 FORUM:
Questions from the readers
1) What is anorexia? And are there any harmful effects
of anorexia.
Anorexia (also “anorexia nervosa”) is a difficult
disease to understand for most people. Most people think
of anorexia as an eating disorder where a person starves
themselves, but it comes in a few different forms. Sometimes
it involves obsessive exercise, self-induced vomiting (it
isn’t uncommon for an anorexic to also be a bulimic),
the excessive use of diet pills or laxatives.
People living with the illness often have a low self-esteem.
Often anorexia is a negative way of dealing with difficult
times in life caused by stress, anxiety, and unhappiness.
A person suffering with anorexia may be overly sensitive
about being seen as fat, or have an irrational fear of
becoming fat.
There are many dangers associated with eating disorders. This isn’t meant
to freak you out, but here are just a few of them:
Malnutrition - caused by under-eating or over-eating.
Malnutrition is a lack of energy, protein and other essential
nutrients for the body such as vitamin A, iodine and
iron. Malnutrition is a very serious problem and it can
even cause healthy problems as seemingly insignificant
as respiratory infections or as scary as kidney failure,
blindness, heart attack and death.
Dehydration - caused by the lack of fluids or by restriction
of carbohydrates and fat. Starvation, vomiting and laxative
abuse are the primary causes in sufferers of eating disorders.
Symptoms include dizziness, weakness, and darkening of
urine. If it goes on long enough it can lead to serious
problems including kidney failure, heart failure, seizures,
brain damage and death.
Electrolyte Imbalances - electrolytes are essential to healthy teeth, joints,
bones, nerve and muscle impulses, kidney and heart function, blood sugar levels
and the delivery of oxygen to the cells. Anorexia can deplete electrolytes
and cause imbalances in these extremely important and delicate systems
If you think you may have an eating disorder, seek help
as soon as you can from a trusted advisor or doctor. Or
contact some of the links that we’ve provided below.
And while there’s tremendous pressure in our society
to look certain ways, just keep in mind that your body
needs its energy and nutrients or it will stop working.
If you have an eating disorder (go to a doctor ASAP!)
and you think that being fat is terrifying or you have
a desire to look really thin, just think about what your
teeth could look like or any of your other body parts that
really need these nutrients. You may end up looking the
way you want, but your body will fall apart because of
the lack of important nutrients.
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