but-healthy/ (Accessed 03/05/2021).
List of Images
Fig. 1 Alexandrova, V. (2020) Woman holding a glass of green smoothie with eco-friendly reusable metallic straw. [Photo] At: https://unsplash.com/photos/9zsiNYwvYCM (Accessed 03/05/2021).
Fig. 2 Wetton, D. (2019) Outdoor Yoga. [Photo] At: https://unsplash.com/photos/zdLdgGbi9Ow (Accessed 03/05/2021).
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