Dangerous Disorder Orthorexia Triggered by Perfect Diet Obsession

Physicians have identified a new disorder which they call Orthorexia where a person becomes obsessed with the 'perfect diet,' the cleanliness of food and eating on a highly regulated regime.

Recent studies were unable to determine who can fall into the orthorexic trap, but it seems women are a high-risk group, Fox News reported.

Orthorexics can be under pressure to stay fit and young while experiencing life stress on an intense, long-lasting level.

Not managing the pressure may lead them to cope in drastic ways, feeling they have to walk the tightrope between looking good and meeting the demands of a hectic lifestyle.

Can healthy eating actually harm your health? Caring about what you eat is a great thing, but when it turns into an obsession and a hunt for perfection, you can do permanent damage to your body on several levels.

A very restrictive diet means you may miss out on nutrients your body needs.

Some of the foods orthorexics tend to restrict, or completely remove from their diets are dairy, meat, eggs, gluten and grains, good quality fats found in foods like olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds, grass-fed beef, grass-fed dairy and pasture-raised eggs.

Apart from missing out on nutrients, the health of your mind and the quality of your thoughts can have a huge impact on your body.

Placing yourself under regular mental stress can trigger stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.

Normally, these hormones are meant to fire when you're in a threatening situation to boost energy supply for immediately action.

But when your mind believes there is a constant threat, even low levels of these hormones, like cortisol for example, can "suppress the digestive system, the reproductive system and growth processes," just to name a few.

You should always check with your health care provider before starting any new type of diet regimen.

Source: ANI