Orthorexia Nervosa: Disease Disguised As Virtue

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/orthorexia-nervosa-how-becoming-obsessed-with-healthy-eating-can-lead-to-malnutrition-10479149.html

More and more people seem to be suffering from this. I've never really liked Panera, but I was actually alarmed when I heard one of the buzzwords of this eating disorder actually included in their advertising: "clean" foods.  Michelle Obama seems obsessed with many false notions of what is healthy, and she is attempting to force it on our kids.  Children are ending up in the emergency room with broken bones, and there's even a rise in rickets from malnutrition as a result of parents who spread their vegan eating disorder on to their children.

Orthorexia nervosa, a term coined in 1997 by Dr Steven Bratman, is a fixation with healthy eating, to the point where it becomes a crippling compulsion, described as “a disease disguised as a virtue”.

It differs from eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia in that the goal is not usually to become thin. In fact, ironically, sufferers are initially motivated by a desire to be well, and to consume pure, “clean” foods, often to recover from illness.

One high-profile sufferer is Jordan Younger, who became a poster girl for health with her New York food blog. The Blonde Vegan had become a successful brand, spawning an app and even a clothing line featuring slogans such as “Oh Kale Yes!” A fervent believer in “clean eating”, Younger shared her advice on detoxing and juicing (she would regularly embark on 10-day cleanses) with her 100,000-plus Instagram followers.

Despite seemingly glowing with health, Younger was struggling. Her lethargy increased and her periods stopped. She also began to be anxious about her routine, panicking when faced with eating a meal she hadn’t planned, or something that didn’t fit in with her rules. Younger gradually began to realise that there was something distinctly unhealthy about her restrictive diet.

“I had developed many fears surrounding food,” Younger told The Independent. “I was becoming more and more limited in what I was comfortable eating. I even joked about it with friends, calling certain foods, like eggs, ‘fear foods’ because I had stayed away from them for so long. It was easy to hide behind the shield of veganism when I was at a restaurant with friends or even grocery shopping for myself. Anything not clean, oil-free, sugar-free, gluten-free and plant-based I dismissed because it wasn’t within my dietary label.”

One of the problems with orthorexia is that in some ways it is more socially acceptable than other disorders. Stand in any gym locker room and you can overhear a woman admit she allowed herself a piece of fruit that day, or a man bemoan messing up his macros. Instagram has 26 million posts with the #eatclean hashtag (with the implication that anything outside of this is dirty), and food diary apps allow you to micromanage your food intake with no lower calorie limit. The condition is easy to dismiss as the ultimate “first-world problem”, and it is not yet classified by the industry standard Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).

Younger eventually began a long process of therapy and shifting to a more balanced way of eating, reintroducing eggs, fish and organic chicken, and renaming her brand The Balanced Blonde. It was no easy transition, as she faced a huge backlash and even death threats from some of her fans.

[Tennesseer]

Ahh.  This board has now been renamed the Healthy Living board.

[chiver78]

but the OP talks about Michelle Obama, so it has to be political. come on, Tenn. get with the program.

[Virgil Showlion]

My uncle is an MD. He says that vegetarians and vegans are categorically the unhealthiest people to walk through his office door. Obesity, lethargy, high triglycerides, hormone problems, vitamin deficiency, kidney problems, osteoarthritis, ... I can't even remember them all.

It's sad because most vegans and vegetarians I know have admirable aims (usually related to compassion for animals). But man do they pay a price.

[Virgil Showlion]

Sept 1, 2015 9:50:11 GMT -5 deminmaine said:

... Eating healthy food is not an obsession, nor is it a medical condition.

It seems to me that all the author is saying is that "eating healthy food" can become an unhealthy obsession if you don't know what you're doing.

[chiver78]

Sept 1, 2015 10:03:02 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

Sept 1, 2015 9:50:11 GMT -5 deminmaine said:

... Eating healthy food is not an obsession, nor is it a medical condition.

