Zinc

HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

Zinc plays a role in the regulation of appetite and your stress level. Learn about the usage, dosage, side-effects of zinc supplements.

Zinc plays a role in the regulation of appetite and your stress level. Learn about the usage, dosage, side-effects of zinc supplements.

Overview

Zinc is an essential trace mineral, which means that it must be obtained from the diet since the body cannot make enough. Next to iron, zinc is the most abundant trace mineral in the body. Stored primarily in muscle, zinc is also found in high concentrations in red and white blood cells, the retina of the eye, bones, skin, kidneys, liver, and pancreas. In men, the prostate gland stores high amounts of zinc.

Zinc plays an important role in the immune system, which may explain why it is helpful in protecting against infections such as colds. Zinc also plays a role in the regulation of appetite, stress level , taste, and smell. It is essential for normal growth and development, and for most aspects of reproduction in both males and females.

Zinc also has some antioxidant properties, which means that it helps protect cells in the body from the potential damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals occur naturally in the body, but environmental toxins (including ultraviolet light, radiation, cigarette smoking, and air pollution) can also increase the number of these damaging particles. Free radicals are believed to contribute to the aging process as well as the development of a number of health problems including heart disease and cancer. Antioxidants such as zinc can neutralize free radicals and may reduce or even help prevent some of the damage they cause.

The typical daily intake of zinc in the Western diet is approximately 10 mg, two-thirds of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA). Low zinc intake is often seen in the elderly, alcoholics, people with anorexia, and individuals on restrictive weight loss diets. Zinc deficiency can also be caused by diseases that interfere with the absorption of nutrients from food, such as irritable bowel disease, Celiac disease, and chronic diarrhea.

Some of the symptoms of zinc deficiency include loss of appetite, poor growth, weight loss, impaired taste or smell, poor wound healing, skin abnormalities (such as acne, atopic dermatitis and psoriasis), hair loss, lack of menstrual period, night blindness, hypogonadism and delayed sexual maturation, white spots on the fingernails and feelings of depression.

Zinc Supplement Uses

Immune Response
People who are zinc deficient tend to be more susceptible to a variety of infections. Zinc supplementation enhances immune system activity and protects against a range of infections including colds and upper respiratory infections (such as bronchitis). Several important studies have revealed that zinc lozenges may reduce the intensity of the symptoms associated with a cold, particularly cough, and the length of time that a cold lingers. Similarly, nasal zinc gel seems to shorten the duration of a cold while zinc nasal spray does not.

Such immune enhancement has been demonstrated in special populations including people with sickle cell anemia and the elderly. Those who have sickle cell anemia are often in and out of the hospital with complications from their condition, including infection. They are also frequently zinc deficient. One small scale but well designed study revealed that use of zinc supplements for three years not only improved immune function in those with sickle cell anemia, but also decreased the number of infections and hospitalizations during that time course.

Similarly, 80 elderly patients living in a nursing home had fewer infections when receiving zinc supplements over a two year period than those who received placebo.

HIV/AIDS
Zinc deficiency is common in people with HIV (even before symptoms appear) or AIDS. In people with AIDS, low levels of zinc may be a result of poor absorption, medications, and/or loss of this important nutrient through vomiting or diarrhea. Zinc deficiency leads to increased susceptibility to infection in people with AIDS (called an opportunistic infection). When studied, zinc supplementation has increased CD4 counts (the marker of the white blood cells that fight infection) and improved weight (weight loss is a serious problem in people with this health problem) in those with HIV. Similarly, people with HIV were less likely to develop an opportunistic infection when taking zinc along with a medication used for HIV known as AZT. If you are HIV positive or have AIDS, speak with your physician about the safety, appropriateness, and dose of zinc.

Burns
It is very important for people who have sustained serious burns to obtain adequate amounts of nutrients in their daily diet. Burn patients in hospitals are often given diets high in calories and protein to speed recovery. When skin is burned, a substantial percentage of micronutrients, such as copper, selenium, and zinc may be lost. This increases the risk for infection, slows the healing process, prolongs the hospital stay, and even increases the risk of death. Although it is unclear which micronutrients are most beneficial for people with burns, many experts suggest that a multivitamin containing zinc and other vital nutrients be included in the therapy to aid recovery.

Diabetes
Zinc levels tend to be low in people with diabetes, particularly type 2 diabetes. Plus, zinc plays an important role in production and storage of insulin. For these reasons, zinc supplements may prove to be helpful for some people with this health problem.

Zinc and Eating Disorders
Studies have shown that people with anorexia and bulimia are often deficient in zinc. Deficiency in this mineral may reduce the sensation of taste and contribute to a loss of appetite. Zinc supplementation seems to help enhance weight gain, increase body mass index, regulate normal appetite signals, improve self-body image, and diminish the obsession with weight, particularly when combined with psychotherapy and other standard treatment approaches.

Low Fertility in Males
Low levels of zinc can contribute to impaired male fertility. Although studies are somewhat premature at this point, zinc supplements may increase sperm count and improve sperm motility, particularly in smokers.

Zinc and (Attention-Deficit Hyperactive Disorder)
Children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tend to have lower blood zinc levels than children without attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Also, children with even mildly diminished levels of zinc seem to be less likely to improve from a commonly prescribed medication for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than children with normal zinc levels.

Diarrhea
Because of its role in immune system function, deficiencies in zinc make infants susceptible to acute diarrhea. In malnourished children, supplementation can have a protective effect. One study showed that supplementation of pregnant women in an undeveloped country (where malnutrition rates are high) significantly reduced the incidence of diarrhea in their babies. In addition, people suffering from chronic diarrhea are at an increased risk for zinc deficiency and would likely benefit from a multivitamin containing zinc.

Osteoporosis
Zinc is essential for maintaining proper bone health throughout life. Zinc has been shown to stimulate bone formation and inhibit bone loss in animal studies and may prove useful in preventing or treating osteoporosis in people.

Acne
There is some evidence that zinc supplementation (such as zinc gluconate) reduces acne inflammation. Studies to date have had certain limitations, however. Therefore, it is difficult to draw definite conclusions about how much zinc to use, what type of zinc is best, and the duration of treatment.

Antibiotics such as erythromycin and tetracycline are sometimes combined with zinc in topical preparations for inflammatory acne. It is unclear whether the zinc enhances the effects of the antibiotics, or simply serves as a mode of delivery for the antibiotics.

Herpes simplex
Topical preparations of zinc have shown benefit in relieving symptoms and preventing recurrences of oral herpes lesions (canker sores).

Tuberculosis
Diets lacking in certain nutrients, including zinc, may be linked to abnormalities in immune function. This may make certain individual more likely to contract tuberculosis (TB), particularly the elderly, children, alcoholics, the homeless, and HIV-infected individuals.

