How Migraines can Affect your Health- Women’s Health

Migraine is practically considered as a medical condition. People who suffer from migraines get headaches that can be severe. A migraine is usually an intense pain felt on one, or sometimes, both sides of the head. A lot of people with migraine headache feel the pain in the temples or behind one eye or ear. Apart from pain, migraine also can cause vomiting and sensitivity to light and sound in some people. People who have migraines may also see spots or flashing lights or have a temporary loss of vision. Migraine headaches can occur at any time of the day, though it often starts in the morning. The pain can last a few hours or up to one or two days. Most of the time, migraines are not a threat to your overall health. But migraine attacks can interfere with your day-to-day life. It is not yet clearly known what causes migraines, but here are some things that are more common in people who have them:

Often, migraine affects people between the ages of 15 and 55

 Most people have a family history of migraine.

They are more common in women than men

 Migraine often becomes less severe and less frequent with age

What could be the causes of migraines?

According to e-publications on women’shealth.gov, the exact cause of migraine is not fully understood yet. Researchers think that migraine is due to abnormal changes in levels of substances that are naturally produced in the brain. When the levels of these substances increase, they can cause inflammation. This inflammation then causes blood vessels in the brain to dilate and press on nearby nerves, causing pain. Experts do know that people with migraines react to a variety of factors and events called triggers. These triggers can vary from person to person and don’t always lead to migraine. A combination of triggers — not a single thing or event — is more likely to set off an attack. A person’s response to triggers also can vary from migraine to migraine. Many women with migraine tend to have attacks triggered by:

 Lack of or too much sleep

 Skipped meals

 Bright lights, loud noises, or strong odours

Hormone changes during the menstrual cycle
Stress and anxiety, or relaxation after stress
Weather changes
Alcohol
Caffeine
Foods that contain nitrates, such as hot dogs and lunch meats
Foods that contain tyramine, such as soy products, hard sausages, and smoked fish

When should one seek help for headaches?

Sometimes, headache can signal a more serious problem. You should talk to your physician about your headaches if:
You have several headaches per month and each lasts for several hours or days

Your headaches disrupt your home, work, or normal life

You have nausea, vomiting, vision, or other sensory problems (such as numbness or tingling)

You have pain around the eye or ear

You have a severe headache with a stiff neck

You have a headache with confusion or loss of alertness

You have a headache with convulsions
You used to be headache-free, but now have constant headaches

By Rifkatu Yusuf

 Age Control Tips                                                                                 

Have you wondered why some people seem to remain perpetually young despite having spent more number of years on earth than many of the people who look much older than they? A combination of factors is responsible for those tell-tale age lines that make you appear older than your peers. But you can apparently control the ageing process by following these simple tips:

Sleep On Your Back

Sleeping in certain positions night after night leads to "sleep lines" (i.e. wrinkles that become etched into the top layers of skin and don't fade when you're up). Sleeping on your side leads to wrinkles on cheeks and chin, while sleeping face down gives you a furrowed brow. To cut down on new wrinkles, sleep on your back.

Don't Squint - Get Reading Glasses!

Making the same expressions over and over, like squinting, overworks facial muscles, forming a groove beneath the skin's surface. Eventually the groove becomes a wrinkle. Keep those eyes wide open: Wear reading glasses if you need them. And get savvy about sunglasses, which can protect skin around the eyes from sun damage and keep you from squinting.

Don't Over-wash Your Face

Tap water strips skin of moisture and natural oils that protect against wrinkles. If you wash your face too often, you wash away its protection. And unless your soap contains moisturizers, use a gel or cream facial cleanser instead.

Wear Your Vitamin C

Some studies have found that creams with vitamin C can raise collagen production, protect against damage from UVA and UVB rays, help reduce dark spots and uneven skin tone, and dark patches. You have to use a skin product with the right type of vitamin C, though. L-ascorbic acid may be the best for wrinkle relief.

Eat More Fish

Salmon (along with other cold-water fish) is a great source of protein, one of the building blocks of great skin. It’s also a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. Experts say that essential fatty acids nourish skin and keep it plump and youthful, helping minimize wrinkles.

Eat More Fish

 

Salmon (along with other cold-water fish) is a great source of protein, one of the building blocks of great skin. It’s also a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. Experts say that essential fatty acids nourish skin and keep it plump and youthful, helping minimize wrinkles.

