People sometimes scold me — playfully, I think — when I talk about eating burgers and fries, fish and chips, steak and potatoes, eggs and corned beef hash. Obviously not a good diet, if you do it all the time. On one occasion, the scolding seemed genuine: People like me are wrecking their bodies with careless, indulgent eating. I must become a vegetarian, and better yet, an organic vegetarian.
So, this newspaper article from the Guardian resonated: Health food obsession sparks rise in new eating disorder.
According to the story, folks with this disorder are orthorexics. They've taken it into their minds that they must only eat certain kinds of foods to be healthy. That might mean nothing that has sugar, salt, gluten, or artificial additives; anything that's been "refined"; anything that has come within a whiff of herbicides or pesticides. And certainly no meat.
People who think this way are proud of their behaviour, and sometimes compelled to force their opinions on others. The trouble - in addition to people thinking they're obnoxious - comes when their food choices cause them to be malnourished.
But the condition isn't officially recognized in the medical profession. It might just come down to your approach to life. Some of us think taking a rigid, disciplined path is important. Others prefer spontaneity and enjoyment.
This is getting too serious. Back to eating.
