Told you so, told you so: Say hello to a brand-new disease, "orthoexia," an obsession with healthy eating that can be physically and mentally debilitating.
Eating disorder experts say there is nothing wrong with wanting to eat nutritiously or to eliminate certain foods. But healthy eating becomes harmful when people’s thinking or behavior becomes so “extremely rigid” they jeopardize their physical and mental health and relationships with other people, said Jennifer Lombardi, executive director of the Eating Recovery Center in Sacramento.
“Any diet or dietary restriction that causes a person to be unable to celebrate and socialize with food comfortably is going too far,” agreed Leah Hopkins, a clinical dietitian at the Monarch Cove Eating Disorder Treatment Center in Pacific Grove, Calif.
"Eat what you like" and "all things in moderation," right? Nothing you can stick in your mouth can hurt you as much as the anxiety you allow yourself to suffer over what today's list of approved foods is.
