Has healthy eating gone too far for you? A woman writes to food about the stress, exhaustion, confusion, and shame she experiences when she choses something not clean. Can you relate?

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Key Points:

• Are you a clean eater? If you ask me, I say "Nope. I am dirty." Sanitary? Yes. Judge food choices or throw morals into what's consumed? No way.
• "The fondest memories are made gathered around the table." This is the mantra we at BirdHouse Nutrition Therapy see before we meet with every client because it's the basis of our work. Relationships connect us with joy and the meaning of life and when food gets too much power it will negatively impact this.
• Healthy eating advice is everywhere we look so not surprising this letter writer is experiencing this struggle with how much power to give food.
• Orthorexia nervosa, coined by Steven Bratman, is not classified as an official eating disorder yet it will feel just as paralyzing and crappy as a diagnosed eating disorder. It affects their mental health.
• First steps to heal from orthorexia nervosa:
  • Make a pro and con list of this eating style
  • You decide if the feelings of control outweigh the impact on relationships, life, career
  • Appreciate recovery will take time
  • Get proper nutrition education from a reputable dietitian
  • Appreciate that healthy eating includes pleasure
• Carbs, although demonized right now, are a necessary part of each culture around the world. You can't name a single culture around the world without a carb staple.
• People are healthy; food is nutritious. Label food their actual names rather than categorize to be mindful and in the present rather than running on anxiety.
• Clean eating is washing food and cooking it to the right temperature.
• Healthy eating is not being black and white about food choices no matter how you categorize them.
• The journey to food peace is always worth the stress and anxiety. Take those first few steps, they will be worth it!

Show Notes:

• No food is healthy. Not even kale. Washington Post article by Michael Ruhlman
• How to take back your power from food this holiday. Recovery Warriors blog post by Julie Duffy Dillon
• Eating Disorder Dietitians
• Julie Dillon RD blog
• My colleague and friend Jennifer McGurk RD, CDE, CEDRD. If you are a dietitian or therapist with the entrepreneur bug, check out her book to help you make the next steps to start building your business. Her book is Pursuing Private Practice: 10 Steps to Start Your Own Business

Food Peace Syllabus Additions:

• Health Food Junkies: Orthorexia Nervosa-The Health Food Eating Disorder by Steven Bratman MD ← The physician who coined the term orthorexia and wrote first about it.
• Normal Eating by Karen Koenig LCSW

Do you have a complicated relationship with food? I want to help! Send your Dear Food letter to LoveFoodPodcast@gmail.com. 

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Thank you for listening to the Love, Food series. Give me feedback via Twitter @EatingPermitRD.