It seems to me that all the author is saying is that "eating healthy food" can become an unhealthy obsession if you don't know what you're doing.

I'm not sure I fully agree with that statement. humor me for a sec - personally, I have a very unhealthy view on foods/weight loss/healthy eating due to the things my mother instilled in me as a kid. my sis is the same way, and we are aware of it. for example, using calorie counting apps/websites to track consumption and exercise does not work for us, because we will sabotage ourselves by making ourselves ill by eating as little as possible to get those calorie numbers as low as possible. do we do this on purpose? no, but it's a habit we both have. (thanks, mom... )    so, we both made strides to eat healthier and cleaner in the idea of minimizing processed crap in our daily diets.

with respect to the OP, I think the blog author has a similar unhealthy relationship with foods. that's not really the food, it's the author. just my two cents.

[OldCoyote]

I have a close friend that went off the deep end with the healthy vegan foods,  after at first his cholesterol dropped,  then shot up over 300.

oldcoyote on the other hand,  who eats everything containing cholesterol,  had a level of 28 for the good and 40 for the bad,  

This was just after I had a stent put into my heart,  Dr. checking me out said I had the lowest cholesterol he had ever seen.

I don't think what you eat is as important as personal chemistry and your level of exercise.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I think the problem is more a lot of vegans and vegetarians don't know what they are doing.

Technically a bag of potato chips can be considered vegan (no meat or animal by products) but that doesn't mean you are eating "healthy".  If I replace all my meat with various processed soy substitutes I am not really eating all that healthy either if you read the labels.

You have to make sure you are getting your amino acids and other nutrients.  Quinoa offers up all nine essential amino acids.  You can combine beans with certain starches to provide a complete protein.

It also can often involve taking supplements to make up for what you're not getting in your diet.

Detoxing and juicing are extreme dieting. Which is not the same thing as being a vegan or vegetarian.  Extreme anything is going to f*ck you up.  

[djAdvocate]

Sept 1, 2015 10:00:54 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

My uncle is an MD. He says that vegetarians and vegans are categorically the unhealthiest people to walk through his office door. Obesity, lethargy, high triglycerides, hormone problems, vitamin deficiency, kidney problems, osteoarthritis, ... I can't even remember them all.

It's sad because most vegans and vegetarians I know have admirable aims (usually related to compassion for animals). But man do they pay a price.

food martyrdom! 

[Wisconsin Beth]

Sept 1, 2015 10:03:02 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

Sept 1, 2015 9:50:11 GMT -5 deminmaine said:

... Eating healthy food is not an obsession, nor is it a medical condition.

It seems to me that all the author is saying is that "eating healthy food" can become an unhealthy obsession if you don't know what you're doing.

I restarted using myfitnesspal.com recently.  There's a posting/board section and I poke/post there sometimes.  But man, there are some people on there that are obsessive about eating the EXACT amount of nutrients/macros/calories daily and measuring everything in grams. 

[swamp]

Sept 1, 2015 11:14:05 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

Sept 1, 2015 10:03:02 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

It seems to me that all the author is saying is that "eating healthy food" can become an unhealthy obsession if you don't know what you're doing.

I restarted using myfitnesspal.com recently.  There's a posting/board section and I poke/post there sometimes.  But man, there are some people on there that are obsessive about eating the EXACT amount of nutrients/macros/calories daily and measuring everything in grams. 

Amen.

The thought of "eyeballing" an amount of food is tantamount to a cardinal sin. I think these people bring their food scale with them everywhere.

And with respect to the OP, I'm not sure what Michelle Obama has to do with eating disorders. She's encouraging kids to eat more fruits and veggies, and like the Cookie Monster, sees treats as a "sometimes" food. That's healthy eating.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Sept 1, 2015 11:18:49 GMT -5 swamp said:

Sept 1, 2015 11:14:05 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

I restarted using myfitnesspal.com recently.  There's a posting/board section and I poke/post there sometimes.  But man, there are some people on there that are obsessive about eating the EXACT amount of nutrients/macros/calories daily and measuring everything in grams. 

