Orthorexia Nervosa (obsessed with health foods)?

2»

Replies

  • EccentricDad
    EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
    Yes it most definitely is a disorder. I am 90% sure I had this during my later years in high school, although my parents thought that I was anorexic. I was eating, just a very select few things. I only allowed myself low calorie, low fat vegetables and non-starchy fruits like apples and MAYBE an orange. I only drank water or soy milk (almond milk was not big yet). If I was forced to eat something, I would remove bread, scrape of sauces and JUST eat the vegetables. I even stopped eating cereal, and got to the point where I think I did become anorexic. But it definitely started out cutting out fatty starchy foods in a desperate attempt to lose weight.

    How did this start? Teasing, which tore my already low self esteem to shreds. I thought becoming thin was the only way I could be happy with myself, my appearance, and the only way I would gain much desired attention from boys. Something just switched in my brain, and I became obsessed with researching which foods were the lowest in calories and fat. I verbally abused myself if I thought I had gone off track. I kept a food diary logging my calories with a daily limit of about 600 calories or so. (I now struggle to limit myself to 1400 calories, haha)

    Ultimately, I think Orthorexia is a gateway to anorexia. Thank god I smartened up and am no longer in that state of mind. What a horrible place it was to be there.

    Anyways! Carry on. My apologies for the wall of text. :flowerforyou:

    You sound like a fellow HSP. But thank you for your input. Luckily I haven't hit the point of reducing my calories too low, I'm just having a hard time finding foods that are affordable and are variety enough for the palate of my families taste requirements (did that make sense or just gibberish?). Anyways, thank you again for your reply.
  • amyy902
    amyy902 Posts: 290 Member
    i guess its an obsession of some kind, so no its not healthy because of the mental impact it has on you.... and that has a domino impact on a lot of aspects of life.
  • Mcmilligen
    Mcmilligen Posts: 332 Member
    You sound like a fellow HSP. But thank you for your input. Luckily I haven't hit the point of reducing my calories too low, I'm just having a hard time finding foods that are affordable and are variety enough for the palate of my families taste requirements (did that make sense or just gibberish?). Anyways, thank you again for your reply.

    I hear ya! Healthy foods can be expensive. BUT- I still am obsessed with healthy foods, just not to the point where it's damaging my health like it was before. Some of the cheapest foods I've been able to use on a regular basis are:

    Dried beans and legumes (Mexican dishes FTW!... And hummus, nom)
    Oats
    Go to Costco and get a giant bag of Quinoa
    Canned tomatoes
    Fresh vegetables (small grocers sell these items for CHEAP)
    Tofu
    I am Vegan, but if you aren't eggs and cottage cheese tend to be cheap as well.

    You can seriously cook almost everything with what I have stated above as the base.

    Go to the grocery store with several meals that you plan to make in bulk, and then buy only those items.
    Breakfast for me is usually just oatmeal (canned pumpkin with spices and honey is delicious and cheap as well).

    Perhaps if different tastes are the issue, ask everyone to write down what they would prefer having for dinner etc. If you can't compromise, try giving everyone 'turns' with their favorite meals. One week you can do chilli, the next week do a big curry etc.

    Just what I have gathered from my own experience, anyways! Good luck to you!
  • EccentricDad
    EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
    You sound like a fellow HSP. But thank you for your input. Luckily I haven't hit the point of reducing my calories too low, I'm just having a hard time finding foods that are affordable and are variety enough for the palate of my families taste requirements (did that make sense or just gibberish?). Anyways, thank you again for your reply.

    I hear ya! Healthy foods can be expensive. BUT- I still am obsessed with healthy foods, just not to the point where it's damaging my health like it was before. Some of the cheapest foods I've been able to use on a regular basis are:

    Dried beans and legumes (Mexican dishes FTW!... And hummus, nom)
    Oats
    Go to Costco and get a giant bag of Quinoa
    Canned tomatoes
    Fresh vegetables (small grocers sell these items for CHEAP)
    Tofu
    I am Vegan, but if you aren't eggs and cottage cheese tend to be cheap as well.

    You can seriously cook almost everything with what I have stated above as the base.

    Go to the grocery store with several meals that you plan to make in bulk, and then buy only those items.
    Breakfast for me is usually just oatmeal (canned pumpkin with spices and honey is delicious and cheap as well).

    Perhaps if different tastes are the issue, ask everyone to write down what they would prefer having for dinner etc. If you can't compromise, try giving everyone 'turns' with their favorite meals. One week you can do chilli, the next week do a big curry etc.

    Just what I have gathered from my own experience, anyways! Good luck to you!

    I wonder if I can make lentils taste like chocolate for my 6 year old lol
  • sukaera
    sukaera Posts: 53 Member
    MTV actually did a documentary on Othorexia Nervosa, where they took two females and one male and filmed their eating habits.

    One was a raw foodist vegan who could not eat raw nuts or seeds locally, she had to have them all shipped from somewhere outside of the US. She purposefully distanced and separated her food from other food from fear of "contamination". she obsessed about her next meal, and planned vigorously when people came to her home to eat. She was discriminating against her husbands eating habits and was influencing her son. She wasn't afraid of calories or fat, she was afraid of the kind of food going into her body.

    To me, yes, this is disordered eating. Just because she wasn't concerned with calories or weight loss didn't mean her actions and thought patterns weren't disordered...

    This is an extreme example, but after I saw it, I believe that disorders range a very wide, and sometimes vague definition/description.

