Binge Eating
“People who binge eat will eat more than other people do during a short period of time, and will lose control of their eating during these episodes.
Binge eating is often accompanied by depression, shame, weight gain, loss of self-esteem. “Our studies show that recurrent binge eating can be successfully treated.
Individuals who develop this disorder often come from families who put an unnatural emphasis on the importance of food. For example, these families may use food as a source of comfort in times of emotional distress. As children, they may have been taught to clean their plates regardless of their appetite, or to be a good girl or boy and finish all of the meal. Cultural attitudes towards beauty and thinness may also be a factor.
During binge episodes, they can experience a definite sense of lost control over their eating. They eat quickly and to the point of discomfort, even if they aren’t hungry. They typically binge alone two or more times a week, and often feel depressed and guilty when the episode is over.
Binge Eating is considered a separate, distinct eating disorder like bulimia and anorexia.
Anorexia Nervosa which is characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss. A person suffering from this disorder always feels scared of gaining a lot of weight even though they are already very thin in reality. They only eat tiny amounts of low-calorie food, or you may never see them eating at all. When they do eat they like cutting up already small bits of food smaller and play with their food a lot by moving it around their plate before eating it.
Accordingly, eating disorders identified that this disorder tends to affect mainly teenage girls but c
an also affect men.
Anorexia Nervosa should be dealt with care, since it is serious and sometimes even fatal. About half of the people with anorexia who have hospital treatment still struggle with the disorder and have symptoms for a long time afterwards. Some symptoms of anorexia nervosa include: extreme concern with body weight and shape, intense fear of weight gain, feeling fat despite dramatic weight loss, loss of menstrual periods for females, refusal to maintain normal body weight.
Bulimia Nervosa. This is characterized by a secretive cycle of bing eating followed by purging. Bulimia includes eating large amounts of food which is more than most people would eat in one meal and in just short periods of time, then getting rid of the food and calories through either self-induced vomiting, laxative and diuretic abuse, strict dieting or fasting, and vigorous exercise.
People with bulimia tend to suffer from an unnatural preoccupation with their own body and same with anorexic patients’ they also have fear of gaining weight. Individuals who suffer from bulimia will eat huge amount of food in an attempt to reduce stress and help them deal with feelings of anxiety.
Therapy helps normalize this pattern. When faced with situations for the first time it is natural to stumble as we learn. In particular, when a youth stumbles, their self worth is so easily challenged.. What they need is a workable philosophy.
The initial treatment is to teach the patient to gain control over his or her eating behavior by focusing on eating regular meals and importantly, avoiding snacking. Cognitive behavioral therapy, group therapy, or interpersonal psychotherapy may be used to uncover the emotional motives, distorted thinking, and behavioral patterns behind the binge eating.
In today’s society, weight gain is now not solely attributed to unhealthy eating habits, our website gives you numerous reasons why the body is gaining. All too often overweight people start to feel guilty, self esteem plummets, etc., etc., and it is not necessarily because they are eating badly, may other factors can cause weight gain.
Those who are overweight need to be encouraged to start on a moderate exercise program, simply because it will stimulate the body’s metabolism, as well as stimulating every other cell and organ in the body.
Nutrition is important and improving on healthy food choices, however most importantly, a complete check up to find what minerals or vitamins the body is depleted in, because part of, or in some cases, most of the reason for the weight increase will be in some way related to a deficiency.
Initial treatment may focus on curbing the depression that is a characteristic feature of Binge Eating. We recommend minerals and vitamins (refer to our website for more information on the benefits of these) and Cranio-Sacral treatment by a good Therapist should locate the cause and often there is crucial restrictions since birth that may be part of the cause, once released the body will work differently. Reiki also helps to release the emotional traumas associated with this problem.
There are some herbal remedies to ease the symptoms of depression which may include damiana (Turnera diffusa ), ginseng (Panax ginseng ), kola (Cola nitida ), lady’s slipper (Cypripedium calceolus ), lavender (Lavandula angustifolia ), lime
blossom (Tilia x vulgaris ), oats (Avena sativa ), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis ), skullcap (Scutellaria laterifolia ), St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum ), valerian (Valeriana officinalis ), and vervain (Verbena officinalis ).
Binge-eating episodes that appear to be triggered by stress may be curbed by educating the patient in relaxation exercises and techniques, including aromatherapy , breathing exercises, biofeedback, music therapy, yoga , and massage.
Herbs known as adaptogens may also be prescribed by an herbalist or holistic healthcare professional. These herbs are thought to promote adaptability to stress, and include Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus ), ginseng (Panax ginseng ), wild yam (Dioscorea villosa ), borage (Borago officinalis ), licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra ), chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile ), and nettles (Urtica dioica ). Tonics of skullcap (Scutellaria lateriafolia ), and oats (Avena sativa ), may also be recommended to ease anxiety .
