Do you have Orthorexia?

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In 1997 a medical doctor from Colorado, Steven Bratman, introduced a new word into our ever expanding vocabulary

Orthorexia Nervosa

people who develop an unhealthy fixation on eating healthy.

The word orthorexia is derived from two Greek words:

Orthos = correct or right

Orexia = appetite

According to Dr. Bratman's site, the term is meant to refer to people with an UNHEALTHY FIXATION on eating healthy.

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Dr. Bratman claims that an uninformed view on healthy eating pushes some people over the edge that they move into extreme forms of healthy eating like raw foodisim (people who don't cook their food past a certain temperature) and as a result end up emaciated and die. He has written extensively about his views and even published a book called Health Food Junkies: Orthorexia Nervosa, Overcoming the Obsession with Healthy Eating (Amazon link if you're interested). In his book he describes his own journey through veganisim and raw foodism and how he arrived at the conclusion that this can turn into an obsession and eventually cause death to those who practice them.

Reading excerpts from the book, it becomes quickly clear that Dr. Bratman is one of those individuals whose personality lends itself to extreme expressions and at that point his argument begins to break down.

It is important to note that his emphasis is on people with an unhealthy fixation.

At a time when the World is rising up against corporations that have genetically modified the staples we have become accustomed to, this particular discussion needs to be had and questions need to be asked.

• Can eating healthy become a bad obsession?
• Are there any unhealthy practices people engage in that they believe are healthy?
• What is "eating healthy" ?

What is your opinion? Do you think that orthorexia nervosa is something we all need to talk about?