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Why You Shouldn't Obsess Over Your Food Choices

Posted by Marla Richards, MS, RD, LD on April 2, 2015
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Why You Shouldn't Obsess Over Your Food Choices | Marla Richards, RD, LD | Improving Health blog by CareATC, Inc.There is much danger in overeating and raging on unhealthy calories. The more you consume the more your body adapts.

However, the opposite is also true. Consuming too little calories from healthy foods can be harmful. Not that healthy food is harmful; it’s the obsession one can have with them that leads to not only a problem, but a disorder.

It’s common for some to let healthy eating turn into an extreme obsession with their food choices. Some may choose all organic where others are dead set on gluten free or soy-free products.

According to Christine Bransford, Registered Dietitian at Bon-Salud Nutrition Counseling in Chicago, Orthorexia Nervosa, although not an official diagnosis, is commonly recognized among many national organizations. It is more commonly known today as Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. When one becomes a healthy food fanatic leading to malnourishment, then the benefit of eating healthy is all but rendered useless.

Eating your vegetables is one thing, but avoiding certain veggies because you fear they may be harmful is another. Healthy does not just mean the nutrients consumed, but the portions ingested as well. Without portions, the body can’t truly fuel itself properly.

For example, one may consider carrots to be a healthy vegetable, so the majority of meals consist of carrots only.

On another note, one may have beliefs about a particular food being highly fattening thus leading them to avoidance of this food item. In reality this food item may actually contain healthy fats that would be a healthy food option when consumed in the right portion.

Maybe fats aren’t the problem for some, but additives or preservatives are the issue. Whatever the case, obsessing over food, whether healthy or unhealthy, can lead to poor health and should be avoided.

Eating healthy can turn an ugly course if not handled properly. It’s important to have the want and desire to live a healthy life, but it’s toxic to become obsessed with food.

Loving to eat healthy is on one end of the spectrum where being in love with your food, whether healthy or unhealthy, is on the opposite end.

"Eat to live" doesn’t mean eat the bare minimum — it means eat the calories needed from the right foods. By "right foods," I mean produce, lean protein, low-fat dairy, whole grains, and nuts.

These products are not found down a magical aisle where everything is made pure with no additives; these products are already pure, healthy, and ready to eat.

Don’t obsess! Take control, and eat your foods. Your food doesn’t have to be perfect; it just needs to be great. There will be times you eat something with preservatives or gluten, but that doesn’t make you unhealthy – it makes you human.

Marla Richards, MS, RD, LD

About The Author

Marla Richards, MS, RD, LD

Marla has a longstanding passion in wellness and healthy living. After graduating from the University of Central Arkansas and completing the dietetic internship in 2011, she embarked on her professional career in wellness, working for an integrated health and wellness facility in Northwest Arkansas.

Post Topics Healthy Eating