The "clean eating movement" has surrounded the world in recent years. Recipes for salads, sugar-free desserts and green smoothies started to appear in magazines, blogs and social media.
Health experts state that we need to remove substances such as carbohydrates, starch and gluten from our lives.
These changes in a healthy lifestyle can become neurotic in some people. Even these people have a kind of eating disorder can be seen.
In fact, this situation has been accepted as a disease and treatment methods have been developed. This eating disorder disease orthorexia nervosa is trying.
So, the obsession with healthy eating. An increasing number of people, especially women in their 30s, can turn healthy eating into an obsession.
What is Orthorexia?
Orthorexia nervosa, by its short name orthorexiais an eating disorder that is caught by people who obsess over healthy eating. It starts off as an innocent enterprise, but does not result in good results.
Anorexia or bulimia nervosa For fear of gaining weight in other eating disorders, such as, people obsess over how much they eat.
For example; anorexia nervosaBecause of the fear of gaining weight, the person severely restricts the amount of what they eat. Orthorexia People who do not attach much importance to weight gain.
It is important for them whether the food is of good quality. Are the foods they eat healthy or pure? They can't eat anything because of such
Unfortunately, the media and conflicting nutritional recommendations are also effective in making this disorder more common.
What Causes Orthorexia Nervosa?
You start a diet to lose weight and become healthier, and you may become overly obsessed with healthy eating.
In fact, the causes of this disease are not fully known. There isn't much research on the causes of this eating disorder.
It is thought that only obsessive-compulsive disorder, that is, obsession, is triggered by conditions such as existing eating disorders.
Perfectionism, high anxiety and there are situations such as being overly controlled.
Various studies have found that people who are very involved in the health sector are at high risk of getting this disease.
How Does Orthorexia Nervosa Develop?
OrthorexiaIt is a bit difficult to distinguish between a healthy diet. Therefore, it is not known how common the disorder is.
It pops up out of nowhere, in any situation. When you see a friend who is losing weight, or when you are having dinner with your friends, suddenly the enthusiasm that comes from you, orthorexia nervosa It can turn into an obsession like.
Adverse environmental conditions also trigger this disease. Still compared to other eating disorders orthorexia nervosaless risk of getting either.
Common behaviors seen in those with orthorexia nervosa
Digestive problems, health problems such as asthma, low mood, anxiety, obsessive anxiety
- Avoid food without medical advice, thinking that food may cause allergies
- Increase in consumption of herbal medicines, herbal supplements and probiotic foods
- Decrease in food choices consumed with the thought of being sick
- Unreasonable worry about food preparation techniques, the urge to thoroughly wash and clean food
- Guilt when deviating from dietary guidelines
- Increased time to think about foods and spend excessive amounts of money on food choices.
- Preparing the next day's meal plan
- The thought of criticizing those who are not rigorous about healthy eating
- Avoiding friends and family members who do not think like themselves about food
- Avoiding food prepared by others
- Avoiding social activities with extensive meals for fear of deterioration of eating habits
- Worsening depression and anxiety states
What Are the Symptoms of Orthorexia Nervosa?
Orthorexia nervosa Those who do are nourished by a desire to consume pure, healthy foods and obsess over a perfect diet rather than an ideal weight.
Orthorexia refuses to eat any unhealthy or impure food, such as artificial sweeteners, coloring or preservatives, oil, sugar or salt, pesticides, genetically modified organisms, animal or dairy products.
While this is a normal approach to food for some people, orthorexiais also obsessive and exaggerated. Symptoms of orthorexia nervosa It is as follows:
Obsessive thoughts that eating foods can cause various illnesses,
- severely restricting food types considering that it is unhealthy,
- Using a significant amount of probiotics, herbal medicines and other supplements that are thought to have healthy effects on the body,
Obsessive concerns about food preparation, food washing techniques and sterilization of dishes,
Experiencing strong emotional reactions to food, such as:
Satisfaction and happiness from clean, healthy, pure food
Guilt when consuming foods that are not considered to be healthy and pure
Spending too much time thinking about food consumption
Improved meal planning regularly, feelings of guilt and dissatisfaction when meals are not planned in advance
Criticizing and judging those who do not follow healthy, pure eating plans
Avoiding eating away from home
Avoiding food bought or prepared by others
Distancing friends and family members who do not share beliefs about food
Consider the answers to the questions below. If your answers are yes orthorexia nervosa you may have a tendency.
- Are you worried about food and food quality?
- Do you think a lot and put a lot of effort into preparing food?
- Are you constantly examining the unhealthy properties of foods?
- Are you enthusiastically searching for new diet lists?
- Do you feel guilty and hate yourself when you go beyond your eating routine?
- Do you control what you eat?
- Do you make yourself dietary rules?
How Is Orthorexia Nervosa Diagnosed?
It is a bit difficult to separate this disease from a healthy diet. Even so orthorexia nervosa There are some criteria for determining.
1) healthy eating as an obsessive focus
Obsession with eating healthy enough to cause emotional distress
- Compulsive behaviors and believing in nutrition for general health and keeping the mind preoccupied with it.
- Feeling of anxiety, fear of illness, pollution, negative physical sensations when self-imposed dietary rules are not followed
- Severe restrictions, such as quitting all food groups, fasting over time
2) Behaviors that disrupt daily life
Malnutrition, severe weight loss, and other medical complications
- Personal problems, inability to adapt to social and business life due to the deterioration of the quality of life
- Emotional dependence on situations such as body image, self-values, self-identity
Adverse Health Effects of Orthorexia Nervosa
Physical Effects
Orthorexia nervosa Although the studies on it are limited, it is known that the disease causes some medical complications.
Malnutrition due to restrictive eating and as a result, anemia and abnormal slow heart rate can occur.
However, digestive problems, metabolism slowdown, hormonal imbalances also occur. These physical complications can be life-threatening and should not be taken lightly.
Psychological effects
Over time eating habits deteriorate people with orthorexia disappointed. They feel guilty and hate themselves when their self-formed eating patterns are disturbed.
Moreover, they spend most of their time thinking about whether food is clean and pure. Other than that, they spend their time measuring and reaping food and planning their future food.
Recent studies show that people who engage in such activities have a poor memory. Also, obsessed people fail to solve problems they face in daily life.
Social effects
People who have strict rules on healthy diets and foods find it difficult to enter social life.
Their thoughts about eating habits and their attempts to impose these thoughts on others and try to intervene make human relations difficult.
OrthorexiaPeople who suffer from it often isolate themselves from social life. Because they consider themselves superior to other people in healthy eating.
Orthorexia Nervosa Treatment
OrthorexiaThe consequences can be as severe as other eating disorders and, if left untreated, can cause irreversible damage to health.
OrthorexiaThe first step to getting rid of it is to diagnose it. Diagnosing this eating disorder and its effects on a person's well-being, health, and social life can be somewhat difficult.
The person should accept this situation and choose the treatment path. Help should be sought from a doctor, psychologist or dietician.
OrthorexiaAlthough the treatment effects of the drug have not been scientifically confirmed, the emphasis is on cognitive behavior modification.
By providing education about scientifically valid nutritional information, the person is tried to be saved from wrong nutrition beliefs.
Of course, healthy eating and choosing healthy foods is very important for our general health, but it should not be forgotten; There is a fine line between a healthy diet and an eating disorder.
Your anxiety and obsessions orthorexiadon't let it turn into either.
