Finally, a label for the lunacy… As you probably know, I've been writing about the ludicrous fads and factions of the so-called "health food" movement for years now-and I've called it just about every name in the book… All except the right one, that is. That's because I didn't know until recently that there's an actual MEDICAL NAME for what ails those malnourished, protein-less souls I've called diet Nazis more than once. But just the other day, as I was poring over a stack of articles I'd gathered over the last year, I stumbled across the proper name for this increasingly common affliction in a Reuter's piece from some months ago… It's called orthorexia nervosa: An extreme obsession with "healthy" eating habits. That's right-the irrational devotion to any of the various fringe diet groups within the "health food" lobby: militant vegetarianism, veganism, fruitarianism, etc., is now actually beginning to be classified among some in the medical community as an EATING DISORDER along the lines of anorexia nervosa and bulimia. In fact, the term has even found its way into such mainstream sources as the vaunted Journal of the American Medical Association. And while orthorexia nervosa is not an "official" medical term yet, I'm sure I'm not alone in believing it should be… Discovered through personal experience by alternative medicine doctor Steven Bratman, it's the subject of his book entitled Health Food Junkies: Overcoming the Obsession with Healthful Eating. He suggests that orthorexia nervosa may be even more widespread nowadays than either of its finger-down-the-throat stable mates. Theories abound as to why orthorexia has become so common, but the most intriguing notion among them is the idea that in this day and age, a person's "dietary identity" is crucial to self-esteem-and the more extreme the diet, the better it serves as a tool for self-definition… ******************************************* Dietary identity? What a load of pop-psychology baloney! My advice to you if you're food-obsessed: Stop using your food as a way to make a statement about yourself and start using it the right way-to give your body what it really needs to stay healthy and long-lasting. Then maybe you'll actually live long enough to discover who you really are. Calling a spade a spade,
William Campbell Douglass II, MD | 
