Orthorexia: When Health Food Becomes Death Food

Although Orthorexia Nervosa has produced very few deaths, it should also be noted that Orthorexia Nervosa is a rather recent discovery since for many years medical professionals thought those suffering from Orthorexia were just Anorexics.

Orthorexia Nervosa is known as the health food disorder. This is due to the Orthorexic's preoccupation with health food. Orthorexia causes the sufferer to become more and more obsessed with the types of foods they are consuming, resulting in more and more constriction placed on their eating habits. Most people suffering from Orthorexia never succumb to death, yet suffer social isolation and depression. "The risk of breaking the diet was just too much to hang out with others," recalls one former sufferer.

Whether Orthorexia can lead to other eating disorders or just draw the sufferer from diet to the next is not the crucial issue. Often times "milder"eating disorder like Orthorexia can contribute to life choices that isolate and inhibit a person's true potential. This is perhaps the most negative consequence of Orthorexia Nervosa.
Recent research indicates a connection between the causes of Orthorexia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Those suffering from Orthorexia exhibit an obsession with "healthy food" leading the same researchers to connect this obsession as a form of expression for a deeper psychological disorder.

Connecting Orthorexia Nervosa to a psychological disorder would seem to separate the disorder from other eating disorders like Anorexia Nervosa, which seems to have a lot of causal factors. If current research for Orthorexia continues proving psychological cause then treatment methods would vary greatly from other eating disorders.

Orthorexia Nerovsa is often times confused with Anorexia due to a few shared effects. Most people suffering from Orthorexia display a drive for loss of weight and display that in an overly thin look much the same way as Anorexics.

Orthorexics also become isolated socially, which leads to depression due to their ever increasing stringencies. Ultimately Orthorexia causes an emaciated look and an extreme obsession with healthy eating patterns.

The Bratman Test for Orthorexia Nervosa

• Do you spend more than 3 hours a day thinking about your diet?
• Do you plan your meals several days ahead?
• Is the nutritional value of your meal more important than the pleasure of eating it?
• Has the quality of your life decreased as the quality of your diet has increased?
• Have you become stricter with yourself lately?
• Does your self-esteem get a boost from eating healthily?
• Have you given up foods you used to enjoy in order to eat the 'right' foods
• Does your diet make it difficult for you to eat out, distancing you from family and friends?
• Do you feel guilty when you stray from your diet?
• Do you feel at peace with yourself and in total control when you eat healthily?

Yes to 4 or 5 of the above questions, you may have Orthorexia Nervosa and this means it is time to relax more about food. Yes to all of them means a full-blown obsession with eating healthy food. It also important to note that orthorexia nervosa is not seen formal medical condition yet many experts believe that it is a growing concern as society becomes more obsessed with health and diets.

Treatment for Orthorexia involves a retraining of one's food consciousness and world outlook. This can be done through therapy or support groups. If the situation is dire then the sufferer is usually admitted into a clinic or treatment center.

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