40 lines
2.0 KiB
Plaintext
40 lines
2.0 KiB
Plaintext
NUTRITIONALANOREXIABULIMIARONASTRESSDIETZINCNUTRITIONFOOD
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THE NUTRITIONAL EXTREMES OF ANOREXIA & BULIMIA - Zoltan P. Rona
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THE NUTRITIONAL EXTREMES OF ANOREXIA & BULIMIA by ZOLTAN P. RONA, M.D., M.Sc.
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No one seems to know the cause of anorexia nervosa. It is generally assumed
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to be the result of social stresses causing adolescent girls (the condition
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is rare in boys) to avoid food entirely. It is both a psychological and
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physiological disorder in which the teenage girl seems to have abdicated all
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responsibility for the nourishment of her body. Since the mortality rate has
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been reported as high as 20%, anorexia nervosa is a very serious condition
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necessitating a multidisciplinary treatment approach which may include
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hospitalization. Death results from starvation, infections, heart rhythm
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disorders or suicide.
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There is no specific personality type that is predisposed to anorexia nervosa.
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The average case may be depressed, anxious, weepy, agitated, hostile,
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underweight, constipated, amenorrheic (loss of periods) and suffer from a
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lowered self-esteem as well as cold hands and feet. An anorexic is typically
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preoccupied with avoiding food, has a decreased interest in sex, has a
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disturbed body image and a distorted hunger awareness.
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One double-blind placebo controlled study suggests that zinc deficiency may
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play a role in causing anorexia nervosa. Most extreme weight reduction diets
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are low in zinc and, in the long run, lead to overt zinc deficiency. The
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birth control pill and certain steroid drugs cause the body to increase the
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excretion of zinc, so this too may be a factor in the development of a zinc
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deficiency. Additionally, the body's need for zinc during the rapid growth
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phases of adolescence are dramatically increased. Since zinc deficiency can
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cause a loss of appetite, researchers have postulated that what is happening
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in this disease is a vicious circle of zinc deficiency leading to appetite
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loss.
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