Bonobos will share with strangers before acquaintances

Jan. 2, 2013 ? You're standing in line somewhere and you decide to open a pack of gum. Do you share a piece with the coworker standing to one side of you, or with the stranger on the other?

Most humans would choose the person they know first, if they shared at all.

But bonobos, those notoriously frisky, ardently social great apes of the Congo, prefer to share with a stranger before sharing with an animal they know. In fact, a bonobo will invite a stranger to share a snack while leaving an acquaintance watching helplessly from behind a barrier.

"It seems kind of crazy to us, but bonobos prefer to share with strangers," said Brian Hare, a professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University. "They're trying to extend their social network." And they apparently value that more than maintaining the friendships they already have.

To measure this willingness to share, Hare and graduate student Jingzhi Tan ran a series of experiments with bonobos living in the Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. The experiments involved piles of food and enclosures that the test subjects were able to unlock and open. Tan and Hare describe their work in a paper in the Jan. 2, 2013 edition of PLOS ONE.

In the first series of experiments, a pile of food was placed in a central enclosure flanked by two enclosures, each of them holding another animal. The test subject had the knowledge and ability to open a door to either of the other chambers, or both. On one side was a bonobo they knew from their group (not necessarily a friend or family member) and in the other was a bonobo they had never really met, but had only seen at a distance.

Upon entering the chamber with the food, the test subjects could easily just sit down and consume it all themselves, or they could let in one or both of the other animals to share.

Nine of the 14 animals who went through this test released the stranger first. Two preferred their groupmates. Three showed no particular preference in repeated trials. The third animal was often let in on the treat as well, but more often it was the stranger, not the test subject, who opened the door for them.

Tan said that by letting the third animal into the enclosure, the stranger voluntarily outnumbered himself or herself with two bonobos who knew each other, which a chimpanzee would never do. In 51 trials of the experiment, there was never any aggression shown, although there was quite a bit of typical bonobo genital rubbing between the strangers.

To isolate how much motivation the animals receive from social interaction, the researchers ran a second set of experiments in which the subject animal wouldn't receive any social contact with another animal. In the first of these experiments, the subjects couldn't get any food for themselves regardless of whether they chose to open the door to allow the other animal to get some food. Nine out of ten animals shared with the stranger at least once.

In the final experiment without social contact, the subject animal was given access to the food in such a way that opening the door to share with the other animal would cost them some food. But they still wouldn't have any social contact as a reward. In this instance, the animals chose not to share. "If they're not going to see a social benefit, they won't share," Hare said.

This second test is similar to something called the dictator game in which humans are given the chance to share cash with a stranger, Hare said. Most people will share anonymously, but they share even more when they aren't anonymous. Bonobos won't share at all in the anonymous condition if it costs them food.

"They care about others," Hare said, but only in a sort of selfish way. "They'll share when it's a low-cost/low-benefit kind of situation. But when it's a no-benefit situation, they won't share. That's different from a human playing the dictator game. You really have to care about others to give anonymously."

The findings, which Hare calls "one of the crazier things we've found" in more than a decade of bonobo research, form yet another distinction between bonobos and chimpanzees, our two closest relatives. "Chimps can't do these tests, they'd be all over each other."

The work was funded by the National Science Foundation and the European Research Council.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Duke University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Tan J, Hare B. Bonobos Share with Strangers. PLOS ONE, 2013; 8 (1): e51922 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051922

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/2bif2nwe0DY/130102173312.htm

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Social Media as the Next Web | Social Media Today

Source: GapingVoid

?The World Wide Web is the universe of network-accessible information, an embodiment of human knowledge.??- Tim Berners-Lee, Web inventor, founder, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), source

For years now, we?ve talked about the evolution of Web 2.0 and an era of a more open and social web. Certainly the web has become social. As to whether or not it?s more open, well that?s for a later discussion. With our time together now, I?d like to explore the idea of social media evolving the utility of the web beyond a system of Internet servers that support HTML formatted documents to that of a system of people in addition to HTML formatted documents. Obscure and debatable I know. But follow along with me for a moment.

Over the years social media has been the darling of marketers and would be experts. It?s not without good reason. Social media is exciting and transformative. It is something that we embrace as human beings and equally as professionals, we recognize its impact and opportunity. And, social media along with mobile represent the greatest growth areas for the Internet right now. But there?s more to it than hype.

