Thanks to many of your blog posts, I learned that last week was National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. You had some great, insightful posts on intuitive eating and on celebrating our bodies for the amazing things they enable us to do.
When one thinks of eating disorders, anorexia, bulimia, and compulsive overeating come to mind. But in this post, I want to highlight another eating disorder, because I feel it’s the one to which we healthy-living bloggers and readers can probably most relate:
Orthorexia Nervosa
Orthorexia Nervosa is characterized by an excessive focus on eating healthy foods. Basically, its sufferers start out with a simple desire to live a healthy lifestyle, but they become so preoccupied with eating healthily that it becomes an unhealthy obsession.
Unlike with anorexia, orthorexics don’t necessarily think they’re fat. Their underlying motivation, therefore, is not to be thin or lose weight, but to be “pure.” However, with such restrictive diets, they can become just as malnourished as anorexics. People suffering might avoid certain foods, such as non-organic foods, cooked foods, or processed foods. (Feel free to click over to the following post for more about my thoughts on processed foods.)
This doesn’t mean that every vegan, raw foodist, or person who strives to eat a healthy diet has orthorexia. It’s only when the healthy diet becomes an obsession; when a person spends hours planning out his/her “perfect” diet, calculating nutrients, preparing everything in a very specific way (and not letting anyone else prepare his/her food), that one can be seen to have a problem.
People suffering from orthorexia may display some of the following signs:
- Feeling virtuous about what they eat, but not enjoying their food much
- Continually cutting foods from their diet
- Experiencing a reduced quality of life or social isolation because their diet makes it difficult for them to eat anywhere but at home
- Feeling critical of, or superior to, others who do not eat as healthily they do
- Skipping foods they once enjoyed in order to eat the “right” foods
- Choosing to eat foods based solely on nutritional value, instead of eating what they’re craving
- Feeling guilt or self-loathing when they stray from their diet
- Feeling in total control when they eat the “correct” diet
I can definitely see myself, if not careful, displaying some of the other orthorexic tendencies, like feeling critical or looking down on certain foods, such as white bread, white pasta, and white rice, deeming them “valueless.” Does having one of the characteristics mean I have orthorexia?
No, of course not.
But I do have to remind myself that just because it’s white bread does not mean it’s worthless. After all, a food is so much more than its numerical nutritional value. The French have been eating white bread for years, the Japanese eat white rice, the Italians enjoy white pasta… and so on.
Sure, it’s great to eat a healthy diet 90% of the time, mostly choosing whole-grains over white ones. But honestly, a little nutritionally valueless piece of white-flour-white-sugar cake every now and then is not going to hurt you. It’s not something you should feel guilty about, but something to be enjoyed! And the enjoyment you can get out of eating it will boost your mental (and thus physical) health! My great-grandma ate processed foods, drank coffee, and—as an Italian—loved her daily servings of white pasta. But one thing my great-grandma did NOT invite into her life was stress. She lived well into her 90s.
There’s a lesson to be learned here: Stress and guilt are much more detrimental to one’s health than eating a few refined grains every now and then. In the end, “Orthorexia Nervosa” is just a label. Whether you fit that label or not, we can all probably benefit from the reminder that food is only one component to a healthy life. Eat what your body truly craves, exercise (but not excessively), feed your soul, and–above all–try to stress as little as possible. Such is the way to a healthy life. (Sounds like something Confucius would say!)
What are your thoughts on all of this?
Hi Katie-I just came upon this post, and it’s the exact thing I was looking for! I have had a problem with excessive orthorexic tendencies- to the point where 95% of my diet is based on raw fruits and vegetables. I also tend to get really bad sugar cravings, but never satisfy them with anything other then fruits or artificial sweetners! I’m a vegan also- any suggestions on how to make my diet more wholesome and prevent these sugar cravings/feelings of starvation?
I see myself very much in this, have been a weight watcher on maintence for over a year, I go every week to listen to the talk about losing weight and healthy foods and get weighed, if I gain a pound or two I’m very upset and hate myself, my friends say I’m getting brain washed each week and it’s gone to my head, since they don’t have classes for people who have reached there goals it’s hard not to take this to heart, didn’t know there was a name for this, thank you, but I don’tthink it’s going to help me at this stage. I am 9 pounds under my goal now and feel like it should be more.
THANK YOU for writing a post on this! I have suffered from a mixture of orthorexia and anorexia for the past few years, and I can personally say that orthorexia is just as dangerous as anorexia! With all of the focus on “clean eating” lately I believe people are just fueling this disease. It is sad because most people don’t realize they have an eating disorder until things are no longer in their control any more. Through recovery I am learning moderation is the key to a true healthy lifestyle. Thank you again for raising awareness about this eating disorder, as it truly is just as harmful as the rest and yet it seems to go mostly unnoticed!
