When Healthy Eating Becomes Unhealthy

TOO Healthy? In a time of fast food, obesity, and endless chronic health problems, can you really be too healthy? Is that even possible?

As someone who is a strong supporter of living a healthy lifestyle, I was surprised when I stumbled upon Orthorexia. Orthorexia, although not formally recognized as a psychological or eating disorder, is a condition that plagues individuals who take healthy eating to an extreme and are obsessed with having a “perfect diet”.

Coming upon this made me question my own intentions and my own eating habits. I am always aware of what i'm eating, and I do make a conscious effort to choose healthier food options when at the supermarket as well as when I eat out. I spend my free time reading and writing about health and nutrition after all! Not exactly the everyday girl's idea of fun.  Could I be suffering from some form of orthorexia?!?!   I always thought of myself as having a relatively balanced in my lifestyle, but I AM pretty focused on health....

Well, someone hand me some oreos, I'm in recovery here!

But in all seriousness, I was curious to learn more about this disorder and how it is different from holding a health conscious mindset.

I found that the distinction between being committed to healthy eating and having orthorexia is the anxiety and extreme limiting associated with this disorder.  Those with orthorexia would rather go hungry than eat something “unhealthy”.  As the condition worsens, these individuals may chose to eat only certain foods, cutting out entire food groups, or perhaps avoiding any foods that aren't pure, unprocessed, or maybe only eating raw foods.  There is not a specific diet seen in those with orthorexia, but rather, certain behaviors.

The risks associated with this disorder are more than physical.   Individuals with orthorexia typically isolate themselves to avoid certain situations.  Dining out becomes a stressful situation and is avoided as much as possible.  Additionally, their days become focused almost entirely around making sure they eat the “healthiest” meals. According to Joy Jacobs a clinical psychological with the University of California – SD, someone with orthorexia, may even “often have a sense of moral superiority” about what they eat. In those with orthorexia, healthy eating is taken to an extreme and it becomes physical, emotional and social.

What was especially interesting to me was finding that often this condition starts an innocent attempt to make diet changes because of health problems, for digestive reasons, to loose a few pounds, or adopt a healthier lifestyle. But in those with this disorder, these changes spiral out of control.

So while it is very important to make health conscious decisions with regard to eating and lifestyle, any behavior that becomes obsessive and limits someone's ability to live their life IS a problem. The point of maintaining a healthy lifestyle is to feel good, be happy, and enjoy a long, healthy life with LESS problems. It definitely shouldn't prevent you from spending time with friends and family. Also, starving yourself is NOT healthy and can result in very serious long term health problems. It's OK to indulge every once in a while.

It does seem like there is a fine line here. We so often hear that we should be eating healthy to feel better, and we should.  Eating healthy can give you more energy, and really can make you feel physically better. But when are you eating healthy enough? What's good enough? We are born with the bodies we have and we should strive to be our best selves, but at the end of the day, we are still ourselves and we have the bodies we have.

You should be proud of every step to take toward living a healthy lifestyle, but a healthy lifestyle is also a balanced one. If you are eating nutritious foods, and you exercise moderately on a regular basis, but you are still not happy with yourself, it is probably not the healthiness of the food that is causing the unhappiness.

Understand Your Body, Enjoy Your Food, Love Yourself, and Live Your Life.

You can read more about this in an article on CNN.com or here.