Here are full text versions a few published academic articles on orthorexia. Many more in the form of abstracts can be found on PubMed. Simply insert “orthorexia” into the search bar.
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Written by Natacha P. about 3 years ago. Reply
I bought your book “Health food junkies” recently and it’s helping me going back to a less obsessive way of eating. I’m french and I would like to know if you’d be interested in having your book be translated in my native language. I’m not a book editor however I offer you to translate.
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Written by StevenB about 3 years ago. Reply
I’m sorry, I don’t actually own the rights to the book. It’s owned by the publisher.
And, contrary to the belief of many people who post here, the book doesn’t make me money. It sells about 12 copies a year. Because of that, I doubt the publisher is interested in doing a French translation … Sorry! -
Written by Jonathan Burgess about 3 years ago. Reply
Hi Steven,
It would be great to be in contact with you. We have similar backgrounds. I could have probably written your Yoga Journal orthorexia article (from personal experience and seeing it time and time again in the natural foods communities).
I am also currently becoming a physician. I am a senior at the University of Pennsylvania (undergrad) and will be entering med school in 2012.
I didn’t realize that there was someone who was exactly like me who has done this already (like me at least in the broad sweeps).
My impression of me being “unique” is continually humbled by meeting so many doctors and researchers who are already paving the way.
Anyway, I would love to chat sometime.
My email is
Sincerely,
Jonathan Burgess
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Written by StevenB about 3 years ago. Reply
You wrote, “My impression of me being “unique” is continually humbled by meeting so many doctors and researchers who are already paving the way.”
Isn’t it awful!
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Written by Renee about 3 years ago. Reply
Hi Steven,
I have not read your book but I’m very interested in this topic. One of the problems, as I see it, is that people recovering from anorexia/bulimia often have digestive problems. So when they seek out advice on how to heal their guts, and their doctors throw up their hands, the alternative health community is quick to respond by instructing them to cut out entire food groups and eat in a hyper-restrictive, hyper-vigilant way – which just fuels the fears and obsessions around food.
At least that’s what happened to me. I spent years and thousands of dollars seeking help formy digestive problems after anorexia, and I got nowhere. I just got more freaked out about food, more broke, more underweight and more sick.
So my point is that people with anorexia/bulimia are more succeptible to orthorexia and that health practicioners should be cautious, when dealing with eating-disordered clients, to focus more on whether they are eating enough (which no one did with me, even though I was patently underweight), rather than convince them that they are hurting themselves by eating a normal North American diet, as I was let to believe. -
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Written by Galina about 3 years ago. Reply
Hi Steven,
Just was reviewing some of my student courses and came accross your website. I had bought your book about three years ago, and since then I had recommended it to each and every one of my students; I have given it to read to each nutrition tutor I know, and one of them is going to make it mandatory for her students too. I have a “sanity shelf” in my health books library (unfortunately, it’s the smallest shelf) but your book has a pride of place here. Would like to get in touch and see what else I can do to spread the word of sanity.
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Written by sigrid about 3 years ago. Reply
Dear Steven,
Thanks so much for your fascinating post. I’m very intrigued by the concept of orthorexia. 11 years ago I was diagnosed with severe hypoglycemia caused by stomach surgery (a vagotomy). Prior to that I had a pretty normal diet. I would have bran flakes and toast for breakfast, turkey sandwich for lunch, salad, potato and some sort of interesting meat for dinner. But I also ate junk like potato chips and drank a lot of ginger ale. And I was very social. I went out with my boyfriend for dinner, met friends for coffee or dessert, went to the movies, etc.
More than a decade later, I’ve restricted my food intake down to about 12 foods. That’s because most everything seems to be too high in carbohydrate for me, or it gives me a migraine, or it causes a sneezing attack. I have stopped going out to dinner and I hardly ever make plans to go out at night because I have an incessant headache. So I’m eating to try to feel healthy but the end result is that I feel much worse. And I don’t know how to get out of this box because I am terrified to add foods to my diet. They all appear toxic now and my body is overreacting to them.
I know people who have to follow gluten-free programs or who have chosen to lose weight with Atkins. I think there are two components in terms of determining what is a disorder — first, do the foods that the person is avoiding actually make him or her sick? Gluten is a good example. if gluten makes you sick and you avoid it, that’s just sensible. Second, how is the restrictive diet affecting your life? My life is disappearing. And I am not feeling better; I have five vitamin deficiencies and bone problems now. But I still don’t know how to eat for the hypoglycemia!! My doctor has given me an abridged version of the diabetic diet, but I fall asleep on that and get very shaky or spacy and faint. The Internet hypoglycemia group seems to advocate a low-carb plan and I’ve been on 70 to 90 g of carbohydrate a day for many years. I do not feel well on the plan but it beats falling asleep at 2 p.m.
Anyway, thank you so much for your article and I am sorry to read the rude and negative comments. People, even if you don’t agree, can’t you at least be civil? Sigrid
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Written by ithasaname about 2 years ago. Reply
I have suffered from eating disorders on and off since I was around 7 years old. It started out as Bulimia, then for many years I was ok. Then around the age of 25, I was engaged to be married but had only just had my second child and had gained alot of weight. So I decided to diet. I found the Atkins diet, but took it to the extreme by only allowing myself 50 grams of carbs per day, and if I went over I would punish myself by starving myself the next day. I did this for about 18 months, dropped 30 kgs, but found that if I was to eat something that was slightly high in carbs, I would get pains in my stomach and feel sick and dizzy. It also affected my breath.
