Unlike Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia who are considered very dangerous eating disorders, Orthorexia Nervosa was introduced in 1997 by M.D Steven Bratman..
Actually, Orthorexia is characterized by an extreme or let’s say excessive preoccupation with avoiding food perceived to be unhealthy; it is not really recognized as a clinical diagnosis, but many people show symptoms associated with this new term.
People who have Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia diseases, are obsessed by the calorie intake and how to be thin, while people who have Orthorexia Nervosa, are more obsessed about how to eat healthy and maintain a proper diet rather that being thin and watching their weight..
But, what’s wrong when someone really wants to eat and be healthy?? you’re asking yourself that question, right?
Well the wrong thing about that, is that people with Orthoreia are those who have an “unhealthy obsession” with healthy eating , so they start eliminating healthy food categories like good fat, natural sugar, fiber or bread, meat, chicken or seafood or other important food thinking that the elimination of those food is healhtier for them.. While actually their daily eating habits turn out to be completely unhealthy..
There is no proved reasons for that behavior but some underlying reasons can explain it, like increasing self esteem, escaping from fears, wanting to be thin, searching for spirituality through food, or just using food to create a self identity.
Ask yourself those questions:
- Do you wish that sometimes you could just eat and not worry about food quality?
- Do you ever wish you could spend less time on food and more time living and loving?
- Does it seem beyond your ability to eat a meal prepared by someone else (one single meal) without trying to control the quality?
- Are you constantly looking for the smallest details of any food ingredient?
- Do love, joy, play, fun and creativity are less important than the perfect diet, the perfect body?
- Do you feel guilty when you stay away from “your healthy” diet?
if you answer yes to 4 of these questions then you need to do something about it!
Orthorexics may be socially isolated, often because they plan their life around food. They may have little room in life for anything other than thinking about and planning food intake. Orthorexics lose the ability to know when they are hungry, how much they need, and when they are full.
So Being Healthy is great and nothing’s wrong with that! But just have a healthy lifestyle, means go for a well balanced diet, exercise and enjoy some treats occasionally… We Only Live Once…
While food is important, it’s only one small aspect of life, and other things are also important! 🙂
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