Eating disorders do not always concern refusing food or purging after eating meals. Eating disorders are often characterized by an obsession with food; either refusing it, eating too much of it and then feeling a need to purge or eating only specific types of food. Orthorexia (a sufferer of orthexia is also often called “Health Food Junkie”) is a type of eating disorder that is distinguished by an obsession with only eating food categorized as healthy. Some cases go so far that people suffering from orthorexia feel they cannot eat food prepared and served by anyone but themselves as their obsession with food causes them to feel the need to know every ingredient in the food they eat.

Counting calories, exercising, eating healthy – we’ve all heard all about it and read all about it in magazines. Especially around this time, when a new year is just beginning and almost every magazine around is propagating for starting up a new life, exercising and loosing weight in order to reach your goals and “become the new you”. Some of us are confident enough to put the magazine down, step aside and go have a good meal. Others feel the need to follow these diet fads and exercise regimes.

Eating healthy is good as long as it does not become an obsession. Allowing yourself a treat now and then is never a bad thing. Some people need to eat healthy food because they are overweight and are causing themselves serious health problems. People that have a normal and healthy weight do not have to be particularly careful with what they eat however at mentioned eating healthy is fine, as long as you do not allow it to become an obsession. Make sure you are not obsessing over what you eat and that you are not loosing control over eating something you would not categorize as healthy. Obsessions with food are always a danger and can lead to even more serious eating disorders.

According to Steven Bratman, M.D. these following questions are good to ask yourself if you think you may be suffering from orthorexia. If you recognize yourself in any of the following questions, you may be suffering from orthorexia.

“Do you wish that occasionally you could just eat, and not think about whether it’s good for you? Has your diet made you socially isolated? Is it impossible to imagine going through a whole day without paying attention to your diet, and just living and loving? Does it sound beyond your ability to eat a meal prepared with love by your mother – one single meal – and not try to control what she serves you? Do you have trouble remembering that love, and joy, and play and creativity are more important than food? Have you gotten your weight so low that people think you may have anorexia?”

The website www.orthorexia.com also offers a self test. Orthorexia can be fatal when food becomes too strong of an obsession. People suffering from orthorexia want to be healthy, pure and natural. Orthorexia can often be confused with anorexia as people suffering from orthorexia often loose a lot of weight as they are not getting the necessary amounts of food or the right proteins, minerals etc. in their bodies. Therefore people often assume the person may be suffering from anorexia because of their low weight. People suffering from orthorexia do not have a desire to loose weight, their desire is the opposite; they want to keep a good and especially healthy weight. It is when this desire goes overboard and they do not allow themselves enough food or the right food that they continue to loose weight and reach and emaciated state which, in some cases, leads to death.

Kate Finn died of heart failure in 2003 caused by orthorexia. She submitted her story of her experience with orthorexia to www.beyondveg.com (Click link to read her story)



Sources:
http://www.orthorexia.com/index.php?page=katef
http://www.beyondveg.com/finn-k/bio/finn-k-bio-1a.shtml
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/29/1728_64424

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