Do you make repeated attempts to stop eating but fail? In this article, we offer you the most prominent ways to treat binge eating.
The following provides information on the most popular approaches to treating binge eating:
Treatment of binge eating
Methods for treating bulimia are as follows:
1. Cognitive behavioral therapy
An individual with bulimia may benefit from cognitive and psychosocial behavioural therapy to better understand and control their emotions, enhance their appearance and self-esteem, reduce overthinking about the negative effects of eating, such as obesity, and encourage them to adopt a healthy diet.
2. Family support
The patient's ability to receive family support for bulimia treatment hastens the healing process. The family can also seek advice from a psychologist to educate the family about how bulimia affects the patient’s health, and the ways in which they can support him until his health improves.
3. Medicines
Medications commonly used to treat binge eating include:
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, such as sertraline or fluoxetine.
- Antipsychotics, such as: Olanzapine.
It is important to note that although medications can occasionally lessen the desire to binge eat and vomit, especially in the short term, they cannot treat bulimia; therefore, it is preferable to combine them with psychological, behavioural, and cognitive therapy.
4. Appetite-restricting foods
Here are some foods that help reduce appetite:
- Apples: Apples contain pectin, which promotes energy levels, lowers high blood sugar levels that may increase feelings of hunger, and aids in weight loss.
- Oats: Oatmeal contains both soluble and insoluble fibres that work to control the body's level of cholecystokinin, a hormone that stimulates appetite.
- Yogurt: Calcium, which is found in yoghurt, aids in appetite suppression and hunger control.
- Leafy vegetables: Eating leafy vegetables aids in feeling full, lessens hunger signals to the brain, and promotes weight loss because they are low in calories, high in water, and high in fibre.
- Flaxseeds: These seeds are a good source of omega-6 fatty acids, which can raise levels of the hormone cholecystokinin, which suppresses appetite and helps people feel full for a prolonged period of time.
- Avocado: Because avocados are high in soluble fibre and monounsaturated fatty acids, which take a while for the body to digest, they are one of the foods that can decrease appetite and the desire to eat fatty meals.
Tips help treat binge eating
Here are some tips to help treat binge eating:
- You might be able to recognise and alter your behaviour patterns by keeping an eye on what you eat.
- Decide in advance what you'll eat and when you'll eat it throughout the day. Pre-planning may help regulate the amount of food you eat during the day, thus reducing cravings and reducing the feeling of hunger .
- Find out what causes you to binge eat so you can avoid those situations and keep yourself from going overboard.
- Determine the underlying causes of your disorder by conducting psychological and medical examinations. By addressing these issues, you can lessen bulimia.
- Consult a nutritionist because they can help you plan your daily meals and recognise and ignore your body's cues to stop eating too much.
Complications of neglecting the treatment of bulimia in eating
If untreated, bulimia can seriously harm one's health. Possible complications include:
- severe sore throat
- Intestinal problems as a result of laxative abuse.
- Chronic dehydration.
- Swelling of the neck or face.
- Gastrointestinal disorders.
- skin dryness.
- tooth decay.
- Ulcer or heartburn.
- Malnutrition .
- Inability to tolerate cold.
- hair loss
- heart disease.
- fainting.
- Bad breath.