That was 8 years ago now, and although my weight has increased and decreased over time, Im finding I still have a hard time with carbs. Its like my mind believes them to be bad. I cant bring myself to eat bread, pasta, rice, potato, pastry, sweets, chips, soft drink, etc. And if I do I have this feeling of guilt that I cant get over. When someone offers me something slightly high in carbs my answer is ‘no its bad’. I have also used laxatives off and on as a way to rid my body of carbs I shouldnt have consumed, taking up to 25 laxatives at a time.
But Im glad to finally know it has a name. -
Written by NevermindTheName about 2 years ago. Reply
Are you serious??? This is insane. You’re totally brainwashed. I cannot believe you encourage people to eat all that junk poison and call a safe lifestyle disease.
I never ate junk. Only healthy food. Never a mygrene, never a disease that wouldn’t pass, social life. Oooops, sorry, I may have that “disease” of yours. Sick loser.
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Written by André about 2 years ago. Reply
Funny, your comment is an actual confirmation for the assumption of Dr. Bratman!
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Written by Jens Sejer about 2 years ago. Reply
Hey Steven.
From where is that rapport uppon a proposal for diagnosis and a constitution of the phenomena? (Donini Orthorexia Nervosa – Dimension of the phenomena)
/Jens-
Written by André about 2 years ago. Reply
Hello Jens!
There is a selftest, but it’s only german language: http://www.sprechzimmer.ch/sprechzimmer/Nuetzliches/Leiden_Sie_an_Orthorexia_nervosa_Machen_Sie_den_Selbsttest.php
Regards, André
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Written by Gulcan about 1 year ago. Reply
Dear Dr Steven Bratman,
If you remember, Prof.Dr. Turkan Kutluay Merdol (Hacettepe University, Nutrition and Dietetics) invited you approximately 5-6 years before to our congress (International Nutrition and Dietetics) to Turkey and you did your presentation on orthorexia. It was my master thesis. It is published on pubmed when you search it on 2008. I adapted Donini’ ORTHO-15 scale into Turkish, so its last name in Turkey is ORTO-11. It was the second study after Donini worlwide and it is still the first study via the participants done in the world.
Regards,Gulcan
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Written by E about 4 months ago. Reply
Hi Dr Bratman,
I struggle with food choices everyday, and my eating behaviour sounds and feels a lot like orthorexia. I am based in India, but was wondering if there’s any way to get in touch with you for a consultation? Whether by phone, email, even skype. It would be a great help.
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Written by Nursing student about 2 months ago. Reply
Dr. Bratman,
I find this topic very interesting, and I think that orthorexia has a potential of becoming new “obesity” in the future. Being “natural” seems to be more and more and popular, especially amongst certain populations.
I work in a hospital (cardiac unit), and it is one of my responsibilities to log in patient’s intake, so I have to discuss what and why they haven’t eaten (due to insulin and other issues). More and more often I hear that food is not “organic”, there are “hormones and antibiotics in meat”, salad “doesn’t have enough green leafy vegetables”etc. That makes me wonder: if you are so health-minded, how come you are in a cardiac unit with diabetes and cancer??? I am just trying to understand why these people don’t have a sense of hunger and fear to eat even one or two meals that don’t fit their criteria, even though the meals we provide are ordered by physicians? Is it a doubt or disbelief in contemporary medicine that makes people refuse to eat? How come they don’t believe even if we save their lives?
This is, of course, just an observation without any conclusions, but I think that a hospital is a good place to see development of phobias towards food.Another interesting case are people with existing anorexia who now find excuse to stay that way because they refuse to eat “unhealthy”. If eating “healthy” is a big and expensive challenge, they simply don’t eat.
Lastly, is “antioxidant obsession” a part of orthorexia?:) I see a lot of it too.
Just sharing my thoughts here.
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Written by Lisa about 2 months ago. Reply
Dr Bratman,
I am struggling to turn from this obsession. I think the detractors don’t realize that you are not recommending we eat badly or unhealthfully, but rather that pursuing health can become a destructive obsession. Not everyone who pursues healthy eating will become obsessed with it. But some will and do. I am one of them.I have allowed this to consume (!) my life currently. I am afraid to eat off my narrow plan. I do not eat like anyone at home or out. I am afraid to break out because I am irrationally afraid that I will (1) feel bad all the time and (2) age quickly (3) get cancer or some other disease and (4) gain weight. But in some ways even if that did happen, it might be a better life than this one focused on myself and my body and my food.
I wanted to ask you: is there somewhere (in your book) a layout of the process of coming out of this way of eating? It would help me to know that the things I experience are part of the process of recovery so that I don’t get afraid and run back to the disordered eating.
I know you are on target about this, but I think healthy (according to our cultural belief system but not necessarily truth) eating and weight is the religion of the day. So what you appear to be saying is like heresy. You are just saying ease up in the worship.
Thanks for putting it out there. It really helps those of us who can see it and need to free ourselves for the bondage.
Lisa
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