The undercurrent of social media is as powerful as it is personal. People are becoming nodes of the network and it is through engagement and shared experiences and moments that bind us and information together. As a result, the idea of HTML documents as destinations seems almost antiquated in an era where dynamic experiences and engagement are personalized and optimized in what I call the EGOsystem. It?s the difference between a destination web, the web as we know it, and that of an experience, the web as it represents people, information, and utility.

Nielsen and NM Incite released the 2012?Social Media Report recently and in it is an obvious but important observation, social media is coming of age. If attention is a key metric, then social networks are where attention spans go to roam. According to the report, consumers continue to spend more time on social networks than on any other category of sites.

20% of their total time online via personal computer (PC)

30% of total time online via mobile

Got a minute?

Most notably however is the sheer velocity of growth. Nielsen found that total time spent on social media in the U.S. across PCs and mobile devices increased 37% to 121 billion minutes in July 2012, compared to 88 billion in July 2011.

The Internet Likes Facebook, but an open relationship is a reality.

Facebook is still axis to the social web as the most-visited social network in the U.S. via PC (152.2 million visitors) and mobile apps (78.4 mil).?Even though Facebook is home to 12% of the world?s population, other networks are vying for consumer attention. Twitter for example is up 13%, Pinterest is pinning with 1,047% growth, Google+ is showing promise with 80% rise in unique visitors, and Tumblr continues to ?tumble for you? with a 55% surge.

Now showing on the small screen.

The mobile (s0cial) web represents the future of online engagement. This is one of the reasons that Facebook was plagued by speculation prior to and shortly after its IPO. It?s mobile strategy wasn?t fully defined or articulated. ?However, people are spending more time on mobile devices and the numbers speak for themselves. Mobile web usage is up 82% in 2012 over 2011 and mobile app usage has grown 85%. It?s interesting to note that time spent on PCs is down 4%.

Mobile Social Networking is the New Social Networking

Social media time spent still largely takes place on a PC. But time spent social networking in mobile apps now represents a third of overall social networking time, up from 22.8M in 2011 to 85.8m in 2012. As Nielsen notes, while social audiences on PCs declined 5% since 2011, time spent increased 24%, which suggests that users are more deeply engaged.

Now this is Pinteresting.

Yes.?Pinterest is pinning with 1,047% growth. Nielsen found that Pinterest has experienced exponential growth over the last year. But this perhaps the last year we will see such spectacular growth from this fledgling. Nielsen also found that growth is leveling off. None the less, 2012 minutes spent across PCs, apps, and the mobile web is incredible. In terms of unique audience, Pinterest reached a high of 27 million unique users on PCs, 14 million on the mobile web, and almost 5 million via mobile apps.

How, where and why we connect.

The next web is mobile.

Proof is in the numbers of course. As we can see, consumers access social media from PCs mostly at 94% (down from 97% in 2011), mobile phones at 46% (up from 37%) and tablets at 16% (up from 3%). Surprise is an understatement when I think about how I felt when I saw the incorporation of toilets in the report. But, you can read more on that gem here.

The Psychology of Social.

It?s pretty clear why we embrace social media. It is after all a platform for self expression. It?s where we can share our experiences. It?s also a place where we can connect with people not only because of relationships but also because of interests. But why else do we connect? Well, Nielsen asked. Most people connect because they know someone in real life or because they share mutual friends. Business networks also factor in to connectivity. Human nature also permeates engagement, albeit at a smaller scale, tying profile photos, attractiveness, and number of connections to why people decide to connect.

The social web is just that, it?s social. But more importantly, social and mobile media are becoming the next web. Mobile, apps, and PCs are the platforms for which people build networks around relationships, information, and experiences. While visiting web sites still play an important role in how people spend time online, they also concentrate attention on the essence of engagement. In the process, people place social ahead of destinations as they set the foundation for the future of the next web?an online experience that fuses people, information, and mobile access (on demand) access.

Connect with me:?Twitter?|?LinkedIn?|?Facebook?|?Google+

The?End of Business as Usual?is officially here?

??

?

