Ten Ways in Which You Might Be Abusing Food

Do you find yourself eating more food than you need or consuming foods that don’t benefit you at all? You may be suffering from a food disorder called food abuse. Food abuse is a condition characterised by unhealthy eating patterns such as the intake of abnormally large amounts of food or certain food combinations.

Food can be addictive as it leads to a release of dopamine in your brain which gives you that ‘feel good’ sensation. You may be binging to feel good, relieve stress and forget about the worries, but the problem is – food does not solve problems. Only thing it does is put a cover on the difficulties until the issue comes back bigger and stronger.

Although food on its own is not dangerous, excessive intake of food, particularly junk food can have harmful effects on your health. This is why finding the right combination of counselling and a new food regime will be a good option. Addiction counselling for compulsions can help you overcome the past trauma and find new ways to handle triggering situations, while holistic therapy will let you overcome fears and find new methods to express your emotions, talk about your problems and find solutions on time.

Understanding Compulsive & Binge Eating Habits

Compulsive eating can be caused by several factors ranging from emotional to psychological to even genetics.

Causes of food addiction can include:

● Emotional abuse and trauma: As said earlier food causes a release of dopamine which elevates the mood. Most people suffering from trauma or emotional abuse may turn to food as a way to elevate their mood.
● Living with people who abuse food. If you grew up with or live with people who abuse food, you are most likely to adopt the habit and also abuse food.
● Genetics: Research has shown that certain genes affect the rate at which you feel full after meals and your ability to stop eating. This may then lead to overeating and food abuse in attempts to attain that feeling of fullness and satisfaction.

Psychotherapy can help you look differently on your past traumatic experiences, while family and couples therapy can assist with relationship problems occurring from the abuse of food. If your problems are based on genetics, the inevitability of the condition might be weighing down on you, and this is where alternative therapies are very useful.

Ways in Which you May be Abusing Food

In order to come to terms with the actual problem, we need to be able to understand what does ‘food abuse’ actually consist of. We talked to counsellors in the field of food disorders, and they shared with us some of the most common ways in which their patients have been abusing food before they came for help:

● Having and indulging in strong food cravings despite feeling full. This occurs usually after eating. If you frequently notice that you crave and take extra food or snacks after eating to a point of satisfaction, it is a sign that you are abusing food.
● Eating a particular food in excessive amounts. This may happen with regular meals or food which you have had cravings for. Frequently taking more portions of what you usually eat is a sign that you are abusing food.
● Eating foods that you are not supposed to eat. In certain health conditions and situations, your dietician or doctor may place you on a diet which restricts your intake of certain types of food. When you continue to eat those foods that your healthcare provider has advised you against, you are abusing food. An example of this is eating sugary foods and food with high carbohydrate content as someone suffering from diabetes.
● Eating unhealthy food combinations. Certain food combinations are not recommended to be taken. An example is eating a salad without a full-fat dressing. According to Registered Dietician, Lily Nichols, the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K in the salad require fat to be well absorbed into the body which is lacking in the absence of full-fat dressings. Salad dressings which contain fat such as oil-based salad dressings are best paired with salads.
● Eating more food than your body can tolerate. This is when you frequently eat food to the point it affects you physically like being unable to stand after eating or feeling stuffed.
● Eating food as a source of happiness or stress relief. When you continually eat meals as a means to elevate your mood, it leads to a vicious cycle which ends with you developing dependency and addiction to food. This way you will feel sad or depressed until you have eaten.
● Compulsively eating despite not feeling hungry. Eating even when you are not hungry is a form of food abuse called binge eating. If you regularly binge eat, you’re likely to have what is called a binge eating disorder (BED). This is a serious condition which can have harmful consequences on your health and will require therapy.
● Excessive snacking in-between meals. Snacking is great to be taken in-between meals, but when it is taken in excess it becomes abuse. Excessive intake of junk foods is a form of food abuse which can be very detrimental to our health. Those who snack a lot usually have a handy snack stash where they easily access snacks.
● Combining food with certain drugs. There are drugs which your doctor may advise that you take on an empty stomach, while other drugs should never be taken with certain foods. For example, antibiotics like tetracycline should not be taken with foods rich in calcium like milk as they could reduce the effectiveness of the drug. When you begin to take unhealthy food-drug combinations, you are abusing food.
● Taking food in unbalanced and unhealthy quantities. Food is grouped into 5 major classes all of which need to be properly balanced for a healthy diet. A well-detailed food ratio for a balanced diet can be found on the NHS website. Taking too much of a class of food such as carbohydrates is a form of food abuse and can lead to nutrient deficiencies and excessive weight gain.