The Hindu Business Line : Pure stress?

Anorexia nervosa has a new cousin, yet another eating-related disorder that has crept into people satiated but not satisfied. It is called ‘orthorexia nervosa’.

The symptoms are excessive and constant obsession with the ‘purity’ of foods. An orthorexic won’t touch any food ‘tainted’ with milk, sugar, fat or that not ‘organically-grown’. Their entire life revolves aro und ‘good’ food and ‘poisonous’ food, so much so that they stress themselves and those they live or socialise with.

A health-conscious person who enjoys eating healing foods is not suffering from orthorexia nervosa. If the healthy eating lifestyle is relished, it provides freedom from discomforts, prevents illnesses hereditary or otherwise and promotes a beautiful state of harmonious wellness physically, mentally and spiritually, it is a wise and balanced way of living. The striking difference between the health-conscious person and the orthorexic is the attitude: the former is not an ‘ist’-follower, is not dogmatic, does not shudder at what she/he has stopped eating or at what others are eating currently. The health-conscious eater is discerning, the orthorexic eater is neurotic.

We must realise that dogma dulls the brain as much as junk foods, fats, preservatives do. Dogma imprisons the mind, suffocates the ability to accept ideas beyond its ‘ism’ and stunts our learning power and growth. Moreover, a rigid attitude and a sense of distaste impose a terrible strain on the digestive system and suppress the responses of the immune system.

Be playful: The first step to free yourself from any form of existing or potential ‘nervosa’ is to adopt a playful approach. When you are playful, you are free to recreate your life. You suspend useless ‘rules’ and break through the mental rigidity. Then, eating generates good feelings, promotes energy and wellbeing.

Regain wholesome instincts: To be playful, to be like a child means you regain your natural wholesome instincts. Offer yourself fresh, wholesome fruits, vegetables, cereals, pulses, but do not become obsessed to the point where you completely shun others, isolate yourself and pompously lecture people on how they should eat. Be affable, or else you’ll be a bad ambassador for wholesome foods and others will remark, “If healthy eating turns this guy into a pompous prig, I’d rather stick to my unhealthy ways!”

Listen to your inner voice: Occasionally give in to what appeals and satisfies rather than sticking demonically to a dietary doctrine. For example, if a friend or an elderly relative has baked a cake for you, eat a slice with grace and gratitude. There’s more to such gestures of giving-and-receiving than dieting — there’s love.

Learn from your body: If you suffer frequently from indigestion, if you find you’re tired after a meal instead of feeling energetic, your body is saying, “Help! I can’t seem to absorb the food!” It’s called the mal-absorption syndrome where your inefficient small intestine allows food to pass through without extracting its nutrients. Be smart. Get off fat foods, cold foods and beverages, cheese, meats. They reduce certain digestive enzymes and you feel lethargic since your body has not received adequate nourishment. Eat only warm foods (rice- moong dal), warm drinks (herbal tea), yoghurt. Drink two litres of warm water daily. You will feel a positive difference, a positive charge as your digestion becomes vigorous once again.

Feel blessed, not bloated: Yes, there is a mountain of choices in food today. But, rise above false appetites, rise above temptations, don’t plunge into obesity. Feel “I am blessed with abundance”. This blessed feeling converts cravings into fullness; all fears dissolve, that sense of isolated and not being loved dissolves, wanting love in the form of food or attention dissolves. Look at the flowers flourishing in the golden sun, the birds soaring in the sky and relax deeply in this greater abundance.

Food and mood: Rather than think in terms of ‘pure, impure, poison’, think how food affects your mood. A broad classification:

Fermented, yeasty stuff, canned foods, deep-fried foods leave you dull, lethargic, tired, sleepy, reluctant to face work.

Strongly spiced curries, coffee, tea, red meat, raw onions, garlic, alcohol, salt, sugar leave you restless, hyper, contentious, aggressive, de-focussed, stoking an urge to flee from responsibilities.

Fresh fruits and vegetables, grains, beans, dairy products leave you serene, composed, aware, calm, willing and able to put your shoulder to the wheel.

The trick is not to get obsessed by these food-groups. Be disciplined, but also give yourself permission to occasionally loosen up. Sometimes you may require a cup of coffee to give you the ‘push’ to go to work or exercise. Sometimes you may need to garnish your paneer tikka with raw onion rings to top your satisfaction quotient. As mentioned earlier, be playful and experiment.

Chanting nourishes your expressive self and de-stresses from any sense of oppression. Laughing relaxes and spills out burdens. Regular physical exercise tones body and will. Meditation broadens and illuminates the mind. As you develop a positive disposition, anger and depression creep out of your system. Serene thoughts and happy emotions reassemble, reorganise, recreate our cellular content and heal or prevent any afflictions. In fact, a young friend gave me some profound food for thought. He said: “Uncle, incurable means ‘it can be cured from inside’, isn’t it?” He’s surely got it right.

The writer is co-author of the book ‘Fitness for Life’.

More Stories on : Health | Fitness First

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Profit with pistachios

Pure stress?

Rent a happy journey

Watch… before you slurp!

Women power play

Lapp it up!