MNN - Mother Nature Network

Katie Couric's new daytime talk show "Katie" is only a few days old, but the journalist is already using her new spotlight to shed light on important issues. 

 

“I wrestled with bulimia all through college and for two years after that," Couric told eating disorder specialist Cynthia Bulik. "And I know this rigidity, this feeling that if you eat one thing that’s wrong, you’re full of self-loathing and then you punish yourself, whether it’s one cookie or a stick of gum that isn’t sugarless, that I would sometimes beat myself up for that."

 

“How do you have a healthy relationship with food, and say, ‘You know what, I can have one cookie and it’s okay?’ That is such a huge thing for people who wrestle with this," she added. 

 

The episode, which featured an interview with “X-Factor” judge Demi Lovato (who has also grappled with eating disorders), was praised by Bulik for giving young girls the inspiration to get healthy. 

 

“It’s like you can look into the future and someone can say, ‘This is possible. Recovery is possible. I can change my thoughts that way,’" she said. "And just the honesty behind saying, ‘Yeah, I do still struggle. And these thoughts do come into my mind sometimes.’ But just knowing that you can get past that, and learning strategies from someone who’s been there, that’s what it’s all about in terms of recovery.”

 

To learn more about bulimia and and the resources available to help, jump here. 

 

Related healthy eating story on MNN: Men and boys have eating disorders, too