A Quote from a Binge Eater :
“I would be left in pieces after a binge – wishing for death and feeling alone, worthless, hopeless and with NO self-esteem. I hated life and despised God who I feel had abandoned me to suffer. Imagine! I had deceived myself into thinking that I did not care, which only served to increase the damage. Yes, once in the grips of a binge, we are in severe danger. It is unpredictable and highly-destructive.“
Weight Problems or Obesity
(See more information on this in our website Benefits of Magnesium – Obesity and Diabetes)
You have tried everything, diets, exercise and nothing has worked!! or……
you have lost weight with a diet regime and as soon as you LOOK at food you start to put on weight again…..and end up heavier than when you started…..I have tried, I don’t know what to do…….HELP !!
Unless you nourish your body correctly and “not go for quick wacky ways of losing weight”, your battle will continue. Your body is your temple, and the most important vehicle you will EVER have to move around and LIVE IN during this life on earth.
It takes time for the body to recognize that you have eaten and for the feeling of hunger to go away. Eating too quickly may cause you to eat more food over the same period of time as eating slowing and allowing your body to feel “full”.
Regardless of what you have done with your body over the years, it is very forgiving and WILL become better with your better management of it
If you do any of the following – you may be heading down the wrong path to good health and a trimmer body :
- Cook in a microwave
- Don’t have enough sleep at night
- Eat and drink a lot of dairy products
- Drink diet drinks or energy drinks
- Use Saccharine in drinks
- Eat a lot of Bread, rolls and cakes
- Eat a lot of Pasta
- Buy takeaways regularly
- Buy pack foods to cook at home
- Use sauces on all your foods
- Smoke and drink a lot of Alcohol
- Take drugs, whether prescription or not
Have you Heard about Bisphenol-A (BPA) ?
A Closer Look at Obesity and BPA
Bisphenol-a (BPA) is the estrogen-mimicking chemical found in plastics and other produce, then you probably know it isn’t safe. A study out of NYU School of Medicine links BPA to obesity.
Obese children are more likely to consume more BPA through canned foods and drinks, like soda.
We should remember, however, that the hormone-mimicking chemical is nearly ubiquitous, and 92 percent of Americans over age 6 carry detectable levels in their blood. You can get BPA and the equally dangerous sister chemical BPSexposure from any number of things, including:
- Plastic water bottles
- The inner lining of canned foods
- Paper money
- BPA-free receipts
There are numerous studies confirming that BPA and BPS are harmful chemicals linked to numerous conditions including diabetes and breast cancer.
There’s a reason Canada has already banned BPA as toxic, and the Food and Drug Administration finally banned BPA in baby bottles nationwide. America—especially consider recent debates over healthcare and personal responsibility—should not be the last to see it banned from its goods.
When a person has become overweight a number of things can happen. The main issues are that the body stops working as it should,
- the gut will be blocking up, and generally
- the Thymus and
- the Thyroid will stop functioning properly.
These three things are crucial to loosing weight. Unless you correct this, you will start gaining weight again as soon as you go off any diet. Unfortunately when you start putting on the weight after dieting, you feel even more depressed than before the diet.
You are probably feeling defeated before you even start !!
Dr Arikian and Jean Rudd can kick start the Thymus and Thyroid and have the gut back in working order so when you do start eating normally the body will not scream at you that it is hungry, which is another distressing obstacle to deal with when going on a good diet.
We would then follow on from this by adding to your diet, vitamins, minerals, and possibly herbs, homeopathy. Introducing exercise will to help the body burn the excess weight and replenishes the oxygen in the system which will revitalize the cells in the body.
Cranio-Sacral Therapy and Reiki is an important step to helping the body cope with the stresses, emotional and physical, with the weight loss.
Another factor to take into account, if a person’s body is suffering pressure within its structure, the irritation within the body can lead to bad eating habits. Cranio-Sacral Therapy is amazing, and Reiki will also help greatly.
What is Obesity
It is a condition when body fats cells increased and causes a serious destruction of health. An average–sized person required 30 to 35 billion of fat cells for his body.
However, when a person becomes obese these fats cells, increase in size. If he continues his propensity of weight gaining, these cells increase in number.
When dieters starve themselves of calories, they starve their brain cells as well.
New research finds that these hungry brain cells then release “feed me” signals, which drive up hunger, slow down metabolism and thus cause diets to fail.
Neurons sense nutrients in the body and tell the body when it’s time to eat and time to stop eating. The point is …… dieters are not just starving themselves of calories, they are starving themselves of vital minerals and this comes on top of already existing mineral deficiencies that are characteristic of overweight and obese populations.
When a person starts loosing his weight these fat cells decrease in size, but the number of fat cells remain the same. That is why it is very difficult to lose weight once you gain it (normal size of fat cells is 0.4 to 0.6 microgram, it will shrink up to 0.1 microgram and it will enlarge up to 1.2 microgram).
Also, similar to any person with an addiction, the brain has been programmed by the binge eater or overweight/obese person, to eat. Because of this, like any person with an addiction, you have to also reprogram the brain.