Soy for Skin Care

Soy may improve the appearance of your skin and may even protect it, too. Studies suggest soy applied to the skin or taken as a supplement may help protect against or even heal some of the sun's damage. And it has also been shown to improve skin's structure and firmness, and to even out skin tone.

Avoid Coffee

Try a wrinkle-reducing drink, like cocoa and malt drinks, instead of coffee. In one study, researchers found that cocoa with high levels of two antioxidants (epicatechin and catechin) protected skin from sun damage, improved blood flow to skin cells, helped hydration, and made the skin look and feel smoother. Delicious!

 

Practice Good Skin Care Basics

If you really want to keep your skin looking young, start with the essentials. You've probably heard this advice before, but it's important:

Avoid the sun                        

Wear sunscreen

Wear sun protective clothing

Don't smoke

Use moisturizer

And finally, take full control of your emotions. Negative emotions like anger, moodiness and depression lead to premature ageing. Learn to live on the brighter side of life.

                     

Ola N. Uchendu

 

                                            

 

 

 

WHY THIS WAR BETWEEN DOMESTICS HELPS AND THEIR EMPLOYERS?

Stories abound about the evils that domestic helps perpetrate in homes that employ them. These evils range from petty thievery to outright murder, or wreckage of marriages. There are even more stories about the cruelty of employers of domestic helps to these unfortunate individuals who seem to settle for jobs they do not particularly like because of challenges of life.  Whether the domestic helps are males or females, the stories are the same. Recently, a man named David severed the head of his former boss, a 65 year old retired magistrate, at her residence in Ogun State. Her crime was that she sacked David for allegedly stealing her valuables: phones and jewelleries. Shortly after, we read of another saga where a clergyman’s wife wasn’t satisfied with beating up her house help, but had to bite her on the buttocks. Not quite long ago there was another story of Chiamaka Nnajiofor, who was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for the murder of her house keeper. The story goes on and on. In fact the list is endless. But what is wrong, if one may ask? Why does there seem to be an undeclared war between employers of domestic helps and the domestic helps?

First, let us start with the employers. Many employers of domestic helps treat their helps the way whites treated black slaves, or even worse, during the ugliest period of earth history. To the whites, the black man or woman was not a complete human being. In fact, the whites gave their dogs a pride of place when the choice was between a white man’s dog and his black slave. But ironically, it was the black slaves who looked after the affairs of the whites, including taking care of their children. After centuries of mistreatment, a few whites began to recognise in the black skin a fellow human being, and thus the move for abolition of slave trade began; although some people believe that humanitarian factors had nothing to do with the abolition, but rather because the whites had no further use for slave labour as a result of industrial revolution. The point we are trying to make is that a point comes when the master realises that the servant is also a human being. But if he fails to do so, then, he might just breed a monster that would turn around and devour him.

There are stories of black slaves who fed their masters sandwiches filled with their excrement. There are others who passed urine, spittle or some other unspeakable things into drinking or bathing water served to their masters. Wickedness does not fail to breed wickedness. When a servant watches you eat your sumptuous meals with your children and dogs, while he/she goes hungry or is fed with stale food from two nights before, you set yourself up as a target for vendetta. It is not that anybody, servant or master, is justified to mete out evil to anyone. But bear in mind that a time comes when one just cannot take it any more.

Now, let’s talk about why you need a domestic help. Some need domestic helps because they work tight schedule and just cannot combine domestic chores with their daily office or work routine. In time past, women simply stayed home to take care of things at the home front. But a number of factors have combined to change all that, sending wives and mothers into the work place. The result is that both fathers and mothers go to work in the morning and return late at night, with children left in the care of domestic helps. The job of a domestic help has thus become very important and indispensable. Considering the dominant role a domestic help has now to play, it goes without saying that getting a suitable domestic help should not be a task that should be left in the hands of touts or traffickers. We are talking about someone to whom you would practically hand over your life and the lives of your children; it should be viewed as serious as that. There have been stories of children being infected with serious diseases through domestic helps. Therefore, recruiting a domestic help should be viewed more seriously than even recruiting an office secretary.

In developed countries, there are agencies where one can hire domestic helps from. The agencies usually do all the background checks and categorise their agents so that when you apply for a domestic help they give you a range of choices and the cost implications. There are even domestic helps that can double as home tutors for your kids. In this way there is mutual respect. If you are not satisfied with the services, you can always report back to the agency who might withdraw that help and give you another one. But whatever happens, you don’t go beating and slapping the domestic helps as if they were your personal slaves. Anyway, that is in the developed society.

