The Long-Term Effect Of Eating Disorders That Nobody Talks About

I found the following article really interesting and thought it may interest some of my readers as well. All of my organs became very weak when I was unwell (particularly my hear) and I often wonder about whether or not those organs have repaired fully yet or not.

This is why I think it so important to continuing nourishing your body, even after you become weight restored as a lot of the damage that you do to your body during starvation may not be reversed even when you are weight restored.

The Long-Term Effect Of Eating Disorders That Nobody Talks About                  

by Dr. Ashley SolomonMarch 2, 2017 5:22 AM         

With Healthy Heart Month in full swing, you might be hearing advice everywhere from your family doctor to your favorite newsletter about what to cut out of your diet to keep your heart strong. Ditch the soda! Cut the carbs! Skip the butter! Oh, wait, butter's back in! But maybe olive oil is better?!
While most of us can take this influx of diet advice in stride, those at risk for eating disorders are vulnerable to this deluge of information. In many cases, the eating patterns that eventually precipitated a full-blown eating disorder started with the intention to be healthier and feel better—both physically and emotionally. In a sadly ironic twist, those behaviors have likely contributed to the serious decline in health often associated with eating disorders.

Eating disorders are more than just a psychiatric illness.

In fact, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness (or behavioral health disorder). So not only do they lead to a host of social, mental, and physical problems, but they actually put someone at increased risk for other health problems. Cardiovascular complications are one of the biggest risks for those struggling with eating disorders. The heart is made of muscle and basically functions as a pump that moves blood first to the lungs to pick up oxygen and then out to the extremities to bring oxygen and nutrients throughout the whole body. Our hearts are clearly key to our ability to live and function normally, and eating disorders put strain on the heart in a number of ways.

1. Weaker heart muscles

First, when one does not take in enough food to support our level of activity, the heart rate slows down as the body tries to conserve energy. Also, blood pressure will drop due to dehydration or because the muscles of the heart weaken. When blood pressure is low, it's harder for other organs—like the kidneys, the brain, or the liver—to receive the nutrients and oxygen that the heart usually pumps in their direction.
People with low-weight eating disorders actually lose cardiac muscle mass. All muscles of the body are subject to wasting away if we aren't nourishing them. Heart muscle is no exception. Underweight patients may develop mitral valve prolapse due to shrunken heart muscle cells, or they can develop heart failure due to a weakened heart that can't pump well.

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2. Shifts in the heart's chemical environment

A second concern is the development of abnormal heart rhythms, which happens frequently when someone is suffering from bulimia nervosa. The behaviors of binge eating and purging (which can involve not just vomiting but also laxative and diuretic use), can lead to dehydration and dangerous shifts in electrolytes in the body. When the chemical environment of the heart is abnormal, the heart is at risk for arrhythmias, which can cause heart palpitations, fainting, and even death.

3. Cardiac disturbances

And thirdly, there are a host of cardiac rhythm disturbances that are directly caused by weight loss and malnutrition. These are undoubtedly causal in the heightened risk for sudden death seen in people with anorexia nervosa.
Despite these very serious cardiac concerns, many people with eating disorders are reluctant to get help. The disorders themselves are marked by a brain-based type of denial that can make even seeing that there's a problem very difficult. As a clinician, I find that sometimes the presence of these heart issues can help someone see just how high the risk to their health really is.

Healing your body from an eating disorder

But even those who begin the process of recovery have to be very cautious about their heart health. For someone who has been eating very little, starting to eat more can cause its own dangerous shifts in electrolytes called refeeding syndrome, which again puts the person at risk for cardiac complications. Thus, some patients will need to be very closely monitored by a medical team during this process.
The heartening news is that most of physical complications of eating disorders are reversible with good nutrition. Once the body and mind are recovered and a knowledgeable support team is in place, the person has a great chance of living a long, healthy life.

If you've suffered from an eating disorder, keep the following in mind:

1. Take any cardiac event very seriously. If you experience any chest pain, are getting dizzy when you stand, have a fainting episode, or notice your heart rhythm seems off, get to a medical provider as soon as you can.
2. Enlist the support of others. We know that eating disorders thrive in isolation, and recovery thrives in community with others you care about. Let someone close to you know that you're worried about your health.
3. Know that recovery is always possible. Even people who lived with an eating disorder for a very long time can expect a full and lasting recovery. It's not easy and can't be accomplished alone, but EVERYONE suffering from an eating disorder can be helped.

The recently deceased George Michael once said, "You'll never find peace of mind until you listen to your heart." Listen carefully to the messages your heart is sending you. And with the right treatment, you can find peace from the burden of eating disorders.
For additional information about the Eating Recovery Center, call 877-789-5758, email info@eatingrecoverycenter.com, or visit www.eatingrecoverycenter.com to speak with a master's-level clinician.

Obsessed with food

Whenever I was starving myself or restricting my food intake I found it almost impossible to think about anything else other than food. I would spend my days sitting around waiting until it was time for my next meal (if i was eating anything at all at that stage). I think that many people presume that anorexics dont like food but this is certainly not the case, well as least for me anyway. It is important to note however that I only loved food while I was in control of it. While I was in hospital I hated everything that I ate as I wasn't controlling my intake at all.


