Orthorexia should NOT be a disorder

[Anonymous]

I suspect years from now we will be as surprised the DSM tried to make 100% clean eating a disorder as we are now are surprised homosexuality was once considered a disorder. I understand a disorder is defined by impairing functioning, but having anxiety about chemical filled food to the point of bringing your own foods is something a lot of people I know who reversed illness have and do. I reversed a very serious health issue with ultra clean eating and lifestyle and don't need medication (verified by a doctor and medical tests). Old school doctors told me this would be impossible, yet all the tests tell a different story. I think it's insane that we are concerned if a person wants to eat 100% clean. If that person panics and won't eat Doritos, then get him or her an apple. If they are anxious about having to eat one meal of processed foods, I can tell you processed foods make me feel pretty sick afterwards so I get it.

I have connected with others with my autoimmune disorder and with cancer who also found massive benefits with clean eating and lifestyle and won't touch processed garbage. They even panic at having to eat junk because it makes them ill.

Throwing up food on purpose is a disorder. Starving oneself is a disorder. Insisting on eating healthy food and being worried that processed foods will make you ill? Not a disorder. Plenty of people have told me they ate mostly healthy and didn't worry about having junk now and then and the junk they ate as a kid until they got sick.

How strange that there is a disorder name for people who eat ultra healthy and feel anxious about chemicals, but there is no disorder for people who eat mostly standard American diet of junk. I don't think either should be a disorder, but I am very curious what the driving force was to pathologize refusing to eat junk at all.

[Anonymous]

This is why it's a disorder. You sound unhinged.

[Anonymous]

Your thoughts about food - perceiving it as unsafe and a threat - can wire your nervous system and body to become sensitized to certain foods. This is a thing.

Ideally, your body and immune system should be strong enough to "handle" most foods (obviously I'm not talking about Taco Bell here, but cutting out large groups like all dairy, all gluten, all corn, etc). If you believe that the food you are eating is nourishing you, your body is more likely to accept it.

It IS unhealthy to avoid or fear most foods. Is it worthy of "disorder" status? Who knows. But this is a thing - just like too much exercise is a thing. Feeling "safe" and generally ok goes a long way to calming your nervous system and immune system down. Overly identifying with your sensitivities or maladies is not healthy nor does it help you recover.

[Anonymous]

Do you also avoid dihydrogen monoxide? That's a chemical too, and everyone who has gotten sick has consumed it.

[Anonymous]

Writing 4 paragraphs about choosing not to eat certain foods is unhinged. You have some kind of disorder. Plus you are very preachy.

[Anonymous]

It’s a disorder in that it interferes with one’s ability to live a normal life. My MIL would bring all her own food when she visited, lugging it through airports etc.

[Anonymous]

It’s not about the food itself, it’s about how spending all your time and energy on making sure you eat the “right” food disrupts your life.

[Anonymous]

I live with someone for whom it absolutely is a disorder. The level of panic this person experiences when they think their food may have been tainted with something they perceive as bad (butter, oil, dairy) is not rational. They will not eat at all if they don’t have 100% control over the ingredients. 75% of their conversations are ruminations about food.

[Anonymous]

I agree with you. My picky eater? Doesn't drink water from the tap. Probably OCD of some kind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with you. My picky eater? Doesn't drink water from the tap. Probably OCD of some kind.

Yes, and that’s why OCD stands for obsessive compulsive disorder! You read that right, disorder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree with you. My picky eater? Doesn't drink water from the tap. Probably OCD of some kind.

Yes, and that’s why OCD stands for obsessive compulsive disorder! You read that right, disorder.

Hmmm. The kid could have very sensitive taste buds. Not unusual in the young. I personally eat everything now but can taste "off" in water fountains with expired filters.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely no one is claiming eating "clean" is a disorder. The issue is when you get to a point of extreme anxiety around eating bc you have to have absolute control over everything that goes in your mouth. Just like washing your hands is a healthy habit but someone with OCD feels around contamination will wash their hands excessively to gain a sense of peace and control, even though there is no such thing as absolute certainty that your hands are germ-free.

I'm glad you're feeling better but your thinking (and the weird comparison to homosexuality) is incredibly flawed.

[Anonymous]

*OCD fears, not feels

[Anonymous]

I recovered from an ED. Didn't fit into any of the exact diagnosis for anorexia or bulimia but had symptoms of both. I later struggled with what people consider orthorexia. It's not eating healthy or finding foods that could help you with an illness. It became an obsession. I would pour over details of different foods and would fall for all sorts of ridiculous propaganda about food. I would have panic attacks about the thought of doing anything surrounding food. I started isolating myself because I couldn't go out to restaurants with friends and any get togethers just completely stressed me out. Freaking out over eating a Dorito? Yeah that's into the territory of disordered. BTDT.

Now I eat healthy and clean 95% of the time. And the 5% I don't, I don't stress out about.

[Anonymous]

I'm sure the criteria includes the obsessive thoughts. Eating clean for legitimate health reasons probably doesn't qualify.