Back home here, I think you can still get as close as possible to what obtains out there. You just have to view the issue of getting your domestic help with some seriousness. You can even advertise or ask friends and relations to recommend someone. But the benefits you attach to the post will determine the quality of domestic help that will respond. More importantly, keep in mind that nobody is born to be permanently your domestic help. While he or she is helping you out, you might think of investing in the life of the person so that when it comes time for him/her to move on, either to higher institution or to a better job or even getting married, he/she can recommend a friend as good to help you out. Bottom line is you reap what you sow.

Another thing to bear in mind is that there is no course listed in JAMB brochure as Domestic Help Studies or House-girl/Houseboy-ship. It is an on-the-job-training kind of job. This means that you will patiently keep correcting and showing how best you want to be served until they begin to get it right and satisfy you. It will help if you bear in mind that they are human beings prone to human errors. They are not human machines programmed to serve you exactly as you wish. But with a little patience and give and take here and there, you can get the best out of your domestic helps.

Ola N. Uchendu

The Fashion in Nose Jewellery

Even before now, and over the years, nose piercing has been popular among female teenagers, celebrities and many adults. I remember back then at school, nostril piercing was a norm; girls would wear elegant small jewellery pieces on the nose. I have come to like the idea of it but haven’t found the nerve to do that just yet.

Origins of nose piercing can be traced back to India. Northern Indian women wear nose rings on the left and Southern Indian women wear on the right. They pierce nose believing that it will help to make childbirth easier. Nose jewellery in India also represents prosperity and beauty. For most people today, it is their style of fashion. Most “Fashionistas” today see nose ring as a part of fashion that suits them, while some people do not agree with that. In our society today, countless number of young people wear nose rings.

But if you have decided to pierce your nose, choose professional, well-established and licensed piercing salon or shop. They must have necessary jewellery and sterilising equipment. Your starter jewellery should be of hypoallergenic metal. Go for the titanium piercing jewellery or surgical stainless steel jewellery. There are different types of nose piercing including bridge, septum and nostril piercing. And the choice of jewellery depends on the nose piercing type. Small rings, studs, screws, pins and bones are nostril piercing jewellery. Nowadays, diamond nose jewellery and gold nose hoops are extremely popular among people. Captive bead rings and barbells are for septum piercing as well as for bridge piercing that are located between the eyes through the top of the nose. The sizes of nose piercings differ.

Nose jewellery is said to symbolize sex appeal and individuality for most people, and nowadays young girls and famous young women widely go for nostril piercing; and boys and rock stars prefer bridge and septum piercing. The extreme outlook of bridge piercing and wide free tribal style of bridge piercing aren't accepted by all members of society, while nostril piercing, being small and almost unnoticeable, has almost become a norm like an earlobe piercing.

If you have pierced your nose, ask your piercer about aftercare and follow instructions to enable it heal fast without infection. The piercing and the surrounding skin should be applied with antibacterial soap and then thoroughly rinsed. Mix 8 ounces of warm water with 1/4 teaspoon of non-iodized sea salt. Soak the cotton ball in this solution and place it gently on the top of your piercing. Let it sit there at least for 5 minutes. Nose piercing requires special care as we breathe with it and we sniff lots of micro-stuff together with the air.

Nostril piercing jewellery choice is rapidly growing as popularity on piercing of nostril is reaching its high point. For those who do not consider this as part of fashion, well it’s still okay. The truth is that everybody has his/ her ways of expressing fashion statement in different style.

By Rifkatu Yusuf

The Don’ts of  Eye Makeup

1.     Do not share mascara

Like most people, you were probably taught to share things with other people while you were growing up. Yes, with toys you could share; but with mascara, sharing can be dangerous. It's easy for germs to make their way into your mascara and other makeup items. Do not share mascara with other people. If you do, you will be swapping germs and liberally spreading infections.

2.     Do not add water or saliva to mascara

Never add water or your own saliva to dried-out mascara. Doing so adds more germs. It's best to throw mascara away after three months, whether it is dried out or not. But if your mascara dries out earlier than three months, it is still better to throw it away than to add water or saliva to it.

3       Do not sleep with mascara on

Also, make sure you remove your mascara before you go to bed at night. Mascara flakes can fall into your eyes while you sleep and cause an infection.

