An unhealthy obsession with eating healthy

We all know the mantra for how to eat healthy. Eliminate fat. Eliminate carbohydrates. Only shop the outer aisles. Stick to raw food. Cook everything as thoroughly as possible.

While most of us yo-yo between nutrition axioms, a small percentage of the population can’t dismiss any of them. News.com.au notes that British experts are seeing a rise in orthorexia nervosa — an eating disorder wherein people can’t stop focusing on eating healthy foods, restricting their diet based on what they deem as “unhealthy” — fats, carbohydrates, preservatives, or all of those categories and others.

As an orthorexic’s diet becomes more restricted, the possibility of malnourishment and severe weight loss increases. In an attempt to discover what has led to a spike in the number of orthorexics, The Guardian interviewed Deanne Jane, the founder of the National Centre for Eating Disorders in Britain, who believes that at some point, society became disconnected from food:

“It’s everywhere, from the people who think it’s normal if their friends stop eating entire food groups, to the trainers in the gym who

[promote] certain foods to enhance performance, to the proliferation of nutritionists, dieticians and naturopaths … This is all grist for the mill to those looking for proof to confirm or encourage their anxieties around food.”

This is a dieting slippery slope. Each of us make a number of food choices every day, but most are based on hunger rather than health concerns. We might moderate our order — getting chicken grilled instead of fried — but even dieters often fail to strictly adhere to their goals.

And that might be the answer — an occasional slip into eating unhealthy is … healthy.

[Image via Flickr: Morning Theft]