WHEN HEALTHY BECOMES UNHEALTHY

We now live in a culture that has gone health crazy! You only have to look on social media for the next trending health post followed by common tags like #cleaneating, #cleaneatingaddict, #fitspo…. heck even I use a few of these in my posts from time to time!
I am sure these trends where created with the best of intentions but unfortunately has become the bench mark for how we should eat, move, look, and live our lives. It is easy to see how we can slip into an obsession with eating healthy, and for some this obsession can eventually have a negative effect, become unhealthy.

Orthorexia is defined as an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating. “orthos” in greek means “right” also known as “fixation on righteous eating”. This type of disordered eating usually starts off as an innocent attempt to eat healthier. As you go on you become fixated on how much to eat, what to eat and focused on every day being a chance to rise above others by eating only “good” foods. Before you know it your diet is severely restricted to only a few foods and the thought of straying from your diet sends you into a spiral of guilt or self-punishment. It’s not just an obsession with food or diets but has now evolved to being obsessed with excessive fitness and exercise.

Pic Credit: Elizabeth Blasko | TheOdyssseyOnline.

I am not claiming that vegetarianism, veganism, intolerance diets or any other specialised diet due to religious, ethical beliefs or medical reasons is an eating disorder. However I do believe balanced healthy eating and regular exercise is important as part of a balanced lifestyle, but not when it makes you feel bad about yourself or guilty about eating certain things. Certainly not when you think about healthy eating all day every day and not when food is feared.  The ironic twist is that a person obsessed with healthy eating eventually begins to negatively impact on other areas of their life such as relationships, hobbies, career, socialising and can become a medical danger. 

​The thing is… food is more than just nutrients and calories…

Food not only benefits our physical health but it impacts on our emotional, spiritual and social wellbeing. Eating a balanced diet most of the time is great but we should be able to have an ice cream on a hot day, have a muffin at morning tea or have a slice of pizza at a friend’s birthday without feeling judged or guilty.

All foods have a place in our diet and no foods should be seen as “good” or “bad”.  So just relax and enjoy a healthy diet for the most part, but also have the odd glass of wine or a slice of cake and enjoy it!