Amen.

The thought of "eyeballing" an amount of food is tantamount to a cardinal sin. I think these people bring their food scale with them everywhere.

And with respect to the OP, I'm not sure what Michelle Obama has to do with eating disorders. She's encouraging kids to eat more fruits and veggies, and like the Cookie Monster, sees treats as a "sometimes" food. That's healthy eating.

Although, to be honest, I'm not sure that Americans, as a rule, actually know what healthy eating and healthy bodies look like anymore. 

[swamp]

Sept 1, 2015 11:21:12 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

Sept 1, 2015 11:18:49 GMT -5 swamp said:

Amen.

The thought of "eyeballing" an amount of food is tantamount to a cardinal sin. I think these people bring their food scale with them everywhere.

And with respect to the OP, I'm not sure what Michelle Obama has to do with eating disorders. She's encouraging kids to eat more fruits and veggies, and like the Cookie Monster, sees treats as a "sometimes" food. That's healthy eating.

Although, to be honest, I'm not sure that Americans, as a rule, actually know what healthy eating and healthy bodies look like anymore. 

Which is why we need someone to be a spokesperson for healthy eating.

Even that person gets ridiculed. Michelle Obama is a big woman. Tall, athletic, and strong. And she gets shit for being fat.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Yep.  But hell if I'm going to take healthy eating advice from someone who looks like Kate Moss either.  I'll take Michelle please. 

[Virgil Showlion]

Sept 1, 2015 10:12:45 GMT -5 deminmaine said:

Sept 1, 2015 10:03:02 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

It seems to me that all the author is saying is that "eating healthy food" can become an unhealthy obsession if you don't know what you're doing.

Well then he is wrong.  The obsession is a mental condition.  There is nothing wrong with healthy food.

There is nothing wrong with a moderate diet or being fit and trim.  It has nothing to do with anorexia nervosa either. 

The condition they're talking about is orthorexia nervosa, just to be sure we're on the same page.

To me, the OP is arguing that so-called "healthy food" is only healthy if it's consumed in the right proportions along with other foods.

Drinking a good amount of water to keep hydrated: healthy.
Drinking so much water that it stresses your kidneys: unhealthy.
Eating veggies as part of a balanced diet: healthy.
Eating tons of veggies while ignoring other nutritional needs: unhealthy.
Reducing salt intake: healthy.
Cutting out salt entirely: unhealthy.

I daresay there's no food (or group of foods) on earth that can't accidentally harm or even kill an irresponsible eater. This irresponsibility might be simple ignorance, or it might be a pathological obsession with a particular fad diet or food theory, which is what the OP is considering. It also includes the stress that may accompany overly restrictive diets.

I agree with you that just because a food can be eaten irresponsibly doesn't make the food "unhealthy", but that's not what's at issue here.

As for "The diet is sound, people just don't do it right." arguments--perhaps so. But at some point you have to question whether the sacrifice, inconvenience, stress, and expense, compounded with the high probability of getting something wrong, are worth it. Because I can guarantee you that nobody who's doing it wrong thinks they're doing it wrong, and none of us are immune.

[Virgil Showlion]

Sept 1, 2015 11:14:05 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

Sept 1, 2015 10:03:02 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

It seems to me that all the author is saying is that "eating healthy food" can become an unhealthy obsession if you don't know what you're doing.

I restarted using myfitnesspal.com recently.  There's a posting/board section and I poke/post there sometimes.  But man, there are some people on there that are obsessive about eating the EXACT amount of nutrients/macros/calories daily and measuring everything in grams. 

I usually find the calorie counters do so in order to not feel bad if they gain weight.

[djAdvocate]

Sept 1, 2015 11:14:05 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

Sept 1, 2015 10:03:02 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

It seems to me that all the author is saying is that "eating healthy food" can become an unhealthy obsession if you don't know what you're doing.

