Dec 20, 2023·edited Dec 21, 2023Liked by Shana Minei Spence
Thank you for this thoughtful essay. Your post brings to mind the word "orthorexia," a word I ruminate on as I examine what I believe is my disordered eating. More than 15 years ago I crafted a diet made up largely of whole foods. Along the way, decidedly after being diagnosed with genetic heart disease, I tweaked my eating habits into what I termed a heart health diet, one resembling the Mediterranean diet with fish and plant based protein. Because I hadn't consumed red meat in nearly 45 years and lost my taste for poultry in more recent years, this wasn't a giant step. But something happened. I begin to fear certain foods, removing whole categories of foods from my diet. White foods. White pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, flour. The exception was when I went to restaurants were I relished the bread on the cheese board as much as the cheese, as if it was so precious that it required inhaling. Something is clearly wrong with this picture. Eating whole foods has morphed into making judgments about all food, and yes, although I don't use the term "clean food" as intellectually I know that it means nothing and everything in terms of how we create unhealthy categorizations, I do categorize in this manner and I do make judgments about others who don't. Reading your post helps me own all of that, so thank you. I have language to take to therapy this afternoon. Glad I found you.
Thank you for this thoughtful essay. Your post brings to mind the word "orthorexia," a word I ruminate on as I examine what I believe is my disordered eating. More than 15 years ago I crafted a diet made up largely of whole foods. Along the way, decidedly after being diagnosed with genetic heart disease, I tweaked my eating habits into what I termed a heart health diet, one resembling the Mediterranean diet with fish and plant based protein. Because I hadn't consumed red meat in nearly 45 years and lost my taste for poultry in more recent years, this wasn't a giant step. But something happened. I begin to fear certain foods, removing whole categories of foods from my diet. White foods. White pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, flour. The exception was when I went to restaurants were I relished the bread on the cheese board as much as the cheese, as if it was so precious that it required inhaling. Something is clearly wrong with this picture. Eating whole foods has morphed into making judgments about all food, and yes, although I don't use the term "clean food" as intellectually I know that it means nothing and everything in terms of how we create unhealthy categorizations, I do categorize in this manner and I do make judgments about others who don't. Reading your post helps me own all of that, so thank you. I have language to take to therapy this afternoon. Glad I found you.
So glad you're here!