Top 5 Home remedies for Eating disorders

Abstract

Eating is the ingestion of food, which is helpful or which provides energy and allows us to grow. This is a way to survive in this world. People usually have three meals a day. Eating is just a term used for ingestion but the major term is eating disorders. This is a broad term used for various diseases of eating. This broad term eating disorders will cause disturbance in mental and physical health of the person. More than 20 million women and 10 million men are affected with this disorder. These are generally psychological diseases in which patients either refuse to eat or eat very less. In this article we are going to discuss home remedies for eating disorders.

Introduction

Eating disorders are basically a mental disorder by means of abnormal eating habits or patterns. This abnormal habit of eating negatively affects the physical health of the patient and of course mental health too. This is a group of mental health conditions which can seriously impair the health and social functioning. This disorder can cause emotional distress as well as some significant medical complications.

Ayurvedic Aspect

In Ayurveda, Acharya Charak mentioned the ahara vidhi (method of meal)^1.

The shloka states that the prescribed method of eating for healthy and also for sick people is one who takes wholesome food timely and properly. The person who is having following eating pattern will not suffer from digestive ailments:

• One should eat warm food
• One should eat unctuous food
• One should eat in proper quantity
• One should eat after the previous food is digested
• One should eat non-antagonistic food
• One should eat in favorable place with all favorable accessories
• One should not eat too fast
• One should not eat too slowly
• One should not eat while talking or laughing
• One should eat with full concentration

These Above Mentioned Method of Eating is Good for Healthy Digestive System

Disorders in Different Prakriti People

Everyone thought about this once in a lifetime that some of the people who follow the same lifestyle and diet will not suffer from the same disease. So this type of susceptibility to diseases is all because of different prakriti of the people. By knowing your prakriti you can be aware of the things which can be harmful to your body. You have to be aware of what type of ailments you can have in future.

Let’s just discuss different prakriti people diet plan

1. Vata Prakriti

Vata prakriti people develop diseases due to vitiation of vata dosha. vata prakriti people have guna (properties) like ruksha (dry), laghu (light), sheeta (cold), khara (rough), sooksham (minute), chal (movement). If a person indulges in a diet which is having above mentioned properties then vata will aggravate and cause digestive ailments such as constipation, gas, abdominal cramps, bloating and irregular hunger.

2. Pitta Prakriti

Pitta prakriti people have predominant guna (properties) like sneha (oily), teekshan (sharp), ushana (hot), laghu (light), vistra (foetid0, sara (flowing), drava (fluid). So these properties vitiate pitta dosha and cause diseases like heartburn, gastric reflux, diarrhea, insatiable hunger etc.

3. Kapha Prakriti

This prakriti people is having predominant guna (properties) like snigdha (unctuous), sheeta (cold), guru (heavy), manda (slow), sulakshana (slimy), Sandra (dense), mridu (soft), sthira (stiff). These properties will aggravate the kapha dosha and cause gastric problems such as decreased appetite, heaviness in abdomen, sleepiness, dullness, vomiting, sticky stools etc.

Different Types of Eating Disorders!

Some of The Eating Disorders Include

• Anorexia nervosa: An intense fear of gaining weight
• Bulimia nervosa: People eat a lot in this condition and then try to get rid themselves of food in the form of vomiting.
• Pica: In this condition people eat non-food items such as soil, dust, chalks, soap, clay etc.
• Rumination syndrome: People suffer from repetitive regurgitation of food which may be re-chewed, re-swallowed.
• Avoidant or restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID): In this condition people restrict their food habit due to some psychological reasons. Some psychological reasons are loss of interest in eating, selective eating habits; think that this is not a nutritional value, stress, depression etc.
• Binge eating disorder: This condition is characterized by recurrent episodes of eating without thinking about what amount of food is good and what is bad for the digestive system.

Etiology/Causes

The causes of these disorders are not clear actually. But doctors believe that eating disorders are only due to mental illness and also due to some genetic and environmental factors. Some mental effects are

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Obsessive compulsive disorder
• Body dysmorphic disorder

Clinical Features/Sign and Symptoms

Person who has eating disorder may show physical as well as mental symptoms

• Weakness
• Fatigue
• Sensitivity to cold
• Growth failure
• Fail to concentrate on things
• Loss of libido
• Frequent vomiting
• Headache
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Hoarseness of voice
• Excessive thoughts about food, body image and weight

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is made on the basis of thorough medical history. Medical history is the most definitive tool for diagnosing eating disorders.

Treatment

Treatment of eating disorders generally required a team of doctors. The team includes primary care providers, mental health professionals and dietitians. In general, it typically includes nutrition education, psychotherapy and medication.

Some Treatment Methods are

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy
• Family Therapy
• Medical Nutrition Therapy
• Along with this medical therapy one should adapt below mentioned home remedies and healthy life tips for eating disorders.

Home Remedies for Eating Disorders

Here are Some Home Remedies for Eating Disorders

1. Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

This gives a great result in eating disorders. It has hot potency and is helpful in digestion. It is a good appetizer actually (stimulates appetite and taste buds).

How to Prepare and Consume

• Take a piece of ginger
• Add a pinch of rock salt and lemon juice
• Take this after food daily

2. Trikatu

Trikatu is a combination of three best herbs that is Pippali (Piper longum), Shunthi (Zingiber officinale) and Maricha (Piper nigrum). These three herbs have a very good effect on digestive ailments. It aids in digestion and also stimulates appetite.

How to consume

• Take 1 teaspoon of trikatu powder
• Consume this powder with lukewarm water once a day

3. Black cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum)

This is good for boosting digestive health. It has a cooling effect and calms the digestive system. It increases the taste of the food and also appetite. It helps to manage anorexia.

How to consume

• Add small amount of black cardamom in your certain dishes and consume daily
• Hot water: Hot water is used to treat gastric issues. It maintains the normal appetite of the person.

How to consume

• Drink 1 glass of hot water empty stomach in the morning daily
• Mint and Ginger tea: This combination is useful in the treatment of eating disorders.

How to Prepare and Consume

• Take one glass of water
• Add a piece of ginger into the water
• Then add crushed 5-6 leaves of mint into it
• Boil this mixture for 10 minutes
• Strain the mixture and drink once a day daily

Some More Healthy Tips for Eating Disorders

• Avoid taking stress as much as you can
• Try eating meals which you like the most
• Also you can make a time table for proper food
• Try to eat when you feel hungry
• Don’t over eat
• Do meditation
• Do regular exercises
• Surround yourself with your family
• Avoid or ignore the things that disturb you
• Genuine awareness about eating disorders will help you to avoid consequences

Conclusion

We concluded that these eating disorders are life threatening conditions. Because if we don’t like food or we don’t eat food, how can we get energy for our survival. So it is very important to eat food. If someone is facing a problem with eating then he/she follows the psychotherapy as well as above mentioned home remedies. One should also follow the ayurvedic method of eating that mentioned above in this article. By following all these methods one should protect themselves from these disorders.

References

1. Charak samhita vimansthan 1/24