I restarted using myfitnesspal.com recently.  There's a posting/board section and I poke/post there sometimes.  But man, there are some people on there that are obsessive about eating the EXACT amount of nutrients/macros/calories daily and measuring everything in grams. 

i use that site, and find it quite helpful.  i don't think that weighing my food is either necessary or helpful, but i do find that ACCOUNTING FOR IT is.

[djAdvocate]

Sept 1, 2015 11:34:44 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

Sept 1, 2015 11:14:05 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

I restarted using myfitnesspal.com recently.  There's a posting/board section and I poke/post there sometimes.  But man, there are some people on there that are obsessive about eating the EXACT amount of nutrients/macros/calories daily and measuring everything in grams. 

I usually find the calorie counters do so in order to not feel bad if they gain weight.

that sounds pretty stupid to me. 

i count so that i have an objective idea of what to do.  but i don't try to count accurately.  i approximate.  and if i approximate low, as long as i do it consistently, it doesn't really matter.  i can still make adjustments.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Sept 1, 2015 11:38:47 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Sept 1, 2015 11:14:05 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

I restarted using myfitnesspal.com recently.  There's a posting/board section and I poke/post there sometimes.  But man, there are some people on there that are obsessive about eating the EXACT amount of nutrients/macros/calories daily and measuring everything in grams. 

i use that site, and find it quite helpful.  i don't think that weighing my food is either necessary or helpful, but i do find that ACCOUNTING FOR IT is.

oh absolutely. 

I am losing weight because of the food logging/awareness part.  But I'm also ok with eyeballing a measurement, like the milk and sugar I put in my hot tea.  But for a lot of people on their discussion section, I'm a lazy person doomed to fail at weight loss because I'm not measuring my milk and sugar in grams.  This is approximately a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and a Tablespoon of of 2% milk.   

[djAdvocate]

Sept 1, 2015 11:49:01 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

Sept 1, 2015 11:38:47 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

i use that site, and find it quite helpful.  i don't think that weighing my food is either necessary or helpful, but i do find that ACCOUNTING FOR IT is.

oh absolutely. 

I am losing weight because of the food logging/awareness part.  But I'm also ok with eyeballing a measurement, like the milk and sugar I put in my hot tea.  But for a lot of people on their discussion section, I'm a lazy person doomed to fail at weight loss because I'm not measuring my milk and sugar in grams.  This is approximately a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and a Tablespoon of of 2% milk.   

i think OCD is pretty unhealthy.  trying to get healthy by indulging it seems counterproductive to me. 

[chiver78]

Sept 1, 2015 12:04:05 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Sept 1, 2015 11:49:01 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

oh absolutely. 

I am losing weight because of the food logging/awareness part.  But I'm also ok with eyeballing a measurement, like the milk and sugar I put in my hot tea.  But for a lot of people on their discussion section, I'm a lazy person doomed to fail at weight loss because I'm not measuring my milk and sugar in grams.  This is approximately a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and a Tablespoon of of 2% milk.   

i think OCD is pretty unhealthy.  trying to get healthy by indulging it seems counterproductive to me. 

  ding, ding!

I still have an account on mfp, which I use once in awhile when I'm curious about the breakdown of a meal. or, if I know I'm having a big dinner for a special occasion or whatever, to survey the upcoming damage and try to behave myself the rest of the day to minimize the effect of said big dinner.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Yeah, I'm not OCD about food, Thank God.  I'm OCD about other things but not food. 

[Deleted]

Sept 1, 2015 11:14:05 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

Sept 1, 2015 10:03:02 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

It seems to me that all the author is saying is that "eating healthy food" can become an unhealthy obsession if you don't know what you're doing.

I restarted using myfitnesspal.com recently.  There's a posting/board section and I poke/post there sometimes.  But man, there are some people on there that are obsessive about eating the EXACT amount of nutrients/macros/calories daily and measuring everything in grams. 

