When I write blog posts, I often come across various curious or even outrageous statements about vegetarianism. One of them, very insistent, is that the World Health Organization (WHO) allegedly recognized vegetarianism as a mental disorder … And when I even wrote about it in the comments, I could not resist and decided to conduct a small investigation: where did this “news” come from and how it relates with reality. So what I found out.
The news sounds something like this: “The World Health Organization (WHO) has expanded the list of mental illnesses requiring the immediate intervention of a psychiatrist. Added to it vegetarianism and raw food (sic! I quote, keeping the spelling. – Yu.K.), which according to the classification of mental disorders are included in group F63.8 (other disorders of habits and impulses) “.
This statement has nothing to do with reality, as everyone can easily verify by going to the WHO website. Let’s look at the classification of diseases published by the World Health Organization, it is called the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision (ICD-10) – WHO Version. I am looking at the current version, ICD-10, Version 2016. Neither F63.8 nor any other number is vegetarian. And here is what is:
“F63.8. Other behavioral and impulsive disorders. This category applies to other types of persistently repetitive inappropriate behavior that are not secondary to recognized psychiatric syndromes and in which one may think of a recurrent inability to resist the urge for certain behaviors. There is a prodromal period of tension with a sense of relief when the appropriate action is taken. (To be honest, this description reminds me a lot … the symptoms of sugar addiction and sugar cravings =).
I cannot find any mention of the link between vegetarianism and mental disorders on the WHO website. Moreover, there were denials of this news from the official representatives of the organization. For example, Tatyana Kolpakova, a representative of the regional Russian office of the WHO, told Voice of Russia about this gossip: “This is absolutely not true.”
Why a representative of Russia and Voice of Russia? Perhaps because it was on the Runet that this news was actively disseminated (or maybe it originally appeared, – I cannot say for sure) this news.
Finally, let’s turn our attention to the sources of the news. They are few and far between. For example, the above quote is from a site called supersyroed.mybb.ru, which, like many other distributors, referred to news on resources like neva24.ru and fognews.ru. Yes, don’t bother opening these links: they no longer exist. Today it is no longer possible to find such information on these resources. And, what is much more important, you cannot find this sensational news on sites that are more credible, for example, large news agencies.
The peak in the dissemination of materials on the inclusion of vegetarianism in the list of mental disorders occurred in 2012 (the cited news is dated March 20, 2012). And now several years have passed – and waves from this absurd and already refuted “fact” are still appearing here and there. Very sorry!
It happens that the reason for the appearance of such rumors is (not) deliberate distortion of truthful information. Therefore, at the same time, I decided to find out, but what does science really know about the potential connection between vegetarianism and the mental state? I will refer to the publication in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity dated June 7, 2012 (that is, after the first “reports” about F63.8), the authors of which summarized many conclusions and conducted their research in Germany. Title: Vegetarian diet and mental disorders: results from a representative community survey
Here is the authors’ conclusion: “In Western cultures, a vegetarian diet is associated with an increased risk of mental illness. However, there is no evidence of a causal role for vegetarianism in the etiology of mental disorder. “
I’ll tell you a little more about what I learned from this study. Its authors identify three potential types of relationship between a vegetarian diet and a person’s mental state.
The first type of connection is biological. It is associated with a lack of certain nutrients that can be caused by vegetarianism. “At the biological level, nutritional status resulting from a vegetarian diet can affect neuronal function and brain synaptic plasticity, which in turn influences processes that are important for the onset and maintenance of mental disorders. For example, there is strong evidence that long-chain omega-3 fatty acids are causally associated with the risk of major depressive disorder. In addition, although the evidence is less clear-cut, vitamin B12 levels are causally associated with major depressive disorders. Studies have found that vegetarians show lower tissue concentrations of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B12, which may increase their risk of major depressive disorder. ” The conclusion of scientists: in this case, the transition to vegetarianism may precede the onset of mental disorders.
What can I say to this? It might be worth making your diet more balanced.
Further, the second type of connection that scientists talk about is based on stable psychological characteristics. They influence both the choice of a vegetarian diet and the development of mental disorders. In this case, vegetarianism is not associated with the development of a mental disorder.
Finally, the third type of connection: the development of mental disorders that increase the likelihood of choosing a vegetarian diet. In this case, the onset of the mental disorder will precede the transition to vegetarianism. Although, the scientists clarify, there are not enough published findings on this type of connection. As far as I understand, the point at issue is that perhaps a person with a disorder that makes him overly concerned about his habits or the suffering of animals tends to choose restrictive diets, including vegetarianism.
At the same time, the study notes the possibility of not only a negative, but also a positive connection between vegetarianism and mental health: “Thus, some psychological and socio-demographic characteristics of vegetarians, such as a negative way of not doing. – Yu.K.) can have detrimental effects on mental health, while other characteristics such as healthy lifestyles and ethical motivation can have positive effects. ”