Wow. Thank you so much for linking to this. I didn’t know that what I’ve had has a name. I’m slowly getting over it, but not completely. Like I won’t go on a retreat with my students because I don’t know what the meals will be…but if I’m craving extra peanut butter or chocolate, I’ll go ahead and do it.
Ugh, the white bread thing. Have to work very hard on getting over that.
Thank you.
Ladies, I resonate with so many of you who are recovering from anorexia or orthorexia — thank you all so much for your replies to this super post, and thank you Katie for blogging about this lesser-known eating disorder.
I’m now 2 years along from the point when I realised something was definitely ‘off’ in my life, despite being fit and slender and ‘happy’ with my looks — the problems lay in my relationship to food and eating, and that stress overflowed into my closest relationships: my kids and my husband. I was moody, anxious, ‘prickly’ and hard to be with around any eating episode. The irony was I truly believed, hand on heart, that I was doing good, doing the best for my body. What I didn’t truly see was that the body and the MIND belong in the same ‘healthy’ sphere. Stress is the stealthiest most potent killer.
So then I sought psychological help… it has been a difficult road, but I’ve come a long, long way. At this point, I can say that at least everyone else in my life is happier now, bcz I’m easier to be around ! I’m much more flexible around food & meals, but I’ve gained weight… not an unhealthy amount, and at least my menses has re-started — but I’m very unhappy about being bigger than I was. I am learning to deal with that, working on my body image ‘disorder,’ — and so grateful all the while for my husband, my kids, my health and my amazing, complex and mysterious bodymind. I’m also very grateful to have found (just recently, spring of 2013) this community forum and CCK.
My daughter and I were just talking about this kind of abnormal behavior associated with food. Being a pastor’s wife, we often entertain and are invited as guests for meals. The 80% / 20% seems like a reasonable plan. Also, to realize stress is a main factor in our overall health. Thanks for the article.
I have to respectfully disagree. As someone who had to lose a significant amount of weight, that meant skipping foods I once enjoyed (such as cake) in order to eat the “right” foods and choosing foods based on nutritional value instead of cravings. It also did lead to some social isolation for not eating the “expected” foods – people like it when you eat what they eat.
Eating things such as sugar or white flour in moderation does not work for everyone. I am sure it is the same with people who have diabetes or other metabolic disorders.
This may be good advice for people without these concerns, but it would be very unhelpful and insensitive to give it to people who do have these concerns. There really isn’t any reason why people do need to eat white sugar or flour or that it is a sign that they are living healthfully. If they want to, that’s there decision, but they aren’t requirements for good health.
Of course, I’m not ruling out that some people some from some sort of eating disorder called orthopraxia.
I see your point, however I agree with Katie that trying to be perfect might do more harm than good. If you are constantly obsessing over eating healthy, avoiding social situations because of food, and controlling every calorie that enters your body, mentally that is not good for you. I completely agree you must avoid things you are sensitive to (gluten, dairy and sugar in my case) but that doesn’t mean you have to deprive yourself or miss out on opportunities to enjoy life.
I love this post. It is very helpful for me. It is a great reminder that stress is deadly.
I’m so glad that you wrote about this. I have seen this disorder in others and mildly in myself when something else isn’t quite right, a way to gain control over something maybe. But, I’ve always known it was unhealthy and I’m glad that it is a thing, it has a name and people are acknowledging that it is very real. The realness, in my mind, makes it easier to help those in a bad situation, in the fact that it is diagnosable and relatable hopefully means that more people can get help when they need it. Thank you for bringing attention to the issue, Katie.
Oh, I love this post. I feel like lately I am in danger of this. I have put a huge focus on nutritional eating, planned meals, etc. And I have started eating the same thing every. single. day, because I know it’s healthy. But.
But.
I am enjoying VERY MUCH the things I am eating, which is why I’m sticking to a few things now, until I get sick of them. Also, I am definitely one to splurge, but then I do feel very, very guilty afterwards. I am starting to get hard on myself for the few handfuls of chocolate chips I have after supper. And that’s not cool. I have lately been feeling superior and pretty self-righteous about how much better I am eating than others.
Time to take a step back. Splurges are good, enjoying my food is key. Don’t be self-righteous. Everyone is different.
Whew.
Thank you, Katie!
I told my M.D. yesterday that my eating regimine gave me a certain degree of anxiety. I want to learn more about this Orthorexia Nervosa…..I’m so “worried” about adhering to somewhat of a diabetic “diet”…..OR ELSE! At one time in my life I was Vegan (7-8 years), now my son is on a “caveman diet”……all protein. The hype for all the various “diets” is so convincing in each of their respects! So, I don’t know that my “diet” could be catagorized…..but of course I worry about the every 3 month A1C test. And……….of course in the evening, I must have my sweet “need” satisfied. Then if I have ice cream, well, then I “fail”, and the same is true if I have any potatoes, bread or carbohydrates. Guess, you already know, I gravitated to or found CCK – searching for ideas or recipes that will help me get my evening cravings – satisfied and not have the anxiety or consequences of to much of whatever – I am “Type II” taking oral meds, and want so bad to reverse this diabetic crapola.
