Orthorexia Nervosa…. Sounds like a scary diagnosis, does it not?   Let’s break it down….Orthorexia in Latin means…. “Correct or right”…. Nervousa means “appetite”

A doctor in Colorado named Steven Bratman is the father of and named  this hideous sounding disease…..   He noticed that people are starting to avoid chemicals and pesticides and “eat more correctly”.  

The Bratman Test for Orthorexia

- Do you spend more than 3 hours a day thinking about your diet?

- Do you plan your meals several days ahead?

- Is the nutritional value of your meal more important than the pleasure of eating it?

- Has the quality of your life decreased as the quality of your diet has increased?

- Have you become stricter with yourself lately?

- Does your self-esteem get a boost from eating healthily?

- Have you given up foods you used to enjoy in order to eat the ‘right’ foods

- Does your diet make it difficult for you to eat out, distancing you from family and friends?

- Do you feel guilty when you stray from your diet?

- Do you feel at peace with yourself and in total control when you eat healthily?

I know a few health conscious people who might answer “yes”: to most if not all of the questions.   But these people are strong, healthy, happy and well adjusted.

Actually I answer “yes” to 5 of them myself… But I do have peppermint patties and pizza once in a while, just not to get overly consumed in this mental disease. :o)

Seriously, someone can obsessed with anything.   It is so hard to know about eating healthy because it is a smart way to live your life.  The more unhealthy you have been, often the less you can tolerate poor diet indiscretions.

What concerns me about all this is the chance of doctor’s starting to use it every time a patient of theirs wants to change his diet to help improve his health and that people will stop taking their health into their own hands so they will not be labeled with this so called “mental disorder”.

I think the true gauge of whether your diet has gone overboard is if you feel you are no longer in control or if it is weakening your overall health rather than improving it.