I loved cooking or baking for other people around me but always refused to eat what I made myself. I also strangely enjoyed watching other people eat. I felt as though just watching others eat satisfied my own hunger, as if I was the one actually eating it. I would try and eat my meals as slowly as I possibly could so that I could enjoy them for longer and I insisted on eating all my food with tiny teaspoons or childrens cutlery so that I could savour the food for longer. I didn't only spend alot of time eating my meals but also preparing them. I had many rituals I felt as though I had to follow while preparing food and eating it.

I started watching cooking and food television shows all the time, my favourites being masterchef and man vs food. I also enjoyed shows like the biggest loser, supersized vs super skinny and secret eaters. The second I finished one meal I would start to think about the next. My poor body wanted food so badly but I continued to ignore what it was telling me. I still felt hungry all the time, I just learnt to ignore my hunger. It made me feel strong and powerful when I didn't give in to my hunger.

This is a part of Harriet Browns book brave girl eating that i think sums up how anorexia makes you feel perfectly.

Imagine that you’re standing in a bakery. Not just any bakery—the best bakery in Paris, its windows fogged, crowded with people who jostle for space in front of its long glass cases. The room is fragrant and you can’t take your eyes off the rows of cinnamon rolls and croissants, iced petits fours, flaky napoleons and elephant ears.
And you’re hungry. In fact, you’re starving. Hunger is a tornado whirling in your chest, a bottomless vortex at your core. Hunger is a tiger sharpening its claws on your tender insides. You stand in front of the glass cases, trying to swallow, but your throat is dry and your stomach clenches and contracts.
You want more than anything to lick the side of an éclair, swirl the custard and chocolate against your tongue. You dream about biting off the end of a cruller, feeling the give of the spongy dough, the brief molecular friction of the glaze against your teeth, flooding your mouth with sweetness. The woman beside you reaches into a white paper bag, pulls out a hunk of sourdough roll. You see the little puff of steam that flares from its soft center. You breathe in the warm yeasty smell it gives off. She pops it into her mouth and chews and you chew along with her. You can almost taste the bread she’s eating. Almost.
But you can’t, not really, because how long has it been since you’ve tasted bread? A month? A year? An eternity. And though your stomach grinds against your backbone and your cheeks are hollow, though the tiger flays your belly, you can’t eat. You want to, you have to, but your fear is greater than your hunger. Because when you do—when you choke down a spoonful of plain yogurt, five pretzel sticks, a grape—that’s when the voice in your head starts up, a whisper, a cajoling sigh: You don’t need to eat, you’re strong, so strong. That’s right. Good girl.
Soon the whisper is a hiss filling the center of your head: You don’t deserve to eat. You’re weak, unworthy. You are disgusting. You don’t deserve to live. You, you, you. The voice is a drumbeat, a howl, a knife sunk in your gut, twisting. It knows what you’re thinking. It knows everything you do. It has always been inside you and it always will be. The more you try to block it out, the louder it becomes, until it’s screaming in your ear: You’re fat. You’re a fat pig. You make everyone sick. No one loves you and no one ever will. You don’t deserve to be loved. You’ve sinned and now you must be punished.
So you don’t eat, though food is all you think about. Though all day long, wherever you are—doing homework, sitting with friends, trying to sleep—part of you is standing in the bakery, mesmerized with hunger and with fear, the voice growling and rumbling. You have to stand there, your insides in shreds, empty of everything but your own longing. There will be no bread for you, no warm, buttery pastries. There’s only the pitiless voice inside your head, high-pitched, insistent, insidious. There’s only you, more alone than you’ve ever been. You, growing smaller and frailer. You, with nowhere else to go.
The voice is part of you now, your friend and your tormentor. You can’t fight it and you don’t want to. You’re not so strong, after all. You can’t take it and you can’t get away. You don’t deserve to live. You want to die.
This is what it feels like to have anorexia.

Since starting to eat so much more I no longer spend my days thinking and obsessing over food but I think I do like food more than normal people. My meal times are usually my favourite times of the day and eating yummy foods makes me happier then anything else. I suppose it is natural for me to like food as much as I do since I denied myself of it for so long. Its kind of like the saying, you don't know what you have got until its gone. I didnt know how much I liked food until I stopped eating it and the more I denied myself of it, the more I wanted it.



Feel free to share your own experience of how you felt about food while restricting. Do you feel like having anorexia made you hate food or love food even more?

Why having a healthy weight is necessary for a full recovery

While I am very serious about recovery, I have already started to worry about getting to a healthy weight. I have even considered stopping trying to gain weight before reaching my goal weight but know that this would be a bad idea. Afterall, as long as I am still feeling terrified about reaching a healthy weight, this is a good indication that I am still not healthy and that I need to continue repairing my body and mind. The following article sourced here explains why you should not stop gaining weight too early on in recovery and why having a healthy weight is essential for you to make a full recovery.

