Archive for July, 2009

Gut Reactions: Eating Disorders and Digestive Problems

July 30th, 2009

By Dr. Dawn Bantel, Medical Director, Mirasol Eating Disorder Recovery Centers

Dr. Dawn BantelI don’t think that I’ve ever met an eating disordered client that didn’t struggle with digestive issues. The digestive tract is directly affected by binging, purging and restricting. The discomfort from digestive problems is a common obstacle to recovery. It’s such a challenge for women to adhere to their meal plans when their bodies are rebelling.

Women with eating disorders often experience heartburn, indigestion, gas, bloating and constipation. Fortunately, naturopathic supplements are very effective in assisting efficient digestion. Using digestive enzymes with meals assists in the breakdown of foods. A probiotic supplement can reduce gas, bloating and constipation. Drinking aloe vera juice can calm heartburn. And I often prescribe a magnesium citrate supplement to ensure regularity.

The whole foods approach is healing in itself. Whole foods supply needed fiber. Many people have too little fiber in their diets. I may encourage the use of ground flax meal to increase one’s fiber intake. Water is important for regularity, especially in the desert environment. A minimum of half your weight in ounces should be ingested each day.

Finally, the most important “supplement” is reducing stress and anxiety. Our program emphases the creation of stress-management tools for each client. Yoga, bodywork and healthy exercise are encouraged as lifestyle changes. I also help women train their bodies by allowing regular bathroom time. These are all important and effective components of healthy digestion.

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The Cost of Treating Obesity

July 28th, 2009

This morning on MSNBC, I heard a journalist say that the cost of treating obesity is 80% higher than the cost of treating ALL cancers. I also saw articles in today’s Wall Street Journal and New York Times about the cost of treating obesity in America and how these costs have soared.

The medical costs of treating obesity now approaches $147 billion, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The medical costs of obesity have essentially doubled since 1998, and now account for 9.1% of all medical costs in the US.

Meanwhile, the prevalence of obesity has increased 37% from 1998 to 2006. The average American is 23 pounds overweight and consumes 250 calories more per day now than 20-30 years ago.

The CDC has a small budget for nutrition and obesity programs and is discouraging the consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks. In April’s New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Frieden, CDC Director, and Kelly Brownell, a professor at Yale, proposed a penny-an-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, saying that these drinks can be the single biggest cause of obesity.

So,we have the information — but what are we going to do about it?

  • We need a concentrated media campaign like the “no smoking” campaign, with an equal concentration and dispersal of information.
  • We need to focus on health — not weight! There are many people who will never be thin, but they can still have healthy blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure. This is known as “metabolic fitness”. We need to stop using the word “diet” in every single sentence we speak or write. Diets don’t work. We all know that.
  • It’s time to put an end to discrimination against obese people. We need to make fresh fruits and vegetables available at affordable prices in disadvantaged neighborhoods. We need better nutrition education in the schools.

One of the scariest things I heard was that as obesity is increasing, the number of people with anorexia is increasing as well. Is this in reaction to the greater numbers of obese and overweight people?

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Tossing Out the Diet

July 16th, 2009

By Jeanne Rust, PhD, Founder and CEO, Mirasol Eating Disorder Recovery Centers

Jeanne RustIn this morning’s New York Times appeared the article, “Tossing Out the Diet and Embracing the Fat.”  Whew!! Quite a mouthful.  Easier said than done when someone has been accustomed to dieting and hating the fat for years.

As a therapist who has treated hundreds — if not thousands — of compulsive eaters who are overweight according to our beloved insurance charts and BMI tables, I wish someone could wave that magic wand and have everyone who has lived on and off diets for most of their lives be happy just with themselves as they are.

So many women live sad lives of “when I lose the weight” or “if I’m able to take it off by Christmas,” my  life will be pretty perfect!  So many lives of creative, brilliant women literally on hold with these unattainable dreams.

It could be that we might be in the midst of a bit of a paradigm shift.  Even Oprah “now sites her goal as not being ‘thin, but ‘healthy and strong and fit.”  What a statement!  I’ve always thought that Oprah manages to look pretty snappy even when she’s heavier!  She’s certainly an attractive woman.  What would it take for more and more American women to say, “You know, I think I’ll be like Oprah! I think my goal will be to be fit, strong, and healthy.”

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One Final Word on Michael Jackson

July 6th, 2009

I absolutely do not believe that there is a place for blame in Michael’s death. I didn’t especually want to write about this, but I find it necessary to clarify a few things.

First of all, Michael was in the public eye from the age of 5. He was abused physically and emotionally by his father throughout his childhood. Make no mistake — emotional abuse can be just as horrible as physical abuse. Physical abuse has a stopping point — a slap or a spanking, and it’s done for the time being. But emotional abuse is like water dripping on a stone. Self-esteem never gets a chance to develop when a person is severely emotionally abused.

Michael’s father telling him what an ugly nose he had over and over was one of the precipitants for Michael’s body-dysmorphic disorder.

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Transformational Living Center Open House

July 6th, 2009

TLC Open HouseMirasol opened its new Transformational Living Center (TLC) on June 15, and just a few weeks later, we celebrated with an Open House in honor of Mirasol’s 10th Anniversary. Guests were invited to tour the new 10-bed facility, and to share a fabulous buffet prepared by Mirasol’s world-famous chefs.

TLC is a new program based on 10 years of research into the most effective options for eating disorder treatment and relapse prevention. Like Mirasol’s primary residential program, it combines traditional therapy with alternative therapies proven effective in the treatment of chronic stress-related conditions. However, TLC recognizes that not everyone can take time out for long-term residential care, so its flexible program emphasizes real world skills and therapies that can achieve rapid improvements in the client’s ability to cope with stress.

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Transformational Living for Eating Disorder Recovery

July 6th, 2009

By David Romero, Executive Director, Mirasol Eating Disorder Recovery Centers

David RomeroMany visitors to our 10-bed facility have asked us why we call it “Transformational Living Center” (rather than a “transitional living center”). The answer has its roots in an ongoing debate within the therapeutic community regarding the type of environment that supports positive change.

It is widely accepted that behavioral changes are never accomplished with a single step. Instead, personal growth has many different stages, and individuals move gradually through the process as they acquire new tools and skills.

A central tenet of Mirasol’s treatment philosophy is that personal growth is not a clean process, and that individuals must be allowed to practice their new skills in a safe and nurturing environment that is tolerant of failure. We honor the “humanness” of each client (and ourselves), and we accept that “perfection” is a conceptual ideal that has little to do with the reality of everyday living.

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An Intentional Life

July 1st, 2009

Chinese character for intentionThe Chinese symbol for “intention” is composed two distinct characters. The upper character means “present“ and the lower character means “heart“.

This morning I received a wonderful newsletter article from my friend, Donald Altman. I read it and read it again and I immediately saw the connection with my previous blog on “having a practice.”

“Intentions may be harmful, beneficial, or neutral in what they produce. Intentions are the seeds you plant to produce the eventual yield of your life. When repeated time and time again, the grooves created by intention turn into a habit. Habit then shapes your brain, your character, and life. The problem comes when intentions are unconscious or unheeded, and you are not the master of intentionality. One good easy way to create intentionality is to simply practice it. Set intentions throughout the day for breathing, walking, sitting, standing, driving, and talking.”
–Donald Altman, MA

Eating disorder recovery would be so simple if all we had to do was set our intentions throughout the day and then honor the intentions we have set. I would like all of my patients begin the day by setting their intentions with regards to food. They would set an intention to eat whole foods, in a healthy way, following their meal plans, and they would set their intentions for dealing with stress throughout the day.

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