Source: http://socialmediatoday.com/briansolis/1058281/social-media-next-web

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ESPN's Hannah Storm returns to air after grill accident

NEW YORK (AP) ? ESPN anchor Hannah Storm returns to the air New Year's Day, exactly three weeks after she was seriously burned in a propane gas grill accident at her home.

Storm suffered second-degree burns on her chest and hands, and first-degree burns to her face and neck. She lost her eyebrows and eyelashes, and roughly half her hair.

Storm will host ABC's telecast of the 2013 Rose Parade on Tuesday. Her left hand will be bandaged and she said viewers might notice a difference in her hair texture where extensions have been added.

"I'm a little nervous about things I used to take for granted," she said by phone this weekend from Pasadena, Calif. "Little things like putting on makeup and even turning pages on my script."

The award-winning sportscaster and producer was preparing dinner outside her home in Connecticut on the night of Dec. 11 when she noticed the flame on the grill had gone out. She turned off the gas and when she reignited it "there was an explosion and a wall of fire came at me."

"It was like you see in a movie, it happened in a split-second," she said. "A neighbor said he thought a tree had fallen through the roof, it was that loud. It blew the doors off the grill."

With her left hand, she tore off her burning shirt. She tried to use another part of her shirt to extinguish the flames that engulfed her head and chest, while yelling for help. Her 15-year-old daughter, Hannah, called 911 and a computer technician who was working in the house grabbed some ice as Storm tried to cool the burns.

Soon, police and rescue teams arrived at the house. Storm's husband, NBC sportscaster Dan Hicks, also had returned home with another of the couple's three daughters. As her mother was being treated, the younger Hannah calmly said something that, days later, her mom could laugh about.

"OK, Mommy, I'm going to do my homework now," she said.

Storm was taken by ambulance to the Trauma and Burn Center at Westchester Medical Center and was treated for 24 hours.

"I didn't see my face until the next day and you wonder how it's going to look," she said. "I was pretty shocked. But my overarching thought was I've covered events with military members who have been through a lot worse than me, and they've come through. I kept thinking, 'I can do this. I'm fortunate.'"

Other than going to Christmas Eve Mass, Storm hadn't been outside until her trip to California. ESPN reworked its anchor schedule while she was recovering, and NBC and the Golf Channel rearranged their staffing while Hicks attended to his wife.

Storm is set to host her fifth Rose Parade, with some changes. She's left-handed, and taking notes is almost impossible. Dressing and showering are challenges, too.

Storm said that long before her accident, she'd been inspired by Iraq War veteran, actor and "Dancing With the Stars" winner J.R. Martinez, the grand marshal at last year's parade. He was severely burned in a land mine accident while serving overseas.

One attraction of this year's parade that she was eager to see ? the Nurses' Float, and she hoped to use that moment on air to thank everyone who had taken care of her.

Storm wants to anchor "SportsCenter" in Bristol, Conn., next Sunday. After that, the Notre Dame alum is ready to go in person to watch the No. 1 Irish play Alabama in the national championship game at Miami. She said the school reached out after hearing about her injuries and had been very supportive.

"More than anything, I feel gratitude," she said. "Something like this really makes you appreciate everything you have, even the chance to wake up on New Year's Day and do your job."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/espns-hannah-storm-returns-3-weeks-accident-175720614--spt.html

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Realty Times - Harvesting Rainwater

In some parts of the world, harvesting rain is the only way to get water. About a decade ago, researchers from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) started looking at the benefits of using rain as a water source. They discovered that rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems in North America were not only rare, but in some municipalities they were prohibited.

Since then, CMHC and several governments and universities have worked to develop guidelines for RWH systems, and to change the building codes to allow rainwater harvesting.

In the City of Toronto, managing stormwater costs millions of dollars each year. A lot of the city?s surface has been paved over during the last 100 years, so there has been more and more stormwater to deal with and it is overloading aging sewer systems. This creates overflowing rivers and creeks, flooded basements and polluted beaches along Lake Ontario. Toronto?s water pumping and treatment facilities use 33 per cent of the city?s electricity in a year.

The city has already passed a bylaw that makes it mandatory for homeowners to disconnect their downspouts from direct connections to the sewer system. The idea is that rainwater will drain onto lawns and gardens and put less strain on the city infrastructure. RWH systems are the next step, taking that rainwater and using it outdoors to irrigate the lawn and garden. The most basic of these systems is a simple rain barrel that collects the water, which can then be used to water the plants and the lawn.

