photo credit: leoncillo sabino
The trouble with always trying to preserve the health of the body is that it is so difficult to do without destroying the health of the mind. ~G.K. Chesterton
I first heard the term orthorexia five years ago when I was in studying holistic health at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Since then, I’ve encountered people of all walks of life doing all kinds of things in the name of health, especially amongst yoga circles. There are raw foodies, blood type dieters, gluten free-ers, vegans, pescatarians, you name it. Dr. Steven Bratman coined the term orthorexia nervosa to describe people who have developed a fixation with healthy or righteous eating. Well, that sounds like most people I know!
In his book Health Food Junkies, Dr. Bratman asserts that for many people, eating correctly has become an equally harmful obsession, one that causes them to adopt progressively more rigid diets that not only eliminate crucial nutrients and food groups, but ultimately cost them their overall health, personal relationships, and emotional well-being.
Excerpted from Amazon.com
Sure, I’m willing to make sacrifices in the name of my health (as well as the health of others and our planet), but I’m not willing to miss out on life and not enjoy the things that feed my soul. Dr. Bratman proposes a simple, yet powerful self-test consisting of only two questions:
- Do you care more about the virtue of what you eat than the pleasure you receive from eating it?
- Does your diet socially isolate you?
As I sat with these questions for a few days, my train of thought started to wander. It’s interesting, isn’t it, that in a country with a bountiful supply of food and mental health resources, we have the greatest prevalence of eating disorders. Even more intriguing is to consider that these dis-eases rarely exist in third world countries. Why? Cultural and social differences? Abundance versus survival?
photo credit: Jillian Rose Taylor
So stay with me… are these eating dis-orders not diseases of the mind? Couldn’t they also be diseases of the spirit? Fascinated, I pulled out my trusty copy of Eastern Body, Western Mind to look at the chakra system for some deeper answers. And of course one of the first symptoms of first chakra imbalance Judith describes is eating disorders. One of the most basic, grounding attributes of the first chakra is our ability (or inability) to nourish ourselves — something, I believe, the majority of Americans (at least those that I know) find hard to do for themselves. We love entertainment, but are not sure about what real pleasure is (or the difference between the two) .
We love food, but aren’t quite sure how to feed our souls.
A thousand times over, I’ll always choose to be the girl having fun at the family bbq as opposed to the sour puss who is miserable because nothing on the menu fits her home-grown, grass-fed, gluten-free, free-range, organic, low-sugar specifications. (Or at the very least, I’ll bring my own). For me, life’s more delicious that way.
Do you think our obsession with health in the West is rooted in deeper spiritual issues?
Hi Maura, Thank you for raising attention to orthorexia…most people don't even know that this is a "real" condition because it is not largely recognized by the medical community. While the heightened awareness of the importance of healthy eating has had mainly good effects on modern society, unfortunately there will always be those who take things to extremes, and to their own detriment at that. I think it is a manifestation of that "perfectionist" personality that many people with eating disorders have a tendency toward. I agree that this is a disease of the spirit, of the psyche, that is manifesting in the body by a conscious choice to adhere to a diet that is severely limiting. It's cyclical thing, the more they "can't eat", the more they isolate themselves, the lonelier and more limited they feel, the more they can't eat, etc. etc. It is interesting how you associate this with the first chakra, and I agree l that by providing the spirit with proper nourishment and alignment, that physical diseases can be more easily cured cured.
Thank you for bringing this up/out, Maura. I think it can be rooted in deep spiritual issues…and I have to say, the fact that I am a foodie makes me appreciate that there is at least one spiritual tradition that encourages us to enjoy (not indulge) in "Bhoga," or pleasure. My tradition is Tantric Hatha Yoga, which recognizes we are *both* spiritual and material beings. We *are* manifested in human bodies, which can experience pleasure and delight. The Tantrics feel that we are all Divine, and the the Divine chooses to manifest into human form to be *able* to experience "the family bbq." In depriving ourselves, we deprive the Divine…
I have struggeled with issues with food, and i think alot of people do for many different reasons. There has been alot of contamination of our food, eg, food pulled off the shelves due to it being dangerous or problematic, the pesticides used, now the GMO food, which I think has caused stress for people that are trying to eat healthy and may have had a few issues to begin with which just makes it more stressful.
The media tells us we are supposed to eat this as it's better for us and not this and a year later this is good for us not that and it is constantly changing. For me I think it may relate to having trust issues, I look at all those tomatoes in a bin and I wonder how many hands have touched those,
there is confusion over what is organic and what is not, and I guess I could go on and on.
As a person working to heal from a chronic illness, keep my weight in check I find it all rather complicated and eat a very simplistic diet. I often admire people that love to cook and enjoy food. I do believe it is important to take good care of our bodies and nourish them with good food. I think the energy you put into the food as you preprare it is helpful.
Namaste
HI everyone, thanks for these insightful comments! It's such an interesting thing to think about — eating is something we do multiple times a day and is VERY social — we go on first dates, grieve the loss of loved ones, celebrate holidays, or stuff down on our emotions, all around food. It's hard to NOT get wrapped up into what is good/bad for us (and how those reports change all the time) but maybe if our intentions around food/eating shifted a bit, so would our attitudes towards it? ie." I eat to nourish and support my body" as opposed to " I will eat less cookies because they are bad for me". Such an fascinating discussion….thanks for engaging!
I hesitated to comment when this was originally posted because it can be such a controversial, touchy subject in our society. Disordered eating/eating disorders whether it be orthorexia (obsession with health), anorexia, anorexia athletica, bulimia, overeating, or ed-nos, in my opinion, are dis-orders of the spirit. Mentally you can be aware of how illogical an eating disorder is yet be stuck in the cycle, you can think it is a control issue and at the same time know the dis-order is just that…the non order in “your world.” When in the throws of an eating disorder one searches for something. God, prayer, whatever that is for the individual. When beginning, or trying to avoid a relapse one may find themselves craving church, or praying regularly where that was previously not part of daily life. Clearly, if this is occurring, there is a connection between the dis-ordered eating, and an unbalanced first chakra and an unbalanced, lack of manifestation of, the spiritual self. Anodea Judith also writes, “Awareness in this stage (the development of the first chakra) focuses mainly on survival and physical comfort, when these needs are properly met it anchors the spirit into the physical body.” Eating disorders can be a “symptom” of an un-anchored spirit in the physical body. Many of this dis-orders, are symptoms of our lack of comfort with ourselves spiritually and our discomfort in indulging ourselves in pleasure and nourishment. We disassociate ourselves from our physical bodies and create the idea that by creating the “perfect” physical body we can compensate for the imperfect spiritual. Again this is anecdotal, and everyone is different!