I belong to MFP too and they were the people I was thinking of when I read the title of this thread.  Some of them use "clean eating" and it seems to get more restrictive over time.  They also seem to be chasing a perfect diet, which is strange as most are overweight and in a really unhealthy place at the moment. 

[happyhoix]

Sept 1, 2015 10:33:19 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I think the problem is more a lot of vegans and vegetarians don't know what they are doing.

Technically a bag of potato chips can be considered vegan (no meat or animal by products) but that doesn't mean you are eating "healthy".  If I replace all my meat with various processed soy substitutes I am not really eating all that healthy either if you read the labels.

You have to make sure you are getting your amino acids and other nutrients.  Quinoa offers up all nine essential amino acids.  You can combine beans with certain starches to provide a complete protein.

It also can often involve taking supplements to make up for what you're not getting in your diet.

Detoxing and juicing are extreme dieting. Which is not the same thing as being a vegan or vegetarian.  Extreme anything is going to f*ck you up.  

It's like the raw milk thing.

Some people think drinking raw milk is 'healthy' and that pasturizing milk takes all the 'good' out of it.

These are probably the same people who think vaccinating your kids is bad.

And like my friend who forced her son to eat the grape stems along with the grapes, so he would get the extra fiber - and her kid ended up refusing to eat grapes at all.

Like most things in life, you should try to avoid getting too far out in the hinterlands from what is considered 'normal.'

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Sept 1, 2015 10:22:45 GMT -5 OldCoyote said:

I have a close friend that went off the deep end with the healthy vegan foods,  after at first his cholesterol dropped,  then shot up over 300.

oldcoyote on the other hand,  who eats everything containing cholesterol,  had a level of 28 for the good and 40 for the bad,  

This was just after I had a stent put into my heart,  Dr. checking me out said I had the lowest cholesterol he had ever seen.

I don't think what you eat is as important as personal chemistry and your level of exercise.

A lot of vegetarian / vegan dietary (setting aside misguided 'compassion for animals' motivations) ideas are centered around the "lipid hypothesis" which is in short that eating saturated animal fats results in weight gain and high cholesterol.  There's actually zero scientific evidence that a diet high in saturated animal fat and cholesterol results in weight gain, or is in any way connected to high cholesterol or atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) or heart disease.  You read that right.  There's none.  In fact, there's actually a mountain of evidence that calories alone or exercise have any relationship to body weight.  Virtually everything I learned about health and nutrition growing up is wrong.  I am down 29 pounds after changing my diet to getting most of my calories from meat, and roughly 50% of my calories from fat-- mostly animal fats including butter.  My LDL cholesterol went from 238 to 181  and my HDL is up from the 35 to 55.  I do relatively light exercise- I jog about twice a week (though I walk every day with the dog), and I lift weights, and do pilates with the wife-- don't mock that shit, either. Holy crap that stuff is hard.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Sept 1, 2015 11:30:04 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

Sept 1, 2015 10:12:45 GMT -5 deminmaine said:

Well then he is wrong.  The obsession is a mental condition.  There is nothing wrong with healthy food.

There is nothing wrong with a moderate diet or being fit and trim.  It has nothing to do with anorexia nervosa either. 

The condition they're talking about is orthorexia nervosa, just to be sure we're on the same page.

To me, the OP is arguing that so-called "healthy food" is only healthy if it's consumed in the right proportions along with other foods.

Drinking a good amount of water to keep hydrated: healthy.
Drinking so much water that it stresses your kidneys: unhealthy.
Eating veggies as part of a balanced diet: healthy.
Eating tons of veggies while ignoring other nutritional needs: unhealthy.
Reducing salt intake: healthy.
Cutting out salt entirely: unhealthy.

I daresay there's no food (or group of foods) on earth that can't accidentally harm or even kill an irresponsible eater. This irresponsibility might be simple ignorance, or it might be a pathological obsession with a particular fad diet or food theory, which is what the OP is considering. It also includes the stress that may accompany overly restrictive diets.

I agree with you that just because a food can be eaten irresponsibly doesn't make the food "unhealthy", but that's not what's at issue here.