A recent well-designed study of people with tuberculosis in Indonesia found that zinc (together with vitamin A) may actually enhance the effects of certain TB drugs. These changes were demonstrated just two months after starting the supplements. More research is warranted. Until then, your doctor will determine if the addition of zinc and vitamin A is appropriate and safe.

Age-related Macular Degeneration
Although results of studies have been somewhat mixed, the antioxidant properties of zinc may help prevent this debilitating but very common eye condition or delay its progression. More research is needed.

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)
Zinc levels may be low in women with PMS. Zinc is required for synthesis and action of many hormones, including sex hormones. This change to sex hormones may explain the possible connection between zinc and PMS. However, it is not currently known whether zinc supplements or increased zinc in the diet will lessen the symptoms of PMS.

Cervical Dysplasia
High levels of zinc in the blood may correspond to an improved chance for the changes in the cervix seen with cervical dysplasia (a precancerous condition screened for by pap smear) to revert to normal. How this relates to zinc or vitamin A supplements is not known; more research is needed.

Other
The following is a partial list of health problems that may increase the need for zinc or affect how the body absorbs or uses this mineral. It is not known, however, whether zinc supplementation will aid the treatment of most of these conditions.

Acrodermatitis enteropathica (a skin disorder that is due to an inherited inability to absorb zinc properly; generally affects the limbs, mouth, or anus and may include hair loss and diarrhea)
Alcoholism
Cirrhosis (liver disease)
Kidney disease
Celiac disease
Inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease)
High blood pressure
Pancreatic conditions
Prostate problems (zinc levels tend to be low in men with inflammation of the prostate [prostatitis] and prostate cancer; the relationship between zinc and enlarged prostate [called benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH] is less clear; some studies of men with BPH have shown low zinc levels while others have shown high levels of this mineral)
Pregnancy
Breast feeding
Birth control pills

Zinc Dietary Sources

The body absorbs 20% to 40% of the zinc present in food. Zinc from animal foods like red meat, fish, and poultry is more readily absorbed by the body than zinc from plant foods. Dietary fiber, particularly phytates, can interfere with the body's ability to absorb zinc. Zinc is best absorbed when taken with a meal that contains protein.

The best sources of zinc are oysters (richest source), red meats, poultry, cheese (ricotta, Swiss, gouda), shrimp, crab, and other shellfish. Other good, though less easily absorbed sources of zinc include legumes (especially lima beans, black-eyed peas, pinto beans, soybeans, peanuts), whole grains, miso, tofu, brewer's yeast, cooked greens, mushrooms, green beans, tahini, and pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

Zinc Supplement Available Forms

Zinc sulfate is the most frequently used supplement. This is the least expensive form, but it is the least easily absorbed and may cause stomach upset. Health care providers usually prescribe 220 mg zinc sulfate, which contains approximately 55 mg of elemental zinc.

The more easily absorbed forms of zinc are zinc picolinate, zinc citrate, zinc acetate, zinc glycerate, and zinc monomethionine. If zinc sulfate causes stomach irritation, another form, such as zinc citrate, should be tried.

The amount of elemental zinc is listed in milligrams on the product label. Usually this will be between 30 and 50 mg. In determining if there is a need for supplemental zinc, the fact that the average daily intake of zinc from food sources is 10 to 15 mg should be taken into account.

Zinc lozenges, used for treating colds, are available in most drugstores. There are also nasal sprays developed to reduce nasal and sinus congestion, but studies using this method have not been successful. Nasal gels seem to work better than the spray.

How to Take Zinc

Zinc should be taken with water or juice. However, if zinc causes stomach upset, it can be taken with meals. It should not be taken at the same time as iron or calcium supplements.

A strong relationship exits between zinc and copper. Too much of one can cause a deficiency in the other. Long-term use of zinc (including zinc in a multivitamin) should be accompanied by copper. For every 15 mg of zinc, include 1 mg of copper.

If you are considering using zinc supplements, particularly for children, be sure to discuss the safety and dosage with your healthcare provider.

Daily intake of dietary zinc (according to the U.S. RDA) are listed below:

Pediatric

Infants birth to 6 months: 2 mg (AI)
Infants 7 to 12 months: 3 mg (RDA)
Children 1 to 3 years: 3 mg (RDA)
Children 4 to 8 years: 5 mg (RDA)
Children 9 to 13 years: 8 mg (RDA)
Males 14 to 18 years: 11 mg (RDA)
Females 14 to 18 years: 9 mg (RDA)

Adult

Males 19 years and older: 11 mg (RDA)
Females 19 years and older: 8 mg (RDA)
Pregnant females 14 to 18 years: 13 mg (RDA)
Pregnant females 19 years and older: 11 mg (RDA)
Breastfeeding females 14 to 18 years: 14 mg (RDA)
Breastfeeding females 19 years and older: 12 mg (RDA)

Therapeutic ranges (elemental zinc):

Men: 30 to 60 mg daily
Women: 30 to 45 mg daily

Doses over the amounts listed should be limited to only a few months under the supervision of a healthcare professional.

Precautions

Because of the potential for side effects and interactions with medications, dietary supplements should be taken only under the supervision of a knowledgeable healthcare provider.

Research has shown that less than 50 mg a day is a safe amount to take over time, but researchers are not sure what happens if more is taken over a long period. Taking more than 150 mg per day may interfere with the body's ability to use other minerals.

Common side effects of zinc include stomach upset, nausea, vomiting, and a metallic taste in the mouth. Other reported side effects of zinc toxicity are dizziness, headache, drowsiness, increased sweating, loss of muscle coordination, alcohol intolerance, hallucinations, and anemia.

Unlike the reasonable doses described, very high doses of zinc may actually weaken immune function. High doses of zinc may also lower HDL ("good") cholesterol and raise LDL ("bad") cholesterol. This may be due to a copper deficiency brought on by the long-term use of zinc. To prevent a copper deficiency and avoid a lowering of HDL cholesterol, be sure to supplement both minerals in a ratio of zinc:copper = 2:1.

Possible Interactions

If you are currently being treated with any of the following medications, you should not use zinc without first talking to your healthcare provider.

Blood Pressure Medications, ACE Inhibitors
A class of medications called ACE Inhibitors, such as captopril and enalpril, used for high blood pressure may deplete zinc stores.

Antibiotics
Zinc may decrease the absorption of oral quinolones, a class of antibiotics that includes ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, and levofloxacin, as well as tetracycline antibiotics (including tetracycline, doxycycline, and minocycline).

