Orthorexia: when healthy eating becomes dangerous
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Orthorexia nervosa is an eating disorder based on an unhealthy obsession with nutrition – so what are the signs and how can it be treated?
By Chelsie Henshaw
Eating healthily is good, right? Well, no, not always. Even the supposedly healthy trend for so-called clean eating has a potential dark side. Extreme practitioners are at risk of an eating disorder known as orthorexia nervosa, says Renee McGregor, a registered dietitian and author of Orthorexia: When Healthy Eating Goes Bad.
Clean eating is a diet characterised by eating whole, natural foods and avoiding those that are processed and refined. While, in theory, clean eating has a positive impact on your health, it can become problematic.
Victoria Taylor, a dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, says, ‘There are extreme versions of clean eating and these don’t have a sound basis.’ She cites the example of people excluding dairy and wheat from their diets, even if they don’t have an intolerance or allergy.
However, it’s not j...
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