“Clean eating” is a broad term with any number of definitions in the world of wellness. From vegan or pescatarian to keto or gluten-free, all too often we define ourselves by the types of foods we eat. Sometimes, whether we abstain from dairy or eat only organic, our strict dietary preferences can become a point of obsession. But for those with orthorexia, the inability to eat anything they consider unhealthy can become dangerous.
Orthorexia is an eating disorder defined by the refusal to eat anything deemed “impure” or “unclean.” “Someone with orthorexia is specifically concerned with having really healthy foods in their body, with an unhealthy obsession over the quality of the food,” says Terri Griffith, a clinical coordinator at the Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt. It’s a relatively new disorder but there’s been more and more talk about it, she adds.
