Orthorexia Dietitian and Nutritionist
Manage behaviour known as orthorexia with the help of a dietitian and nutritionist
Receive nutritional counselling, support and strategies from an experienced dietitian and nutritionist for orthorexia to help manage its complexity and aid in the recovery process.
Before we delve into how an orthorexia dietitian and nutritionist can help manage the associated symptoms, it’s important to outline what orthorexia is.
Dietitians on Orthorexia
According to National Eating Disorders Association,
The term orthorexia was originally coined in 1997, and means an obsession with proper, healthy, or clean eating. Although not formally recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual DSM-5 as an eating disorder, and thereby, in the absence of formal diagnostic criteria, awareness about orthorexia is on the rise.
It is uncertain whether orthorexia is a stand-alone eating disorder such as anorexia. Some folks may transition into orthorexia from more severe anorexia nervosa as they progress in recovery. Orthorexia may also co-occur with other mental health challenges, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
While striving to eat health-promoting foods sounds appropriate and beneficial for most, extensive preoccupation, rigidity and obsession with ensuring each bite is optimal can pose challenges in an individual’s functioning.
When remaining faithful to an eating protocol means turning down social engagements, foregoing on going to an all-exclusive resort or refusing to take part in a workplace potluck, can be damaging to one’s socialization practices.
Depending on the extent and rigidity of self-imposed eating habits, affected individuals may become malnourished, showing evidence of nutritional deficiency and caloric deficit.
Our registered dietitian and nutritionist for orthorexia has compiled a list of the signs and symptoms.
- Compulsive checking of nutritional labels and ingredients.
- Curating social media access to increase exposure to “healthful” eating practices.
- Spending countless hours thinking about foods, including planning and preparing meals or snacks.
- Increased concern about health risks associated with various ingredients.
- Restricting an increasing number of foods due to health concerns (meat, dairy, gluten, non-organic foods, etc.).
- Developing a strict hierarchy of “safe” and “unsafe” foods; at times based on arbitrary classification criteria around food acceptability.
- A sense of superiority and uniqueness around eating patterns, spiced with perfectionistic tendencies.
- Showing distress when access to “safe and healthy” foods is restricted/denied.
- Body image, weight and compulsive exercising habits may or may not be present.
- Impairment in psychosocial functioning may or may not be present.
How can a nutritionist and dietitian for orthorexia help?
Should clients want to prioritize health over body weight, working with an eating disorder dietitian is certainly recommended.
A registered dietitian for orthorexia can potentially help in the following ways:
- Provide evidence-based education on orthorexia and associated risks.
- Help examine your current relationship with food.
- Map out health assumptions about the properties of various food groups and food ingredients.
- Gradually re-introduce “unsafe or unhealthy” foods through exposure therapy, thereby diversifying food choices.
- Have an orthorexia dietitian and nutritionist dispel various common myths around food.
- Help learn to trust self with hunger and fullness cues, thereby consistently meeting nutritional requirements.
- Take stock of the impact of dietary rigidity on psychosocial functioning.
- Explore and expanding self-care practices above and beyond nutrition.
- Focus on body image work to ease into self-acceptance and self-trust.
- Additionally, work with you can work with a dietitian for mental health support, weight management dietitian and more.
- Work with a sports nutritionist to help balance your athletic needs and goals with a healthy relationship with body and food.
- Receive the counsel of a pediatric nutritionist, family dietitian or a nutritionist who works with teenagers.
- Receive counselling from a dietitian for women.
- Please note: Professional help other than an orthorexia dietitian and nutritionist to help with management may be required. Multidisciplinary team approach, including medical professional and mental health professional often necessary to address the complexity of orthorexia. Orthorexia is often addressed as an eating disorder, particularly anorexia and/or OCD.
- And more.
Related Services
In addition to working with an orthorexia nutritionist and dietitian, you can also receive nutritional counselling in other areas.
Free Consultation
Schedule a free, no-obligation phone consultation during which we can:
- Outline how the process works
- Discuss your goal(s)
- Explain how billing and pricing work
- Address concerns about insurance
- Help you select a practitioner
- Answer any other questions
- And more
How much it costs to work with our nutritionist and dietitian
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Learn about our nutritionist and dietitian for orthorexia support
Where to Find Our Dietitian and Nutritionist for Orthorexia Support
We offer the services for orthorexia management at the below office locations with Ontario dietitians, Nova Scotia dietitians and British Columbia dietitians.
Please note: practitioner availability at each location is subject to change.
Office Locations
Virtual support for orthorexia
You can also work with our dietitians online.
We provide services virtually to the residents of other provinces: Alberta dietitian, Saskatchewan, MB, New Brunswick, NL, PEI, Quebec and the territories.
For more information on the services offered in each city and service area, visit: