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EATING DISORDERS
DR. MICHAEL SCHACTER
In the case of some people who suffer from eating disorders, they may be suffering from a zinc deficiency. A few years ago, Alex Schauss presented a paper about a number of patients who were suffering from anorexia nervosa. He found that they were zinc-deficient by using a simple test called a zinc taste test. The person takes some zinc sulfate solution in their mouth, and if they describe it as having a bad taste, they usually have sufficient levels of zinc. On the other hand, if they can't taste the solution or if it tastes just like water, then they may have a zinc deficiency, even if their blood levels look fine. Their tissue levels may still be low. Schauss found he had trouble correcting those zinc abnormalities using zinc tablets or capsules, and needed to use liquid zinc because that seemed to be absorbed.
When a person has a zinc deficiency, it's a vicious cycle because the zinc deficiency actually prevents you from being able to absorb it from the capsule and tablet form. If you can overload the system with the zinc liquid for a short period of time, frequently the condition will improve. While I haven't seen many patients in the last couple of years with anorexia nervosa, I have had people with milder loss of appetite, and sometimes excessive appetite, who have had zinc deficiencies. I have been able to rely on this test and administering zinc liquid to vastly improve the condition of these patients.
DR. JOSE TOBIAS
Anorexia nervosa, from our perspective, is an obsessive compulsive disorder that is related to self-image, the way that we perceive ourselves. Basically, anorexia nervosa is the process by which a human being self-starves. Thirty percent of the population who self-starve eventually die.
From the biochemical viewpoint, when patients come for a consultation they are already very emaciated. The chemistry we can measure is very altered. We know that there is a groove that is related to an area of the brain called the limbic system, the hypothalamic area, that regulates sugar, thirst, appetite, and so forth. That might help classify some of the patients but does not answer for the rest. The rest of the problem, we feel, has to do with body image perception, the way that we see our body. We feel too fat, too slim. We have different perspectives.
How do we treat this condition? Basically we use a nutritional approach after the patient has undertaken a behavioral program with cognitive therapy. Cognitive therapy is important because the idea is to educate the person about their problems and to discuss with them how many false beliefs they have about who they are, why they think this way, why their body looks the way it does for them, and so forth. So false-belief modification is an important part of treatment.
DR. DORIS RAPP
Some studies suggest that zinc is helpful for youngsters or adults who eat and then purge themselves in the bathroom by putting their finger down their throat. They get rid of the food because they don't want to gain weight.
DR. HYLA CASS
Some time ago, a psychologist who specializes in eating disorders began to send her clients to me because she had heard that antidepressant medications worked for these patients. I had shifted to a more holistic way of looking at things, so I said before I did anything with antidepressants I would try some other things. With certain eating disorders, such as food cravings, the underlying problem is a food allergy. We crave the foods that we are allergic to. Often, it's the very things we want to eat that are the most damaging, that create the symptoms. In fact, it's like an addiction to alcohol: As you withdraw from the foods you're addicted to, you begin to have withdrawal symptoms and so you want to have more of those foods. In order to break the cycle, which is the same as breaking the cycle with drinking (alcoholics are actually allergic to alcohol), you need to supply the body with the appropriate nutrients. It's not just a matter of willpower, of staying off these foods. In addition to gradually going off of the foods that you should not be eating, you have to supply the body with a good, supportive nutritional program of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Often, the cravings will then simply go away. It's quite remarkable; with a good vitamin and mineral product, you can stop the food allergy and its accompanying symptoms. Often magnesium is deficient and when you get enough of an interceullular magnesium level, the allergies will be greatly ameliorated. The amino acid glutamine is really useful for reducing the cravings. I also use the same treatment for alcoholics.
With some people I will administer an amino acid analysis: a blood test to see which amino acids are low, and by replacing them, the body comes into balance. Again, the food cravings and the symptoms of food allergies will start to go away.
There are other things to do for food allergies as well. Acupuncture has been shown to help, especially some new techniques that can actually eliminate the food allergies. The point is, there are many ways to approach what at first seems like a psychological problem, such as depression, besides administering an antidepressant.
DR. DORIS RAPP
In my experience, eating disorders and alcoholism can be related to allergies. Frequently, eating disorders are food addictions. When you have a food sensitivity, there is a certain phase of it that makes you really crave that food. And if you happen to be addicted to wheat or baked goods, you can never get enough of them, with the result being that you get obese. For example, men who are addicted to corn may drink a lot of beer and they can become alcoholics. They're sensitive to and addicted to the beer, but it's the corn--or sometimes some other component--in the beer that is causing the problem. Sometimes, if grains are a problem, they can feel "drunk" after eating cereal or baked goods.