Fad or phobia? Food experts chew over eating obsession

PARIS - People, it seems, have never been so afraid of their food - and, say some experts, an obsession with healthy eating may paradoxically be endangering lives.

Frenchwoman Sabrina Debusquat, 29, recounts how, over 18 months, she became a vegetarian, then a vegan - eschewing eggs, dairy products and even honey - before becoming a "raw foodist" who avoided all cooked foods, and ultimately decided to eat just fruit.

It was only when her worried boyfriend found clumps of her hair in the bathroom sink and confronted her with the evidence that she realized that she was on a downward path.