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
HRT, consisting of estrogen and progesterone derivatives may reduce loss of zinc in the urine, particularly in women with osteoporosis.

Hydralazine
There has been at least one report of an interaction between zinc and hydralazine, a medication used to treat high blood pressure, which resulted in a lupus-erythematosus-like syndrome (characterized by a facial butterfly rash, fever, leg and mouth ulcers, and abdominal distress).

Immunosuppressant Medications
Since zinc supports immune function, it should not be taken with corticosteroids, cyclosporine, or other medications intended to suppress the immune system.

Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs)
Zinc interacts with NSAIDs and could reduce the absorption and effectiveness of these medications. Examples of NSAIDs, which help to reduce pain and inflammation, include ibuprofen, naprosyn, piroxicam, and indomethacin.

Penicillamine
This medication, used to treat Wilson's disease (excessive amounts of copper that accumulate in the brain, liver, kidney, and eyes) and rheumatoid arthritis, decreases zinc levels.

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Supporting Research

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APA Reference
Staff, H. (2008, December 17). Zinc, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, September 21 from https://www.healthyplace.com/alternative-mental-health/supplements-vitamins/zinc

Last Updated: July 11, 2016

Vitamin E

HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

28 Vitamin E

Vitamin E helps treat Alzheimer's Disease, menopause, and diabetes. Learn about the usage, dosage, side-effects of Vitamin E.

Common Forms:alpha-tocopherol, beta-tocopherol, D-alpha-tocopherol, delta-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol

Overview
Uses
Dietary Sources
Available Forms
How to Take It
Precautions
Possible Interactions
Supporting Research

Overview

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin present in many foods, especially certain fats and oils. It is one of a number of nutrients called antioxidants. Some other well known antioxidants include vitamin C and beta-carotene. Antioxidants are nutrients that block some of the damage caused by toxic by-products released when the body transforms food into energy or fights off infection. The build up of these by-products over time is largely responsible for the aging process and can contribute to the development of various health conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and a host of inflammatory conditions like arthritis. Antioxidants provide some protection against these conditions and also help reduce the damage to the body caused by toxic chemicals and pollutants.

Vitamin E deficiency can be seen in people unable to absorb fat properly. Such conditions include pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), cystic fibrosis, and biliary diseases (illnesses of the gallbladder and biliary ducts). Symptoms of deficiency include muscle weakness, loss of muscle mass, abnormal eye movements, impaired vision, and unsteady gait. Eventually, kidney and liver function may be compromised. In addition, severe vitamin E deficiency can be associated with serial miscarriages and premature delivery in pregnant women.

Vitamin E Uses

Heart disease

Vitamin E helps prevent arteries from clogging by blocking the conversion of cholesterol into the waxy fat deposits called plaque that stick to blood vessel walls. Vitamin E also thins the blood, allowing for blood to flow more easily through arteries even when plaque is present. Studies in the last 10 years have reported beneficial results from use of vitamin E supplements as part of a prevention strategy for heart disease and other types of cardiovascular disease.

A large, important study of postmenopausal women, for example, suggested that vitamin E from foods may reduce the risk of death from stroke in postmenopausal women. The study results do not, however, support any need for supplementation with vitamin E or other antioxidant vitamins as part of a preventive strategy.

There is some evidence for the use of supplemental vitamin E as a treatment for atherosclerosis. For example, a 2-year study of men with a history of stroke compared aspirin with and without vitamin E and found that vitamin E with aspirin significantly reduced the tendency of plaque to stick to vessel walls and decreased the risk of stroke.

Still, when looked at collectively, results of studies have been mixed and a lot more evidence is needed to know if there are benefits to supplementing with vitamin E, whether for prevention or for treatment of cardiovascular disease. Four large, well-designed trials are currently in progress and should help resolve this question.

Cancer

While no firm conclusions can be drawn about vitamin E's ability to protect against cancer, it has been noted that people with cancer often have lower levels of vitamin E. Plus, population based trials (observing groups of people over long periods of time) suggest that diets rich in antioxidants, including vitamin E, may be connected to a reduced risk of certain types of cancer, such as colon cancer. Supplementation with vitamin E, though, does not appear to improve risk of cancer.

Laboratory studies have generally shown that vitamin E inhibits the growth of some cancers in test tubes and animals, particularly hormone responsive cancers such as breast and prostate. There is reason to believe, therefore, that, for these types of cancers at least, supplementation may prove beneficial for both prevention and treatment. .

Despite the encouraging results from test tube and animal studies, however, research on people has been much less promising. A large, important study called the Iowa Women's Health Study, for example, involving nearly 35,000 women, looked at the dietary intake of antioxidants and occurrence of breast cancer after menopause. They found little evidence that vitamin E has a protective effect. More research is needed before coming to any firm conclusions about whether added vitamin E has an impact on cancer and, if so, which forms of the vitamin are most effective for treatment and what optimal dosing would be.

Researchers have also pointed to the fact that the body's antioxidant defense system is complex, which suggests that focusing on one vitamin in isolation may not be the best approach. This may be why dietary forms of antioxidants, since they are generally taken together from foods, may be the best way to try to stave off cancer.

Photodermatitis

This condition involves an allergic type reaction to the UV rays of the sun. An 8-day study comparing treatment with vitamins C and E to no treatment found that the vitamin group became significantly less sensitive to the sun. Another study, lasting for 50 days, also showed a protective effect of the combination of vitamins C and E to UV rays.

Osteoarthritisis

A few studies suggest that vitamin E may be helpful in both the treatment (pain relief, increased joint mobility) and prevention (at least in men) of osteoarthritis. In a study comparing vitamin E with diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to treat osteoarthritis, the two were found to be equally effective.

Vitamin E for Alzheimer's Disease

There are several reasons why vitamin E might help treat Alzheimer's Disease. The fat soluble vitamin readily enters the brain and exerts its antioxidative properties. Oxidative stress is believed to contribute to the development of Alzheimer's Disease; therefore, again, it makes at least theoretical sense that antioxidants, like vitamin E, help prevent this condition. In fact, studies have suggested that vitamin E supplementation improves cognitive performance in healthy individuals and in those with dementia from causes other than Alzheimer's (for example, multiple strokes). In addition, vitamin E, together with vitamin C may prevent the development of Alzheimer's Disease.

Menopause

According to a review article on alternatives to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for women with breast cancer, vitamin E is the most effective option for the reduction of hot flashes for this group of women. Presumably, this would be true for other women not taking HRT because they cannot or prefer not to. Vitamin E also helps reduce other long term risks associated with menopause such as Alzheimer's, macular degeneration (see Eye health below), and cardiovascular disease.

