吃“干净”的食物正成为一种不健康的困扰

吃“干净”的食物正成为一种不健康的困扰

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.

当人们过于执着于“干净”的饮食观念，或者只选择自然状态下的全食物时，就会出现“完美厌食症”，最终危及他们的身心健康。有时这意味着缺少关键营养物质或得不到足够的热量。

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.

无论是无谷蛋白、不含乳制品、生食还是全有机食品，如今许多人都坚持所谓的“干净饮食”——即只选择天然的全食食品，而不吃加工过的食品，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.

这样吃并不一定是件坏事，但有时这种食物偏好会开始占据人们的生活，使他们害怕在社交活动中找不到“合适的”食物。当一个健康的饮食模式走得太远，它可能会转变成一种饮食失调，而科学家们刚刚开始研究。

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岁的亚历克斯·埃弗拉克斯是一名来自芝加哥的公共关系客户主管。当他还是个孩子的时候，他就和超重做斗争。在他十几岁和二十几岁的时候，他试着节食，结果他的体重增重了约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.

当他大学毕业后搬到洛杉矶时，他把自己的饮食水平提高到了一个新的水平。他开始每天锻炼两次。

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.

他从最重时的250磅减到140磅。他在网上发布了他的六块腹肌和“干净”饮食的照片，并因此受到赞扬。但同时，他又饿又累又孤独。

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.

他开始害怕吃某些食物。他在家里工作，以避免参加办公室聚会，在那里他必须当着别人的面吃东西。他不出去，也不交朋友，因为他不想解释他的饮食。

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

原来，埃弗拉克斯正在与一种叫做“完美厌食症”的疾病作斗争。

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.

“完美厌食症”是最近才出现的现象。上世纪90年代的替代医学从业者史蒂文·布拉特曼医生在1997年《非科学瑜伽杂志》的一篇文章中首次创造了这个词。他的许多病人都避开传统医学，认为健康的关键就是吃“正确的”食物。他们中的一些人会问他应该不吃什么食物。

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.

无论是谷蛋白还是乳制品，很多人都避免食用某些食物。有时，对食物的回避会转化为恐惧、痴迷，甚至演变成一种饮食失调，而科学家们刚刚开始对这种失调进行研究。

"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.

“人们会认为他们应该戒掉所有奶制品，戒掉所有扁豆，所有小麦……我逐渐意识到很多病人，他们的主要问题是，对自己太严格了，”他说。

"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.

“从那时起，每当有病人问我应该停止吃什么食物时，我就会说，‘我们需要改善你的“完美厌食症”了。’这常常会让他们开怀大笑，让他们放松下来，有时还会帮助人们从极端主义变得适度，”他回忆道。

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

布拉特曼不知道“干净饮食”的概念会在接下来的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.

社交媒体上越来越多的名人饮食专家和迷人的美食照片强化了这样一种观念:只吃某些食物，不吃其他食物是一种美德——实际上是一种信仰。

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“干净”食物的人会错过他们不吃的食物中关键的营养成分，或者没有摄入足够的卡路里。这可能会对健康造成危害，最终会是致命的。