ORTHOREXIA is an obsession or fixation with healthy eating and the nutritional quality of food.  So, what does this involve?

Well, it’s the compulsive checking of ingredients lists and nutritional labelling of food in order to avoid things seen as unhealthy: sugar, saturated fat, sweeteners, for example.  This means a person will be concerned to a degree where they become stressed and anxious.  

A person with orthorexia may cut out food groups like sugar, carbohydrates, red meat, dairy etc.  This means foods are off-limits because of the way the person views food.  In terms of sugar or free sugars in sweeties, chocolate, confectionery etc, the public health recommendations are no more than 30g per day, equivalent to a small chocolate bar.  This is to prevent tooth decay.  For carbohydrates (bread, rice, pasta, noodles, couscous, potatoes, oats etc) these should never be off limits and should make up about 33 per cent of your total calories, i.e. 660 of a 2000 calorie diet.  This is for B-vitamins and fibre intakes.  

Plus, you have your fruit and vegetables as carbohydrates too which boost your five per day as well as fibre, B-vitamins, vitamin C and mineral intakes.  In terms of red meat, the recommendations are no more than 70g per day, which is equivalent to two bacon rashers, 1.5 pork sausages, half a burger etc.  Or 490g per week to reduce bowel cancer risk.  In relation to dairy, some people are afraid of the saturated fat because too much can raise cholesterol, but dairy is the best source of calcium in our diets.  Public health recommendations are no more than 20g-30g per day for females and males.  

You don’t need to cut out food groups despite what unregulated people tell you.  Its all about the dose or amount in nutrition and the foods described previously are at a small amount and going above these amounts can increase adverse health conditions. 
People with orthorexia may paint all doses or amounts with the same brush and may think that a small amount will be harmful to their body.  Orthorexia has the potential to cause malnutrition and will probably need some form of cognitive behavioural therapy as well as dietary intervention.  Many people with orthorexia may have obsessive compulsive disorder and overanalyse when it comes to food.  

Lee McCusker (BA; MSc; MSc; MSc; ANutr; SENr) is a registered nutritionist from Belfast and can be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Email: attentivenutrition @gmail.com