Althouse: "I started living in a bubble of restriction. Entirely vegan, entirely plant-based, entirely gluten-free..."

December 1, 2014

"I started living in a bubble of restriction. Entirely vegan, entirely plant-based, entirely gluten-free..."

"... oil-free, refined sugar-free, flour-free, dressing/sauce-free, etc. and lived my life based off of when I could and could not eat and what I could and could not combine."

At some point, the interest in "healthy" eating becomes an unhealthy obsession, orthorexia nervosa.

This reminds me of the most interesting sin called scrupulosity — the sinful obsession with not sinning.

51 comments:

SomeoneHasToSayIt said...: Hey, you're not supposed to expose the secrets of what Carlin called "The Greatest Bullshit Story Ever Told".

1. Here's a list of 'sins'
2. Never doing any of them is also a 'sin'

Gotta hand it to those BS-ers. But then, they've had centuries to hone their craft.; 12/1/14, 1:09 PM
Henry said...: I think this calls for an FDA order that chain restaurants NOT post calorie counts.; 12/1/14, 1:23 PM
KLDAVIS said...: Everything in cruel moderation.; 12/1/14, 1:25 PM
Bob Boyd said...: Scrupulosity is no fun.
Scrupulosity by proxy, on the other hand, is what he smart set is into nowadays.; 12/1/14, 1:30 PM
n.n said...: With regular B-12 supplements found in animal and synthetic products... and contaminated plants ("fossil" vitamins).; 12/1/14, 1:44 PM
Bob Boyd said...: Scrupulosity is an interesting sin, but is it "the most interesting sin"?
I'd have to say no and here's my thinking: Suppose two articles come up side by side.
One is about the sufferings of some guy down with a stubborn case of scrupulosity.
The other deals with the difficulties faced by an active horse rapist in rural America.
Which one are you going to read?; 12/1/14, 1:50 PM
Shanna said...: There is a bit of a tendency now in some quarters to be angry with anyone who decides they are cutting down on sugar, grains, etc and label then with this new supposed disease. It is very irritating. Just like everyone thinks they are ADHD or 'on the spectrum' now.; 12/1/14, 1:50 PM
John said...: Sounds vaguely familiar... like racism without racists.

Great minds do they ever think?; 12/1/14, 1:52 PM
Anonymous said...: As one caller into a local radio station said, "Bitches be crazy."

And there's your answer right there.; 12/1/14, 1:52 PM
ron winkleheimer said...: C.S. Lewis, in, I think, "Mere Christianity" states that gluttony can be expressed in excessive denial as well as in over indulgence.

The sin is to overly prioritize the physical body while neglecting other aspects of your existence.; 12/1/14, 2:04 PM
Meade said...: "Which one are you going to read?"

Neither. It's a sin to take pleasure in the sins of others.

It's also a sin to lie. Truth is I'd peek at both articles.

But I'd feel bad about it. The lie, I mean.; 12/1/14, 2:08 PM
Phil 314 said...: Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value

Paul's letter to the church in Colossae, second chapter; 12/1/14, 2:11 PM
Meade said...: I'd also feel bad about my sin of peeking. But I'd feel better for having only peeked and not reading every word. So at least there's that.

Imbalanced Grey.; 12/1/14, 2:11 PM
Anonymous said...: C.S. Lewis, in, I think, "Mere Christianity" states that gluttony can be expressed in excessive denial as well as in over indulgence.

The sin is to overly prioritize the physical body while neglecting other aspects of your existence.

I was going to quote C.S. Lewis but couldn't find the quote I wanted.

It's about dieting and that the rules of a proper diet change with the years but people will continue to eat, and get full, and be healthy, not matter what the experts come up with.; 12/1/14, 2:26 PM
Bob Boyd said...: "Imbalanced Grey."
Sounds like the name of a horse....with long odds.

"Neither. It's a sin to take pleasure in the sins of others."
You might enjoy the new aggregator site for the scrupulous. Its called 'Neveredditt'; 12/1/14, 2:28 PM
Abdul Abulbul Amir said...: Vegans are people that hate plants. Shameful.; 12/1/14, 2:30 PM
FullMoon said...: Scrupulosity is a psychological disorder characterized by pathological guilt about moral or religious issues
As a very young child, I would cry because of fear I was going to hell. My mother would soothe me by assuring me it would be a long time before I had to go.

