Orthorexia: The third major eating disorder

Cutting out food groups can lead to malnutrition and even death

Obsessions with healthy eating could yield dangerous results, due to the lack of essential minerals and vitamins. An eating disorder called orthorexia may be silently leading avid nutrition fans toward malnutrition and even death.

MUNTINLUPA CITY, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - People who fixate on eating "naked" or raw ingredients to sustain their daily diet are at-risk for orthorexia, a very dangerous eating disorder.

The disorder was discovered back in 1997 and discussed in a paper by Dr. Steven Bratman, who explained that people suffering from "orthorexia nervosa" were driven into despair as they attempted to avoid violating the very strict food guidelines they imposed on themselves. Some people even reached a point where the consumption of a single raisin drove them into minor depressions for not adhering to their "quality" food regime.

When taken too far, orthorexia can also lead to malnutrition and even death.

Individuals who consume only raw ingredients and adhere to diets banning processed and refined foods are already displaying symptoms of having orthorexia. Those who suffer from the disease fixate on "quality" and enact strict rules on themselves when it comes to eating. Doing so may lead to deficiencies in important minerals and vitamins that are present in food groups the individuals no longer allows themselves to eat.

The rigid internal eating guidelines can often lead people omitting entire food groups that are essential in keeping a healthy body. It can also result in unhealthy weight loss, lethargy and dangerous levels of malnutrition that can lead to death. This misguided belief that they are enjoying a healthy eating diet is bringing them closer to danger.

Social media plays a huge role in the spread of orthorexia. Websites, commercials, magazines, newspapers, radio advertisements and news reports often make healthy food synonymous with women and men showing of their "healthy" and sculpted bodies. The notion that eating these raw and "healthy" foods will allow people to achieve such a physique is one way social media leads to orthorexia nervosa.

A popular blogger, Jordan Younger, suffered from the mental disease and went as far as fearing food. She admitted to The Independent, "I had developed many fears surrounding food. I was becoming more and more limited in what I was comfortable eating. I even joked about it with friends, calling certain foods, like eggs, 'fear foods' because I had stayed away from them for so long."

Younger has since changed her eating habits and is adhering to a better balanced diet.

Just like bulimia and anorexia, orthorexia is an eating disorder that should be discussed and addressed as soon as symptoms surface.

The British Dietetic Association has reported a rise in concerned callers who worry about orthorexia, but has not responded to requests for comments.

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