Diet plays an important role in the management of bulimia. Victims of
this psychiatric disorder are trapped in a cycle of starving, bingeing
and vomiting, and need to regain control of their eating habits.
Treatment in hospital or a clinic focuses on the establishment of three
regular, balanced meals a day, avoiding in-between snacks and the
high-fat, high sugar fast foods often eaten during binges. Bulimics may
also need reassuring that a healthy appetite is normal.
Self-induced vomiting, and the excessive use of diuretics and laxatives
associated with bulimia, disturb the body's serum electrolyte level
(the ions including sodium and potassium which circulate in the blood).
This may lead to serious dehydration and produce a potassium deficiency
which can cause poor kidney function, weak muscles and irregular
heartbeat. Early treatment often entails a diet to restore a normal
balance. Eating foods that supply plenty of potassium such as fruits,
nuts, seeds, avocados and bananas, will usually achieve this.
However, the overall goal is to persuade the sufferer to adopt a
healthy eating pattern which includes a wide range of foods containing
all essential nutrients in a sensible balance. Anything that might
potentially upset that balance or affect the sufferer's state of mind,
such as excessive coffee, tea or alcohol, should be discouraged. It is
important to include a reasonable amount of carbohydrate foods such s
wholemeal bread, pasta and rice but to limit fats and also the
consumption of snack foods such as crisps, biscuits and confectionery.
A diet relatively high in fiber will help the movement of food through
the digestive system and cut out dependence on laxatives. This must be
introduced gradually, however, to limit the discomfort often
experienced by bulimics whose digestive systems, after years of abuse,
will probably be unused to the normal passage of food.
Causes and Symptoms
Bulimia Nervosa is a severe stress-related eating disorder that affects
at least 3 women in 100. It may be difficult to detect because victims
are secretive and, unlike those who suffer from the related eating
disorder, anorexia nervosa, are often of normal weight rather than
noticeably thin.
The majority of sufferers are females aged between 15 and 34. They are
often perfectionists in their work but also suffer from low self-esteem
and find a focus for their emotional difficulties in attempts to
control their eating. The root of the problem may be some emotional
disturbance but the actual disorder will start because they imagine
that the solution lies in transforming their bodies - they have an
obsession with slimness and often a distorted body image.
Bulimics often embark on crash diets which tend to create havoc with
both appetite and digestion. As a result, they end up bingeing - eating
anything from 3000 to 6000 calories in one sitting. Such binges are
followed by guilt, depression which can be severe or even suicidal, and
self-induced vomiting. Bulimics tend to make excessive use of
laxatives, slimming pills and diuretics in their quest to lose weight.
They may also drink large amounts of alcohol as a way of trying to
blank out their problems.
Other symptoms include absence of, or irregular, menstrual periods,
swollen neck glands, weight fluctuation, and damage to the teeth caused
by the action of acidic vomit on dental enamel. Poorly functioning
kidneys may result in oedema - swollen feet and ankles. Sufferers may
also experience irregular heartbeats, muscle weakness and even
epileptic seizures.
Medical treatment, which can take up to three years, may require a
short stay in hospital or a residential center for people
with
diet-related illnesses, where their diets, attempts to vomit and use of
laxatives can all be carefully monitored.