Mom's always know the right thing to say; 12/1/14, 2:33 PM
Meade said...: "Mom's always know the right thing to say"

LOL. Plus she toughened you up and prepared you for living in this future world ruled by feminists.; 12/1/14, 2:42 PM
Trashhauler said...: Ever since my son and his family went Vegan, our social contact has been sadly limited. We eat at their house ever once in a while. I go to lengths to find someplace where we might dine together.

Ice cream and cake at birthdays seem exclusionary. And, while I don't mind vitamins, getting various supplements for Christmas makes it difficult to express the proper gratitude.

Who can I sue for alienation of affection?; 12/1/14, 2:56 PM
Meade said...: "Vegans are people that hate plants. Shameful."

And they generally look like they wouldn't taste very good. Jaundiced, pallid, puny, and sad. Flavorless, dry, tough, with no sizzle.

This I why I go out of my way to hunt and select grass-fed free-range animals who were recently happy, healthy, and bouncy.; 12/1/14, 3:00 PM
Bob Boyd said...: A Long Night On A Short Ladder
Confessions of a genuine horse lover.

When I went down to the barn that night, I told myself I was just going to take a peek.; 12/1/14, 3:00 PM
Meade said...: Like I said — happy, healthy, and bouncy.; 12/1/14, 3:04 PM
lgv said...: I enjoy a rich, gluten, preservative filled meal every now and then, maybe even veal.

I limit it due the healing time from self-flagellation with the cattail whip after such meals. Once the wounds have healed it's time for another good meal.; 12/1/14, 3:12 PM
lgv said...: BTW, the concept of veganism as a health choice is a recent one. It's part of the vegan sales pitch. Veganism is not about health, it is about philosophy, or some type of belief system.; 12/1/14, 3:24 PM
Bob Boyd said...: Tall tails aside....; 12/1/14, 3:32 PM
William said...: I haven't changed my diet much, but I do feel guiltier about it. A couple of times I've noted the calorie count on muffins and changed my mind. You'd think a raisin bran muffin would be healthy, but one of those suckers could keep a village in Somalia alive for a week.; 12/1/14, 3:40 PM
Meade said...: Season 3 episode 7 "Wilbur and Ed in Showbiz"; 12/1/14, 3:42 PM
jr565 said...: Those arguing for organic food are not totally wrong. I'd rather eat stuff without pesticides and hormones than with. That being said, no pesticides and you run
The risk of horrible ecoli which can be worse.; 12/1/14, 3:59 PM
jr565 said...: Doing without those things are ok so long as you eat plenty of animal fats. We need fat to survive people.; 12/1/14, 4:04 PM
mesquito said...: I rarely think about food. I eat whatever the hell I want. I can knock out 50 miles on a mountain bike in under four hours. I'm 49. I have a life.; 12/1/14, 4:25 PM
Jaq said...: I am grateful for all of these deluded fools. My daughter suffers from Celiac's and gets ill whenever she eats gluten. This has made it much easier to get gluten free products.; 12/1/14, 4:26 PM
Anonymous said...: Scrupulosity isn't a sin. It's considered a possible symptom of anxiety and something confessors should be aware of so they can guide people in the right direction and soothe them, but it's not a sin in any church I know of.; 12/1/14, 4:27 PM
Deirdre Mundy said...: People need boundaries-- we're build that way.

So, when you toss aside the traditional religions that came with boundaries, you start making your own boundaries and treating them as a religion.

And some of the taboos end up stupid and harmful, because they're man made taboos that were created to satisfy an urge.

When we worship the god of our bellies, we do weird things.; 12/1/14, 4:54 PM
eddie willers said...: but people will continue to eat, and get full, and be healthy, not matter what the experts come up with.

The only science that is less credible than "nutrition science" is "climate science".; 12/1/14, 5:06 PM
Trashhauler said...: "When people stop believing in God, they don't believe in nothing— they believe in anything."; 12/1/14, 5:06 PM
Titus said...: I stopped eating anything on four legs....thank you.; 12/1/14, 5:32 PM
Pianoman said...: lgv is dead on: "Veganism is not about health, it is about philosophy, or some type of belief system."