Eye Health

Because of it's antioxidant action, vitamin E may help to protect against cataracts (clouding of the lens of the eye) and age related macular degeneration (ARMD, a progressive deterioration in the retina, the back part, of the eye). Both of these eye disorders tend to occur as people age. These conditions seriously compromise eyesight and ARMD is the number one cause of blindness in the United States. In order to minimize risk of ARMD, research reviews advocate diets high in vitamins C and E and carotenoids, especially spinach, kale, and collard greens. Taking supplements as a preventive measure, as opposed to getting vitamin E from food sources, remains controversial.

Uveitis is another eye disorder for which the antioxidant vitamins C and E may be helpful. A study of 130 patients with uveitis compared treatment with oral vitamins C and E to placebo and found that those who took the vitamins had significantly better visual clarity than those in the placebo group. Uveitis is inflammation of the uvea, the middle layer of the eye between the sclera (white outer coat of the eye) and the retina (the back of the eye). The uvea contains many of the blood vessels that nourish the eye. Inflammation of this area, therefore, can affect the cornea, the retina, the sclera, and other important parts of the eye. Uveitis occurs in acute and chronic forms.

Diabetes

People with diabetes tend to have low levels of antioxidants. This may explain, in part, their increased risk for conditions such as cardiovascular disease. Vitamin E supplements and other antioxidants may help reduce the risk of heart disease and other complications in people with diabetes. In particular, antioxidants have been shown to help control blood sugar levels, to lower cholesterol levels in those with type 2 diabetes, and to protect against the complications of retinopathy (eye damage) and nephropathy (kidney damage) in those with type 1 diabetes.

Vitamin E may also play a role in the prevention of diabetes. In one study, 944 men who did not have diabetes at were followed for 4 years. Low levels of vitamin E was associated with an increased risk of becoming diabetic in that time course.

Pancreatitis

Oxidative stress plays a role in pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas). In fact, those with pancreatitis have low levels of vitamin E and other antioxidants. This may be due to lack of absorption of fat soluble vitamins (such as vitamin E) because the enzymes from the pancreas required to absorb fat are not functioning properly. Or, this may be due to poor intake because those with pancreatitis are not eating due to pain and need for bowel rest. Some experts relay that taking vitamin E and other antioxidants may help to reduce the pain and inflammation associated with pancreatitis.

Other

Vitamin E, along with other standard treatments, may also be beneficial for the following:

Slowing the aging of cells and tissues
Protecting from frostbite and other cold-induced injuries
Diminishing the negative effects of environmental pollutants
Improving anemia
Speeding wound and burn healing
Reducing scarring
Lowering blood pressure
Slowing progression of Parkinson's disease
Easing premenstrual discomfort, especially breast tenderness
Treating lupus
Replacing necessary nutrients in those with inflammatory bowel disease, such as ulcerative colitis
Avoiding miscarriage (also called spontaneous abortion), which may be associated with very low levels of this nutrient
Helping weight gain and relieving oxidative stress in those with HIV or AIDS

Vitamin E Dietary Sources

The richest source of vitamin E is wheat germ. Other foods that contain a significant amount of vitamin E include liver, eggs, nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, and walnuts); sunflower seeds; corn-oil margarine; mayonnaise; cold-pressed vegetable oils, including olive, corn, safflower, soybean, cottonseed, and canola; dark green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale; greens (beet, collard, mustard, turnip) sweet potatoes; avocado, asparagus and yams.

Vitamin E Available Forms

Vitamin E refers to a family of eight related fat soluble compounds, the tocopherols and tocotrienols (in four different forms, alpha, beta, delta and gamma) Dosages are usually listed in international units (IUs). There are both natural and synthetic forms of vitamin E. Health care providers usually recommend natural vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol) or natural mixed tocopherols. The synthetic form is called dl-alpha-tocopherol.

Some clinicians prefer mixed tocopherols because it most closely represents whole foods.

Most vitamin E supplements are fat-soluble. However, water soluble E is available for people who have trouble absorbing fat, such as people with pancreatic insufficiency and cystic fibrosis.

Vitamin E is available in softgels, tablets, capsules, and topical oils. Doses for oral vitamin E generally range from 50 IU to 1,000 IU.

How to Take Vitamin E

Based on clinical trials, the recommended dose for disease prevention and treatment for adults is 400 to 800 IU/day. As with all supplements, it is important to check with a healthcare provider before giving vitamin E to a child.

Daily intakes of dietary Vitamin E are listed below. (Note: 1 mg vitamin E equals 1.5 IU.)

Pediatric

Newborn to 6 months: 6 IU
Infants 6 months to 1 year: 9 IU
Children 1 to 3 years: 9 IU
Children 4 to 8 years: 10.5 IU
Children 9 to 13 years: 16.5 IU
Adolescents 14 to 18 years: 22.5 IU

Adult

Older than 18 years: 22.5 IU
Pregnant females: 22.5 IU
Breastfeeding females: 28.5 IU

Precautions

Because of the potential for side effects and interactions with medications, dietary supplements should be taken only under the supervision of a knowledgeable healthcare provider.

Vitamin E should be taken together with another antioxidant called selenium.

The Tolerable Upper Intake Limit (UL) for alpha-tocopherol is set at 1000 mg (1500 IU). Doses higher than this can cause nausea, gas, diarrhea, heart palpitations, and increase the tendency to bleed.

It is especially important that those who have high blood pressure or who are taking blood-thinners such as warfarin check with a healthcare provider before taking vitamin E supplements.

There is some concern that a diet rich in fish oil taken for many months may induce a deficiency of vitamin E. People who eat a diet high in fish or who take fish oil supplements may want to consider taking vitamin E supplements.

Vitamin E Possible Interactions

If you are currently being treated with any of the following medications, you should not use vitamin E supplements without first talking to your healthcare provider.

Vitamin E and antidepressant medications, Tricyclic

Vitamin E inhibits the uptake by cells of the antidepressant desimpramine, which belongs to a class of drugs known as tricyclics. Other members of that class include imipramine and nortriptyline.

Vitamin E and Antipsychotic Medications

Vitamin E can inhibit the uptake by cells of the antipsychotic medication called chlorpromazine, which belongs to a class of drugs known as phenothiazines.

AspirinA study evaluating the effects of vitamin E and aspirin suggests that the combination appears to be safe and may benefit patients at risk for stroke.

AZT

Vitamin E may protect against toxicity and side effects from AZT, a medication used to treat HIV and AIDS.

Beta Blockers for high blood pressure

Vitamin E inhibits the uptake by cells of propranolol, a member of a class of medications called beta blockers used for high blood pressure. Other beta-blockers include atenolol and metoprolol.

