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Is Your Loved One Obsessed with only Consuming a Clean Diet?

Is Your Loved One Obsessed with only Consuming a Clean Diet?

With an emphasis on healthy eating in today’s society, are you aware of an eating disorder that individuals develop because of their obsession with only consuming healthy food? Let’s take a look at the warning signs of Orthorexia.

healthy livingAccording to an article at baltimoresun.com, “Understanding Orthorexia”

“Many people are adopting clean eating habits, trading in processed foods for natural, nontoxic and organic choices. Doctors say it can lead to better health, but for some it can become an unhealthy obsession. Dr. Steven Crawford, co-director of the Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt in Towson, said some people can become so focused on eating the right foods that they develop an eating disorder called orthorexia. Crawford says more research is needed on the disease, which is not yet listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, the gold standard for psychological disorders.

What is orthorexia?
Orthorexia describes specific disordered thoughts and behaviors associated with an obsessive focus on clean food consumption. The literal translation is a “fixation on righteous eating.” While traditional eating disorder diagnoses tend to focus on the amount of food a person eats, orthorexia is unique in that it focuses on the quality of food consumed. What may begin as a realistic effort to eat healthy or avoid illness can spiral into an unhealthy obsession; a search for food that is “pure.” Food choices can become all-encompassing, socially restrictive and inextricably tied to a sense of self-worth or morality.

What are the health risks of the disease?
While weight loss is generally not the goal for people who fit the description of orthorexia, weight loss and malnutrition can occur as safe food choices become more and more limited. Even in the absence of notable weight changes, restrictive diets can result in a deficiency of nutrients necessary for normal function. Restrictive diets can also impair normal hunger cues and increase the risk for binge eating. Psychological and interpersonal consequences include social isolation, obsessive or intrusive thoughts regarding food, anxiety associated with meals, diminished self-esteem, mood swings, and reduced quality of life.

How is orthorexia treated?
Treatment draws on techniques used in the more commonly known anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders. Often, this includes patients working with a therapist and registered dietitian. Treatment goals involve challenging irrational thoughts about the safety and purity of food, becoming more flexible with food choices, increasing exposure to eating socially and cultivating a sense of intrinsic self-worth that is unconnected to a specific dietary pattern.” To read the entire article click here.

If you or a loved one may be suffering from an eating disorder in the Reno Spark area contact ABC Nutrition Services at 775-329-0505 or visit ABCNutritionServices.com.

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