The Ugly Side of Being Healthy

I first encountered the term orthorexia, a still controversial condition in the medical field, from Joe Juhasz's blog. But I more or less dismissed the idea of being so healthy it was actually unhealthy. That is until this morning on my way to the subway I saw a young girl eating raw broccoli, but she looked anorexic. I realize that raw broccoli was probably her whole diet (though she could be recovering from anorexia, but in that case I would expect her to have a hot dog).

Exactly what is the ugly side of being healthy? Aside from being so healthy it is unhealthy, the truly ugly side is that it won't stop you from dying. Is being "healthy" a side effect of living? As opposed to surviving? Are we so domesticated that it has become a symptom of modern civilization to be healthy? Is being healthy on par with playing golf and watching TV? We don't need to be healthy or play golf to survive long enough pass on our genes.

The only thing that being healthy and being unhealthy have in common is that death is for certain. The problem with the two poles is the inherent psychological judgment passed on them. One is frowned upon and the other is not. But being healthy is so highly revered that it can be unhealthy and still kill you! Just like smoking cigarettes : if you quit you're still going to die.

Of course, a rebuttal would be : "But if you eat healthy and quit smoking you will live a long, healthy life." AND? And you will still die. Isn't "long life" and "healthy living" symptoms of domesticated living and not survival? If we were surviving we would live just long enough to mate and pass on our genes. Congrats! Death is still certain!

"What will happen at the end of living? And the beginning of survival?"
-Chief Seattle