A fixation on ‘clean eating’ can be harmful – and perfectionists may be at greater risk of taking it too far

By Verity B. Pratt, Andrew P. Hill, Daniel Madigan, York St John University

Clean eating diets have become increasingly popular over the past few years. This style of eating emphasises consuming whole foods and avoiding processed foods (even minimally processed foods) as much as possible.

Given how important diet is for our health, we might assume that the better your diet is, the better your health will be. But as one clean eating influencer has revealed, being too restrictive with your diet can have the opposite effect on your health.

Instagram influencer Alice Liveing recently opened up about the harm becoming a clean-eating influencer had on her health. In an interview in The Times, Liveing revealed her restrictive diet, accompanied by extreme workouts, had a serious effect on her health – leading to poor sleep, low mood and energy levels, poor brain function and even the loss of her period.

Liveing’s story highlights how focusing on achieving an unrealistic health ideal – in this case, the perfect, healthy diet – can run the risk of becoming all-consuming and “addictive”. For some, this fixation with healthy eating and the pursuit of the “perfect diet” may even result in orthorexia – an unhealthy obsession with eating healthily.

Disordered dieting

Orthorexia is not yet officially recognised as an eating disorder. But in 2022, experts in the field released a statement agreeing that orthorexia is distinct from other eating disorders – such as anorexia.

They also proposed some diagnostic criteria for orthorexia. This includes compulsive diet practices (done with the belief it will promote optimal health), an exaggerated fear of ill health if they stop said diet (accompanied by emotional reactions such as fear and shame) and following an increasingly restrictive diet.

Orthorexia can affect many aspects of a person’s life – including their social, academic and even work life. It also has many physical consequences – and may lead to anaemia, severe weight loss and malnutrition.

Read Full Story https://theconversation.com/a-fixation-on-clean-eating-can-be-harmful-and-perfectionists-may-be-at-greater-risk-of-taking-it-too-far-233927