How Compulsive Overeating Affects Your Health and Happiness

Eating habits can reflect a lot of elements of a person's mental health if they are in anyway unique or irregular. While not all unusual eating habits indicate a disorder, they can offer a glimpse of someone's state of mind or inner emotional life. Someone might describe themselves as a "food lover" if they have a habit of eating large portions and snacking often even when they are not necessarily hungry. While they may have a love of food, there could be indications in their behavior that are related to compulsive overeating. The problems that most often accompany something like binge eating disorder are an addictive nature, anxiety and depression. People that suffer from this type of eating disorder show signs of being very overweight and most often, morbidly obese. A BMI greater than 30 is considered to be obese and many people with an overeating disorder are well within this range as they often consume nearly twice or even three times the amount that an average person needs to have a healthy diet. Their desire to constantly eat is fueled not by a bodily need but by an emotional one. Whether they are conscious of it or not they are most likely engaging in what is known as emotional eating.

People who are diagnosed with compulsive overeating struggle with feelings of stress and anxiety but appease themselves through the comfort of their favorite foods. The type of food that usually becomes "comfort food" is often high in fat and sugar, making the person's eating habits very unhealthy and leading to tremendous weight gain. Consuming much more than the average person needs can actually put quite a strain on the body and the physical stress of being overweight is detrimental to a person's health as well. The biggest problem with an eating disorder such as this is that there is no real telling how much weight the person might eventually gain. If they continually eat far more than is recommended by health guidelines then they are likely to gradually increase weight over time which leads to even more health problems with fatal consequences.

The sooner a person with compulsive eating disorder gets treatment, the better they will be able to recover from both their food addiction and their growing health problems. A combination of diet and psychological care is crucial as a preventative measure to keep their health intact for years in the future.

Sovereign Health of California offers a highly specialized team of qualified and licensed professionals with diverse clinical experience in behavioral health and addictions. Our staff will create your unique program to improve your mental and physical health, helping you get back to life.

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What Are The Health Benefits of Milk Thistle Extract?

Milk thistle extract is good for your liver and might have other health benefits. The components of the seeds that provide the benefits are called silymarins.

The seeds themselves were used historically to treat liver diseases and to treat certain kinds of poisonings, such as eating poison mushrooms. The seeds are still used in herbalism, but dietary supplements that include the ingredient contain a higher concentration of silymarins.

Silymarins are extracted from the seeds using complex processes. The process is necessary in order to increase the bioavailability of the nutrient. The term "bioavailability" refers to the body's ability to absorb the nutrient into the bloodstream. Many nutrients have poor bioavailability.

All of the studies that have been conducted are preliminary. They have been conducted using test tubes or laboratory animals. There is some anecdotal evidence, mostly in the form of consumer testimonials; people writing about what the supplement did for them.

What the studies have shown is that silymarins do protect the cells of the liver from toxins. The liver is one of your body's filters. Its big job is to remove toxins, such as heavy metals or alcohol. The problem is that the liver's cells can eventually become damaged by the toxins.

When that happens, the liver may become diseased and unable to do its job. As a result, the rest of the body suffers. Milk thistle extract could help to keep that from happening.

Assuming your liver is healthy and you do not believe you have been exposed to heavy metals, you might wonder if there is any point in taking silymarins. It is recommended today, because we are all exposed to small amounts of toxins on a daily basis. They are in the air, water and food that we eat. The heavy metal mercury, for example, is in drinking water, fish and seafood.

So, today more than ever, people can experience the health benefits from milk thistle extract. Silymarins are not the only nutrients that people need for good health. In fact, the benefits of the silymarin are few compared to those of other extracts. Unless you want to take a handful of capsules on a daily basis, the best thing to do is look for a multi-nutritional supplement that contains silymarin as an ingredient.

Other Benefits

Although liver protection is the best known benefit (and the most studied), there are other "potential" benefits of milk thistle extract. Some studies suggest it may be helpful for gallbladder complaints. It has some natural anti-inflammatory activity, which is important because inflammation plays a role in cancer, heart disease and aging, in general.

Silymarins may also help protect kidney cells, in the same way that they protect liver cells. Toxins that are not filtered out by the liver are filtered out by the kidneys.

The supplement is also promoted for supporting prostate health. Prostate problems are common in men over the age of 40.

You may be surprised by the benefits of milk thistle extract, but it's really not that surprising. Plants are nature's medicines. We could all benefit from them.

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Food and Heart Disease - Foods That Could Jeopardize Your Health

Heart disease is the greatest cause of fatalities in the United States, and it is thought that currently as many as 37% of all Americans have at least two of the risk factors for heart attack. These would be high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes to name the most common ones, and they are mostly interrelated and mostly attributed to poor diet practices. So these are just five of the foods that you should avoid as much as possible.

1. Soft drinks. This is one of the five we cite here that is difficult to justify, even in moderation. Throw 10 tsp. of sugar into your system every time you drink a regular soda, and then imagine drinking a few every day. A study followed young adults over a 20-year period and found that high consumption of sugary drinks had an association with high ldl cholesterol, hypertension and elevated levels of triglycerides, all known causes of heart disease. Diet soda yields the same nutritional benefits: zero.

2. Fish that is fried. We have written about the health benefits of fish, and it is well-known to reduce the risk of heart disease. But it all depends on how it is prepared if you will truly reap those benefits. Put it in the deep fryer and all those health benefits go by the wayside. When tests were conducted comparing fried fish to baked or broiled, the results showed a 50% greater risk of heart disease with the deep fried fish. So plan to eat fish at least twice a week, and stay away from deep fried and broil, steam, bake or sauté your fish in a small amount of olive oil for the best health results.

3. Any meat that is processed. This is another food that shouldn't be consumed, especially with so many more healthy options available. Even compared to red meats they had a 42% higher heart attack risk than red meat. They foods such as salami, bologna, sausages and other deli meats contain fat, salt, nitrates, cholesterol and preservatives. Better options are turkey, chicken and fish.

4. Donuts and muffins. The culprit here is Tran's fats, and it is thought that this terrible fat is responsible for a minimum 30000 premature deaths in the United States each year. They may be tasty, but from a nutritional standpoint they're a nightmare. Because of the high quantities of sugar and fat, along with refined flour makes them very high in calories, with practically no nutritional value in return. There are many breakfast options that are far superior, and really don't take much more time to prepare than standing in line for that scone.

5. The dressing we put on salad. We construct these amazingly healthy salads, and then bring them down with gobs of bottled salad dressing loaded with sugar, saturated fat, Tran's fat, preservatives and salt. All of these ingredients have been linked with heart disease, hypertension and high levels of cholesterol. Salads are a wonderful part of our diet, but enhance their health benefits with a healthy dressing. Think about making your own, as you can find many great recipes on the internet that offer much better health values than store-bought dressings.

The foods you eat can certainly make a huge difference in your health. Our website http://healtheybalanceddiet.com/ has numerous articles talking about the subject. Click here to read more about dietary fiber, something that is so important to keeping healthy. Rich Carroll is a writer and health enthusiast living in London.

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