Orthodexia

Currently we can identify a trend towards what is considered ‘healthy,’ specially in terms of what we eat. And all of this would seem like an obvious and logical choice, yet we must ask ourselves ¿what is healthy?

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines healthy as adjective to describe anything that benefits your wellbeing. In terms of nutrition, it is linked to a balanced diet that has a positive impact in our body. The food industry has identified this trend and every day we can see new products that lean towards what’s considered organic, artisanal, natural and ecologically sustainable. With the growing demand of more and more people leading for the healthy choice, the more possible it becomes to overstep the healthy side to the unhealthy without being aware of it.

Currently in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders recognizes different types of eating disorders. Some of the most common ones are anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating, but there is another category where all of the other non-classified disorders end. One that is rather well known is bigorexia, where the patient suffers from a disturbance in how their weight or shape is perceived and this is copped through excessive exercising and ingesting muscle building steroids. 

In the las decade, doctor Steven Bratman, named a new type of eating disorder: orthorexia. From the Greek orto which means straight or correct and orexi which means appetite. So it refers to the need of eating what-s correct. This rapidly growing disorder is characterized by the pathological obsession of eating food that is biologically pure.² The level of obsession is as intense as any other eating disorder, only that the person focuses on rejecting everything that contains preservatives, pesticides or that has been subjected to a chemical or industrial process, some even include foods that come from animals. The problem arises from the physical, social and mental hardship that arises from this behavior.

Just like patients that suffer from other eating disorders, people who have been diagnosed with orthorexia do no identify their eating patterns as negative. Even when de side effects become medical issues like malnourishment, anemia, migraines and amenorrhea, patients denied the negative impact of being too healthy. Suffering from othorexia has been linked to the risk of evolving to anorexia due to its restrictive quality, where patients tend to avoid eating if no healthy food is available. 

Orthorexia is one disorder that can be easily prevented, it’s just a matter of going with a health professional. Assist to your annual checkup with your trusted doctor to know your overall health. Consult your diet with a nutriologist that can design your personal balanced diet according to your needs. That is all you need to be healthy.

Alicia Gómez González

Psychologist in formation

Referencias

¹RAE. (2016). Real Academia Española. Recuperado de http://dle.rae.es/?id=X7N1J5K