Doctors say orthorexia, a condition that is not formally recognized, is becoming more common.
Sings of the condition include becoming preoccupied with food and being fearful of eating around others.
Jordan Younger, a health and lifestyle blogger/author, said she had been searching for a way to cure her lifelong digestive issues and began a healthy diet full of vegetables, fruits, nuts and whole grains. As her stomach issues persisted, Younger took more extreme measures and eliminated more foods from her diet.
“I started cutting out a lot of different types of fruits and then different types of nuts, and then quinoa and all kinds of grains. At one point, I was just eating green vegetables,” Younger said.
Younger said she was lacking key nutrients and became fatigued. She also started losing her hair.
Extreme cases can cause weight loss, malnutrition and depression.
Younger had developed orthorexia. Doctors say it is not recognized as a formal disease due to a lack of research.
“They’re really motivated to eat healthy, eat clean and that motivation is more of a preoccupation and a focus on food than a traditional eating disorder which would be more focused on weight,” said Ashley Sheil, a therapist. “Treatment really needs to be a combination of therapy and nutrition therapy in order to have the best results.”
Younger overcame her orthorexia with the help of counseling. She now eats a balanced diet.
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