4       Do not make up while driving or being driven

Never put eye make-up on while you're driving or are a passenger. It’s easy for your hand to slip and cause the wand, eye shadow brush, or tweezers to scratch your eye, or infect it with germs. Scratching the eye with a mascara wand is the most common cosmetics-related injury. It can lead to an eye infection if the scratches go untreated, and infections can result in ulcers on the cornea, eyelash loss, or even blindness. To avoid this type of injury, don't try to apply mascara while driving or riding in a moving vehicle. Finish with your makeup routine and put away the makeup kit before entering the car.

5       Longing for Lashes of a Certain Colour? Dyes Are Not the Way to Go.

Don't use hair dye on your eyebrows and eyelashes; it can cause blindness. The colours used for mascara and eyebrow pencils are approved and safe to use. But there are no hair dyes that are approved for tinting or colouring eyebrows and eyelashes.

Head Transplant: Whose Life?

If a head is transplanted on another body, whose life would it be, the owner of the head or the owner of the body?  I am asking because some crazy scientists and surgeons are claiming that in about two years from now they would be able to do a head transplant. Sources say they are gearing up to perform the world’s first human head transplant. Monkey head transplant was successfully done 40 years ago, and something similar has just been done in China with a mouse, the source claimed. From what the source says, they are actually serious about this body swap; they have put 2017 as the year for the operation that will cost 7.5million pounds. I hear they already have a long list of potential patients, and will announce the plans at a top medical conference later this year.

Now read what they say about how the process will go: “The new body would come from a normal transplant donor whose brain is dead. Both the donor and the patient would have their heads severed from their spinal cord at the same time, using an ultra-sharp blade to give a clean cut. The patient’s head would then be moved on to the donor’s body and attached, using a ‘glue’ called polyethylene glycol to fuse the two ends of the spinal cord together.”  (Read more: www.tandullceblogspot.com)

Ola N. Uchendu 

The Benefits of Laughter

Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humour lightens your burdens, inspires hope, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert. With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health.

How Laughter Improves Your Health

    * Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after you’ve stopped laughing.

    * Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.

    * Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

    * Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.

How Laughter Improves Your Emotional Health

Laughter makes you feel good. And the good feeling that you get when you laugh remains with you even after the laughter subsides. Humour helps you keep a positive, optimistic outlook through difficult situations, disappointments, and loss. More than just a respite from sadness and pain, laughter gives you the courage and strength to find new sources of meaning and hope. Even in the most difficult of times, a laugh, or even simply a smile, can go a long way toward making you feel better. And laughter really is contagious; just hearing laughter primes your brain and readies you to smile and join in the fun. So why don’t you try a good laugh instead of rousing the negative emotions? It will do you good!

The link between laughter and mental health

    * Laughter dissolves distressing emotions. You can’t feel anxious, angry, or sad when you’re laughing.

    * Laughter helps you relax and recharge. It reduces stress and increases energy, enabling you to stay focused and accomplish more.

    * Humour shifts perspective, allowing you to see situations in a more realistic, less threatening light. A humorous perspective creates psychological distance, which can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed.

BY: OLA UCHENDU

What you should know about fungal nail infections

Fungal infection can affect any part of the body like the skin, eyes, private part and nails. When fungus begins to overgrow in any part of the body, then an infection can occur. Nail infection occurs from the overgrowth of fungi in, under, or on the nail, because they thrive in warm, moist environment. The fungal infection that affects the nails is called Onychomycosis or Tinea unguium. There are many causes of nail infections and each has its different treatment. The nail infection can be prevented, though some risk factors may increase the likelihood of developing it. Some of the ways you can develop a fungal nail infection is if you:

        Wear a lot of artificial nails

        Have a nail injury that is not properly treated

        Have wet and moist fingers or toes for an extended time

        Have a weakened immune system

        Wear closed shoes or boots for a long period of time

        Have disease that affects your blood vessels.

Fungal nail infections are treatable in most cases. Because the infection occurs from the overgrowth of fungi in, under, or on the nail, it thrives in warm, moist environment. You should know that nail infections occur more in men than in women and are often found in adults than in children. So how do you identify nail fungal infection? You can easily identify the infection when you noticed the following:

1.       Yellow spots at the bottom of the nail

2.       Flaking white areas on the nail’s surface or

3.       Scaling under the nail.

Some common signs are:

1.       Experiencing a thickened nail.

2.       An odour coming from the infected nail

3.       Or a distorted nail

How can you treat nail infection?

Usually, over the counter products are not recommended to treat nail infections because they do not provide reliable result. But a lot of people prefer the over-the-counter medication. It is always advisable to see the doctor to prescribe an oral antifungal medication. The medications often prescribed are fluconazole, itraconazole or terbinatine. These treatments are not guaranteed to get rid of the fungal infection from your body completely. In almost half of cases, the fungal nail infection will return.

