Orthorexia- Obsession With Health

Back in the day, it was believed that home food is healthy food. People believed that eating home food meant that they were eating healthy, and outside food was considered as unhealthy. Throughout the years, the idea of “healthy” has changed drastically. Now, Cornflakes and Green tea is considered to be the new healthy. Quinoa, oats, smoothies, kale and seeds have replaced home cooked traditional meals. Social media has a big hand in the obsession over the idea of being healthy. It shows the flawed idea of health. 

Social Media Hoax

Social media shows that slim is healthy and healthy is slim. SM influencers tend to show us such things and make us believe that such foods should be eaten to stay healthy. Little do we know, they get paid for publicizing such products. 

Not only is this the wrong idea of health, it also makes you feel insecure if you don’t fall under the category of “slim” and “fit”. Now that social media is such a big part of our lives, we easily fall into prey with such advertising. Social media influencers have us believing that if we eat like them, we could also have sick pack abs or be equally fit as they seem to be. This might be really tempting to try out but it is not always true.  And due to the pandemic, we are all probably focusing on how to improve our health and immunity. Let us take a look at what foods are considered to be healthy but actually aren’t.

“Healthy” Foods:

1. Green Tea For Weight Loss?

Green tea is said to help you lose weight and helps fight cancer. Now if that was the case, don’t you think we’d have a cure for cancer by now? Green tea is only really for improving your metabolism. Because of the myth that green tea reduces fat, the global green tea market was worth 18.4 billions dollars. The truth behind this is, green tea is not going to make you lose weight magically. But, it can be one contributor to kick-start your weight loss journey. Green tea contains caffeine, which can give a natural boost to your metabolism.

2. Gluten Free Trends:

So many influences suggest going on a gluten-free diet because apparently gluten is considered to be unhealthy. Gluten-free diets are becoming increasingly popular. Gluten is a family of storage proteins, formally known as prolamins, which are naturally found in certain cereal grains, such as wheat, barley, and rye. Gluten does not pose a health risk to the majority of the population. That said, people with Celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten and must eliminate it from their diets to avoid harmful, adverse reactions.Gluten is not unhealthy and should not be kicked out of your diet.

Since Gluten-free diets are becoming a trend, an average gluten free product is 242% more expensive than food which contains gluten. In 3 years the global gluten free market is expected to touch 6.47 billion dollars. The problem with these foods is that they usually have the same negative effects on your body as their gluten-containing counterparts, if not worse. These are highly processed foods containing few nutrients and often made with refined starches that can lead to very rapid spikes in blood sugar.

3. Cow Milk Controversies:

We have all grown up drinking cow milk but now all of a sudden it’s unhealthy. People prefer to drink Almond or Soy milk instead. Apparently cow milk makes us fat. Influencers also support this idea. Why? So that these alternatives also find a place in your fridge. Composition wise, there is no proof that these alternatives are healthier than cow milk. When it comes to nutrition and protein content, cow milk wins the race. So you tell me, which is the healthier one? 

4. Necessity Of Protein Powder

Many influencers say that protein powder is a must. This is a supplement taken if you fail to reach the daily amount of protein intake. For a woman, it’s 46g and for a man it is 56g. There are many foods which are high in protein that you can take and even if you do not reach your daily intake, it causes no harm. There is no need to spend a fortune on something which can easily be replaced with home food. Those trying to “sell” protein powder will not tell you the risks related to it so instead of going for it, enjoy a handful of nuts and you’ll get some protein. 

5. Brown Alternatives:

Nowadays, we’re always looking for brown alternatives for bread, rice and sugar. This is because we are told to believe that brown is healthier than white. Brown foods have no extra nutritional value which white foods don’t. They both offer the same. So do eat brown foods if you enjoy them, but you can eat white foods without worrying about how bad it is. 

6. Low Fat Snacks:

Back in the day, we’d eat any snack we find in the kitchen, because who cares when you’re hungry? But now, we don’t even touch snacks which don’t have “fat-free” or “low calories”. Sad isn’t it? How disappointing is it to check your favorite snack’s content and find out that it might be a little high in calories or have too much sugar? Did you know that many low-fat snacks have added sugar. They hide such controversial ingredients and give technical names.

Protein bars and yogurts have the same amount of sugar as a chocolate bar.  So don’t be fooled, life is short, just grab your favorite snack.  Food doesn’t taste well when the fat has been removed. That’s why they added a lot of sugar to compensate. Saturated fat is harmless, but added sugar is incredibly harmful when consumed in excess. The words “low fat” or “fat free” on packaging usually means that it’s a highly processed product that’s loaded with sugar.

7. Artificial Vitamins:

Vitamin water is said to be a healthier alternative to soft drinks. But did you know that each bottle of vitamin water contains 8 teaspoons of sugar?It is sweetened with erythritol and stevia. It may contain just as much sugar as a can of Coca-Cola.

Health Or Business?

You might be wondering, if famous people go on about such foods, shouldn’t it be true? Absolutely not. It doesn’t work that way. They advertise such products because they get money for it. That is what most of their earning is dependent on. I mean, who wouldn’t advertise anything if they can earn from it? Since our generation is hooked to social media, we would easily believe anything we see online. Therefore, this makes their job a lot easier. Once you see your favorite influencer following a certain type of diet or buying certain types of products, you’d be convinced in a second to do the same. You are automatically brainwashed into believing that it must be a great idea because it is done by your favorite person.

Wrapping Up

This clearly shows the wrong idea of health that we are following because famous people want us to. Instead, just stick to home food. Home food is good food. Obviously, this isn’t for you not to look after what you eat, but instead, it is for you to get over the internet idea of healthy and focus on what’s good for you.

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