Orthorexia

Not focused on dramatically losing weight, like Anorexia, but striving to eat only healthy foods, Orthorexia can be just as dangerous.

Health experts tell us that the world is becoming obese and we need to start eating better. People who develop Orthorexia, an unofficial eating disorder, take that advice a little too far. Steven Bratman, M.D., has created the term Orthorexia Nervosa, which, literally, means "fixation on righteous eating."

We call them "health junkies" because they watch what they eat with precision. But the line gets crossed when this becomes an obsession and food begins to take on the characteristics of either being pure or tarnished. What can start out as an ambition to achieve better health, becomes a fixation: pill popping, herbal remedies, no fat, no sugar, supplements, a vegan diet, are not harmful on their own, but if put together with an obsessive attitude, can turn into an eating disorder.

Not only do sufferers feel good about themselves for eating only the healthiest of food, they feel a sense of spiritual cleanliness. Their virtuous beliefs become stronger the more extreme their behaviour becomes. Sometimes a physical condition like food allergies can begin the journey to this state; the person has to start eliminating certain things from their diet in order to feel well, but ends up eating only 4 or 5 foods in total. Their thoughts begin to focus around this diet and they get the same sense of guilt that people with disordered eating get when they "slip up."

Signs of Orthorexia:

• the virtuous feeling of what is eaten becomes more important than the pleasure of the food

• the quality of life decreases as the quality of the diet increases

• strict rules about meal choices

• extensive planning of meals for the day

• self-esteem boost for eating healthy, while others who do not are looked down upon

• skipping food that is enjoyable to eat the "right" foods

• diet is so strict that eating out is difficult

• feeling guilty after eating something that isn't on the list of foods you accept

• distancing from family, friends and social life because of diet

  Whether you believe this is a clinical disorder or not, people do still participate in these behaviours to their own detriment.

  
  
  The copyright of the article Orthorexia in Eating Disorders is owned by Lori Henry. Permission to republish Orthorexia must be granted by the author in writing.
  
  
  
  
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  Comments
  Jun 12, 2006 1:50 PM

  Jennifer W. Miner :

  This is an interesting article. I know this concept is not recognized by the DSM-IV, but in my opinion, disordered eating really should lay on a scale from, say, "no food issues" to "diagnosable eating disorder." Also, out here in LA, I'd say that half the people I know have <i>some</i> form of disordered eating. Or at least an unhealthy relationship with food.
  Jen M.
  http://luxuryresorttravel.suite101.com
  Jun 12, 2006 6:30 PM

  Lori Henry :

  I agree wholeheartedly. There is such a long spectrum of disordered eating. A lot of people I know have such wacky relationships with food but are not Anorexic, Bulimic or a Compulsive Overeater. They don't fit into a label, so they don't feel that they have a problem. And even people with diagnosed eating disorders usually bounce between them at one point of another. That is why the medical community has changed the lingo from "eating disorders" to "disordered eating."
  
  I will be posting articels on all of the types of eating disorders that I know of. I will start from there and then branch out with more extensive coverage on everything in between. Thanks for reading!
  Jun 13, 2006 4:56 PM

  Joy Butler :

  This is the first I've heard of this particular eating disorder. I'm not really sure what I believe about these things. Sometimes I have to wonder if most of the disorders we hear about these days (not only eating disorders) are not just individual personalities being manifested in different ways. In other words, where do you draw the line?
  
  Joy
  http://dogs.suite101.com/
  Jun 13, 2006 8:20 PM

  Lori Henry :

  I know. On one hand, I believe when people who are feeling a particular way find a "diagnosis" that they can relate to, it can give them a sense of not being alone and not being crazy. But it's also a genius way for pharmaceutical companies to make a whole lotta money!
  Jun 20, 2006 9:31 PM

  sharon moleski :

  I believe this is how my eating disorder began. It's sort of like dieting, but to the extreme, if I'm getting this right. I, too, felt like I wanted to cleanse my body and, therefore, my soul. From there, it quickly descended into full blown bulimia. Maybe this is how it starts for a lot of people. What do you think?
  Jun 20, 2006 9:57 PM

  Lori Henry :

  This is how I began my descent into disordered eating as well. I was always trying to "cleanse" my body of toxins and things I thought were making it "dirty." I was so picky about the things I put into my body and was existing on next to nothing. This didn't last long, though, as my body rebelled quite quickly, as they do, and I developed bulimic behaviour. I'm still not certain you can call it an actual "disorder," but I know that a lot of people think in this "Orthorexic" way.
  Jun 28, 2006 4:32 PM

  danielle :

  i can really relate to this, its what i do but i make myself sick if i eat anything thats not on my list of "good" foods. I have been searching recently to try and find some help and advice as my obsession with food has started to really get me down and i know i am not really bulemic but i do have some kind of eating disorder i think,i feel so terrible about my body and if i eat dinner with friends and they have used a lot of dairy or white carbs or we have dessert i have such an urge to make myself sick or a feeling of guilt that my whole mood changes and i can no longer have a good time. I am either eating total crap and beating myself up about it or exercising rigid self control and only eating the good things. I don't really know how to change it, it seems so ingrained in how i live that i can't really see a way out of it. i love chocolate and will always tell myself its ok if i just have a bit but even while i eat it i don't always fully enjoy it because of the guilt. if anyone knows of any way i can get help please let me know
  Jun 28, 2006 6:32 PM

  Lori Henry :

  Thanks for posting, moonbeam21. Disordered Eating spans such a wide spectrum of feelings and behaviours and doesn't have to fall into "Bulimia" or "Anorexia" before being a concern. With all of the info out there about food being categorized as "good" or "bad," it helps keep our minds distorted. Food is just food, we have to remember that. It carries basic nutritional value and we must make sure that we are getting enough vitamins, etc., but food itself does not come with a personality, so to speak.
  
  We let it weigh us down with guilty thoughts because we think we have done something wrong. I think it's important to begin thinking of food in a different way- instead of "good" and "bad," how about "things that my body feels good after eating" and "things that make me feel shitty after eating." Then the judgment isn't so harsh on yourself. Perhaps make a list and see what kinds of food fit into which category.
  
  I used to feel the exact same way about chocolate, for example, and until I began seeing it as the food it was (and not a sin-filled evil dessert), I began enjoying it and, naturally, wouldn't eat as much because I was eating it consciously. Does that make any sense?
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