The best way to control your glucose and help yourself against diabetes is by eating a healthy diet, right?

Well, yes this is true, but it is also a bit more complicated than that.

Type 2 diabetes is (usually) caused by an unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle. Presumably, then, the fix to type 2 diabetes would be to reverse these habits. However, some people are taking it a bit too far.

How Healthy Eating Can Lead to an Eating Disorder

Obesity and diabetes are so prevalent that an entire wellness industry has boomed in response. Now, you can find a juice bar or spin class on virtually every urban corner in the United States and Australia, the two leading countries in diabetes growth.

The problem?

Some people are taking it too far. People begin replacing entire food groups with green smoothies and all natural, raw foods that can cause a lot more harm than good.

It’s easy to do, after all. Here at Diabetics Weekly, we tout the benefits of green smoothies all the time. There seems to be, however, a fine line between “getting your green” and developing a new eating disorder that professionals are calling orthorexia.

Though less than 1% of the population suffers from orthorexia, professionals are warning not to get too carried away down the proverbial wellness rabbit hole.

One psychologist based in Los Angeles, Dr. Lauren Muhlheim, says that orthorexia isn’t actually all that new. Instead, she says that people with eating disorders will develop them no matter what the trends are. With the advent of social media, and particularly Instagram, however, many are better able to hide under the guise of “wellness.”

So, how can you prevent yourself from slipping too far into an unhealthy “healthy” diet?

Stick to whole foods. Eat until you’re satisfied. Don’t eliminate any major food groups. And go for a walk.

Living in extremes has never been good for anybody.