In many Canadian jurisdictions, rainwater can now also be used indoors for toilet flushing and laundry. The most extensive - and expensive - RWH systems have filters to create drinking water. CMHC says collecting and using rainwater is undergoing a modern-day revival, with RWH systems installed in several "green home" pilot projects, including one in the Riverdale area of Toronto. The federal housing agency found that one of the major barriers for RWH systems in Canada was the lack of information about how to design, install and manage them. That led to the creation of the Guidelines for Residential Rainwater Harvesting Systems as well as a training workshop that is now available.

There are six components to an RWH, says Riversides, an information service developed by the City of Toronto, Environment Canada and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. The collection surface is usually the roof of a building that drains to the downspouts. There is a filter screen that removes leaves and other debris before the water travels down to a storage cistern or tank. Then there is a chemical or organic filter to clean and treat the water, depending on its end use. Finally, there is a distribution system to carry the water to the building. This can be the main water source for the house or a line that is completely separate from the drinking water.

Riversides says a comprehensive system that is plumbed into a building requires expert advice for the design of the system, and for "assistance with seeking regulatory permission." Some other points to considers, says Riversides, is to ensure there is a warning not to cross-connect rain harvesting lines with indoor potable water lines. All the pipes and faucets that have non-potable water must be clearly marked.

The cistern or rain barrel should also have measures in place to deal with overflow water when the system is full, such as a "soakaway" pit, says Riversides. The guidelines include a section on overflow provisions.

The guidelines say: "Other considerations include how the design, installation and management of RWH systems can affect the quality of water saved and the quality of rainwater harvested, as well as cold weather suitability of the system."

A CMHC research paper (the project manager is Cate Soroczan) says: "The development of residential rainwater harvesting guidelines supports a water-conserving approach that will help improve the overall sustainability of housing and communities." It says the guidelines help to ensure a consistent, national approach to the design, installation, performance and management of RWH systems. It will also help in the development of commercially available systems and make both municipalities and homeowners more aware of the benefits of these systems.

"Though the requirements for the design and construction of RWH systems resides with the building authority having jurisdiction in any given area, the development of these guidelines will serve to promote a common approach to RWH systems, which can help facilitate more widespread acceptance and uptake of this technology," says CMHC.

The Guidelines for Residential Rainwater Harvesting Systems book is available here.

Guidelines specific to Ontario are available here.

Guidelines for Alberta are available here.

Published: January 1, 2013

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Source: http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20130101_rainwater.htm

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We Are What We Think! "As A Man Thinks" Is More Than Positive ...

We have all heard the words, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he" (Pro 23:7). What we must see is that Jesus came to give us a whole new way of thinking. Paul says we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds - and he means to the way Jesus teaches us to think (Rom 12:2).

You cannot consistently live, on the outside, different from how you think, on the inside.

CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS: POSITIVE THINKING VS. NEGATIVE THINKING

Most messages about thinking talking about positive thinking vs. negative thinking. This is important, and I'm not saying it's not. If you think in positive ways, you're going to get a lot further in life than if you think negatively. It's part of the law of cause and effect.

But this is not what Jesus came to bring: just the fact that we should think positively. Jesus came to bring a whole new belief system. He referred to it as 'THE GOSPEL,' and he said you must believe it, and you must change your thoughts in all ways (Mark 1:15).

GRACE AND TRUTH

Most of the religious world is focused on sin. Sin, and the law that focused on it, had been the focus for 4,000 years of Bible history. But Jesus came to 'put away sin' and 'become sin for us' (Heb 9:26, II Cor 5:21). He came to deal with the sin issue. And he came to change the game of life to one of belief (again, Mark 1:15).

You see, Jesus knows that good behavior will never produce correct belief. But he also knows that correct belief will eventually produce good behavior. If we focus on law and sin, it produces more law and sin (Rom 5:20, I Cor 15:56). But, if our focus is gospel truth and grace, then sin becomes much less of a problem to us.

Grace and truth produces Christ's nature in us. Sin produces thoughts about sin. The saying is totally true: "As a man thinks, so is he."

DON'T THINK ABOUT A PINK ELEPHANT!

