Overeating and excessive dieting both increase a woman’s health risks, but the effects become more life-threatening when preoccupation turns to disorder.
What Are Eating Disorders?
Eating disorders are a range of illnesses characterized by psychological and behavioral disturbances associated with food and weight. The two main eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. There are many physical problems associated with the profound weight loss, self-induced vomiting and laxative abuse found in these illnesses, which can lead to severe, sometimes life-threatening, complications.
What Is Anorexia Nervosa?
Although associated in many people’s minds with adolescent girls, anorexia can occur at any age and in both sexes, though ten times as many women are affected as men. The main feature of anorexia nervosa is weight loss. Some people achieve this purely by restricting their food intake, while others use extra means of weight control, such as self-induced vomiting and abuse of laxatives and diuretics (drugs that increase the amount of urine passed). Excessive exercising can also be used. Some people with anorexia also binge eat.
What Are Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating?
Again more women than men suffer from these disorders. People with bulimia can often be of normal weight, but can also be under- or overweight.
Bulimia is characterized by binge eating. Excessive amounts of food are consumed, associated with a sense of loss of control. Bingeing often follows a period of dietary restraint, and this can lead to the establishment of a vicious circle in which bingeing is followed by further efforts at restraint. The bulimic feels intense guilt, which can often only be overcome by vomiting, use of laxatives and starvation. Bulimia is sometimes associated with other impulsive behaviors such as alcohol and drug abuse, repeated self-harm and stealing.
Learning about healthy eating can help with eating disorders; so do write for a free copy of my Healthy Eating Guide to [email protected]
Recipe of the Week
Spinach Fettuccine With Artichokes
Serves 6
Ingredients
450 g spinach fettuccine
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 400g cans artichokes, cut into 2 cm lengths
1 cup chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned
salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tbsp chopped parsley
Method
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to boil. Add fettuccine and cook until al dente. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add artichokes and tomatoes, season with salt, pepper, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Drain the fettuccine, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Return fettuccine to the pot and toss with 1/2 the Parmesan cheese and the reserved cooking liquid. Add the artichoke mixture and toss again. Divide fettuccine among 4 warm bowls and garnish with the remaining Parmesan cheese and parsley. Serve immediately.
Ask Alva
There is some controversy about water. How much water should be taken, hot or cold? Drinking too much water leads to increase in weight etc. a friend of mine is hospitalized for “oedema” — water retention. What is this? Is it due to drinking too much water? Is it ok to drink water during meals or it should be taken only before or after meals? Ram
Oedema is the excessive accumulation of fluid in the body, commonly known as dropsy. The resultant swelling may be local, as with an injury or inflammation, or more general as in heart or kidney failure. Oedema may results from heart or kidney failure, cirrhosis of the liver, acute nephritis, starvation, allergy or drugs. In such cases kidneys can usually be stimulated to get rid of the excess fluid by the administration of diuretic drugs. So you can rest assured that drinking too much water cannot be the cause of your friend’s affliction. As for whether you drink water hot or cold, that is a matter of personal preference. However, there is an argument that drinking cold water will better stimulate the metabolism. Many people who want to control their eating habits drink a large glass of water before a meal, as it can help fool the stomach into believing it is already full. Alva
For all your weight concerns and questions e-mail Alva Carpenter at:
Selected letters will be replied to in this column.