Orthorexia: An Unhealthy Obsession With Healthy Eating

Reader Comments
Back to article

This seems to be nothing new. Here is a quote from Alexander Pope an English poet who lived from 1688 to 1744. "What some call health, if purchased by perpetual anxiety about diet, isn't much better than tedious disease."

Dicky Hopkins of SC 4:08PM April 05, 2011

If you are trying to stay healthy, check out our products @ http://www.amway.com/ethanevans

ethan of VA 6:00PM March 23, 2011

im going into a week of being a vegan, ive been vegetarian for almost half a year now, im only 17 and i don't know if this is helping me more or hurting me? i feel healthy, amd at first all i wanted was a chocolate chip cookie...but now im scared to go back to being a vegetarian because i only wanna be healthy :( i doubt im orthorexic though, but some of those things the article said i can relate to..idk?

Emily G of KS 4:07PM February 09, 2011

The article was most interesting.
Food (meals) should be tasty, well balanced, presented in a manner that pleases the eye first, then the palate and also healthy. I agree with moderation.
My main question after reading the article is: since when did "sugar, nonorganic produce, processed ingredients, artificial flavors & colors, and additives" become food groups?. . . and, is MS Jacobs of the UCSD School of Medicine actually teaching our next group of doctors?. . .quintessentially frightening.
I am blessed to have landed (for 4 months) in Aguanga - smack dab in the middle of a plethora of organic farms and dairies. Also several ranches that raise animals for slaughter the old fashioned way, providing them with natural food and grazing. So call me crazy. I don't think, however, the authors of the article need to be too concerned about the orthorexics taking over the country.
Being a careful observer of people and their patterns as I move through life, I can assure you (and them) that "most people still take far more care in the fuel they put into their cars than the fuel they put into their bodies."
All is well! :~)

Carole of CA 9:17PM February 08, 2011

I find the article's classification of the condition to be rather loose. If all your friends consume copious amounts of meat and you are a strict vegan, does that mean you have an eating disorder or a disease since you cannot join them for the Saturday night barbeque? How ridiculous!
I think that people must get help if they are making choices that are inimical to their health. It is another matter to put labels on people who are making healthy choices because they do not eat like you do.
And there is nothing wrong in not eating unacceptable foods. I lived through a hurricane where for weeks after the passage of the storm most of the food was canned or preserved with little fresh fruits and vegatables. I turned down many items and lost weight as a result; most people piled on the pounds.

Val 8:10PM February 06, 2011

This is kind of interesting...at first when i read the title i thought how can you eat too healthy? but then i read it like everyone else, and understood! LOL :)

BeCcA of NY 7:05PM January 30, 2011

The risks are more than physical, as those with orthorexia tend to isolate ourselves.
Don't eat junk food.
http://timermall.com

suri1987 of MN 5:03AM January 03, 2011

Hi,
i like your site its really good
Thx

Buy Vigrx of TX 12:53AM December 28, 2010

I reversed several diseases the biggest one being a pancreatic tumor looking at a 50/50 chance of living by eating raw foods. There are many of us that have reversed and or prevented disease by going back to nature and eating a natural way. It is a shame that you would deem this as a mental problem when I am in such joy and peace by eating this way and it has lead me to meditation and a spiritual way of living my life and loving all humanity. If this is mental disease then I prefer to be in this space. I have a holistic healing center and know of many other centers that have many many testimonies. I would suggest the biggest one is Hippocrates in West Palm Beach Florida and do your homework before posting. I hope this helps for you to look at another part of this. My own Doctor has turned to this way of eating and is teaching his interns and he is a healthier person now. Love & light Dr Elizabeth Kapadia, D.N.Ph.d

elizabeth kapaida of FL 8:43AM December 18, 2010

I find this article interesting. The media and researchers are centered on the extremes: obesity and anorexia. I have been watching my good friend from college change her entire lifestyle and constantly criticize others who do not follow the "healthy" diet that she does. She may not be as extreme, because she hasn't become as severely malnourished as people with anorexia or obesity, but she definitely has orthorexia. A constant fixiation on a restrictive diet which then leads to loss of relationships ends up not being healthy. The problem is, people with orthorexia think that since they are eating the perfect diet, they don't have anything wrong with them, so it’s harder for them to accept they have a problem or seek help for that matter.

JH of PA 3:46PM December 16, 2010