Orthorexia Nervosa … defined as “an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating” … sounds a bit strange right? I mean isn’t healthy eating a positive thing? In this episode myself (Rachel) and Mamma T (Tess) discuss how attitude is everything when it comes to food choices and defend the art of JERFing (Just Eating Real Food). We are aware that if the media had it their way, every health food store regular and organic food enthusiast would be seen to have an eating disorder, however this just isn’t the case. Nourishing your body, eating foods that you love and using food as medicine is NOT disordered but rather very ordered. It’s only when you start making rules around food that have no purpose that you may be slipping into eating disorder territory. Also if you’ve noticed significant changes in your weight since changing your diet, whilst it doesn’t automatically mean you have a problem, it may need some monitoring … as this may be an indicator that your “healthy” diet isn’t fulfilling your nutritional requirements. Food is here to nourish us and to be shared with those that we love … it is not the enemy (unless of course it is not REAL food but rather a pseudo food … see episode 10 for more information). We finish off by stating the obvious … avoiding processed foods isn’t disordered, avoiding foods that cause you discomfort also isn’t disordered. So no JERFing doesn’t make you orthorexic and if there are people concerned about your newfound passion for whole foods, be prepared to have an open discussion with them about they ‘why-s’ behind your choices … who knows? Maybe your words will inspire them to also be the healthy exception to the unhealthy rule?