Vegetarian + Politics + Outrage = Vegan; 12/1/14, 6:11 PM
Meade said...: "I stopped eating anything on four legs....thank you. "

I only eat pigs that have at least one wooden leg.; 12/1/14, 6:23 PM
Bob Boyd said...: "I only eat pigs that have at least one wooden leg."

That's called leftovers.; 12/1/14, 6:25 PM
Pianoman said...: Jules gives his philosophy on pig: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA_Tl1kvlQU; 12/1/14, 6:34 PM
Deirdre Mundy said...: I just realized I spend more than 3 hours a day preparing food and drinks.

Sorry kids, get your own darn lunch! It's for Mommy's mental health!

Also, my daughter point out that by the 3 hour rule, people who work in restaurants are mentally ill.; 12/1/14, 7:24 PM
Tarrou said...: "At some point" being the minute you thought more about what you eat than "is this good?" and "is it healthy?"; 12/1/14, 7:29 PM
Archilochus said...: Romans 7:14-25 describes a believer who clearly sees the inability of his flesh to uphold the divine standard. The more spiritual or mature a believer is, the greater his sensitivity to his shortcomings will be. An immature Christian doesn't have such an honest self perception. The legalist is under the illusion that he is very spiritual.

But again, it is the mature Christian who possesses an honest self-evaluation. And Paul exhibited that in passages other than Romans 7.

1 Corinthians 15:9-10--Paul said, " For I am the least of the apostles, who am not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am. "

Ephesians 3:8--Paul considered himself as "the very least of all saints."

That 1 Corinthians was written before Ephesians shows he became more sensitive to sin as time went on. Although in our judgment Paul is the supreme man relative to other men, he saw himself as having fallen from the position of the least of the apostles to less than the least of all believers.

The terms Paul uses in Romans 7 are so precise that we can't miss his struggle with sin. He states that he hates committing sin (v. 15), that he loves righteousness (vv. 19, 21), that he delights in the law of God from the bottom of his heart (v. 22), and that he thanks God for the deliverance that is his in Christ (v. 25). Those are the responses of a mature Christian.; 12/1/14, 7:48 PM
Joe said...: Isn't eating only plants rather brutal and speciest to flora?; 12/1/14, 8:13 PM
ron winkleheimer said...: "I only eat pigs that have at least one wooden leg."

Guy is out in the country when his car breaks down. He sees a farm house down the road and heads toward it.

As he walks through the front yard he sees a pig walking around on three legs.

He knocks on the door, the farmer answers and allows the stranded motorist to use his phone to call for a tow truck.

While waiting for the tow truck the motorist asks the farmer what is up with the three legged pig?

The farmer says,

"Well, that is a really special pig. We had a fire and that pig woke us up. If it wasn't for that pig the whole family would have burnt up. And the pig ran a rabid dog off that was threatening our 3 year old daughter."

"But why does the pig only have three legs," the motorist asked.

"Well a pig like that, you don't eat all at once."; 12/1/14, 8:30 PM
LTMG said...: As a kid in parochial school, a priest explained scrupulosity to us. He went on to explain how he managed scrupulosity in the confessional. He said that he levied a penance of drinking 20 glass of water each day for a week. His logic was that between drinking the water and going to the bathroom the penitent didn't have time to think about sin.; 12/1/14, 8:45 PM
ken in tx said...: If you want know about scrupulosity, try living with someone who keeps a perfect kosher kitchen. You can't even wash your hands in the kitchen sink.; 12/1/14, 9:02 PM
John Cunningham said...: Titus said...
I stopped eating anything on four legs....thank you.

so you are enjoying snake meat and bugs,I take it?; 12/1/14, 9:44 PM
Birkel said...: ken in tx:
That's a really interesting comment in light of Christ's rejection of the Pharisees who were beholden to rules that worsened the human condition.; 12/1/14, 10:41 PM
Quaestor said...: Those arguing for organic food are not totally wrong.

Those arguing for organic food are arguing for mass starvation.; 12/2/14, 3:01 AM
richard mcenroe said...: Titus: so dolphin is still OK by you?; 12/2/14, 10:12 AM