I imagine you've dealt with this little trick before. At least it was used a lot in seminars, etc. The seminar leader would say, "Don't think about a pink elephant." Of course, what happens is that you think about a pink elephant - even though he told you not to. In fact, some people said (depending on the amount of stimulation prompted by the leader), they would go to sleep thinking about a pink elephant - or even dream about one. But the fact is this: stimulation in thinking is very important. "As a man thinks?"

THINK ABOUT THE GOSPEL OF JESUS!

The same thing applies to the gospel of Jesus. When you think about the gospel of Jesus, then you go to sleep thinking about it - you dream about it, at least subconsciously - and you wake up knowing the reality of it. This has been my focus for over 20 years.

The gospel is what fulfills the word of God in our lives (Col 1:23-25).

The gospel is what produces good works from us (Col 1:5-6).

When we get the gospel planted deep inside of us and allow it to take root in us, then it produces good things from us. This is what I call 'the process of God.' Jesus says no good root produces bad fruit (Mat 7:17-18). The root issue is still the same: "As a man thinks?"

As 'THE GOSPEL LIFE COACH,' my goal is to get anyone who is in the least spiritually minded to think about the gospel of Jesus and what it does in us and through us. Paul says it is the power of God in us (Rom 1:16-17). He says we should fellowship in the gospel, and I think this means with God, and with each other.

When the gospel of Jesus, and gospel grace, become our focus, rather than the focus of law and sin, then everything in life changes for the better. The Bible talks in terms of a 30, 60, and 100 fold return. It all depends on your focus.

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS IS EVERYTHING

When you think about it, the Lord said to repent (change) all other thoughts, and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15 revisited again). This is saying to ONLY believe one thing. When you believe only one thing, then this absorbs your thoughts. As I said, this has been where I have camped out now for over 20 years. I can tell you it produces the most peaceful, freeing, joyful, productive lifestyle you can possibly imagine.

Experience life in the presence and power of God! 5 minute gospel coaching sessions also on video with power points beginning about Dec 12: http://www.RogerHimesLifeCoach-GospelTransformation.com. For articles, e-books, songs, videos, visit http://www.TheGospelCoach.com. Get daily tweets on Twitter dot com / The Gospel Coach.

Source: http://articles.submityourarticle.com/we-are-what-we-think-quot-as-a-man-thinks-quot-is-more-than-positive-thinking--309977

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ESPN's Hannah Storm returns 3 weeks after accident

FILE - In this Friday, April 23, 2010 file photo, Hannah Storm attends the premiere of "Straight Outta L.A." as part of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. ESPN anchor Storm will return to the air on New Year's Day, exactly three weeks after she was seriously burned in a propane gas grill accident at her home. Storm suffered second-degree burns on her chest and hands, and first-degree burns to her face and neck. She lost her eyebrows and eyelashes, and roughly half her hair. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File)

FILE - In this Friday, April 23, 2010 file photo, Hannah Storm attends the premiere of "Straight Outta L.A." as part of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. ESPN anchor Storm will return to the air on New Year's Day, exactly three weeks after she was seriously burned in a propane gas grill accident at her home. Storm suffered second-degree burns on her chest and hands, and first-degree burns to her face and neck. She lost her eyebrows and eyelashes, and roughly half her hair. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? ESPN anchor Hannah Storm will return to the air on New Year's Day, exactly three weeks after she was seriously burned in a propane gas grill accident at her home.

Storm suffered second-degree burns on her chest and hands, and first-degree burns to her face and neck. She lost her eyebrows and eyelashes, and roughly half her hair.

Storm will host ABC's telecast of the 2013 Rose Parade on Tuesday. Her left hand will be bandaged and she said viewers might notice a difference in her hair texture where extensions have been added.

"I'm a little nervous about things I used to take for granted," she said by phone this weekend from Pasadena, Calif. "Little things like putting on makeup and even turning pages on my script."

The award-winning sportscaster and producer was preparing dinner outside her home in Connecticut on the night of Dec. 11 when she noticed the flame on the grill had gone out. She turned off the gas and when she reignited it "there was an explosion and a wall of fire came at me."

"It was like you see in a movie, it happened in a split-second," she said. "A neighbor said he thought a tree had fallen through the roof, it was that loud. It blew the doors off the grill."

