Diet

Eating Disorders

An eating disorder is an illness that stems from both emotional and psychological distress, and results in an obsessive relationship with food in terms of over or under eating.

Having the ability to control the amount and type of food consumed makes sufferers believe that they are coping with their problems and offers them a way to block out painful feelings.

Different types of eating disorder

Anorexia: A psychological disorder in which sufferers have a distorted view of their own body shape and weight, lending them to deliberately starve themselves of food.

Bullimia: Bullimics fall into an abusive cycle of gorging on food until they are sick and get rid of all the food they have eaten. Many will also use laxitives to induce diarrhoea.

Compulsive eating: Again, this involves binge eating, but unlike bullimia, these people are unable to purge themselves.

Signs:

• Skipping meals or become obsessive about calorie content;

• Sticking to low calorie foods;

• Sudden loss or gain in weight;

• Behaving defensively when asked about food consumption;

• Wearing loose clothes to disguise body shape;

• Disappearing from the table straight after meals (to make themselves sick).

 

Eating disorders can be overcome

- Talk to someone you trust, a family member, a doctor, a friend, a youth worker or a trained counsellor;

- Ask to be referred to a dietician or therapist;

- Be prepared that you may be offered counselling;

- Treatment tends to combine dietry control along with counselling to help deal with underlying problems.

Places you can access support:

The Jersey Eating Disorder Support Group

beat Jersey are part of BEAT   UK. Whether you are affected by an eating disorder or are a carer for a much loved relative or friend with an eating disorder we are able to provide support through shared experience in a totally confidential setting.

 

EATING HEALTHILY

A balanced diet

Eating a balance diet does not necessarily need to be rigid or miserable, and has room in it for the occasional treat.

To keep healthy it's recommended that you eat foods from the five main food groups each day. These are:

• Starchy foods like bread, cereals or potatoes - make these part of every meal.
• Fruit and vegetables, including fresh, frozen or tinned - aim for 5 portions.
• Milk and dairy products, e.g. cheese or yoghurt - aim for 3 portions.
• Protein-rich foods like meat, fish, beans, nuts or pulses - aim for 1-2 portions.
• Fatty or sugary foods - in moderation.
• Also aim to drink about 6-8 glasses of water and low sugar drinks each day to keep your body working well.

 

Tips

- Eat regular meals based on carbohydrate in the form of unrefined starchy foods. This means potatoes in their skins, rice, bread and pasta. The wholemeal versions are the best as they are thought to contain more vitimans and release their energy more steadily, as well as containing fibre.

- Try to eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Fresh, frozen, canned and dried varieties all count, as does 2 servings of pure fruit juice. Fruit & vegetables make great snacks as they are both nutritious and low in calories.

- Refined sugary food can cause tooth decay and cause fluctuations in blood glucose levels. Sugar is 'empty calories' and contains only energy without other nutrients (the same goes for alcohol).

- Protein is needed in moderate amounts. Go for lean meats, poultry, eggs, fish, beans, lower-fat cheeses, semi-skimmed milk, yoghurts or soya products.

- Fats are essential to health in small amounts. Where possible, try to replace saturated fats (e.g. butter) with monounsaturated (e.g. olive oil) and polyunsaturated (e.g. sunflower oil) alternatives. Try to avoid hardened vegetable oils as they usually contain trans fatty acids that are unhealthy forms of fat.

- Vitamins and minerals are best obtained from eating a wide variety of foods. the ones in the tablets (and added to fortified cereals etc) are often not in the same natural forms that are found in food, and may not be absorbed as effectively.

- Eat breakfast and don't skip meals. You'll be more laert and your metabolism will be better. People who eat breakfast regularly are more likely to be slimmer than people who skip it.

- Combine a balanced diet with regular moderate exercise to feel and look your best.

- Food is there to be enjoyed - if you eat something unhealthy, try not to feel guilty, just aim to eat more healthily the next day.

If you stick to these guidelines most of the time, it will be fine if you occasionally eat small amounts of sweet foods and fried foods. Of course, many of us follow diets in which some of these foods are not acceptable.

You may be vegetarian (eating no meat or fish) or vegan (eating no meat, fish or dairy products), eat specific food types for religious or cultural reasons or you may be intolerant to some foods.

It is normal and natural for young adults to get hungry between meals. It's a good idea to get a balance of the snacks you choose.

No snacks should be 'off limits', but if you do eat a lot of high fat, sugar and salty snacks like crisps, chocolate and fizzy drinks, try to start replacing some of them with fruit, cereal bars, milk and unsweetened juice.

There are lots of fads about eating and various diets, but try to vary your diet from amongst the suggested food groups and you should do ok!

For further information you can contact:

Jersey Health Promotion Department Tel: (01534) 443900

or check out www.teenweightwise.com for more information.