Health Articles

Compulsive eating is a form of eating disorder where people are addicted to food and turn to food to overcome unresolved emotional trauma.

Compulsive overeating may have its beginning in the early childhood years when the child unknowingly turned to food for comfort. Compulsive eaters lack the ability to stop eating when they have consumed enough. They may spend hours eating compulsively and may have more than one eating ‘episode’ in a day.

Fortunately, it is possible to treat compulsive overeating completely. The treatment approach consists of medical, psychological and nutritional assistance.

The pharmacological treatment for compulsive eating consists of antidepressants primarily. In some cases, psychological treatment is also provided in the form of behavioral and interpersonal therapy. In the long term, this therapy can help build the self confidence of sufferers.

Another important part of the treatment of compulsive overeating involves understanding the nutritional requirements of the body so that sufferers can supply these needs in the appropriate manner. Ongoing nutritional counseling develops a proper plan for eating well and ensures that the patient is following this plan religiously.

Behavior modification lies at the heart of the treatment of compulsive eating.

Some helpful techniques include:

- The regular maintenance of a food diary

- Developing habits that make it easy to be more disciplined about food (like eating food in one place, eating at the same time etc)

- Abstaining from storing problem foods

- Avoiding eating when alone

- Shopping for groceries when you are not hungry

- Trying to find other outlets for emotional issues than compulsive eating

- Setting small achievable goals and be patient with yourself while you get there

- Rewarding yourself – but not with food

The treatment for compulsive eating takes some time. Even after a patient has been completely cured, there might be times when stress and pain can push them towards taking comfort in food. But, constant awareness of underlying problems and complete dedication to the cause of overcoming compulsive eating can help patients overcome compulsive overeating and live a joyful life.

I wanted to talk to you about the problems caused by snoring because I don’t think people really address this enough. Since people really don’t understand the problems they don’t want to fix anything. This is why people can go their entire lives doing this. It really isn’t that hard to fix, but you have to be motivated to do it. I guess without the education on the subject than you’ll never have that overall motivation, which you see for other problems like weight loss. At least with weight loss people know why they should fix the problem. Even if they fail, they still try.

Shallow Sleeping: This is a huge problem for a lot of people. Have you ever went to bed and got a full 9 hours of sleep, but were still tired in the morning? This is probably due to your shallow sleeping. The sleep that helps with tired feelings comes from deep sleep. You can’t get into this deep sleep when you’re making loud noises all night. You also can’t forget that the rumbling in the throat is a vibration that resonates into your head. This only makes it more difficult to get meaningful sleep.

Marital Problems: I think this is one thing that people often miss out on. You’re going to have your spouse in the bed next to you each night and they’re going to hear your snoring all night long. They’re going to get a lot less sleep. At least when you’re snoring, you’re asleep when it happens. They have to fall asleep and it is difficult. This leaves a person in a frustrated and stressed out state all the time. This will put strains on any relationship.

Read more about sleep disorders.

Bulimia nervosa is obsessive compulsive disorder of eating. The person suffering from this disorder has the tendency to consume big amount of food in a short span of time. Research says – the individual who is suffering from bulimia problem can eat much more than 3,000 calories in an hour.

Normally, bulimia starts at adolescence age and typically can be seen in women; it’s never mean that men are untouched from this disorder. Men also suffer from this disorder but comparatively in lesser number. The intensity of this disorder obsesses the individuals to be compulsive for the food. Resultantly, individuals loose their control and start eating. If it not get cured on time, its consequences could be dangerous enough to cause life-threatening troubles like heart damage and injury of digestive system. The other severe problems are anxiety disorders, kidney damage, and dental problems.

In addition, this disorder also forces individuals to indulge themselves into self-destructive behaviors like kleptomania, alcohol/drug abuse, sexual promiscuity, and self-mutilation.

The causes of bulimia are yet unknown to physicians and researchers. However, the probable causes are:

• The person who is already suffering from anxiety or other obsessive compulsive disorder.
• Has low self-esteem.
• If the person has not healthy relationship with his/her family members.
• It might be heretical.
• Sometimes, culture also causes bulimia.

Bulimia symptoms are viz:

• Consume excessive food in short period of time.
• Excessive care if body weight and shape.
• Tendency to purging (self induced vomiting) immediately after intake of food by taking enemas or by abusing laxatives. And, it causes dehydration.
• Self-criticism; unhappy mood; feelings of embarrassment and guilt during and after bingeing and purging.
• An acute fear of becoming fatty.
• Too much exercise or fasting.
• Kidney problems and tooth decay.