The Effects of Being Underweight

Most people who have an eating disorder are not noticeably underweight. Many will under-eat at times and binge eat at other times, so that weight is maintained overall within normal limits.

However, some people with an eating disorder maintain extreme control over their diet, and remain significantly underweight.

One of the diagnostic criteria for Anorexia Nervosa is a body weight less than 85% of the weight expected for a particular height. This is serious, as being underweight has significant physical, psychological and social consequences, and these consequences are often seen in people with Anorexia.

The Psychological Effects of Being Underweight

Physical effects of being underweight include profound effects on the heart and circulation, muscles and bones, intestinal function, sleep and temperature regulation.

Mental and emotional consequences have also been noted. Mood is generally low, and irritability and anger are exacerbated.

There is a tendency to become socially withdrawn and inward-focussed, and people who are underweight have an increased need for predictability and routine, with difficulty being spontaneous. Thinking becomes rigid, and concentration and decision-making capacities are markedly impaired.

Preoccupation with food is usually intense, with almost constant thoughts about food and eating, such that it is common for underweight people to become very interested in cooking, recipes, cookery shows and so on, with a corresponding decrease in their engagement with previous interests and hobbies.

Obsessiveness increases, with people becoming inflexible in their routines, particularly around food. There may be rituals around food preparation, the order or way in which food is eaten, the timing and circumstances of meals, with people often needing to eat alone, and food may be eaten very slowly.

The Minnesota Starvation Experiment

An important study of the effects of starvation has had a profound impact on our understanding of these behavioural and psychological changes. This study was conducted in the early 1940’s and has subsequently been called the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. As Allied forces moved across German-occupied Europe, they encountered starved and emaciated civilians, many of whom had survived largely on bread and potatoes.

As little was known about the effects of starvation or how to deal with the re-feeding of these people, a study was conducted in which 36 psychologically healthy young volunteers were subjected to a six month period of semi-starvation, followed by a three month re-feeding period. During the starvation period the men were given about half the calories needed for weight maintenance, and most lost about 25% of their original body weight.

The physical, social and psychological effects of the starvation on participants were studied in great detail, and reported in a two-volume text called The Biology of Human Starvation. The participants:

• Developed an intense preoccupation with food, with most of their thoughts oriented towards what and how they would eat.
• Had significant impairment to their concentration, judgement and alertness.
• Ate extremely slowly, with unusual concoctions and heavy use of condiments, caffeine and chewing gum.
• Sometimes resorted to binge eating when the desire for food became intolerable.
• Became more depressed, irritable, angry and anxious, and sociability markedly decreased, with the men becoming withdrawn and socially isolated.

During the re-feeding phase the men had difficulty regaining control of their eating, and struggled to identify whether they felt hungry or full. For the majority of participants their eating behaviour did not return to normal until they had been at their pre-study weight for several months.

Clearly, as the participants in this study were psychologically and physically healthy prior to the experiment, all the behavioural and psychological features seen were direct effects of the starvation itself.

Personality Changes

The implications of this study for understanding the symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa are clear: The behaviours and psychological changes that occur in people with this illness are direct effects of being underweight, rather than being due to the illness itself, and therefore will begin to resolve once normal body weight is restored.

The behaviours and characteristics shown are not indicative of peoples’ true personalities, which are in fact effectively masked by being underweight.

It is therefore clear that the primary goal of treatment for an underweight person with an eating disorder is weight restoration.

Many of the features of his or her underweight behaviour and apparent personality change, will gradually disappear after normal weight is restored.

As found in the study participants, the body does not immediately return to being able to regulate food intake on its own, but consuming a well-balanced and nutritionally complete diet, spread regularly throughout the day, encourages the body to re-establish normal weight maintenance mechanisms.

It is very important for weight to be fully restored in order to reverse the starvation effects. If only partial weight regain occurs, the effort applied to achieve that weight gain will not be matched by equivalent gains in mental and physical health.

It is often difficult for an underweight person to engage with treatment initially because many of the effects of being underweight keep a person “locked-in” to the eating disorder, creating vicious circles that maintain the problems.

For example, the rigidity of thinking makes it difficult to make decisions or changes; the obsessional, inflexible approach to life makes it difficult to imagine eating or living differently; the social withdrawal reduces engagement with others and lowers mood; the preoccupation with food makes it difficult to consider engaging in other aspects of daily life. Support from others is likely to be centrally important in helping get through the weight-restoration stage of recovery.

Once the effects of being underweight have been reversed, other psychological factors that contributed to the development and maintenance of the eating disorder may need to be addressed, and areas of life which have been neglected will be re-developed.

If you (or somebody you love) have disordered eating patterns and are underweight, it is extremely important that you see a doctor and have a comprehensive medical assessment. Please consider making an appointment with me, so that we can discuss your situation and explore treatment options.

I always tried to tell myself that I could recover without gaining weight but I now know that this is not true. For me, recovery means becoming the same person I was before my eating disorder and as stated in the article above, this is only possible if I become weight restored. Every time I get scared and want to stop gaining weight, I need to remind myself that it simply is not an option. Reaching a healthy weight is something I MUST do in order to recover. It is something I WILL do in order to recover.