Eating

We're told we're to eat from the five food groups, three meals a day supplemented by healthy snacks of fruit or yogurt. But that's not enough -- we know we have to exercise and cultivate a healthy mind to have a healthy body. It's a whole package. Many plans for a healthy diet exist, but all of them depend on a strong sense of self, a willingness to do what's best for our health and the awareness to not sabotage ourselves with unhealthy addictions.

If we were not nurtured effectively as kids, we may find ourselves with an eating disorder that reflects the malaise of our environment. Anorexia, bulimia and overeating each have corresponding psychologies based in life experience. For instance, overeating is sometimes associated with protecting oneself from abuse.

Even those of us who grew up in nurturing environments sometimes succumb to the dictates of the fashion industry. How many of us base our own standards of beauty on anorexic-looking models like Twiggy and Kate Moss?

But this "standard" of beauty is a recent one -- master painters and sculptors throughout history idealized a more realistic figure. Fashion moguls and modeling agencies might consider the Venus de Milo overweight today, but for some of us, the sculpture represents a healthy female form.

Eating disorders are an attempt at control. If we feel our life is out of control, we can still regulate what or how we eat -- even if that is a wildly unhealthy pattern. It is an act of defiance in the face of something we feel we have no power over.

And the disorders pose serious health risks. These conditions and the situations that cause them are not at all trivial. Karen Carpenter died from the effects of her eating disorder.

Recovery

When you use food to cope with an intolerable living condition, it's often impossible to correct the eating patterns without first improving your living conditions. That means getting away from an abuser or learning how to see your body more accurately. Anorexics and bulimics are always convinced that they are too fat even when their figures become skeletal.

These days, we can more effectively break these patterns of self-abuse and begin to heal thanks to a tremendous network of support. Overeaters Anonymous (OA) is just one example of a support group, based on the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) model.

The Anorexia and Bulimia Family Support Group lists the warning signs, the possible medical complications and advice to family members and friends on understanding the person with the disorder.

Some famous women have come forward with their disorders and in that way inspired many other women to heal. Oprah Winfrey, an overeater who had suffered abuse, and Sarah Ferguson, who now supports Weight Watchers, are both well-known women who learned new, healthy ways to regard food.

Click here for more on nutrition.

Recommended Links on Eating:

Your Food Profile
iVillage All Health Channel
iVillage Health Calculator
Ask the Healthy Eating Expert
iVillage Ask the Nutritionist