theagingofanorexia

Causes of Anorexia

I'm convinced there are multiple causes of anorexia – psychological, biological, even environmental causes. I know my sister exhibited every one they ever wrote about!

Here are some of the biological causes that research claims may cause eating disorders.

One study (Archives of General Psychiatry 2006; 63:305-312) claims that genetic factors account for more than half the risk of developing anorexia nervosa. We assume that, at least in part, we owe our personality and temperament to our genes. It also appears that some personality types, such as obsessive compulsive, are more vulnerable to eating disorders than others. Research also points out that genetic factors predispose some people to anxiety and perfectionism. These people also have more than there share of eating disorders.

In fact, people with a mother or sister who has anorexia nervosa are 12 times more likely than others with no family history of that disorder, to develop it.

Another piece of research (Journal of Biological Psychiatry; July 2005.) suggests that women who develop anorexia nervosa have excess activity in the brain's dopamine receptors which regulate pleasure. This explains why many feel driven to lose weight but don't feel good about it.

The fact that I think is particularly critical is that once a person starts to starve herself, that behavior in itself alters her brain chemistry and prolongs the disorder. Not eating enough can activate brain chemicals that produce feelings of euphoria negating any anxiety and depression. One theory is that people with eating disorders are using food to self-medicate painful feelings.

I have never thought about that possibility. Any comments?

To your best health.

Ruthan Brodsky

P.S. I am starting to host teleseminars and radio programs on staying healthy as you age. Let me know if you're interested and I'll forward the information about the calls back to you.

Anorexia Myths - 4 More Fallacies and Mistaken Beliefs

Anorexia is a condition that describes the behavior of someone who refuses to eat. It is a disease marked by the pathological fear of weight gain which leads to rapid or extreme weight loss. Victims with anorexia restrict or limit their food intake, as well as their behaviors in daily life that good beyond food and eating. For some, it implies an effort to resolve emotional problems through the misuse of food.

In my two posts for this blog I listed and described the first 10 myths, misconceptions and fallacies that we place on anorexia. Click here for the latest post on myths of anorexia.  Click here for the first post on myths about anorexia.Here are 3 more myths that I want to share with you.

11. A "natural" diet pill is a "safe" pill.

Too often we equate the word natural with healthy or safe. Advertisers use that word frequently and often misleadingly when it’s for a food product or supplement or cosmetic product. The truth is often distorted in these ads. Knowing that the primary predictor of an eating disorder is dieting, then the very act of dieting should be avoided. As for diet pills, I believe they can be very risky even for healthy people and everyone should avoid them. My advice: have a cup of coffee with a couple shots of espresso if you need a super charge. Of course, this advice doesn’t hold true for people with heart and circulation problems.

12. Exercise is good – and you can’t overdo a good thing.

Yes you can! You can overdo anything even a good thing! It is not uncommon for an anorexic to purge calories by exercising for long periods of time and even multiple times throughout the day. Excessive exercise can lead to stress fractures, chronic pain, curvature of the spine, osteoporosis, loss of menstrual cycle and even sudden death.

13. People with anorexia (and other eating disorders) are vain.

Victims of the disease may end up looking like those too thin supermodels, but believing that they look good is far from the truth. Anorexics are often disgusted at their bodies and hide their bodies under lose, over-sized clothes.

14. Anorexics are always very thin.

It’s not unusual to here someone who’s at normal weight say, "I’m not thin enough. How could I have an eating disorder?" A lot of overweight people and average people could be anorexic. You don’t have to be skeletal. Weight goes up and down and the eating disorder waxes and wanes in its severity. It’s the eating patterns and attitudes themselves that cause the most danger.

It’s important to keep in mind that an eating disorder usually exists with other things and isn’t just about weight. It’s about self-esteem and developing coping skills. The eating disorder is a way a patient has chosen to deal with those emotional issues. Anorexia is frequently accompanied by anxiety disorders, self-esteem issues, depression or substance abuse.

My challenge to you is to relate additional myths about anorexia. Share them myself and our readers.

Ruthan

Ruthan Brodsky provides content marketing and information products for health care professionals and entrepreneurs who want to expand their service and business.

www.theagingofanorexia.com www.theupsideofaging.com

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Anorexia Myths - Fallacies and Mistaken Beliefs

Some misunderstandings about anorexia are simple errors that are easily corrected. Others are more devious because they’re promoted by the person with the eating disorder who doesn’t want others to know about her eating disorder.

6. "Of course I don’t have an eating disorder problem. I’m not anorexic."

Some people struggling with this disease actually believe they are not ill. It is not unusual for some to be completely unaware of their problem and for others to do what ever they can to hide the condition.

