Orthorexia: Do you have it?

rtjmnz

I know there has been a few posts on the matter, but nothing recent. Since I just found out about it, I thought it can bring a good discussion, especially on here.

In a nutshell, orthorexia is considered an eating disorder because the orthorexic people are obsessed with healthy eating.
Here are a few of the "symptoms"

.An orthorexic may avoid numerous foods, including those made with:

Artificial colors, flavors or preservatives
Pesticides or genetic modification
Fat, sugar or salt
Animal or dairy products
Other ingredients considered to be unhealthy


Common behavior changes that may be signs of orthorexia may include:

Feelings of guilt when deviating from strict diet guidelines
Increase in amount of time spent thinking about food
Regular advance planning of meals for the next day
Feelings of satisfaction, esteem, or spiritual fulfillment from eating "healthy"
Thinking critical thoughts about others who do not adhere to rigorous diets
Fear that eating away from home will make it impossible to comply with diet
Distancing from friends or family members who do not share similar views about food
Avoiding eating food bought or prepared by others
Worsening depression, mood swings or anxiety


The idea of orthorexia both scares me and confuses me. Because to a small extent, I am kind of obsessed with eating healthy, and I DO feel guilty when I don't, so I usually avoid foods that contain those certain ingredients.

But..it's not as serious to make me depressed or anxious. It's not ALL I think about, but I do think about healthy eating quite a bit.


So what do you think? Not that big of a deal or something to consider? And do you think you fall under it?

fevre

It's only a disorder if it affects your quality of life - if you can't relax out of guilt or stress after fudging on your diet a little bit, or you're choosing to skip meals/snacks instead of risk eating something "unhealthy," or you can't spend time with friends out of fear you won't be able to eat anything/you'll be pressured into eating something against your rules, then you may very well have a problem. But most of these symptoms, in moderation, are just called dieting!