With her left hand, she tore off her burning shirt. She tried to use another part of her shirt to extinguish the flames that engulfed her head and chest, while yelling for help. Her 15-year-old daughter, Hannah, called 911 and a computer technician who was working in the house grabbed some ice as Storm tried to cool the burns.

Soon, police and rescue teams arrived at the house. Storm's husband, NBC sportscaster Dan Hicks, also had returned home with another of the couple's three daughters. As her mother was being treated, the younger Hannah calmly said something that, days later, her mom could laugh about.

"OK, Mommy, I'm going to do my homework now," she said.

Storm was taken by ambulance to the Trauma and Burn Center at Westchester Medical Center and was treated for 24 hours.

"I didn't see my face until the next day and you wonder how it's going to look," she said. "I was pretty shocked. But my overarching thought was I've covered events with military members who have been through a lot worse than me, and they've come through. I kept thinking, 'I can do this. I'm fortunate.'"

Other than going to Christmas Eve Mass, Storm hadn't been outside until her trip to California. ESPN reworked its anchor schedule while she was recovering, and NBC and the Golf Channel rearranged their staffing while Hicks attended to his wife.

Storm is set to host her fifth Rose Parade, with some changes. She's left-handed, and taking notes is almost impossible. Dressing and showering are challenges, too.

Storm said that long before her accident, she'd been inspired by Iraq War veteran, actor and "Dancing With the Stars" winner J.R. Martinez, the grand marshal at last year's parade. He was severely burned in a land mine accident while serving overseas.

One attraction of this year's parade that she was eager to see ? the Nurses' Float, and she hoped to use that moment on air to thank everyone who had taken care of her.

Storm wants to anchor "SportsCenter" in Bristol, Conn., next Sunday. After that, the Notre Dame alum is ready to go in person to watch the No. 1 Irish play Alabama in the national championship game at Miami. She said the school reached out after hearing about her injuries and had been very supportive.

"More than anything, I feel gratitude," she said. "Something like this really makes you appreciate everything you have, even the chance to wake up on New Year's Day and do your job."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-12-31-Hannah%20Storm-Accident/id-ae816b72b9a741fb95a9b7047aef092b

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When eating healthy is a disorder | Momaha Blogs

Jill Koegel, a registered dietitian and certified as a personal trainer,?blogs for?LiveWellNebraska.com

* * *

Ever know someone who seems to have lots of rules about what they will and will not eat? And maybe they follow these rules to a tee. Because of my profession, some people think I am like that, and they?re are surprised when they see me eat a slice of birthday cake or catch me with a dish of ice cream.

The term ?orthorexia? was coined by Dr. Steven Bratman, who was interested in describing his own eating behaviors. It?s the obsession with eating healthy. But unlike say, anorexia, it?s not a diagnosis recognized by the medical community. Orthorexia doesn?t include the obsession with weight or calories.

Instead, it is more associated with self esteem and the ability to adhere to a strict eating regimen. It involves the desire to control food quality and purity, and is often accompanied by the feeling that one?s diet is superior to the ?rest of the world.? It might start out with innocent healthy eating, but this condition can spin out of control when a person starts to take on rigid routines and strict diet ?rules.?

So what?s the difference between eating healthy as a lifestyle and being orthorexic? Eating healthy involves healthier patterns, like eating small meals often, allowing ?balance?and a varied diet to prevail. Orthorexia involves an obsession with?always?eating extremely healthfully?and causes people to feel extremely guilty when they go astray.

Ask yourself the following questions to determine if you may be headed in the direction of orthorexia. These are from the National Eating Disorders Association.

• Do you wish that occasionally you could just eat and not worry about food quality?
• Do you ever wish you could spend less time on food and more time on living and loving?
• Does it sound beyond your ability to eat a meal prepared with love by someone else ? one single meal ? and not ?try to control what is served?
• Are you constantly looking for the ways foods are unhealthy for you?
• Do love, joy, play and creativity take a backseat to having the perfect diet?
• Do you feel guilt or self-loathing when you stray from your diet?
• Do you feel in control when you eat the correct diet?
• Have you positioned yourself on a nutritional pedestal and wonder how others can possibly eat the food they eat?

If you think you might have a disordered eating pattern or orthorexia, seek help from a mental health professional or registered dietitian specializing in eating disorders.

Source: http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org

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