Binge Eating is sometimes called Bulimia Nervosa, but they are actually two different things with one connection. Both are thought to be a form of depression. Both are characterized by uncontrollable eating. The difference is that with Binge Eating the sufferer suffers through the uncomfortably full stomach, where in Bulimia Nervosa the sufferer tries to get rid of that feeling through one or more purging techniques. Because the Binge Eater doesn’t purge they tend to gain more weight than those that do. They also tend to like themselves less. This is because they blame themselves for the binging episodes, thinking that it is a lack of will power on their part that they can’t control the secretive emotional eating. Nutritionists are finding that it isn’t will power, but possibly vitamins and minerals they are lacking.
Because this is a form of depression it occurs more in the winter months than during the summer. I would suspect it is also in more northern states than southern states. It is more common with people who have been diagnosed with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) than those who don’t suffer with this condition. This thought brings me to my first clue of something you can do for yourself, get more Vitamin D. Since Vitamin D is showing more and more promise in preventing a myriad of illnesses, and is not showing any interference with medications it seems like a logical first place to start.
Another common theme between Binge Eating and depression is the common occurrence of deficiencies in both vitamins and minerals. The B vitamins are singled out more often than others as being deficient in people with Binge Eating. Severe B deficiencies can be seen on the tongue, it becomes smooth instead of its usual rough appearance. Unfortunately the deficiencies can affect you long before they become evident on the tongue. All the books recommend supplementing with the B vitamins. Enriching Gifts Complete Vitamins Plus contains all the B vitamins, in balanced amounts with the other nutrients. If you feel an episode of binging coming on you might want to reach for an Essential Source Vitamin B12 Strip. This can boost your level of B12 enough to possibly ward off an episode. Most Americans are horribly deficient in B12, especially those that are getting older. This is because they have problems digesting B12. Since the Essential Source Vitamin B12 Strips dissolve in your mouth and are absorbed through the mouth tissue you bypass this problem. You also bypass it with the Enriching Gifts Complete Vitamins Plus because they contain just enough of the Enriching Gifts Plant Enzymes to ensure digestion and absorption of the vitamins.
Any time a problem can be traced to nutritional deficiencies my first thought is to increase the amount of Enriching Gifts Plant Enzymes you are taking. This is because we are not designed to create all the enzymes needed to digest every meal. Part of the enzymes needed are supposed to come from the food itself. With the modern growing, shipping, storage, and processing methods we are not getting the same amounts of enzymes from our foods that our ancestors did. Problems increase with age because our capacity to produce enzymes decreases with age. No wonder most 80 year olds tend to look weak and frail, they aren’t getting any nutrition from their food. By supplementing with Enriching Gifts Plant Enzymes you ensure you are getting the full nutritional benefit of everything you eat, not just the calories. This doesn’t mean you can eat junk food all the time. You will still get the full nutritional value, but how much value was in it in the first place?
Like other forms of depression there are still other things you can do for Binge Eating. Light therapy has been shown to be very useful. Exercise and relaxation techniques have also been shown to help. St. John’s Wort and Ginkgo seem to be the most often suggested herbs. Distraction has been proven to be helpful to many. When you feel like eating just for the sake of eating call a friend, put on your walking shoes, anything that will get you away from the source of the food. Things that are mild forms of exercise will probably work better than turning on the television. A supplement called 5-hydroxytryptophan or 5-HTP has been shown to be helpful to many people. It can be found at most health food stores. A good counselor that can help you work through some of the emotional triggers could also be very helpful. If you aren’t comfortable talking with someone else, investigate EFT as a way of dealing with those emotions by yourself.
Like other forms of depression Binge Eating is not something to simply live with. Depression has been shown time and again to lower your immune system. This sets you up for all sorts of diseases, from shingles to cancer to heart disease. If you realize your eating patterns tend to be faster than normal, eating until you are uncomfortably full, eating large quantities when you aren’t hungry, eating alone or in secret, or having feelings of disgust or self loathing after eating consider that you might have a problem, and take steps to correct it.
Later this month I will be speaking at the Fat Disorders Research Society conference. Any information on this or other dietary issues that I learn I will be bringing to you in future newsletters.
Sources:
Nature’s Medicines by Gale Maleskey and the Editors of Prevention Health Books, copyright 1999 by Rodale Inc.
The Herbal Drugstore by Linda B. White MD and Steven Foster, copyright 2000 by Rodale Press
Blended Medicine Combining Mainstream and Alternative Therapies by Michael Castleman copyrighted 2000 by Michael Castleman.
Smart Choices in Alternative Medicine by Samuel Benjamin, M.D. copyrighted 1999 by Meredith Corporation.
Enzymes the Fountain of Life by D.A Lopez, M.D., R.M Williams, M.D., Ph.D and K. Miehlke, M.D. copyrighted 1994 by the Neville Press Inc.
Understanding Normal and Clinical Nutrition, Fifth Edition by Eleanor Noss Whitney, Corinne Balog Cataldo and Sharon Rady Rolfes. Copyrighted 1998 by Wadsworth Publishing Company.