How to prevent this infection

Making few necessary changes in your lifestyle can prevent a fungal infection of the nails. When you take good care of your nails by keeping them well trimmed and clean, it is a good way to prevent infections from taking root.  

By: Rifkatu Yusuf

Benefits of Crying

Many people, especially men, have been made to believe that there is something shameful or weak about crying. First, why do we cry? There are very many different reasons why people cry. Some cry for joy, others cry for sorrows. Unexpected good fortunes can make someone shed tears of joy. One can also shed tears of regret if lack of patience has led one to miss some very good opportunities. Loss of loved ones through death can also be a reason to shed tears. Deep disappointment by trusted one, especially a valued partner in a relationship can be a cause for shedding painful tears.

While men are often encouraged to be men and hold themselves from expressing sorrows openly through crying or shedding tears, women are encouraged to cry it out; some cultures even condemn women who do not cry often enough. But is it necessary to cry at all? What will happen if one decides or trains himself/herself never to cry no matter what happens? Are there health and psychological benefits to derive from crying?

Most of us have had good reasons to cry from time to time, though some of us are like a rock and never or hardly ever cry. But really, we should cry some of the time. Why? Because, believe it or not, crying is actually healthy for us in numerous ways. Check out the following list of  things crying does for us:

1.         Stress relief: Yes, crying actually helps us to relieve stress. According to psychological counsellor, Li Jin with the Yang Guang Hua Ren Psychological Service, crying can help people deal with many different kinds of stresses, “pressure, frustration, sorrow or anger — any negative emotions.”

2.         Toxin removal: Did you know that all tears are not the same? Several studies have shown that tears brought about by stress are different biologically from tears brought about by working with onions. Also, tears that are brought about by stressful situations contain some toxins that are within the body, which means those tears are helping the body to get rid of those toxins. No, no one wants to cry over a bad situation, but at least the tears are helping the body by shedding toxins.

3.         Lubrication: This one should be rather obvious. Tears help to lubricate the eyes, keeping the eyes functioning better by not allowing them to dry out.

4.         Irritant remover: All those tears not only lubricate the eyes, but they also help to remove any kinds of irritants in the eyes, such as grit or dirt or sand or smoke or whatever. If you need to clean your eyes, try a good cry.

5.         Feeling good: Crying actually releases endorphins into the body. Endorphins are hormones that can help to ease your mood, even put you into a better mood.

6.         Blood pressure: No, crying in and of itself doesn’t necessarily lower your blood pressure, but holding back those tears can build up stress, which actually heightens blood pressure. So don’t act like a tough guy who never allows himself to cry, because you’re only hurting yourself.

7.         Bad hormones: Not only does crying help in a round-about way with blood pressure, but it also helps with other cardiovascular problems, and also with potential problems with the gastrointestinal systems, bones, muscles and more. How is this? Tears shed bad hormones from the body, hormones that could potentially affect all these different parts of the body in negative ways.

8.         Nose cleaner: You read that correctly. Tears actually help to keep the insides of the nose clean of bacteria and irritants. How is this possible? Quite simply! The tear ducts actually run down and connect to the inside of your nose, and whenever you shed some tears, some of those tears are sent down into your nose. Not only are you crying on the outside, but you’re also literally crying on the inside, at least, according to Dr. Judith Orloff.

9.         Infections: Tears contain a chemical known as lysozyme, a natural anti-bacterial that works to keep infections from happening in one’s eyes.

Read more: http://healthmad.com/children/10-health-benefits-of-crying/

How to stop binge eating

It can be difficult to overcome binge eating and food addiction. Unlike other addictions, your “drug” is necessary for survival, so you don’t have the option of avoiding it. Instead, you must develop a healthier relationship with food, a relationship that is based on meeting your nutritional needs, not your emotional ones.

In order to stop the unhealthy pattern of binge eating, it’s important to start eating for health and nutrition. Healthy eating involves making balanced meal plans, choosing healthy foods when eating out, and making sure you’re getting the right vitamins and minerals in your diet.

10 strategies for overcoming binge eating

    

* Manage stress. One of the most important aspects of controlling binge eating is to find alternate ways to handle stress and other overwhelming feelings without using food. These may include exercising, meditating, using sensory relaxation strategies, and practicing simple breathing exercises.