The person who is suffering from bulimia has no need to bother about it because there are many bulimia treatment centers running useful bulimia treatment program. Many people get cured and again re-started their healthy lives.

The objective of bulimia treatment is to lessen or abolish binge eating and purging tendency. Hence, as soon as individuals identify the bulimia symptoms, they should immediately get in touch with bulimia treatment center. Bulimia treatment center provides comprehensive medical care by monitoring the all activities of patients.
However, bulimia treatment program exclusively designed in such a way that it:

• Counsels the patients to diagnose the problems properly
• Assists in restoring the lost weight
• Control the behaviors of excessive eating, dieting, and purging
• Provides long term bulimia treatment for full recovery
• Bulimia treatment program also takes care of the other disorder associated with bulimia nervosa.

Moreover, the bulimia nervosa, disorder of excessive eating can be easily diagnosed and cured by proper identification of problems. Bulimia treatment center has well established program for the treatment of bulimia patients. Above all, psychotherapy helps patients to regain the lost self-esteem and correct the distorted behaviors.

Eating disorders

Fast food consumption today has reached an all time high. There are several reasons for it popularity. North Americans live a fast paced lifestyle and are often looking for a satisfying meal that is quick and convenient. Fast food is usually served immediately or within a few minutes and restaurants are only moments away.

There is another reason that these restaurants are so popular. Foods offered are high in unhealthy fats, carbohydrates and sugars which are very addictive with unpleasant side effects when consumed regularly. Regular consumers find that after a meal they experience unpleasant symptoms such as depression and foul moods that won’t subside until they go back for more.

Most fast food addicts would love to discover that fast food helps shed pounds, increases energy and promotes long life. The truth is that it is so toxic that it cannot be considered a source of nutrition. Most people today consider fast food to be unhealthy but what most people do not realize is how dangerous it really is. It is the leading cause of obesity in North America which is closely linked to heart disease, stroke and cancer.

Thirty percent of North American children are obese today, which is a rise of fifty percent in the last twenty years. With the high availability of these foods and super sizes, kids are eating mostly unhealthy foods and eating too much of it. Eating a diet that primarily consists of empty nutrient, calorie dense food also effects behavior and intelligence.
A detailed article that describes the different types of eating disorders, symptoms, and treatments.
One North American school concerned with the behavior problems and lack of academic achievement among student decided to remove fast food from the cafeteria and vending machines and provide only nutritious foods to see what impact it might have on the students. The change was remarkable. Those students that regularly ate in the cafeteria experienced a significant decrease in behavioral problems and increase in academic performance.

Fast food is loaded with carcinogens, contains toxins created from reused and reheated oils, it is calorie dense, low in nutrients and is the principle source of trans fatty acids. Trans fatty acids are man made fats which are more toxic to human health than saturated fats. An intake as low as one percent of total daily calories is considered to be a high risk for heart disease.

Many restaurants are working hard to satisfy public demand for healthier food choices. If fast food is a necessary part of your life, exploring these menu options may be the easiest and most effective method of breaking the habit.

Several gastrointestinal immune-mediated disorders have been described. Food-induced enterocolitis, generally associated with ingestion of cow milk or soy-based formula, has its onset between 1 week and 3 months of age, with vomiting and diarrhea severe enough to produce dehydration. Stools contain gross or occult blood and often are watery and positive for carbohydrate (reducing substances). When diarrhea contains gross or occult blood only and pathology is limited to the distal bowel, the condition is defined as food-induced colitis. Both syndromes improve within 72 hours of eliminating the allergen. Malabsorption syndromes have been described secondary to ingestion of cow milk, soy-based products, egg, and wheat. These patients have patchy intestinal villous atrophy when biopsied. The more extensive malabsorption enteropathy with total villous atrophy (often called celiac syndrome) is associated with sensitivity to gliadin, a component of gluten. Allergic eosinophilic gastroenteropathy syndrome can affect children and presents with postprandial nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and steatorrhea. Affected patients may have elevated serum IgE levels, positive skin tests, peripheral eosinophilia, iron deficiency anemia, hypoalbuminemia, and a specific food allergy.

The natural history of food allergy in children varies from patient to patient, and food allergies are not always life-long. Studies have shown loss of gastrointestinal food allergy in 1 to 3 years among one third of children, even though results of skin tests and RASTs may not change. The likelihood of losing a food allergy depends on the food that provokes the symptoms and the degree to which the patient maintains the allergen elimination diet. Allergy to peanuts, tree nuts, and fish and seafood appear to be more long-lasting than allergy to milk,soy, and egg.