    Here's a link to the episode I'm talking about if you're interested since this disorder is fairly "new":

    http://www.mtv.com/videos/true-life-i-have-orthorexia/1683486/playlist.jhtml
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    I'm asking these questions because someone said something that completely knocked me off my confidence horse. Before my activity on the forums, I was a healthy, happy individual. But every day I'm on here, someone new is critiquing me saying that I'm unhealthy, disorderly, and overall a rotten person. I don't know what to believe any more... :(

    OMG!!! Don't let STRANGERS get to you! Who gives a flying *kitten*? That said...if you put yourself out there SOMEONE is going to have something rude to say about it....you just have to ignore. IGNORE...seriously.

    ^^ THIS, seriously! If you are not totally obsessing over it to the point that it interferes with your daily life, then it's simply conscientious eating.
  • Serafimangel
    Serafimangel Posts: 174 Member
    I would say it probably is a disorder. But then it depends on the extent of the 'obsession'. I mean about 90% of people on MFP strive to be as healthy as possible, just as many strive to reduce calories to lose weight. To one point the latter is to lose weight in an acceptable fashion, to an extreme it is anorexia nervosa, the same could be argued with orthorexia nervosa, only when it is to an extreme does it become a problem.
    I remember seeing an episode of supersize v superskinny where the 'superskinny' was horribly underweight and would not take the doctors advice. She was eating 'healthily' but in such a restrictive fashion that she was missing out on key nutrients.

    I think one of the problems that could make orthorexia dangerous is that different advice comes out every week; eggs are good, then they're bad, red meat is good, then it's bad, beansprouts are good, then they're bad etc etc. Someone reading conflicting arguements may think that they don't want to risk it and cut out a lot of nutritious foods that may once have had a bad rep, and therefore may miss out key nutrients, vitamins etc.

    well, thats what I think anyway.
  • opuntia
    opuntia Posts: 860 Member
    People with an obsessive disorder (which is not the same as dedication, despite what some MFPers seem to think!) may apply that obsession to any area of their lives. If the area they focus on happens to be health, then they will get what is called 'orthorexia nervosa'. If someone isn't naturally obsessive, they are unlikely to get this. Personally, I don't see it as a disorder in itself, but a specific application of a wider disorder.

    It's important to be aware that there is a difference between dedication and obsession, and obsession is not healthy - even if it's an obsession with health!
  • opuntia
    opuntia Posts: 860 Member
    Also, part of ADHD is hyperfocus (see here: http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/612.html), which means focusing on one thing intently for a long time and having difficulty switching to something else. This is also true of autism - I'm on the autism spectrum, and I know for myself I have to be very careful not to become hyperfocused on health. I've done this a few years ago, and it wasn't healthy.

    Also, hypersensitivity, which you say you have, is part of both ADHD and autism, and happens because the brain lacks the ability to automatically filter out the unnecessary and so you don't automatically prioritise what is important and what is not. So every little detail can become important. It's important to take a step back and look at the broader picture, or you will obsess about every little possible unhealthy aspect of your food. This is really not a healthy state of mind to be in - it's exhausting and draining and keeps you constantly worried and tense.
  • caribougal
    caribougal Posts: 865 Member

    If you're talking about the Gluten. I was diagnosed with ADHD, GERD, and before I lost my insurance I was tested for Rheumatoid Arthritis and they said it was non-conclusive (early stages or was Fibromyalgia). Anyways, I did research and people have had success on a GF diet and it helped reverse ADHD, GERD, and Fibromyalgia issues; so since I have no health insurance, I gave it a try since it's cheaper than seeing the doctor and getting a Celiac test. Turns out, it was a step in the right direction. But now that limits a great deal of foods for me because of this Gluten intolerance potential. And I do notice my ADHD, GERD, and Fib symptoms come back when I have something that is contaminated with Gluten, it only makes my concerns more valid.

    Some people have so much faith in the health care system that they think I am being Orthorexia about my restriction; but I feel that since it's working, I should follow it and just find other ways to get those nutrients. But not everyone can agree with me and we live in a world where NO ONE keeps their opinions to themselves... And since I take everyone's opinions personally (even strangers) it's hard to get back up when you don't have the support of your peers...

    Plenty of people eliminate foods that aren't healthy, and that doesn't mean they're obsessed. There is nothing particularly nutritious about grains. If you have found that being gluten free helps your health issues, then stick with it. Whether it was the gluten or other additives that exacerbated your ADHD, by eating less processed foods you reap the benefits, along with way less sugar and sodium. Fibromyalgia is also often improved after eliminating gluten because it relates to inflammation and auto-immune issues, both fueled by gluten intolerance in many people. And, even if you never noticed intolerance before, most people find that when they eliminate gluten, they definitely have gut issues when they eat it again. I eliminated it by choice and very clearly pay for my "treats" the next day. That make the list of things I'm willing to treat for smaller and smaller. That doesnt mean I'm obsessed if I go to a restaurant and order very carefully. It means I'm deciding if a dish is worth diarrhea and cramps the next day. Usually not.

    Maybe you need to make some friendly GF-friendly pals. I think there a few GF groups on here, and the Paleo/Primal crowd will support you.
  • ipag
    ipag Posts: 137
    I'm asking these questions because someone said something that completely knocked me off my confidence horse. Before my activity on the forums, I was a healthy, happy individual. But every day I'm on here, someone new is critiquing me saying that I'm unhealthy, disorderly, and overall a rotten person. I don't know what to believe any more... :(

    I know exactly how you feel, I've decided to limit my activity on these boards for exactly the same reason. You aren't alone in that feeling and since I have limited my activity here, I'm back to my old self.

Categories