吃“干凈”的食物正成為一種不健康的困擾

吃“干凈”的食物正成為一種不健康的困擾

Orthorexia occurs when people become so fixated on the idea of eating "cleanly," or choosing only whole foods in their natural state, that they end up imperiling their physical and mental health. Sometimes this means missing critical nutrients or not getting enough calories.

當(dāng)人們過(guò)于執(zhí)著于“干凈”的飲食觀念，或者只選擇自然狀態(tài)下的全食物時(shí)，就會(huì)出現(xiàn)“完美厭食癥”，最終危及他們的身心健康。有時(shí)這意味著缺少關(guān)鍵營(yíng)養(yǎng)物質(zhì)或得不到足夠的熱量。

Whether it's gluten-free, dairy-free, raw food, or all-organic, many people these days are committed to so-called "clean eating" — the idea that choosing only whole foods in their natural state and avoiding processed ones can improve health.

無(wú)論是無(wú)谷蛋白、不含乳制品、生食還是全有機(jī)食品，如今許多人都堅(jiān)持所謂的“干凈飲食”——即只選擇天然的全食食品，而不吃加工過(guò)的食品，可以改善健康。

It's not necessarily a bad thing to eat this way, but sometimes these kinds of food preferences can begin to take over people's lives, making them fear social events where they won't be able to find the "right" foods. When a healthful eating pattern goes too far, it may turn into an eating disorder that scientists are just beginning to study.

這樣吃并不一定是件壞事，但有時(shí)這種食物偏好會(huì)開(kāi)始占據(jù)人們的生活，使他們害怕在社交活動(dòng)中找不到“合適的”食物。當(dāng)一個(gè)健康的飲食模式走得太遠(yuǎn)，它可能會(huì)轉(zhuǎn)變成一種飲食失調(diào)，而科學(xué)家們剛剛開(kāi)始研究。

Alex Everakes, 25, is a public relations account executive from Chicago. As a kid, he struggled with being overweight. In his teens and 20s, he tried to diet, and regained about 100 pounds.

25歲的亞歷克斯·埃弗拉克斯是一名來(lái)自芝加哥的公共關(guān)系客戶主管。當(dāng)他還是個(gè)孩子的時(shí)候，他就和超重做斗爭(zhēng)。在他十幾歲和二十幾歲的時(shí)候，他試著節(jié)食，結(jié)果他的體重增重了約100磅。

When he moved to Los Angeles after college, he took his diet to a new level. He started working out twice a day.

當(dāng)他大學(xué)畢業(yè)后搬到洛杉磯時(shí)，他把自己的飲食水平提高到了一個(gè)新的水平。他開(kāi)始每天鍛煉兩次。

He went from 250 pounds at his heaviest, down to 140. He posted pictures of his six-pack abs and his "clean" diet online and was praised for it. But at the same time, he was starving, tired and lonely.

他從最重時(shí)的250磅減到140磅。他在網(wǎng)上發(fā)布了他的六塊腹肌和“干凈”飲食的照片，并因此受到贊揚(yáng)。但同時(shí)，他又餓又累又孤獨(dú)。

He became afraid to eat certain foods. He worked at home to avoid office parties where he'd have to eat in front of others. He didn't go out or make friends because he didn't want to have to explain his diet.

他開(kāi)始害怕吃某些食物。他在家里工作，以避免參加辦公室聚會(huì)，在那里他必須當(dāng)著別人的面吃東西。他不出去，也不交朋友，因?yàn)樗幌虢忉屗娘嬍场?/p>

It turns out Everakes was struggling with something called orthorexia nervosa.

原來(lái)，埃弗拉克斯正在與一種叫做“完美厭食癥”的疾病作斗爭(zhēng)。

Orthorexia is a fairly recent phenomenon. Dr. Steven Bratman, an alternative medicine practitioner in the 1990s, first coined the term in an essay in the nonscientific Yoga Journal in 1997. Many of his patients eschewed traditional medicine and believed that the key to good health was simply eating the "right" foods. Some of them would ask him what foods they should cut out.

“完美厭食癥”是最近才出現(xiàn)的現(xiàn)象。上世紀(jì)90年代的替代醫(yī)學(xué)從業(yè)者史蒂文·布拉特曼醫(yī)生在1997年《非科學(xué)瑜伽雜志》的一篇文章中首次創(chuàng)造了這個(gè)詞。他的許多病人都避開(kāi)傳統(tǒng)醫(yī)學(xué)，認(rèn)為健康的關(guān)鍵就是吃“正確的”食物。他們中的一些人會(huì)問(wèn)他應(yīng)該不吃什么食物。

Whether it's gluten or dairy, many people avoid certain types of foods. Sometimes food avoidance can turn into fear, obsession and even veer into an eating disorder that scientists are just beginning to study.

無(wú)論是谷蛋白還是乳制品，很多人都避免食用某些食物。有時(shí)，對(duì)食物的回避會(huì)轉(zhuǎn)化為恐懼、癡迷，甚至演變成一種飲食失調(diào)，而科學(xué)家們剛剛開(kāi)始對(duì)這種失調(diào)進(jìn)行研究。

"People would think they should cut out all dairy and they should cut out all lentils, all wheat ... And it dawned on me gradually that many of these patients, their primary problem was that they were ... far too strict with themselves," he says.

“人們會(huì)認(rèn)為他們應(yīng)該戒掉所有奶制品，戒掉所有扁豆，所有小麥……我逐漸意識(shí)到很多病人，他們的主要問(wèn)題是，對(duì)自己太嚴(yán)格了，”他說(shuō)。

"From then on, whenever a patient would ask me what food to cut out, I would say, 'We need to work on your orthorexia.' This would often make them laugh and let them loosen up, and sometimes it helped people move from extremism to moderation," he recalls.

“從那時(shí)起，每當(dāng)有病人問(wèn)我應(yīng)該停止吃什么食物時(shí)，我就會(huì)說(shuō)，‘我們需要改善你的“完美厭食癥”了。’這常常會(huì)讓他們開(kāi)懷大笑，讓他們放松下來(lái)，有時(shí)還會(huì)幫助人們從極端主義變得適度，”他回憶道。

Bratman had no idea that the concept of "clean eating" would explode over the next two decades.

布拉特曼不知道“干凈飲食”的概念會(huì)在接下來(lái)的20年里激增。

The rise of celebrity diet gurus and glamorous food photos on social media reinforce the idea that eating only certain foods and avoiding others is a virtue — practically a religion.

社交媒體上越來(lái)越多的名人飲食專家和迷人的美食照片強(qiáng)化了這樣一種觀念:只吃某些食物，不吃其他食物是一種美德——實(shí)際上是一種信仰。

Some people who only eat "clean" foods miss critical nutrients from the foods they cut out or don't consume enough calories. It could become a health hazard and ultimately, it can be fatal.

一些只吃“干凈”食物的人會(huì)錯(cuò)過(guò)他們不吃的食物中關(guān)鍵的營(yíng)養(yǎng)成分，或者沒(méi)有攝入足夠的卡路里。這可能會(huì)對(duì)健康造成危害，最終會(huì)是致命的。