When did eating healthy becoming an eating disorder?

I want to start off by saying from the bottom of my heart that I do not at any point in this rant mean to downplay the suffering of millions of people that have actual eating disorders, so please do not misunderstand me. However, I was shocked when I read this article on Yahoo! Health today.

The article was not entirely shocking, and probably partially true. I'm sure there are a lot of people that use food in a variety of unhealthy ways to try to assert some element of control over their lives. In fact, there are several categories of eating disorders that are already generally defined as such. I empathize with the people that are dealing with anything of that nature and, again, do not intend to minimize their suffering. However, I'm appalled and disappointed at the some of the definitions and explanations of what the article refers to as "orthorexia."

One of the things that upset me was this particular phrasing, "[Orthorexics] may start by eliminating processed foods, anything with artificial colorings or flavorings as well as foods that have come into contact with pesticides." Wait. What?? So now people that don't make a habit of eating at McDonald's twice a week, people that try to avoid chemical additives in food, and people that purchase organic fruits and vegetables are on their way to developing a full-fledged eating disorder?? But wait, it gets more absurd. According to the article, for people with orthorexia "the focus isn’t on losing weight. Instead, sufferers increasingly restrict their diets to foods they consider pure, natural and healthful." Stop. Really? Sufferers?? So now people that are conscious of eating food that is actually beneficial to their bodies are suffering? Wow.

This author needs a better grasp on what she is writing about before publishing her article. Pegging these behaviors as "unhealthy" is irresponsible at best. This is not to say that there aren't people that take the idea of healthy, natural eating too far. I'm not trying to say that this problem doesn't exist in a select few. My discord with the author is in the explanations she gives. Her descriptions are so vague that not only is there potential for misinterpretation of the material, it's inevitable. In a society where the majority of people do not even consider the things they eat and how it will affect them, positively or negatively, no one needs encouragement to further distance themselves from healthy eating or to shun the (growing) minority that actually are interested in it.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, I am one of these "natural and healthful" eaters. And I absolutely do not consider myself to have an eating disorder. Without going into the (extensive) reasoning behind it and without passing judgement on anyone who chooses to eat differently than I do, I describe my behavior and habits as attempting to make choices in favor of natural, non-processed foods whenever possible and only slightly inconvenient. I am not a fanatic. I do not preach to the masses about my "food faith." When asked about my choices, I politely explain in as few words as possible. I am not trying to lose weight (and have actually gained weight since changing my eating habits, much to my delight). I am not trying to change my life with my eating habits. I do not eat things I don't like or that don't taste good to me, just because they're healthy. If we were to go out to eat at a restaurant, my plate would not look much different than yours.

And yet, I am still criticized and ostracized at times for the choices I've made. Good and well-meaning (but very uninformed and misguided) friends that don't understand my choices have tried to suggest that I must being doing this because I'm trying to "assert control," "lose weight" or "be different." This is not only far from the truth, but eternally frustrating and hurtful. Which is why the article I read today rubbed me the wrong way. It's just the wrong perspective all over again.