Birth Control Medications

Vitamin E may provide antioxidant benefits to women taking birth control medications.

Chloroquine

Vitamin E can inhibit the uptake into cells of chloroquine, a medication used to treat malaria.

Cholesterol-lowering Medications

Cholesterol-lowering medications such as colestipol and cholestyramine, called bile-acid sequestrants, decrease the absorption of vitamin E. Gemfibrozil, a different type of cholesterol-lowering medication called a fibric acid derivative, may also reduce vitamin E levels. A third class of medications used to lower cholesterol levels known as statins (such as atorvastatin, pravastatin, and lovastatin), may reduce the antioxidant activity of vitamin E. On the other hand, the combination of vitamin E supplements with statins may help protect blood vessels from dysfunction.

Cyclosporine

Vitamin E may interact with cyclosporine, a medication used to treat cancer, reducing the effectiveness of both the supplement and the medication. However, there appears to be some controversy regarding the nature of this interaction; another study suggests that the combination of vitamin E and cyclosporine may actually increase the effects of the medication. More research is needed to determine the safety of this combination.

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Vitamin E supplements may benefit women taking hormone replacement therapy by improving lipid profiles.

Mebendazole

Simultaneous supplementation with vitamins A, C, E, and selenium significantly reduced the effectiveness of this vermifuge (treatment to eradicate intestinal worms) in a study.

Tamoxifen

Tamoxifen, a hormonal treatment for breast cancer, increases blood levels of triglycerides, increasing one's chances of developing high cholesterol. In a study of 54 women with breast cancer, vitamins C and E, taken along with the tamoxifen, counteracted this by decreasing low density cholesterol and triglyceride levels while increasing high density cholesterol. The antioxidants also enhanced the anti-cancer action of the tamoxifen.

Warfarin

Taking vitamin E at the same time as warfarin, a blood-thinning medication, increases the risk of abnormal bleeding, especially in vitamin K-deficient individuals.

Weight Loss Products

Orlistat, a medication used for weight loss and olestra, a substance added to certain food products, are both intended to bind to fat and prevent the absorption of fat and the associated calories. Because of their effects on fat, orlistat and olestra may also prevent the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin E. Given this concern and possibility, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now requires that vitamin E and other fat soluble vitamins (namely, A, D, and K) be added to food products containing olestra. How well vitamin E from such food products is absorbed and used by the body is not clear. In addition, physicians who prescribe orlistat may add a multivitamin with fat soluble vitamins to the regimen.

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APA Reference
Staff, H. (2008, December 17). Vitamin E, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, September 21 from https://www.healthyplace.com/alternative-mental-health/supplements-vitamins/vitamin-e

Last Updated: May 8, 2019

Have an Escape Plan to Get Away From Domestic Violence

HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

You need to have an escape plan to get away from domestic violence or abuse. Here are things that worked for me.

You need to have an escape plan to get away from domestic violence or abuse, in case things get really, really bad. Here are some tips that worked for me. Some of them may sound funny, but they worked for me.

One thing I would like to note: I hear from women all the time who say they can't get away, they can't accomplish these simple tasks, because he has such strict control over their lives. STOP! Take a minute to evaluate: do you work? Use your lunch hour! Do you go to the grocery store alone? Stop along the way! Do you have a friend or family member you trust? ASK FOR HER HELP!!

If he goes to work every day, you have eight hours to plan. In this case, it really is true, where there's a will, there's a way. But it's up to you to realize that you DO have some control, a little bit.

The first, most important thing I suggest is to have somewhere, set up ahead of time, to go in case it gets to the point where you feel that your life (or the lives of your children) is in danger. Call a battered women's shelter beforehand, visit it, find out where it is. Or have a friend THAT HE DOESN'T KNOW ABOUT, and find out if you can go there for a couple of days. Keep a small bag packed with necessities, and keep it at work or at that friend's house. Be ready to just walk away from everything that you have collected over the years...it may come to that.

Another must-have is a code phrase, something that sounds perfectly innocent to him while he's listening to your half of the conversation. Mine was "that stupid dog down the street got into the trash again." When my girlfriend heard that, she would come over to "visit," because he would behave when she was there.

You need to start putting some money in a secret place. I literally kept my "stash" in the mattress, where it was torn a bit. He never thought to look there.

There are a couple of ways to put money away. This first one won't work if he monitors your weekly check, but if not, well then.... each payday, save $5 or $10 and put it in the "kitty." It will add up quickly. A more "fun" way (for me) was this: I bought a more expensive brand of shampoo and kept the empty bottle. Thereafter, when I'd go to the store, I'd buy the more expensive brand again, take it home and let him check the receipt against what was in the bag (yes, he actually did that!). The next day, I'd take it back, swap it for the cheaper one, fill up the expensive bottle, and put the dollar or so in the "kitty." You can do this with a number of items. Cereal is a good one--buy the box ($2.87), then refill it with the bag ($1.87). Coffee, creamer, shampoo, conditioner, use your imagination!

Once you have some money put away, open a private mailbox and a separate bank account with the statements sent to the mailbox. Again, this will give you a sense of "I've done this on my own." You will be amazed at how good THAT feels!

These are some ideas that worked for me. They might not work for you. Maybe he does tag along EVERYWHERE YOU GO but chances are, at some point, you go somewhere by yourself. Use that time to accomplish these goals. You will begin to feel in control of at least a little piece of your life. And when that happens, you will begin to BREAK FREE.

next: My Physical Abuse, Domestic Violence Stories
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APA Reference
Staff, H. (2008, December 17). Have an Escape Plan to Get Away From Domestic Violence, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, September 21 from https://www.healthyplace.com/abuse/articles/escape-plan-to-get-away-from-domestic-violence

Last Updated: May 5, 2019

Self-Mutilation: The Truth Behind the Shame

HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

self-mutilation: the truth behind the shame

self-muti'lationn. mutilation of oneself, esp. as a symptom of mental disturbances E17

overview

What's the cause of self-injury, self-mutilation? Who suffers from self-injury and how to treat it? Self-mutilation, or self-injury as I and many others prefer to call it, is the deliberate damaging of body tissue without conscious intent to commit suicide. Just like with eating disorders, self-injury is used as a coping mechanism in life. Whatever pain is inside of the person, whether it be from family problems, sexual or physical abuse, or emotional neglect, the feelings are unbearable and can only be released or "forgotten about" through the pain that comes from injuring one's self. The prevalence of self-injury is unknown because many cases go unseen and untreated, but it has been estimated that about 750 per 100,000 persons per year have problems with self-injury. (Rates of 34% and 40.5% have been reported for people diagnosed as having multiple personality disorder and bulimia.) Self-injury usually begins in late childhood and early adolescence, and although for some it becomes a chronic problem, most self-mutilators do not continue the behavior after 10-15 years. However, self-injury can be a chronic problem if the situation that triggers the victim to cut or hurt themselves continues to stay in their lives.

