Eating Disorder Overview

An eating disorder is usually described as an extreme compulsion to eat, or to avoid eating, which has unhealthy affects. Although there are several types of eating disorders known to medicine, the most common trio is that comprised of bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa and the binge eating disorder. These three conditions manifest themselves differently and they have distinct causes and effects, but they are all equally dangerous to health and could even lead to death in more severe cases. Besides these three, there are several other eating disorders which are encountered less frequently or which have milder effects, hence they are not viewed as dangerous. These are hyperphagia, rumination, pica and a handful of others.

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is both an eating disorder and a psychiatric disorder at the same time. It is usually associated with body image distortion and is encountered more in young women than men. The captive idea that they need to carve their body to a "perfect" form leads individuals to extreme eating habits such as voluntary starvation, excessive exercise, taking diuretic drugs, taking diet pills, and so forth. These are all components of the anorexia nervosa eating disorder, and they may have extremely unhealthy effects on the stomach, esophagus and the entire digestive system.

The obsession with weight and appearance may itself be a disorder knows as Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD).

Bulimia Nervosa

Purging through vomiting, laxatives and the "chewing and spitting" method are usually related to bulimia rather than anorexia. Bulimia has similar psychological causes but the main idea behind it is to "trick" the body in the eating process. By eating an excessive amount of food, individuals get the pleasure of eating what they want without caring for the nutritional value of what they eat, and then by vomiting. The fat and calories from the food are eliminated. This process has two major negative aspects. By vomiting, dangerous acid forms up in the stomach and esophagus. Also, the body doesn't receive the required amount of vitamins, minerals and other nutritional elements from the food, mainly because the digestive system doesn't have time to extract them before they get purged.

So as you could see, in both these cases, an eating disorder is in 90% of the time triggered by psychological factors. The other 10% may include intolerance to some forms of food. For example, an individual may acquire a calcium eating disorder because of his lactose intolerance, although the causes for his intolerance may not be entirely psychological.

Unhealthy Diet

Many medical professionals also consider a persistently unhealthy diet as an eating disorder. For example, a daily diet that includes primarily prepared foods, excessive fried food, excessive coffee, and alcohol consumption, lack of fruits and vegetables, and other non-nutritional diets may form an eating disorder, or in time, lead to one. These unhealthy diet eating disorders may not have a psychological cause, but they can easily be triggered by our fast paced daily schedule, or simply by the lack of variation in one's eating habits, or even lack of knowledge about nutrition.

Eating Disorder and Dieting

EATING DISORDER
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Breaking Free from Emotional Eating
by Geneen Roth
Amazon Price: $9.99
Customer Review: I decided to read this because I was so sick of counting calories being in control of me. It has really opened my eyes to understand how to eat. Finally I don't have guilt about food:)

Intuitive Eating, 2nd Edition: A Revolutionary Program That Works
by Evelyn Tribole, Elyse Resch
Amazon Price: $9.99
Customer Review: Well written. A very well rounded and healthy approach to body image, weight loss and over-all health. Gives an overview and then breaks down each concept into chapters. Alot of good information on the practical application o...

Shrink Yourself: Break Free from Emotional Eating Forever
by Roger Gould
Amazon Price: $9.99
Customer Review: This book is so informative. I thought I had read everything about emotional eating up to this point. Roger Gould does an excellent job of teaching you to probe into the underlying issues of eating. Once you figure out what t...

Life Without Ed: How One Woman Declared Independence from Her Eating Disorder...
by Jenni Schaefer
Amazon Price: $9.99
Customer Review: This book, written by both a woman working through her ED and her therapist, shows a fantastic way to look at eating disroders. Read on to find out. Again, a fantastic purchase for clients and people who love someone with a...

Press Pause Before You Eat: Say Good-bye to Mindless Eating and Hello to the ...
by Dr. Linda Mintle
Amazon Price: $9.99
Customer Review: I'm one of those women who struggles with "the extra ten pounds" and I'm so fed up with the diet books that give me all the theory, but not the tools on HOW to lose and keep weight off. I lose weight. I gain weight. I lose ...

Getting a Grip
by Monica Seles
Amazon Price: $9.99
Customer Review: When I was young, June was always a month of celebration because it meant I could watch Roland Garros on TV for two weeks and see the best players performing their very best. Like many I was a fan of Steffi Graf and I admit I...

It is not our intention to provide specific medical advice about eating disorder, but rather to provide users with information to better understand their health and their diagnosed disorders. Specific medical advice will not be provided, and we urge you to consult with a qualified physician for diagnosis and for answers to your personal questions about eating disorder.