Eating healthily isn't a bad thing, but taken to the extreme, it can turn into a disorder called orthorexia nervosa.SkiptomaincontentLiveScienceSearchSubscribeRSSPleasedeactivateyouradblockerinordertoseeoursubscriptionofferNewsSpace&PhysicsHealthPlanetEarthStrangeNewsAnimalsHistoryForumsTechCultureReferenceAboutUsMagazinesubscriptionsMoreTrendingCOVID-19NewsForumLife'sLittleMysteriesReferenceLiveSciencenewslettersLiveScienceissupportedbyitsaudience.Whenyoupurchasethroughlinksonoursite,wemayearnanaffiliatecommission.LearnmorePeoplewithorthorexiafollowself-imposedrestricteddietsthatcancausephysicalandmentalhealthissues.(Imagecredit:Shutterstock)Orthorexianervosaisaneatingdisordercharacterizedbyanobsessionwiththeperceived"purity"offood.Peoplewithorthorexiamightrestrictthemselvestoeatingonlyunprocessedororganicfoods,cutoutwholefoodgroupsfromtheirdietorrestrictthemselvestoeatingrawfoodsonly. Theconditiongoesbeyondageneralconcernwithmaintainingahealthydiet.Forpeoplewithorthorexia,thepursuitofa"perfect"diettakesupasignificantamountoftimeandenergy,andinterfereswithwork,schoolandrelationships.Insomecases,itcanevenleadtomalnutrition.Related:Expertsanswer:Howdoyoutellifsomeonehasaneatingdisorder?There'sdisagreementoverwhetherorthorexiaisavaliddiagnosis,saidJenniferMills,aclinicalpsychologistatYorkUniversityinToronto,Ontario.Theconditionisn'tlistedinthecurrenteditionoftheDiagnosticandStatisticalManualofMentalDisorders(DSM-5),theAmericanPsychologicalAssociation'sofficialdiagnosticguide,whichwaslastupdatedin2013andcontainscriteriaforvariouspsychologicalconditions.Someexpertssayorthorexiafallsundertheumbrellaofothermentalhealthdiagnoses,whileotherssayrecognitionoftheconditionmakesgoodeatinghabitsseemabnormalorunhealthy,Millssaid.Butinrecentyears,theconditionhasreceivedanincreasingamountofattentionfromresearchersandclinicians."Thereisaconsensusthat[orthorexia]deviatesfromwhatwewouldconsidertobenormalor'healthy'eating,"Millssaid."Researchhasreallyhighlightedhowindividualswhohavethis