As for "The diet is sound, people just don't do it right." arguments--perhaps so. But at some point you have to question whether the sacrifice, inconvenience, stress, and expense, compounded with the high probability of getting something wrong, are worth it. Because I can guarantee you that nobody who's doing it wrong thinks they're doing it wrong, and none of us are immune.

The salt paranoia, it turns out, is just as unhealthy as the saturated fat paranoia. It was largely an unfounded worry.  The other thing to be aware of-- watch "sea salt" an non-iodized salt. You need iodine.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Sept 1, 2015 9:50:11 GMT -5 deminmaine said:

I think Michelle Obama's campaign to have kids eat more veggies is a far cry from the obsession that some of these people apparently have for "clean food". Eating healthy food is not an obsession, nor is it a medical condition. It is smart.

I actually meant to put this in Current Events.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

The diet is sound, people just don't do it right." arguments--perhaps so. But at some point you have to question whether the sacrifice, inconvenience, stress, and expense, compounded with the high probability of getting something wrong, are worth it.

Well duh, but whether or not it is worth it is up to the individual to decide for the most part.  I'd say if you've gotten to living on only juice you've gone off the deep end and need some counseling.

BUT that doesn't apply to all vegan/vegetarian diets.  I believe Rukh here on the boards is a raw foodist/vegan and I think we have a few others as well.

For them it's worth it and as far as I know Rukh doesn't seem to have any of the issues described in the article.

[djAdvocate]

Sept 1, 2015 12:26:41 GMT -5 deminmaine said:

Sept 1, 2015 11:30:04 GMT -5 Virgil Showlion said:

The condition they're talking about is orthorexia nervosa, just to be sure we're on the same page.
Yes we are on the same page.  I am making a comparative example
To me, the OP is arguing that so-called "healthy food" is only healthy if it's consumed in the right proportions along with other foods.

Drinking a good amount of water to keep hydrated: healthy.
Drinking so much water that it stresses your kidneys: unhealthy.
Eating veggies as part of a balanced diet: healthy.
Eating tons of veggies while ignoring other nutritional needs: unhealthy.
Reducing salt intake: healthy.
Cutting out salt entirely: unhealthy.

I daresay there's no food (or group of foods) on earth that can't accidentally harm or even kill an irresponsible eater. This irresponsibility might be simple ignorance, or it might be a pathological obsession with a particular fad diet or food theory, which is what the OP is considering. It also includes the stress that may accompany overly restrictive diets.

I agree with you that just because a food can be eaten irresponsibly doesn't make the food "unhealthy", but that's not what's at issue here.

As for "The diet is sound, people just don't do it right." arguments--perhaps so. But at some point you have to question whether the sacrifice, inconvenience, stress, and expense, compounded with the high probability of getting something wrong, are worth it. Because I can guarantee you that nobody who's doing it wrong thinks they're doing it wrong, and none of us are immune.

I daresay that an inapt comparison is being made by the OP Virgil.  The author is indeed discussing an obsession.  The healthy food is what is being obsessed over, however it is the obsession that is the problem. 

Eating healthy is actually not that difficult.  Not difficult at all. 

i find that the biggest, best change i made was cutting down from "Merican" proportions to "Euro Sissy" proportions.  when i go out to eat, i eat HALF of what they bring me, and save the rest for the next meal.  that works out.  pounding down a kilocalorie per meal doesn't work for me.

[happyhoix]

I recently gave up diet soda at work in favor of zero calorie green teas or water. (I don't drink coffee so diet coke was always my caffeine substitute).

I always told myself diet sodas don't 'count' because they have no calories, but they are just chemical mixes designed to appeal to your sweet tooth, so they have no point to exist, other than they taste good.

So far, I sleep better but am more crabby, although frankly I'm generally crabby anyway, so hard to tell what is diet coke related and what is plain evil temperament.

Only a month so far, though, so I think too soon to tell if there will be any positive changes.