Colon disorders are usually coincided with stomach cramps, diarrhea, indigestion, flatulence, bloating, constipation, hair loss, slow healing of skin lesions and wounds, depression, lack of concentration, anemia (iron shortage), weak nails, lethargy and general bad health. Candid Albicans, yeast infections, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and various other indigestion disorders are often also related to colon parasites.

The skin appears sallow and coincides with a poor complexion. Acne is most prevalent on the forehead, chin and neck areas.

The reason that colon disorders cause all of these symptoms is in truth very simple, if only understood and treated correctly. Should a colon disorder be left untreated, the repercussions are rather dire and sad, simultaneously.

Many physicians will not agree with these symptoms and treatments that I am about to discuss; but in the 15 years that I have been involved with treating skin disorders, colon disorders have been the main cause of acne, eczema and many other skin disorders.

I will try to explain this as simply as possible, since it is extremely important for overall health and disease prevention; especially acne, cancer, bone degeneration and diabetes.

The body needs to rid itself of unwanted toxins and excessive food intake on a daily basis; it was designed to do this naturally. The lymphatic system of the body does this automatically (part of the venous system) and also the colon. What goes wrong, though, is the colon may become blocked and unable to relieve the body of toxins. The first signs are usually the stomach cramps, acne and lethargy. What actually happens is that the colon is not able to absorb the nutrients in its naturally designed way, due to blockages or parasites.

Parasites are very easily contracted, since the cross infection is by mouth. Parasites thrive on sugars, starch and acidic foods. Once the parasites lodge themselves to the wall of the colon and start to grow, due to the starch and food given, they tend to cause a blockage inside of the colon; which is what causes the extremely uncomfortable and painful cramps. What exacerbates the condition is the ingestion of whole wheat bread, baked muesli, seeds or anything hard to digest. These seeds tend to get lodged in the parasites and start to swell and ferment; hence the flatulence, constipation and uncomfortable feeling.

Why this disorder then causes acne is quite simple. Since the body is not able to rid itself of unwanted toxins, the toxins remain in the body and tend to show up as a skin disorder. Fermentation causes acid build up; also a cause of acne, as stated before. Further, the seeds lodged inside of the colon wall may also cause a rupturing of the actual intestinal wall; which will cause the toxins to enter the body itself. The disorder is extremely dangerous in general and is the cause of many illnesses, unbeknown the victim.

CHORIONIC VILLUS SAMPLING
Indications for CVS are essentially the same as those for amniocentesis, except for analyses that require amniotic fluid rather than amniotic fluid cells. The primary advantage of CVS is that results are available much earlier in pregnancy, which decreases parental anxiety when results are normal and, when they are abnormal, allows earlier and safer methods of pregnancy termination. Earlier diagnosis may also be required for prenatal treatment (eg, prevention of female virilization in fetuses affected with 21-hydroxylase deficiency by administration of dexamethasone to the mother). Chorionic villus sampling is generally performed at 9-12 weeks of gestation. Before CVS is performed, fetal viability and gestational age should be confirmed by ultrasonography.

Placental villi may be obtained through transcervical, transabdominal, and transvaginal access to the placenta. Active infection is a contraindication to transcervical CVS. Later in pregnancy, when a fetal malformation or IUGR is associated with severe oligohydramnios, transabdominal CVS is an alternative method of invasive sampling.

There have been three major collaborative studies comparing CVS and amniocentesis. Trials at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and in Canada had similar results, with more than 99% cytogenetic analysis success and total pregnancy loss rates of 0.6-0.8% in excess of amniocentesis. There is probably a slightly higher risk of pregnancy loss from CVS than from amniocentesis, especially with the transcervical approach.

PERCUTANEOUS UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD SAMPLING

Percutaneous umbilical cord blood sampling is also known as cordocentesis. During cordocentesis, the umbilical vein is punctured and blood is withdrawn under ultrasound guidance. Cordocentesis has also been used to obtain fetal blood cells for prenatal diagnosis when a rapid diagnosis is important. For example, the PUBS technique can be performed when a fetal malformation or severe IUGR is detected late in pregnancy. A procedure-related pregnancy loss rate of 1.4% has been reported.

FETOSCOPIC TISSUE SAMPLING

Some conditions not diagnosable by conventional means of invasive prenatal diagnostic testing may be detected by fetal tissue sampling. Fetal tissue sampling can be performed either by fetoscopy, with its rather high (1-3%) procedure-related pregnancy loss rate, or by ultrasound-guided biopsy. Other procedures include fetal skin sampling for the diagnosis of epidermolysis bullosa and congenital ichthyosis and fetal liver biopsy to detect certain hepatic enzyme deficiencies.