We're a knowledgeable society, and we've done a lot of research on the impact of various foods on different parts of the body. The desire to share this information and make it part of the public consciousness is a good one. That's what solid science is for.
On the other hand, note that life becomes simpler - not necessarily in a healthy way - if a person can reduce it to black and white terms. If I can label something as "bad," I don't have to weigh pros and cons. A food that is "good" is then a source of great relief. I know where I stand at all times: If I eat something "bad," I can properly scold myself (essentially, if I eat something "bad," I'm bad). If I eat something "good," I can survive comfortably until the next choice.
I don't believe there are. But before you throw a brick through your laptop screen, consider the psychological benefits of eating foods you enjoy, even if they aren't usually called "healthy."
As with other kinds of disordered eating, orthorexia makes a person's relationship with food more restrictive, which can create a sense of deprivation. In some cases, saying no to something desirable is positive (like choosing to save up for a purchase rather than buying it with a credit card). But when restriction occurs for its own sake, any health benefits may be outweighed by the psychological stress of being in constant want.
In other words, we eat ice cream because it makes us feel good. Too much of it can cause our bodies harm. So we tend to label it as "bad" and vow to cut it out completely. Orthorexia nervosa represents the most extreme form of this attitude.
Charlotte Andersen, an orthorexia survivor interviewed for the ABC feature, said it wonderfully: "I was trying so hard to control how I was going to die, and in the end nobody gets to pick how they die," she said. "We only get to pick how we live, and I wasn't living."
Dealing with orthorexia, as with any other obsession, is a process. For Andersen, psychotherapy was instrumental in recovery. In addition to attention from a good therapist, practices such as sensual (or mindful) eating can be helpful. Sensual eating is designed to improve one's relationship with food, which is necessary for a person who has made some foods out to be evil.
Still, this does little to counteract the powerful messages from the swarm of health advocates who espouse narrow ways of eating. Each one suggests either that we are eating extremely dangerous things and will not survive if we continue, or that we can lengthen or dramatically improve life if only we switch to their particular way of seeing things.
Just as we need to hear a variety of theories on nutrition, we need to consume a variety of foods -- a variety that orthorexia does not allow.
