Orthorexia is a mental health condition that is characterized by obsessively eating a restrictive or healthy diet. It’s a way of eating that focuses on the purity of the food, the cleanliness of the food and health of the food. A person who is obsessed with the food content, the nutritional intake and how it was made or grown.
Some of the signs of orthorexia are having an obsession with not eating foods that contain artificial sweeteners, preservatives, animal fat, sugar, and dairy. A person with orthorexia may avoid food that have been genetically modified or contain dairy. This sounds fairly normal, especially for those who are into nutrition and planning meals, however, when it becomes obsessive to the point of damaging their own wellbeing, is orthorexia.