7. Low carb diets are healthy.

Any diet that limits an entire group of foods should signal a warning. Any diet that emphasizes excessive consumption of one or two food groups should also be a warning. All foods, to some degree, fit into a healthy diet. Balance, variety and moderation is part of a healthy diet.

8. Laxatives prevent the absorption of calories.

Laxative abuse is common among people who have eating disorders. Some believe that by taking a laxative they can avoid the calories they’re eating. This just isn’t so. Laxatives work in the colon where there is no absorption of calories. Over use of laxatives depletes the body’s fluid balance so weight loss from laxatives generally means dehydration. This can damage the body and its ability to function from electrolyte imbalances and other medical complications. The colon can shut down permanently.

9. An eating disorder is a temporary way to lose weight.

No.. an eating disorder is a disease. It may start with dieting and then get out of control due to chemical changes it produces in the body. It can take over a person’s entire life because many become addicted to the behavior. Even when they know it may be harmful, they’re unable to stop limiting their caloric intake.

10. Fat free food is healthy.

Fat free food is neither healthy nor unhealthy. However, a low-fat or fat-free diet is not healthy. Fat is needed in the diet for the body and the brain to function well. The fact is daily healthy eating should include about 25% of calories from fat.

I hope the explanation of these fallacies and myths is helping you deal with who ever you may know that has an eating disorder. It’s important to understand what someone who is anorexic may be thinking to hide the condition. It’s also important for you to feel comfortable with what you know about the disease so that you can have a conversation about the disease without feeling anxious.

I have a few more myths about anorexia that I’ll cover in my next post.

To your well balance health.

Ruthan

Ruthan Brodsky provides content and information products for business and health care professionals who are marketing their services and products.

www.theagingofanorexia.com

www.upsideofaging.com

www.balanceyourhealth.com

5 Myths About Anorexia

Anorexia is a very serious disorder. Unfortunately, there are many misunderstandings connected with the disease sometimes making it difficult to diagnose and acknowledge the disease. Here are 5 common misconceptions about anorexia.

1.Individuals suffering from anorexia can be easily identified.

Extreme thinness is certainly the most obvious characteristic of anorexia. When the disease is advanced, the person will also have very dry skin, thinning, brittle hair, and bluish fingertips.

Keep in mind, however, everyone who is skinny is not anorexic. Thinness may be an inherited body type or the person could be going through some medical treatments.

2.We can count on physicians and other healthcare professionals to discover and diagnose anorexia.

That just doesn’t happen. Most physicians aren’t trained thoroughly in eating disorder issues so they’re not going to recognize them. Secondly, most don’t have time during an office visit to question the patient about the possibility. Third, even if they did question the patient, the chances are very good patients will lie about their eating habits because they don’t want to be discovered.

My sister was a master at lying about her food intake. At times she almost had me believing all her gastro problems. Her family certainly believed everything she said. She was good; her lies were very convincing.

3.Parents are the cause of their child’s eating disorder.

Not true. Three months before she died, and the word anorexia was finally acknowledged by family, my sister blamed my mother for her eating disorder; something about my mother criticizing the width of her hips. It certainly wasn’t my mother’s fault although what she said when my sister was in her 20s didn’t help. There are too many factors that contribute to the development of anorexia – peer pressure, media influence, and perfectionism. I suspect low self esteem was on the top of my sister’s list.

4.Only the rich and famous can afford to be anorexic.

Of course you know this isn’t true because none of you knew my sister! The rich and famous make headlines when they’re labeled as anorexics but it’s estimated that 10 million Americans struggle with the disease. And apparently anorexia is an equal-opportunity disorder – diverse cultures, religions, ethnic groups and socio-economic groups are represented.

5.A person who eats regularly doesn’t have anorexia.

Not necessarily so. Keep in mind that deception is an active part of life for anorexics. Often, anorexics will play with their food, push it around the plate, hide pieces in a napkin, feed food to the dog - anything rather than eat. The point is they are taking in a lot less calories than they require.

I’ll cover more myths in my next post.

In the in-between time let me know the misconceptions about anorexia that you see. Scroll down to Comments and describe them in the blank window.

To your healthy lifestyle,

Ruthan

www.theagingofanorexia.com

www.upsideofaging.com

www.balanceyourhealth.com

Ruthan Brodsky helps healthcare professionals market their services with content marketing.

Over 40 and Anorexic

Eating disorder experts believe that more than 10 percent of anorexics are over age 40.

Most cases of anorexia develop between the ages of 13 and 17 and rarely develop after age 20 states Michael Strober, PhD, director of the Eating Disorders Program at the Resnick UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital. Dr. Strober was recently interviewed and the event was transcribed on WebMD. Here are some of the answers he provided to questions from the audience.

Anorexia can be chronic and long term so that many people with anorexia have symptoms of the illness well into adulthood, even for decades. He believes that if the illness seems to take place after the age of 20 it probably showed milder symptoms during the teen years.