who.suffers.from.this

Common suffers of self-injury are abuse survivors, eating disorder sufferers, and a smaller group suffers from substance abuse and kleptomania. In the home of someone who hurts themselves often there is violence with an inhibition of verbal expression of anger, and/or a stormy parental relationship along with neglect or a lack of emotional warmth expressed by the parents. Sometimes there is the loss of a parent through death or divorce, or parental depression or alcoholism. Often the person who hurts themselves has rapid mood swings and suffers from some sort of depression, possibly even Bipolar Disorder. Perfectionistic tendencies and a dislike of the body/body shape are both characteristic of someone who is prone to self-injuring. When it appears that the family is in good shape but yet a child still self-injures, perfectionism and the feelings of low or non-existent self-worth are the next possible explanations as to what triggers it.

why.does.someone.do.this

It has been proposed that children who don't receive adequate protection and are abused, violated, or neglected, fail to learn how to protect themselves. They then re-enact their abuse and lack of protection through a variety of self-harming behaviors and this is how self-mutilation can begin. The person who self-injures experiences an inability to tolerate intense feelings and often has trouble expressing emotional needs or experiences, which is where the injury comes in to help "end" or lessen the stress. Injuring one's self can be looked at as a means of communicating anger and distress to other people when there are no other ways.

control.and.strength

For some, seeing the blood from cuts gives them an odd sense of well-being and strength - the same feelings that were stripped away from them at some point in their life. A self-injurer may injure themselves as a way of empowering themselves, as well. The person feels strong and in control by enduring the pain that they inflict on themselves.

punishment.and.protection

On the flip side, a self-injurer may feel very unworthy and meek, and self-injury can be used as a means of punishment. This frequently is the motive with victims of eating disorders, as in both cases the feelings of unworthiness are there. Another theory is that the victim is constantly told that they are beautiful and that they will attract a lot of boys (girls if it is a male) and the person becomes afraid of being raped (possibly again) or victimized, so they create scars to hopefully scare away anyone who tries to come in contact with them.

Baby's got a problem
Tries so hard to hide
Got to keep it on the surface
because everything else is dead on the other side-NIN

why.it.doesn't.stop

Self-injury soon becomes an addiction and extremely hard to stop. Cutting, burning, or performing any other number of harming acts upon the body relieves, very quickly, unbearable pain and also releases the body's own narcotics called the endogenous opiates. Just like with someone binging but not purging, prolonging a self-injurer from hurting themselves can cause them to experience symptoms such as agitation, paranoia, and irritability. Because of this, it is too hard in the beginning for any self-injurer to stop, at least immediately.

receiving.treatment

As I mentioned up at the top, for most people the self-injuring behavior lasts about 10-15 years and then dies out, but this cannot be an excuse to not get help! Within those 10-15 years the emotions causing you or someone you know to injure themselves could get even more severe and frequent and lead to suicide attempts and cause other disorders, like an eating disorder, to get worse. You can also cause yourself more harm than intended from infection. Some people use rusty razor blades or dirty 'self-harm materials' to hurt themselves which carry tons and tons of germs that seep into the body. For someone with bulimia or anorexia this can easily cause their immune system to weaken even more and have the inability to fight off bacteria and viruses as fast as before the onset of their problem(s), leaving the victim to be open to the problem of getting sick and not recovering for practically months!

Just as with an eating disorder, the self-injurer should be treated ALONG WITH treatment for the eating disorder. There are self-help techniques and centers out there for sufferers of this demon, although it is always up to you to WANT to stop and to learn different ways of dealing with your emotions. You must find out, in treatment and on your own, why you hurt yourself and then what triggers you to hurt yourself. Stay away from the triggers as much as you can, and also be prepared to distance yourself with healthy activities when the temptation to harm comes. Realize that replacing pain with another form of pain is not recovery, nor does it help you! You will always have the same empty and alone feeling the more and more you do this, and you DESERVE to not have to put up with any more abuse.

references.and.links

HealthyPlace.com extensive information on Self-injury

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APA Reference
Staff, H. (2008, December 16). Self-Mutilation: The Truth Behind the Shame, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, September 21 from https://www.healthyplace.com/eating-disorders/articles/self-mutilation-the-truth-behind-the-shame

Last Updated: January 14, 2014

The Heart of God's Love

HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

Held in a sweet calm
wrapped in an intense bliss
surrounded by heaven's precious gifts
a heart, a soul,
an echo from the silent stillness of eternity
I am love
You are love
We are the love we seek
Is any soul out there seeking
Is any heart out there asking
rest from your seeking
cease from your asking
you are loved beyond measure
beyond the capacity of your heart's
cavernous, aching, expanses
you are loved wholly
you are loved incredibly
just as you are
you are a perfect
soul perfected through pain fire suffering anguish
release yourself to the gift
answer to the calling that whispers softly
faintly trembling
answer to the questing faith and hope
all else vanishes
all else transcends
love and be loved
hold and be held
you are safe for
you are the heart of God's love

continue story below

next: Patterns

APA Reference
Staff, H. (2008, December 16). The Heart of God's Love, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, September 21 from https://www.healthyplace.com/relationships/serendipity/heart-of-gods-love

Last Updated: August 8, 2014

Bulimia: More than 'Ox Hunger'

HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

bulimia: more than "ox hunger"

People who develop bulimia have a bad body image, distorted eating patterns, are involved in laxative abuse and are erratic with their emotions. It is estimated that one in four women in college have bulimia. One in four. It has become so common that some schools have been reported to have posted signs in the girls' bathrooms that say something along the lines of - "Please stop throwing up - you are destroying our piping system and backing things up!" (The acid that comes up from purging was eroding the schools' pipes.) I've also noticed that among the complaints of having to share a room on campus with someone, that one of them was dealing with a roommate who hogged the bathroom because he/she was throwing up or on the toilet constantly from laxative abuse.

Once a problem that was "too gross" to imagine has practically the whole country affected. When did throwing up "here and there" become so acceptable? When is this ever going to end?

words.of. experience: amanda

Since the age of six I've had bad body image. I was always NOT RIGHT. Something was always fucked up with me. Either it was my hair or my feet or my nose, or my weight. I figured that if I could just be thinner, things would be better. If I could just lose some weight, I would be a different person with different friends and some different glamorous life. And so it started.

