Re: drowning in ghastly food issues...need a friend.

I agree that some people can be orthorexic, and I would probably be the textbook example of an orthorexic, but also, how can I not be like this when 'crappy foods' affect me so much? Anyone who has ever done a detox diet or a fast, can tell the (extreme) difference between a clean, natural diet and a processed diet. Maybe the people that are called orthorexic are just really aware of what foods do to their bodies, and how it affects them on a mental and physical level, whether very positive or very negative. I personally look at my orthorexic tendency as a different thing than my ED, and if anything, eating healthier foods has HELPED me a lot, even though it is viewed as extreme by normal people. I think of orthorexia more as a belief system, a conscious choice, like choosing to be a Buddhist or a Christian. Maybe it is another way to be in control or to be restrictive, but some people are just very sensitive to what they put into their bodies, and they indeed get health issues if they eat the wrong foods for them. Some people are sick or have some malfunctioning organs... they are just trying to take care of themselves.

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