Doctors in the United States are saying that there are a growing number of more cases of a new eating disorder called orthorexia. The new disorder stems out of a strong desire to be healthy, but then gets out of control.

People with the disorder usually start out wanting to eat healthy. They often want to avoid certain additives in food such as sugar and salt, or fat, or artificial colors.

One woman who developed the orthorexia disorder is Jordan Younger. She is now 24 and had a career of being a vegan food blogger. She started by eating just fruit and vegetables. From there she went to juice cleanses, which she would do for 10 to 30 days at a time. Before long, she woke up to find that she was not eating anything else, just vegetable juice.

Over a two-month period she lost 25 pounds. When looking back at what she did during this time, she saw that she cut out just about everything besides vegetables. She did not even eat bread because of the refined flour. Now Younger says: “That’s not veganism. That’s just not even eating.”

A number of the people developing this disorder do so because they may already have another disorder of some kind. Sondra Kronberg, who is a spokesperson for the National Eating Disorders Association, says that they may already have an eating disorder, or possibly problems with anxiety, or OCD, etc.

Orthorexia is not yet recognized in a formal way. There is not yet an official diagnosis for it, but it is known that it could end up causing both physical and psychological damage. One organization, the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) points out that someone with the disorder could end up being weak and undernourished. They also indicate that someone with the order could hurt their personal relationships because they tend to have an obsessive focus on their diet.

In order to get the help she needed, Younger went to a therapist and nutritionist. She is now eating healthier and even eats meat. She gave up being a vegan and has also changed the name of her blog from “The Blonde Vegan” to the new one – “The Balanced Blonde.”