Just caught this long article on Eating disorders on the main MSN.ca site. There are a lot of facts in this article and it is interesting that when people want to better their health sometimes they go to far and actually harm themselves by losing to much weight. I used to hate the talk of Anorexia and Bulimia being a disease thinking that it was just a way for some people to get attention but have really learned over the last few years that this is something that is a very dangerous disease with very deep rooted causes.

Eating disorders have increased in frequency as a consequence of society’s emphasis and preoccupation with thinness. Eating disorders are multi-factorial, with genetic, traumatic and nutritional causes. In North America, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the two most important eating disorders. They predominantly affect females.

What is the difference between anorexia and bulimia?

Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric condition where people intentionally starve themselves because of a false belief that they are fat, or for fear of becoming obese. In reality, they are almost always underweight or of normal weight when the condition starts. It is estimated that more than 90% of all those diagnosed with anorexia nervosa are female, often from middle and upper socioeconomic backgrounds. This disorder usually starts in the years between adolescence and young adulthood, with the average age at onset of 14 years. Anorexia nervosa afflicts about 1 per 100,000 in the population at large, but the rate is believed to be higher among Caucasian adolescent girls – about 1 in 200. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

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As I have said in the past I am not a follower of the Atkins diet but no one can argue that many people swear by Dr Atkins and the Low carb revolutuon that it sparked.

In order to be healthy, look good, feel great and lead happy lives, a lot of people are now focusing on losing weight; and are searching for ways to help them lose weight and keep it off.

Due to the lifestyle most people live these days, the refined and unhealthy foods people eat and also due to excessive eating, a lot of people are overweight and some are obese. Although there are several diets that have come and gone, very few diets have helped people to lost weight and help them keep it off indefinitely.

Since the introduction of Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution, low-carb diets are still a major topic of interest, with restaurants and food manufacturers changing some of their menus and developing some dedicated food categories to meet the needs for those following low carb diets and avoiding carbs in their diets.

Atkins style lower carbohydrate diet is one of the very popular diets that have helped people to lose weight. The most appealing aspect of the Atkins style lower carbohydrate diet, among other similar low carb diets, is that the foods you can eat are essentially the opposite of most other diets. With low carb diets, you eat a lot of protein and fats and very restricted carbohydrates.

In order to fully understand and appreciate the effectiveness of a diet, one needs to know the basic nutritional and medical principles upon which the diet is based, and how it works.

So, what are the basic nutritional principles of the Atkins style lower carbohydrate diet?

The Atkins diet is a high protein and fat and very low-carbohydrate routine. It put emphasis on meat, cheese, and eggs, while recommending reduction in consumption of foods such as bread, pasta, fruit, and sugar. The key advantage of the diet is rapid and substantial weight loss.

By limiting carbohydrate intake, the body will burn more fat stored in the body. Because there are no restrictions on the amount of calories or quantities of foods allowed on the diet, there is little hunger between meals. Uncontrollable hunger and food craving is the main cause of many dieting failures. It is in fact noted those who follow the Atkins style lower carbohydrate plan eventually find their effective individual range of carbohydrate intake, which is then considered as the tool that helps the dieters to maintain a healthy weight for the rest of their lives.

The primary reason that both men and women follow the Atkins style lower carbohydrate plan is to lose weight. With this principle, it is noted that many people who have followed the Atkins style lower carbohydrate procedure to weight loss readily take off inches and pounds.

The Atkins style lower carbohydrate plan has also worked for those people with strong metabolic resistance to weight loss. This diet provides many ways to surpass the barriers that obstruct a successful diet result. Those who have failed to lose weight with other diets, successfully do so with Atkins.

The Atkins style lower carbohydrate plan helps people to not only lose the weight, but to also keep it off. This fact makes the Atkins style lower carbohydrate nutritional approach more superior than other weight control programs.

In addition, according to Atkins, the diet can alleviate symptoms of conditions such as fatigue, irritability, headaches, depression, and some types of joint and muscle pain.

Those who follow the diet program will attain good health. With the Atkins style lower carbohydrate plan, many dieters have noted that the change is remarkable. The Atkins style lower carbohydrate plan is effective because the diet helps you meet your nutritional needs by taking healthy, wholesome foods and eliminating junk foods to your diet.

A lot of diets have come and gone, while some have endured the test of time. The Atkins style lower carbohydrate diet remains one of the hottest diet fads in the world today. This diet has added significant contributions to the diet industry. It is therefore not surprising that today; the Atkins style lower carbohydrate diet is acclaimed for its reputation and effectiveness, and the great health benefits that it presents to the people.

Try as you might it is hard to find a diet that has been more successful but at least the fad part seems to have worn off and we can take the successes and failings of the Atkins diet a little more in perspective.

Tags: atkins diet, depression, fatigue, food categories, food craving, food manufacturers, headaches, low carb diets, muscle pain