I told my M.D. yesterday that my eating regimine gave me a certain degree of anxiety. I want to learn more about this Orthorexia Nervosa…..I’m so “worried” about adhering to somewhat of a diabetic “diet”…..OR ELSE! At one time in my life I was Vegan (7-8 years), now my son is on a “caveman diet”……all protein. The hype for all the various “diets” is so convincing in each of their respects! So, I don’t know that my “diet” could be catagorized…..but of course I worry about the every 3 month A1C test. And……….of course in the evening, I must have my sweet “need” satisfied. Then if I have ice cream, well, then I “fail”, and the same is true if I have any potatoes, bread or carbohydrates. Guess, you already know, I gravitated to or found CCK – searching for ideas or recipes that will help me get my evening cravings – satisfied and not have the anxiety or consequences of to much of whatever – I am “Type II” taking oral meds, and want so bad to reverse this diabetic crapola.
The website called greatist.com is a horrible website to be on if you want to recover from orthorexia.
They bash bananas and potatoes simply because they don’t have as much fiber as some other foods. They act like if you eat them you will get constipation from lack of fiber.
They bash peanut butter and hummus and dried fruit because they are high in calories and taste good. Hello! Whose fault is it that YOU inhaled half the jar of peanut butter. But no, they blame the calorie content of the food instead of their own lack of self control.
Whenever something with 3 less grams of fat comes out, they like to act as if you should switch over to that food immediately before you get diabetus. For example pumpkin seed butter has one more gram of protein than peanut butter and 5 less grams of fat, so the peanut butter is sinful.
It’s great that they suggest replacing white flour with whole wheat and vanilla for sugar, but this site takes healthy recipe substitutions to the orthorexic level, by substituting beans for flour, applesauce for oil, chia for eggs, zucchini ribbons for pasta, cauliflower for potatoes, quinoa for oatmeal, etc. The reasoning for why these subs are healthier is simply because they are lower in calories/fat/carbs, which is a flimsy reason. They need to leave innocent foods alone just because another food has a little more fiber or vitamin K
They always act like calories are little fattening monsters and you should avoid them at all costs. I hate it when people think that a calorie is a unit of fatteningness, because it’s a unit of energy. It’s only when you don’t burn a calorie that you gain weight. A great example of this is when they recommend subbing olive oil spray for oil. Using less of something doesn’t necessarily make you healthier.
This site sucks because they act like that you should ONLY eat those foods with top nutritional quality, even if foods with less nutrients are still healthy. They act like you eat oatmeal for breakfast, potatoes for lunch, and pasta for dinner, you are not healthy enough. This type of thinking breeds very orthorexic tendencies and I recommend that no one follow its ignorance.
I’m totaly agree with you. I have regrets we are not in a perfect world with only unprocessed foods, but balance is a healthy way to enjoy life as she are. You know what? You are my favorite bloggers!!!!
Audrey Potvin, diet technician (sorry for my English writting), I speak french but its easy for me to read you)
Thank you so much for posting this, Katie! It was very frightening to read because I display many of the things listed above but I think I am just at the border line. I do count calories and nutrional information very obsessively but I don’t really PLAN. I just look at it afterwards and usually I have something “bad” everyday. Yesterday I had icecream and chocolate and today I had cake made with white flour and butter for example.
It really makes me feel uncomfortable when someone else is cooking for me but I always remind myself that I can’t ALWAYS eat 100% healthy and other people are eating this, too and they’re not dying or getting fat. The only thing I am VERY obsessive with is eating something unhealthy in the evening because I am really afraid of my body storing for example the white flour, processed sugar or unhealthy fats. I am really fine with eating cake for dessert after breakfast or lunch because I know that my body is very likely to burn it but in the evening….. Well, I don’t want to talk about myself to much now.
Thank you so much for posting this and hosting your whole blog. I love your style of writing and your recipes. Just stay the way you are! 🙂
Excellent article. I found one of your receipes and made it a week ago, looked at your site for seconds only,had all the ingredients and like u got the basics and winged it. But as the universe would have it your site crossed my path more than once since then and this lazy Sun. Morning I found myself on your site actually looking around for an hr or so. This article hit home. I do have this disorder. Whew hard to say but it is so. I’ve been working on it, I became neurotic about food! I realize it was a control thing, it was the only thing I could control in my life while everything else was lost!!!! I needed this, another stepping stone on the way to balance!! Thank you for your hard work & honesty!
Just wanted to say, this post struck a chord with me. Over the last few years I’ve lost weight and as a part of it, started eating better. Even though I’m not obsessive, I’m definitely a little bit more concerend, than I think should be, to the point where I realized last week when I had a cheat meal, I felt better after dinner than I probably had in weeks.
So thanks for this, even though it’s a healthy food blog, it’s good to know that ultimately you advocate balance, which is just as important a message, especially in today’s world.