Often, supplying the body with “good” and “healthy” nutrients, the body becomes more satisfied that it has received the nutrients it needs or has been craving for, which can calm the craving for food.
Leptin and Magnesium
The new fashion in obesity is to look at the role of leptin, but what we are going to do in this essay is look not just at leptin but also at the leptin-magnesium axis that speaks volumes more than looking at either of these substances alone.
High levels of leptin seem to be related to increased urinary magnesium loss in patients with type-1 diabetes.
Hypomagnesaemia and hyperleptinemia are common in patients with diabetes. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that leptin stimulates diuresis and natriuresis causing the urinary magnesium loss in type-1 diabetes. Human leptin is a protein of 167 amino acids. It is manufactured primarily in the adipocytes of white adipose tissue, and the level of circulating leptin is directly proportional to the total amount of fat in the body.
Magnesium makes dieting easier by supporting the brain’s sensitivity to leptin.
Magnesium’s benefits go on forever it seems. Now we have to get serious and introduce it to the world of diet, weight loss and the medical science of obesity and diabetes.
Studies have shown that leptin and magnesium both play significant if not primary roles in
- heart disease,
- obesity,
- diabetes,
- osteoporosis,
- autoimmune diseases,
- reproductive disorders,
- and perhaps the rate of aging itself.
Many chronic diseases are now linked to excess inflammation such as heart disease and diabetes. High leptin levels and low magnesium levels are extremely pro-inflammatory.
(See more information on this in our website Benefits of Magnesium – Obesity and Diabetes)
Causes of Obesity:
Few important reasons of obesity are as follows (for both men and women).
1. Family History
The genes you have inherited from your parents have strong effects on one’s weight. If parents are enduring from obesity, than their children have more chances to become obese. Genes that support obesity will naturally want to store fat.
Another problem can also be MONKEY SEE MONKEY DO – eating habits or physical activities of the parents, and the children are mostly going to do the same. Children copied the habits of their parents . Obesity becomes a family problem for most of the families.
2. Physical Activities
- People spend hours in front of TV, computer or just lazying around.
- Mostly job status can be a problem if it is related to continuous sitting in office and using computer or other new technology.
- Traveling in cars and instead of walking will inevitably show the calories intake is not getting used and is greater than the calories being burnt, thus causing the body to become overweight.
3. Age
As age increases, metabolic rate decreases. Therefore, it is required to take lesser food because when a person has a lesser metabolic rate and he eats too much then the result will be overweight.
4. Psychological Factors
Psychological factors like depression and anxiety causes overeating in some cases, by eating food they feel better, some drink alcohol, some start smoking to control their nerves, all these situation cause weight gain.
Alcohol slows the metabolism down and stops the body from burning the fat. If a person only has half a glass of wine, it will still show up in a blood test 4 days later. If you want to lose weight, don’t drink.
Smoking causes the body to become toxic which in turn will cause some of the organs in the body to become sluggish. Oxygen is vital for the body, by smoking every organ in the body is being effected because it is not getting the oxygen it needs which will cause the body to react in many different ways, depression is a common one. Most smokers think smoking will help them to lose weight, WRONG, it just adds to your problem.
The body works as a whole, if one part of the body is not functioning well then whole body is desperately trying to counteract for it.
5. Lack of sleep
People who sleep less are continuously facing the problem of depression, body/hormone imbalance and can be prone to obesity. Daily sleep of 7 to 8 hours refreshes the body and will be less likely to have problems with weight gain, as compared to those who sleep lesser hours per night or have interrupted sleeping patterns, then this causes serious problems throughout the body and of the likelihood of overeating because they are tired, thus prone to obesity.
6. Medicine
Certain medicines can cause serious side effects, and problems with weight gain, sometimes resulting in obesity. For example, medicines such as antidepressants slow the metabolism down. Steroids are inclined to cause weight gain as they alter the cells in the body. Drugs in general will have side effects of some kind, although they may be necessary to achieve a better balance in one area, the drugs tend to alter the general balance of the body’s normal functioning and change the body’s metabolism.
Effects of Obesity:
Obesity causes many serious problems and these are
- Reduce life expectancy; mortality rate of obese persons is greater than average-weight persons.
- Causes irregularity in menstrual
- Creates infertility in women.
- Creates heart diseases, when fat cells create blockages in the arteries or in heart it causes heart attack and other heart diseases. When blockage is created in the blood circulatory system, it also causes blood pressure problems, creates serious problems like blood clotting in brain (stroke in brain).
- Diabetes most problems arise due to the increase of fat cells, because the body’s insulin can not function properly and blood sugar problems arise. More than 85% of people with blood sugar problems are overweight.
Starving oneself is never an option to lose weight, the body will want to store the next lot of food you eat if you try starving it. Look closely at what you are eating and keep the “fresh is best” attitude to your daily eating habits. The slower you lose weight, the more likely you will keep it off.