People with orthorexia seek dietary perfectionism or purity.  This quest includes only eating the ‘right’ or ‘purest’ of foods, vitamins and supplements.  Several of the key symptoms of orthorexia include:

• An obsessive approach to food, including rigid food rules and ritualistic compulsions connected with to food also
• Severe preoccupation on attaining optimal health achieved only by eating the ‘right’ foods

Similar to other eating disorders, orthorexia is used to cope with negative thoughts and feelings as well as to feel in control.  There are also parallels in emotions being experienced such as guilt, anxiety and shame if they eat food, they feel is unhealthy or impure.  Currently orthorexia is not recognised in a clinical setting as an eating disorder in its own right, however, it may be inferred when the illness is being explored.

Signs and Symptoms of Orthorexia

• Inability to eat any food type that is not self-ascribed as being ‘pure’
• Veganism, vegetarian or pescetarian
• An unhealthy or unusual interest in what others are consuming
• Becoming gluten free even if there is no medical reason for doing so
• Compulsively following ‘healthy lifestyle’ bloggers and social media figures
• Fanatically checking out product ingredients
• Regular periods of bloating, constipation or nausea
• Low potassium, chloride or sodium levels and decreased testosterone levels in males
• Fastidious, rigid and punishing exercise routines
• Kidney problems such as protein deficiency
• Complete avoidance of ‘junk’ food or take aways
• Refusal to eat foods where the source or origin is not known or what chemicals have been used in the growing process
• Development of obsessive compulsive behaviours manifesting into OCD
• Poor concentration
• Obligatory and rigid personal rules about what can and cannot be eaten, even if they want to
• Balanced and emotional well-being is dependant of eating the ‘right’ food

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