   

* Eat 3 meals a day plus healthy snacks. Eating breakfast jump-starts your metabolism in the morning. Follow breakfast with a balanced lunch and dinner, and healthy snacks in between. Stick to scheduled mealtimes; skipping meals often leads to binge eating later in the day.

   

* Avoid temptation. You’re much more likely to overeat if you have junk food, desserts, and unhealthy snacks in the house. Remove the temptation by clearing your fridge and cupboards of your favourite binge foods.

   

* Stop dieting. The deprivation and hunger of strict dieting can trigger food cravings and the urge to overeat. Instead of dieting, focus on eating in moderation. Find nutritious foods that you enjoy and eat only until you feel content, not uncomfortably stuffed. Avoid banning certain foods as this can make you crave them even more.

    

* Exercise. Not only will exercise help you lose weight in a healthy way, but it also lifts depression, improves overall health, and reduces stress. The natural mood-boosting effects of exercise can help put a stop to emotional eating.

   

* Fight boredom. Instead of snacking when you're bored, distract yourself. Take a walk, call a friend, read, or take up a hobby such as painting or gardening.

   

* Get enough sleep. If you're tired, you may want to keep eating in order to boost your energy. Take a nap or go to bed earlier instead.

    

* Listen to your body. Learn to distinguish between physical and emotional hunger. If you ate recently and don't have a rumbling stomach, you're probably not really hungry. Give the craving time to pass.

   

* Keep a food diary. Write down what you eat, when, how much, and how you're feeling when you eat. You may see patterns emerge that reveal the connection between your moods and binge eating.

    

* Get support. You're more likely to succumb to binge eating triggers if you lack a solid support network. Talking helps, even if it’s not with a professional. Lean on family and friends, join a support group, and if possible consult a therapist.

Binge Eating Disorder

Binge eating disorder is characterized by compulsive overeating in which people consume huge amounts of food while feeling out of control and powerless to stop. The symptoms of binge eating disorder usually begin in late adolescence or early adulthood, often after a major diet. A binge eating episode typically lasts around two hours, but some people binge on and off all day long. Binge eaters often eat even when they’re not hungry and continue eating long after they’re full. They may also gorge themselves as fast as they can while barely registering what they’re eating or tasting.  People who have this disorder struggle with feelings of guilt, disgust, and depression. They worry about what the compulsive eating will do to their bodies; they beat themselves up for their lack of self-control. They desperately want to stop binge eating, but feel like they can’t. Binge eating often leads to weight gain and obesity, which only reinforces compulsive eating. The worse binge eaters feel about themselves, the more they use food to cope. It becomes a vicious cycle: eating to feel better, feeling even worse, and then turning back to food for relief.

Signs and symptoms of binge eating disorder

People with binge eating disorder are embarrassed and ashamed of their eating habits, so they often try to hide their symptoms and eat in secret. Many binge eaters are overweight or obese, but some are of normal weight.

Ask yourself the following questions. The more “yes” answers, the more likely it is that you have binge eating disorder.

    * Do you feel out of control when you’re eating?

    * Do you think about food all the time?

    * Do you eat in secret?

    * Do you eat until you feel sick?

    * Do you eat to escape from worries, relieve stress, or to comfort yourself?

    * Do you feel disgusted or ashamed after eating?

    * Do you feel powerless to stop eating, even though you want to?

Emotional symptoms of compulsive overeating

    * Feeling stress or tension that is only relieved by eating

    * Embarrassment over how much you’re eating

    * Feeling numb while bingeing—like you’re not really there or you’re on auto-pilot.

    * Never feeling satisfied, no matter how much you eat

    * Feeling guilty, disgusted, or depressed after overeating

    * Desperation to control weight and eating habits

Biological causes of binge eating disorder

Biological abnormalities can contribute to binge eating. For example, the hypothalamus (the part of the brain that controls appetite) may not be sending correct messages about hunger and fullness. Researchers have also found a genetic mutation that appears to cause food addiction. Finally, there is evidence that low levels of the brain chemical serotonin play a role in compulsive eating.

Social and cultural causes of binge eating disorder

Social pressure to be thin can add to the shame binge eaters feel and fuel their emotional eating. Some parents unwittingly set the stage for binge eating by using food to comfort, dismiss, or reward their children. Children who are exposed to frequent critical comments about their bodies and weight are also vulnerable, as are those who have been sexually abused in childhood.

How to stop binge eating (Next Edition)

BY: OLA UCHENDU