Orthorexia - fixation on righteous eating
You start out on a sensible diet to look trim and slim. Give up coffee and chocolates, survive on raw vegetables. Garlic and onion? Oh! These are no good. You delve into the details of food preparation; go hunting for ‘pure’ and ‘proper’ foods. Guilt and self-loathing takes over. Slowly and steadily you are going up the mountain exhibiting an over-enthusiasm for pure eating. You forge your own dietary regime. You end up suffering from an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating that makes you a social recluse. Don’t let this happen. Get yourself treated for this addiction before it’s too late.
An unrecognised condition
Orthorexia is a modern condition but is unrecognised by the medical profession. Steven Bratman, MD, a specialist in alternative medicine from California, US coined the term ‘orthorexia’ taken from the Greek ‘ortho’ meaning true or correct in the year 1997. He described orthorexia as fixation on righteous eating.
The feeling is not about being fat but about purity and being concerned about the quality and not the quantity. More often the problem stems from low self-esteem and a need to control one’s life.
Orthorexics are known to ditch foods containing pesticides, herbicides or those with artificial additives. They may turn into rawfood eaters, vegans or fruitarians. Do you keep a log book of the calorific breakdown of all what you eat? Have you stocked your kitchen shelves with organic food, food with no added sugar and low in saturated fats? This is good in moderation but going overboard can result in malnutrition, extreme weight loss or even death.
Are you an orthorexic? Steven Bratman has a list of pointers. Check them out:
You spend more than 3 hours each day thinking about the food that you will be eating You plan your meals several days ahead You forgo pleasure of eating for the nutritional value of your food Your quality of diet has increased while your quality of life has decreased Lately, you have turned into a hard taskmaster where food is concerned Your self-esteem gets a boost from ‘pure’ eating In order to eat the right foods, you skip foods that you enjoyed the most Your diet makes it difficult for you to eat out or anywhere but at home, taking you away from your friends and family You feel guilty when you stray yourself from your set diet
You feel you are in total control when you are eating healthy
Getting over the healthy food obsession
Orthorexia nervosa, which is similar to anorexia nervosa can be called an eating disorder, which requires psychological counselling and help from a doctor and a nutritionist. The treatment involves exposure to new experiences and attitudes toward food and health. “Loosen the grip”, diet is important but it is also important to enjoy. Orthorexics cannot change their habits and thoughts overnight. It is difficult for them to start eating spontaneously. Fixating on food and limiting what you eat is not a healthy way to live. Cobbling together with pseudo food sciences and dieting fads is not going to help. It’s tricky, you don’t know where to begin but start making healthy food choices before you become anorexic and emaciated.
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