According to Strober the illness may have its ups and downs over the years. However, people who recover completely as teens, have few symptoms as adults and are at low risk for anorexia recurring. However, if they have mild symptoms that persist over time and then exposed to a major stressful life event, there is some risk of a relapse.

Adults who were anorexic as teens are also at higher risk for bulimia in adulthood. Close to 30% of people with anorexia develop binge eating.

Recovery is less likely for adults who have been ill for some time. Aggressive treatment is usually not used because it tends to lead to greater risks. The recommended approach is to stabilize the illness.

Body image concerns should not be equated with anorexia nervosa. Adult concerns with health, fitness and appearance represent very different phenomena than anorexia nervosa which is a serious psychiatric illness, involving an extreme irrational fear of normal body weight and dieting to the point of malnutrition.

AT UCLA we believe that treatment needs to be prolonged and continue on a daily basis until the person reaches a reasonable target weight range. Patients remain in intensive treatment until they demonstrate they can independently maintain their weight.

Information about the UCLA program is available by accessing the web at www.npi.ucla.edu

To your success for healthy living.

Ruthan Brodsky

www.balanceyourhealth.com

www.upsideofaging.com

Anorexia - Two More Myths

I’d like to continue on this myth theme; I think it will be helpful to many of us who have friends and family members on the cusp of eating disorders.

Myth #3

Another myth about eating disorders is that physicians and other healthcare professionals will discover and diagnose anorexia. I don’t think so. I think a hair dresser has a better chance because hair suffers when someone is sick or not eating right.

Besides, when you visited the doctor, how much actual face time did you have with him or her? It would be comforting to know that a doctor is going to pick up on the eating disorder, but it often doesn’t happen. First of all, many aren’t trained to diagnose eating disorders. They may not even inquire about the eating behavior. Secondly, the 3 or 4 people I know with eating disorders don’t respond honestly. My sister never did. I don’t think she was ashamed. I just think she didn’t want to give up her control.

Myth #4

On TV a few weeks ago I heard some announcer claim that skinny people are celebrities and part of the rich and famous. That’s not so either. I’ve been told that eating disorders are equal-opportunity disorders, found in every culture, religion and socio-economic group. For sure, the famous with eating disorders make the headlines but they’re not the only ones who suffer.

Myth #5

Another myth is to think that a person who eats regularly isn’t anorexic. They could be. They may take the food, play with the food, give it to the dog under the table, and somehow make it appear they’ve eaten a meal. The fact is they eat at such a slow rate that only a few calories are consumed.

Myth #6

Exercise is good; therefore lots of exercise is very good. What’s the saying? You can never be too rich or too thin. Well you can. There are a couple of women who I see that are on the treadmill twice a day for over an hour. They are burning up whatever few calories they took in. The problem is that when someone is thin, emaciated, they are prone to stress fractures, osteopenia and loss of menstrual cycle. Overdoing exercise just makes bad things worse.

The strange part is that some of the women I see exercising wear very lose clothes, hiding their thinness under over-sized sweatshirts.

If you can think of other mistakes we make when it comes to recognizing someone who may be anorexic, let me know and I’ll share it with our readers. You can e-mail me at ruthanb@balanceyourhealth.com or scroll down to comments and type in the box.

The best of weeks. Warm regards, Ruthan

Anorexia and Eating Disorders: Two Myths

Last night we had dinner with friends – another couple. I’ll call her Patty, (not her real name), had her gall bladder taken out about 9 months ago and was still feeling waves of nausea. She lost at least 15 pounds; maybe more.

She went through a series of tests and no one came up with any reason why she remains nauseous. But she does and often stops eating.

She said something quite interesting. She commented that on those days when she had almost nothing to eat she felt very powerful. "I didn’t need food. I was in control." Patty certainly isn’t skinny but she’s giving the same excuse – just a variation on a theme – that my sister did: a health condition was preventing her from eating. I am concerned.

One of the myths about anorexia or any eating disorder for that matter, is that people suffering from anorexia are easy to identify. That’s just not so. Patty would be very difficult to identify unless she becomes extraordinarily thin and anorexia is in its advanced states. Appearance isn’t always the primary characteristic of anorexia. Besides, many people hide their thinness by wearing baggy clothes and coats.

I also noticed Patty wasn’t eating anything that had fat on it. Granted fat-free food is healthy but our bodies need some fat so that our cells can regenerate. Fat is required for our brain to function efficiently. Something like 25 to 30% of our calorie intake should be fat.

I hope Patty figures out what she’s doing or that some of her friends confront her. I didn’t at that time but I believe I will say something when she returns from her travels. Traveling – another reason not to eat – the food isn’t safe or it’s not good. Oh boy. This is scary.

Warm regards, Ruthan

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