I didn't become immediately immersed in the idea of throwing up. Around that time I had gone off and on diets from the age of about 7 to 11, even though at that age you consider a diet really just telling people you are on one while never really changing your eating patterns. But one day I overheard some people talking about how they vomited what they ate just to keep their weight steady, and I figured that was a good idea. If food never fully went "in," I couldn't put anymore weight on. It was disgusting for me to imagine making myself vomit, but... I put my whole life into being the best, the thinnest, the winner, and if this made me drop some weight...

I hardly ever did it in the beginning. Just once in awhile, like once a month, but it gradually got worse. My parents always fought a lot and used me as a pawn to decide who was liked more, and I hated that. I found myself eating more and more around those times, and having to heave over a toilet just as many times to keep away the guilt. I stopped eating just three meals a day and instead skipped everything and only ate when I was upset. I then purged to "wash" the sins away and to help find some peace in myself. It didn't matter what I was upset over - food was there to help out, and so was purging.

About two years after starting, I was flipping between ten pound weight gains and losses just about daily. My face was constantly bloated along with my hands and feet. It was really hard for me to sleep, too. I was so moody that I turned a lot of people off, but I didn't really notice the changes. I still thought that throwing up daily or weekly was "fine." I didn't realize that what was going on was bulimia until my freshman year of college when a friend of mine brought it up. She helped me go and see a counselor, even though I then denied everything. That helped a little...

I'm now a senior and still fighting. People don't understand that this is an addiction. In the beginning you think you are fine, that there is no problem, and that you have control or that you only need to lose a "few more," but it bites you in the ass eventually. I'm going to group therapy and stuff, but I haven't found one on one therapist that I really like, so I just kind of try to fight the urges on my own. Some days are good, some days are really bad, but never in the middle. I hope that I can beat this one day, but it doesn't look like that'll happen anytime soon.

overview

Bulimia is Latin, meaning "ox hunger." There has been research done showing that bulimia first began in the middle ages when people in celebration gorged on food and then induced vomiting so that they could go back to the party and eat more with their friends. However, bulimia is not about purging for the sake of having to go back to a celebration. It's about emotional pain more than anything. Frighteningly, 2-4% of the population suffers from this, including 20% of high school girls. These statistics don't include the large amount of people who don't go for treatment, either.

who.it.strikes

The typical person vulnerable to developing bulimia hides what they feel inside frequently and is a people pleaser. More so than with cases of anorexia those vulnerable to bulimia care deeply about what others think about them. A past history of on and off dieting is common, as well as problems controlling their impulses. Often people vulnerable to bulimia tend to experience more irrational and erratic emotions than those with anorexia, which leads to the problem of controlling the impulses of dieting, and binging and purging.

why.it.happens

Just as with anorexia, society gives the impression that to be liked (something the person vulnerable craves) you have to be thin. To be thin equals power and respect and money and love and attention. That alone can trigger bulimia, and because those vulnerable to developing this eating disorder veer from one extreme to another in every aspect of life, they eventually plunge head into the problem.

Something so powerful and deadly as bulimia is not based around mere society, however. In the family of someone vulnerable there is usually chaos. Emotions are erratic and scattered and the person isn't taught how to deal with things very well. It is often noted in bulimia cases that the mother has been the type to diet constantly herself, and more so than anorexia there tends to be a past history of sexual abuse.

Somewhere the feelings of unworthiness and failure build and erode the person's self-esteem, whether that be the person feeling inadequate in the eyes of their parents or perhaps even the eyes of a significant other. Food brings comfort at first, but then eventually guilt over having eaten the food hits the person, and purging brings relief into the person's body and mind. Purging also creates a false sense of control, as well. Knowing that they can basically eat what they want and just bring it all up later helps the person feel better and in control of what they allow their bodies to have and digest.

As with anorexia, the person with bulimia will measure everything by one object - their bodies. Their body and their weight will commonly measure whether the day will be good or bad, and whether they are allowed to eat. Often times someone with bulimia will completely avoid food during the day, but usually by nightfall the person ends up binging, or otherwise eating anyways, and then purging. A cycle of trying to starve and/or diet during the day but then eating and purging at night is not uncommon. The person with bulimia then feels even more of a failure as they believe that they can't even get "dieting" right.

why.it.goes.untreated

Because bulimia does not cause someone to lose an extraordinary amount of weight it is generally an easy disorder to hide. The person with bulimia will often only purge at night or when they take showers so that no one can hear them vomiting or see them binge. With anorexia there tends to be more extreme deteriorations of the body on the outside, whereas with bulimia much of the physical damage is done on the inside. As a result it isn't uncommon for someone to live with this disorder for many years before being caught or finally going to someone for help. This also increases the amount of denial that someone with bulimia has. Since medical problems from the bulimia don't surface as quickly or as readily apparent as with anorexia, the person with this disorder often is unable to believe that it is "that bad."

Another one of the many reasons people who suffer from bulimia don't go for help is because they feel ashamed. Let's face it - in this society people with anorexia are almost put on pedestals. Sure we are shocked at how emaciated someone could get, but at the same time we have a morbid fascination with their extreme self control and destruction. People regard purging as utterly gross (which it is, but that does not make the person suffering is gross) and believe that people with bulimia just have a lack of self-control, and that's it. So, to keep people from thinking less of them, someone suffering will hide their problem. They also fear the threat of weight gain. I wont lie and not say that stopping purging right away will bring some weight gain, but the person suffering won't wait long enough for their metabolisms to straighten out, and will continue the behaviors without speaking to anyone. Then, just as with anorexia, if the family of someone with bulimia is not supportive when the person does ask for help, then that makes it next to impossible for them to get treatment to stop the vicious cycle. Yet another problem those with bulimia face is being unable to see themselves correctly. Just as those battling anorexia, someone with bulimia cannot see themselves as they are in reality when they look in the mirror. They only see someone who is too fat, full of flaws, and a failure.

when.the.time.comes...

You or the person you know with this problem must be willing to work together with a therapist in order to get better. When trying to stop alone the person with bulimia often believes that the binging is the only problem, so they solely work on restrictive eating. Inevitably they get too hungry and binge anyways, which leads to a trip to the bathroom. The key to treating bulimia is not self-control. This sounds like a problem that is basically just a fight with food, when in reality it is a battle with the self and self-esteem inside of a person. You must deal with the issues that are triggering you to eat and purge for comfort, and you must be willing to put up a fight. Remember that eating disorders are addictions, and it will require a lot of TEAMWORK between you and a therapist to finally win this battle.

