{"id":4926,"date":"2023-06-20T23:40:59","date_gmt":"2023-06-20T16:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=4926"},"modified":"2023-06-20T23:40:59","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T16:40:59","slug":"what-is-orthorexia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=4926","title":{"rendered":"What Is Orthorexia?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">I trace the source and legitimacy of a disorder purporting to describe an \u201cunhealthy obsession with healthy eating.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Orthorexia nervosa is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/29215937\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">described<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> as \u201ca fixation on the virtue of food or unhealthy obsession with healthy eating.\u201d Orthorexia has been styled as a type of \u201cself-righteous eating\u201d or \u201cas \u2018clean eating\u2019 by those who are involved in these behaviors.\u201d Hold on. Let\u2019s take a step back. First of all, while this phenomenon \u201chas been described in the scientific literature, it is not formally recognized as an official psychiatric diagnosis.\u201d Furthermore, orthorexia doesn\u2019t even have an accepted definition nor validated diagnostic criteria, and if you can\u2019t validly diagnose it or even define it, what good is it? Where did this concept even <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">come<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> from? As I discuss in my video <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/is-orthorexia-a-real-eating-disorder\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Is Orthorexia a Real Eating Disorder?<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, it didn\u2019t come from a scholarly source, but from a popular press article <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=AOoDAAAAMBAJ&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;source=gbs_ge_summary_r&amp;cad=0#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">called<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> \u201cConfessions of a Health Food Junkie\u201d in a magazine called <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Yoga Journal<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Let\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jhse.ua.es\/article\/view\/2013-v8-n4-exploring-scientific-legitimacy-of-orthorexia-nervosa-a-newly-emerging-eating-disorder\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">explore<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> its \u201cscientific legitimacy.\u201d Evidently, it looks like orthorexics obsessively avoid processed foods, unhealthy fats, and foods with too much salt or too much sugar. But, by <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">definition<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,<\/span> <span data-contrast=\"auto\">we should avoid unhealthy fats\u2014they\u2019re unhealthy! And anything that has too much salt or sugar has <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">too much<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> salt or sugar. Is a nonsmoker who \u201cobsessively\u201d avoids cigarettes an ortho<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">spir<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">exic? Someone obsessed with \u201cright\u201d breathing? \u201cIn many cases, parents strictly limit their children\u2019s sugar intake or try to feed them only organic foods.\u201d The horror! Off to the institution they go!<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Orthorexics \u201cmake the nutritional value of [a] meal more important than the pleasure of eating it.\u201d If you didn\u2019t do that just a little, wouldn\u2019t you just eat donuts all day? If pleasure trumps health, should we all just start shooting heroin? Absurd.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">One of the <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">proposed<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> criteria <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/23760837\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">is<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> an \u201cunusual concern about one\u2019s own health.\u201d What does that mean? Do you have a mental illness if you decide to hold the bacon on your double cheeseburger? That could be seen as an <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">unusual<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> level of concern in a standard American diet.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cPeople with orthorexia <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/28260900\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">pay<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> excessive attention to the quality of consumed food; they also rather do not eat unhealthy food.\u201d I bet they wear their seatbelts, too! \u201cExperts\u201d recommend we reprogram their unhealthy healthy thoughts with cognitive behavioral therapy combined, of course, with drugs, maybe SSRIs, such as Zoloft, Prozac, and Paxil.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Regarding psychotropic medication, SSRIs may <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/25733839\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">help<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, but you may have to dip into the atypical antipsychotics as well. There may often be a concession, like: \u201cOf course, from a clinical and public health perspective it would not be reasonable to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/27401768\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">suggest<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> that individuals who follow a strict healthy diet are endangering their health.\u201d It only reaches \u201c\u2018clinical significance\u2019\u2026when health-directed eating\u201d starts causing problems in relationships or impairs an individual\u2019s social life. But, if someone asks their spouse not to smoke around them and the kids, that \u201chealth-directed\u201d behavior <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">could<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> cause \u201cinterpersonal distress\u201d in the relationship. Should you just keep quiet then? Or should you yourself keep smoking so you don\u2019t create waves with your smoking spouse? And social-life-wise, do you have mental illness if you tell your date you\u2019d rather not go to the steak house or the smoking lounge?<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cThe problem\u2026is when the behavior begins to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/16183346\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">hinder<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> a person\u2019s ability to take part in everyday society\u2026They might start bringing their own food to\u2026dinner parties.\u201d Maybe I\u2019ve just gone to too many potlucks, but bringing a healthy dish to share with others doesn\u2019t sound like a druggable psychiatric offense to me.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Then there\u2019s Instagram. Think of \u201cthe implications social media can <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/28251592\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">have<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> on psychological well-being\u2026[of] hundreds of thousands of individuals.\u201d Did you know that \u201chealthy food posts tend to receive more support from users than less healthy images, indicating a positive attitude towards healthy foods and healthy eating\u201d? Soon, everyone might be taking pictures of broccoli. Quick, get out the straitjackets!<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;134245417&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In his decades of medical practice, Dr. Dean Ornish <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.webmd.com\/mental-health\/eating-disorders\/news\/20001117\/orthorexia-good-diets-gone-bad#1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">says<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> he\u2019s never seen a case of \u201corthorexia.\u201d \u201cMost people,\u201d he says, \u201chave the opposite problem; they don\u2019t care enough about what they eat.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"et_social_bottom_trigger\"\/>  <\/div>\n<p><script>\n            !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n            {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n                n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n            if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n            n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n            t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n            s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n                'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n            fbq('init', '1582627921973608');\n            fbq('track', 'PageView');\n        <\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1675549\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I trace the source and legitimacy of a disorder purporting to describe an \u201cunhealthy obsession with healthy eating.\u201d\u00a0 Orthorexia nervosa is described as \u201ca fixation on the virtue of food or unhealthy obsession with healthy eating.\u201d Orthorexia has been styled as a type of \u201cself-righteous eating\u201d or \u201cas \u2018clean eating\u2019 by those who are involved &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}