Bodies in Balance: Orthorexia, Explained

Sugar-free, protein only, low-carb, gluten-free, 90/10 eating—the list goes on and on. What often begins as a quest to eat healthier, gradually turns into an obsession with a rigid focus on macros, points, percentages or elimination diets.
Extreme “clean eating,” or the idea of only eating food that is considered “pure” or whole and free of many ingredients and preservatives, has taken over the way many people view meal times, as they become focused on assigning food a value other than sustenance. And what is so scary about this trend is the virtue some feel about what they eat has become more important than the pleasure they receive from eating it.
What is Clean Eating?
“Clean eating is defined as the avoidance of certain foods, food groups, and processing techniques,” explains Claire Mysko, CEO of the National Eating Disorder Association. “Clean eating becomes disordered when caloric restriction, anxiety about food, significant weight loss, social isolation, bingeing and/or compensatory behaviors (like vomiting and use of laxatives) are present,” she adds. “The use of the term “clean eating” can be dangerous because it divides food groups into “good” and “bad.” When in reality, a well-rounded diet consists of many different types of foods.”
Joni Edelman, editor-in-chief of Ravishly, agrees with the danger of using the term “clean eating.” “I think when we start to label food as “clean,” the implication is that non-clean food is “dirty.” The problem with this is that once you start to moralize food, you moralize yourself around the consumption of it,” she says.
Edelman, who has struggled for years with disordered eating, body image issues, and exercise addiction, has spoken out at length about her struggles in hopes to shed light on the pressures many feel to be part of the extreme “clean eating” movement.
When she was in the throes of disordered eating, her life looked perfect to those around her. Her body was lean and her eating and exercise reflected the picture of perfect health. The only problem was, she wasn’t healthy. “I didn’t look sick, I looked dedicated,” she says. “People weren’t worried, they were envious.” Our obsession with being healthy and fit, is what feeds the addictive cycle that so many fall victim to and when you are receiving positive attention for your hard work and dedication, it can be difficult to recognize that a problem exists.
Orthorexia: When Clean Eating Takes Over Your Life