Scrutinizing the way you eat is a good thing. Wondering where your food comes from and how it's produced is a good thing too. Filling up on fresh, wholesome, food is an excellent way to get the nutrients you need and maintain your weight. But when concern over food issues goes too far, it can actually be detrimental to your health.

Orthorexia is defined as an "obsession with healthy or righteous eating". An orthorexic may spend hours thinking and planning their next meal, whether it be organic, raw, macrobiotic, etc. They may become agitated when faced with a situation where they don't have control over what's being served. When they do break and eat something off-plan, they may feel like their bodies are being poisoned by the offending food.

It's not clear whether orthorexia should be categorized as an eating disorder or a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, but either way, orthorexics can put their health at risk by severely limiting the nutrients in their diet. As eating foods that are not conventionally processed becomes more of a mainstream behavior, health experts are seeing more cases of orthorexia cropping up, especially among celebrities.

How much do you obsess about what you eat? Has it ever become a problem for you?

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We all have habits and routines that comfort us in different areas of life, and physical fitness is no exception. Some people have certain pieces of equipment they like to use, certain clothes they like to wear, and a certain order they like to do things in. But when do these particular little quirks and preferences become full-fledged OCD? It's really only a problem if they get so bad they start to interfere with life by taking up excessive amounts of time, causing marital stress, or costing money, say experts. Routines are "A okay" for the most part, but remember that so is a little flexibility now and then.

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Nail biting is a common symptom of stress among children and adolescents, as well as a frequent manifestation of obsessive-compulsive disorder. A Dutch therapist thinks he has the solution and has successfully treated about 150 customers with a method that includes a mouth guard that inhibits biting. The guard can be removed to eat. He says his treatment program is so successful that he's added manicurists' chairs to his office to help his clients bring their newly growing nails back to health. At about $670 U.S., I think I'd appreciate a manicure along with my treatment!

All kidding aside, obsessive nail biting can be a socially isolating problem. If you think your habit isn't bad enough to commit to therapy, check out these DIY tips for quitting your nail biting habit.

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A joke among some friends of mine is that everyone has obsessive-compulsive disorder in some fashion. It may manifest itself in many different ways, according to popular water-cooler discussion.

Are any of them of particular concern, though? Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been a buzzword in the psychiatric field for some time now, and CBT is no being considered as a treatment to cases of OCD.

So, if you've been diagnosed with OCD and treatments haven't performed as you'd like, you may want to inquire into CBT treatment with your mental health care provider.

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