Food Psych #175: The Truth About Digestion and Gut Health with Marci Evans
Fellow anti-diet dietitian Marci Evans is back to discuss the intersection of digestive disorders and eating disorders, the risks associated with elimination diets, the role of the gut microbiome in digestion and health, the importance of consistency in self-care and well-being, and more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about why she as a dietitian doesn’t advise people to shift their food choices to less-processed foods.
Marci is a Food and Body Image Healer™. She has dedicated her career to counseling, supervising, and teaching in the field of eating disorders. She is a Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian and Supervisor, Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor and Certified ACSM personal trainer. In addition to her group private practice, Marci launched an online eating disorders training platform for dietitians in 2015 and co-directs a specialized eating disorders dietetic internship at Simmons College. She volunteers for a number of national eating disorder organizations and has spoken locally and internationally at numerous conferences and media outlets. She loves social media and you can find her on all outlets @MarciRD. Find her online at MarciRD.com.
We Discuss:
What Marci has been up to since she was last on the podcast
Christy’s upcoming book
How Marci became interested in digestive concerns in her work as an eating disorder dietitian
The risks associated with the low-FODMAP diet and other elimination diets
Alternative therapies to elimination diets
What defines a functional gut disorder
The overlap between eating disorders and functional gut disorders
The role of mental health in digestion
Why we shouldn’t dismiss psychosomatic symptoms
Whether eating disorders lead to functional gut disorders, or vice versa
The common risk factors between disordered eating and digestive issues
The mechanisms that lead to digestive concerns in eating disorders
Why symptoms can sometimes persist after recovery
How any disordered eating behaviors can contribute to gut symptoms
How dieting can lead to digestive concerns
The gut microbiome, and its role in digestion, weight, and health
Why it’s too early to draw many conclusions from gut microbiome research
The consequences of a restrictive diet
The limitations of nutrition and weight research
Anti-diet dietitians and medical nutrition therapy
Pelvic floor disorders, and how their symptoms can be similar to functional gut disorders
Why in many cases dietary interventions should be the last resort, not first-line care
The importance of consistency in self-care and well-being
Christy’s own experiences with digestive symptoms
Stress-management techniques, and how they can help calm gut symptoms
Body image and its intersection with digestive disorders
Resources Mentioned
Some of the links below are affiliate links. Affiliates or not, we only recommend products and services that align with our values.
Submit your questions for a chance to have them answered on the podcast
My online course, Intuitive Eating Fundamentals
Marci’s first Food Psych® Podcast episode
Marci and Fiona’s Body Image Online Training for Dietitians and Clinicians
Lauren Dear’s work
“Psychological features are important predictors of functional gastrointestinal disorders in patients with eating disorders” (source of the statistic that up to 98 percent of people with eating disorders have functional gut disorders)
“Can eating disorders cause functional gastrointestinal disorders?“ (source of the evidence that disordered eating can cause increased sensitivity in the gut, which may explain people’s perception of sensitivity to certain foods)
“Disordered Eating Practices in Gastrointestinal Disorders” (source of the statistic that up to 44 percent of general gastroenterology patients engage in disordered eating behaviors)
Kate Scarlata’s work
Peter Gibson’s work
Marci’s website and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Listener Question of the Week
Is it possible to eat intuitively when you are choosing mostly highly-processed foods? Shouldn’t dietitians and health advisors be advising people to move away from fast food? How can you attune to your internal cues when there is so much external messaging associated with fast food and highly-processed foods? What does the science say about how our food environment and how it affects our eating habits? Why do we need to be skeptical of Brian Wansink’s research? What made his research so popular and widely cited? How can listening to our internal cues versus external cues change our eating habits? What is “gentle nutrition” in the context of intuitive eating? Why is gentle nutrition the last principle of intuitive eating? Why doesn’t Christy advise people to shift away from choosing fast food and highly-processed foods? What is the connection between food insecurity and disordered eating?
(Resources Mentioned: Food Psych® Podcast episode #127, Restrained Eating and Food Cues: Recent Findings and Conclusions, Food Insecurity and Eating Disorder Pathology - TW/CW for the last two resources for specific numbers and fatphobic language )