Image courtesy of blogs.shapeupclub.com
Each year, we come up with shiny new terms and catch phrases to describe nutrition and all that it entails. One year it’s “superfoods,” the next it’s “adaptogenic” or “low-glycemic.” There’s also a set of ever-shifting words we use to describe our own attitudes toward eating. Perhaps you’ve heard of “emotional eating” or “intuitive eating”; if not, you’ve most certainly heard of “disordered eating” and “binge eating.” This year, a new term jumped to the top of nutrition related headlines: orthorexia.
Orthorexia is an eating disorder characterized by fixation on eating healthy or “righteous” food. The term, first coined by Dr. Steven Bratman in the early 1990s, is not new, but its popularity is: This year, it was an increasingly hot topic of debate in healthy eating circles, fueled in part by a segment on ABC News. Suddenly, healthy eaters everywhere were feeling nervous.
That healthy eating can be pushed to extremes goes without saying. We all want to eat diets that are as natural as possible. But when that goal becomes a religion or an obsession, our efforts at finding health go very much awry: As sufferers of orthorexia can attest, fixation on dietary “righteousness” is the very opposite of healthy.
At the same time, we have to be cautious about throwing labels around, especially labels as inexact as this one. What does it mean to fixate on healthy eating? Plenty of us make efforts to eat more healthily each and every day, eschewing processed foods, for example, or reducing our consumption of meat.
How do we distinguish these modest efforts from the extremes that orthorexia nervosa describes? Because orthorexia is a psychological fixation, rather than an overt attempt to lose weight (as in other eating disorders), it can be hard to characterize. Where does a passion for healthy food and fitness end, and psychological disturbance begin?
The answer exists, but I think it’s as hazy as the question itself. The key to eating healthily while avoiding rigidity lies in a reasonable mindset. It’s great to take steps toward eating cleanly. But it must be done with the right intentions: the goal should be a well-rounded life, and not a rigid, socially isolated one; a vibrant body, rather than one that’s been put through rigors of starvation.
Keep in mind, too, that orthorexia is not limited to plant-based diets. Men and women who are intent on “detoxing” use and abuse all sorts of diets—from low carb regimens to cookie diets.
Any diet or lifestyle can be put to ill use when a person is intent on unhealthy goals; to say that veganism is responsible for orthorexia is like blaming exercise for the fact that some people become exercise bulimics. It’s the mindset of the person who’s eating, not what’s on their plate, that ultimately distinguishes a generally healthy approach from orthorexia.
We all have the power to make balanced choices. With that in mind, let’s all give healthy eating a good name by eating foods that are good for our bodies and the planet, but eating plentifully and with a sense of fun.
Gena Hamshaw is a certified clinical nutritionist with an emphasis on plant-based nutrition. She writes about body image, green living, and a plant-based lifestyle on her popular blog, ChoosingRaw.com.
From: Aletheia | 6/8/10 at 11:40 am
Gena! I really like this post, particularly the parallel analogy you drew between veganism and exercise, with orthorexia and bulimia respectively. I think it's clear from your article that the way that people eat is really not something that people can--although try as they might--classify with a word or two. The way we choose to eat is inherently related much more intricate things, like our values and our perspectives on our bodies, our environment--and so you're right--it is about the mindset. Thanks for sharing.
From: SA | 6/8/10 at 1:23 pm
Nice post. During the last few months, I have been transforming my diet. And I have become aware that it would be easy to adopt a judgmental, rigid attitude about my food and about other people's choices.
Our attitude can be respectful, choosing good health but not scorning others' choices or thinking that we know what is definitely healthy for everyone and what is not. I want healthy food choices to be a way of life but not something I fixate on or become judgmental about.
From: Laura C | 6/8/10 at 3:25 pm
Psychological disorders are typically diagnosed when significant distress and functional impairment are caused in the sufferer. Thus someone who exercises two hours a day because they love it and are training for a competition will be considered healthy, and someone who exercises two hours a day because of constant fear of weight gain or because of compulsions to exercise will not. I agree that it's the mindset behind what is on the plate that matters. I also agree that there is a lot of gray area: what about someone who is happy with their diet, but the diet is motivated by compulsions/fear of eating other foods? Does it matter whether these fears are realistic, or overblown? And what about the fact that the norm in this country is severely unhealthy? I think our understanding of nutrition as a country is so skewed that few people have the insight needed to judge what is reasonable and what is not. I think clinicians should there for think about orthorexia in these ways: is the food nutritionally adequate and diverse, whether or not it resembles standard ways of eating? And- is fear of other foods or ways of eating causing significant distress and is fear the primary predictor of what lands on this person's plate?
From: Sandy | 6/8/10 at 3:55 pm
Great blog post! I do believe that our inner world( our self talk, our mindsets, etc.) play an important role in reaping the benefits of healthy living. I want to be fully ALIVE because of the nutritional choices I make, not chained to a "righteous" diet. Balance is the key.
From: Pensamentos | 6/8/10 at 4:05 pm
[...] que nossos avós não reconheceriam como tal. Hoje, foi a vez de ver no twitter o link pra uma matéria que fala sobre a “Ortorexia”, que seria um novo tipo de disúrbio alimentar. As pessoas ficam numa preocupação exagerada de [...]
From: Conscious Shopping | 6/10/10 at 10:17 am
[...] post this week, which you can find here, was on a hot-button topic: orthorexia. I’m sure that you’ve all read plenty about this [...]
From: Lauren | 6/11/10 at 2:04 am
I like this article and I agree with everything you say here. Very well articulated. My only concern is the mention of other eating disorders and labelling them as overt attempts to lose weight. My personal struggle with anorexia began as severe depression and an anxiety disorder, a need for control and a need to be numb. Weight loss was not the focus and was not even on my radar. (Later on, body image was a concern, but never the primary problem). I'm not trying to be nitpicky and I don't want to take away from anything that you are saying, and I'm sorry if this comes off wrong...My intention was only to point out that eating disorders of all kinds are often about more than a desire to be thin. In this way, all eating disorders including orthorexia are related, as I believe that orthorexia is often a manifestation of deeper-rooted issues rather than simply wanting to be healthy and going too far with it.
From: Gena | 6/11/10 at 6:40 am
Lauren --
I actually agree with you 100%, and think it was infelicitous phrasing on my part. What I meant to suggest is that, for a clinical diagnosis of anorexia nervosa in particular, extreme weight loss is usually present, so it's ultimately easier to identify from the outside (most of the time; not ALL of the time). Does that make sense? My own anorexia was actually quite unrelated to weight loss in many ways, too.
Thanks for the wise correction!!! I appreciate it.
Gena
From: “Snack Mom’s” Dilemma: Healthy and Tasty Treats for Kids – Whole Living Daily : Whole Living | 6/17/10 at 1:30 pm
[...] hockey rink, and play dates. When do you put your foot down? Have I crossed the line and developed orthorexia, an eating disorder where you’re fixated on eating healthy? Am I the uptight parent on the [...]