I have a lot of friends who spend a lot of time, energy, money, restricted socializing, etc on extreme diet regimens, such as vegan, raw, etc., excluding many foods as unpure, chronic use of 'cleanses', fasts, enemas, etc. It is foreost in their minds, conversations, and socializations, and may be argumentative or dismissive when challenged for proof.

As a former vegetarian, I found their explanations and lectures often lacking in critical thinking or real objective research and support, and I began to wonder what the extremism was really about. Plus I noticed that many of these people got sick more often, and for longer periods, than I did, and also broke bones more easily, and had underweight, skin, fertility, failure-to-thrive, and hair problems.

Finally, I ran across some articles on othorexia, where people exclude many food options based on purported impurity (often spiritual) and personal control, bordering on anxiety problems, anorexia, and OCD. They tend to associate with only other pure foodists, and condescend to people who eat differently than they do.

I am not saying that all health-conscious people fall into this category, but I bring it to your attention as an FYI, since there are new studies that suggest there is a growing subset of people with perfectionist, self-esteem, body image, and eating disorders who may fall into this category. And it seems to be a growing trend.

You can google for links, but here is a quiz -

www.skwigg.com/id8.html

There are also more academic and technical studies on this trend, which I leave to you to google...

Just FYI - peace.