What are your thoughts about Orthorexia? Do you feel that it should be recognized as an eating disorder?
This interesting topic arose during our discussion post this week in my Nutrition class and to tell you the truth I had never heard of Orthorexia prior to this discussion.
Orthorexia is defined as a fixation of eating only pure, healthy, and natural foods. To break it down further orthos derives from the Greek language meaning “correct or right” while orexis means “appetite.”
After taking both sides of the discussion into account I have say that orthorexia should be recognized as an eating disorder and dieticians should be made aware of it. Like anorexia and obsessive-compulsive disorder, orthorexia is defined as having a sense of control. Most individuals with eating disorders have controlling personalities. This pattern of controlling what we consume really boils down to the “good” vs. “bad” foods, which is labeled by our society and other unreliable sources. Individuals with orthorexia eliminate “bad” foods from their diet, which most people believe are our carbohydrates, refined sugars, meats, trans fats, and processed foods. By eliminating these foods from our diets we are only setting ourselves up for malnourishment. These so called “bad” foods contain vitamins and nutrients that other foods cannot provide our bodies, therefore it is critical that we consume them in recommended amounts.
Just some food for thought! Until next time!