September Health Column
Food Cravings And The Different Eating Disorders
Food is an inherent and very vital part of our lives. Though it may not be the primary requirement for sustaining life, food is definitely a highly vital requirement for maintaining life. We depend on the food we eat to get energy for the wide variety of activities we do in our daily life.
Though all of us eat food, the aim of eating food differs a lot amongst us. The majority of the population eats food to fill their tummies and to satisfy their hunger pangs. Such people eat only to live, but there are few people who live to eat. They eat even if not hungry and even if they do not need any nourishment. They simply are at the mercy of their taste buds and want to eat food simply because it tastes good or are their favorite foods. Only very little amount of people eat according to the needs of their body. Food is required by the body only in limited and proportionate amounts. Diet should be nutritious and balanced in order to provide beneficial effects to the body.
When does food craving turn in to an Eating disorder? Well, any activity when turning in to an uncontrolled or unlimited event can become harmful and problematic. When food is misused as a tool to deal with problems other than hunger, it starts to slowly progress in to an Eating disorder. People with eating disorders can crave for certain foods like chocolates, cakes, ice-creams or any of their favorite food to comfort them when they go through some emotional turmoil.
Eating disorders cannot be pin-pointed to a single cause. A variety of factors like psychological causes, stress, issues with self-esteem, inability to cope with pressure, worry, emotional shock, chronic illness, sexual or emotional abuse etc can all lead to the development of an eating disorder.
Eating disorders usually are seen between 12 and 25 years of age and is more common in women. There is no specific predilection for any race, culture or ethnicity. There are various Eating disorders but Anorexia nervosa and Bulimia are the most commonly occurring among them.
Anorexia nervosa is a type of eating disorder where the person affected develops a phobia or fear of eating too much food. They feel that they are grossly overweight and have eaten too much, which can aggravate their weight issues. Due to this phobia, they avoid eating proper meals, and may even induce forced vomiting to empty their stomachs. Prolonged abstinence from adequate food progressively leads to extreme loss of weight, anemia, hormonal imbalance, loss of bone mass and osteoporosis etc.
Bulimia nervosa is another kind of eating disorder where the person has a tendency to indulge in repeated episodes of binge eating. These binges usually coincide with mood swings, emotional upheavals, mental upsets etc. The patient cannot control the desire to binge and can eat huge quantities of food during the binge episodes. Finally when the episode has ended, the patient may feel guilty and try to induce vomiting. Such alternate binging and vomiting can bring on many problems like dryness of skin and mouth, bad breath, great variations in the body weight, constipation, and lack of desire for sex, hormonal imbalances and development of cardiovascular and other disorders of internal organs.
Food cravings and Eating disorders are a major health issue and need professional help to overcome them.
Copyright: © Daniel Miller. Posted on July 31, 2010
This article is for informational purposes only. Do not start or change your diet or start any exercise program without first consulting your doctor.