When you or someone you know is ready to come forward for help, usually group therapy is the first place to go. Because so many people with bulimia feel incredibly guilty and ashamed, it is usually a helpful experience to talk with others that also suffer, just to know that you or the other person is not alone and has nothing to feel bad about. Overeaters Anonymous tends to show promising results for compulsive overeaters and people with bulimia, but if you are not a Christian you might have trouble following the 12 step program. Individual therapy is key to fully recovering. It is tough to deal with the issues that someone with bulimia has locked away inside all these years, but they must be dealt with so that you or the person does not have to constantly go back to binging and purging as a way to comfort and bring relief to internal pain. As with anorexia, usually family therapy is suggested for those patients who are under 16 or 18 years of age and have bulimia.

I should make a note here that those suffering from bulimia tend to have problems with substance abuse more so than people with anorexia. It is estimated that as many as 50-60% of those with bulimia are also addicted to alcohol and need treatment for alcohol abuse along with the purging. If this is the case with you or someone you know, you must get treatment for the drug/alcohol addiction ALONG WITH the purging. You can not treat one problem and not treat the other. What will happen if you treat one addiction is the person will just replace the treated addiction with the non-treated one (i.e. - the person goes into treatment for bulimia, so they drink to make up for not purging, or, they go into treatment for cocaine, so they eat and purge to make up for the loss of the drug).

next: Eating Disorders F.A.Q.
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~ eating disorders library
~ all articles on eating disorders

APA Reference
Staff, H. (2008, December 16). Bulimia: More than 'Ox Hunger', HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, September 21 from https://www.healthyplace.com/eating-disorders/articles/bulimia-more-than-ox-hunger

Last Updated: January 14, 2014

Ten Steps for Student Success for College and Adult Students with ADHD

HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

A ten-step survival guide to help students with ADHD succeed and avoid pitfalls, circumvent problems, and ensure peak performance.

A ten-step survival guide to help students with ADHD succeed and avoid pitfalls, circumvent problems, and ensure peak performance. Whether completing a GED, entering college, returning for graduate work, or passing licensing exams, adults and adolescents with ADHD face formidable challenges. Regardless of how bright they are, many post-secondary students fail because they lack advanced reading, learning, and self-management strategies. In addition, they lack a systematic approach and access to required resources and support.

ADHD students who do succeed have found experts to provide structure, support, advocacy, and guidance. They learned advanced reading, learning and self-management strategies that were customized according to their needs and the requirements of their courses. They learned a systematic approach to survive and thrive in college. Such services are important for all students with ADHD but are especially critical for those who have previously failed or who are returning to school after many years.

This checklist, with ten steps, is a handy guide to help avoid problems and enjoy academic success.

1.Develop a plan. Write academic goals and an action plan based on record of achievement file and with the special needs co-ordinator at school and the local collage.

2.Develop a support network. Talk to family, friends, and others with. Work closely with school resources (e.g., special needs co-ordinator and personal tutor).

3.Engage in self-advocacy. At the college level, students are granted accommodations only if they request them. When first talking about things, many students overestimate their skills, underestimate the challenges, and ignore the benefits of accommodations. They don't request accommodations because they are concerned about looking stupid or not being fair to other students. They forget that they are entitled to accommodations under the law. Only you can ensure that you have access to the services and resources that can contribute to your success. Discuss accommodations with an advisor in the disabilities office. Obtain a letter that lists all "reasonable" accommodations that are recommended in your statement of educational special need report. The letter should be presented to, and discussed with, the instructor of each course within the first two weeks of the term. Conferences are best held during office hours, not before or after class.

4.Meet academic responsibilities. Learn how to access campus library, technology, health, and recreational resources. Go to class. Arrange effective conditions for learning. For example, sit where there are the least distractions and the best clarity to see the visuals and hear the lecturer. Schedule two hours of study for each hour of college credit. Discuss the requirements and strategies for each course with the instructor early in the term. Study when you are most alert and rested. Find a comfortable but distraction-free study environment. Relax for a few minutes, perhaps by looking over the newspaper or a cartoon book. Break study periods into 15 to 30 minute segments with 5 to 10 minute breaks. Provide yourself with recognition and rewards as you complete tasks.

5. Establish schedules and routines. Review the syllabus for each class several times during the term. Schedule the dates for all tests, papers, reports and projects on a four month or academic year calendar. Use a daily and/or weekly calendar to schedule study times. Check off each assignment as it is completed. Create a study routine (e.g., go to the library after class to review notes). Some experimentation and discussion is required to develop a workable schedule. Scheduling and subsequent monitoring of progress often requires the assistance of an academic coach, counsellor, tutor, or classmate.

6. Use advanced reading, learning, note taking and test taking strategies. Contact a tutor, academic coach, or student services to deal with slow reading rate, poor comprehension, lack of test taking skill, test anxiety, inability to begin or finish papers, etc. Read texts and review class notes within 24 hours of lectures. Use mapping, visualization, and mnemonics to enhance comprehension and retention. Create or obtain sample questions to practice exam taking and to develop confidence, speed, and accuracy. Contact the tutor to discuss performance on tests or papers.

7.Use active self-regulation strategies to manage thoughts, behaviour, time, and tasks. Be specific about how to replace bad habits with positive action in order to decrease stress and increase productivity. Monitoring progress and using feedback to modifying study habits is critical to success. This, too, is an area in which an academic coach or advisor from student services can provide valuable guidance, support and skill development. If something goes wrong, tell yourself that such events are expected and that, in such cases, students are supposed to contact tutors, counsellors, and or student services.

8.Maintain a healthy life style. Eat smart, exercise regularly, practice stress management, and include rest, relaxation, and recreation. Students who do not take care of themselves often become ill just when they can least afford to miss class or study time. Their illnesses occur more frequently, last longer, and require more bounce-back time.

9.Be proactive and avoid crises. Hope for the best but plan for the worst. Expect the inevitable ups and downs. Assume that bad habits and ADHD-related symptoms will create significant barriers to academic success. List possible warning signs of trouble (e.g., 2 incomplete assignments in a row, procrastination when assigned a paper or project.) Have a plan to manage a failure or difficulty. As the term unfolds, symptoms such as procrastination, depression, anxiety, insomnia, medication non-compliance, perfectionism, irritability, and anger do not dissipate. More commonly, the stress, fear, and fatigue related to college work exacerbate problems and propel students into giving up or failing. As soon as problems emerge, talk to instructors, use school resources, contact your support network, academic coach, or tutor.

10. Have an emergency plan to actively deal with crises. Do not assume that you are lazy, crazy, or dumb. Do assume that ADHD-related difficulties are problems to be solved, not personality defects. To deal actively with a crisis means that you admit that problems exist and find help. Consider short-term therapy when things are not working out. Research indicates that cognitive and cognitive behaviour therapy is helpful with ADHD-related problems. Locate a therapist who has experience working with adults and adolescents with ADHD and college level requirements. Speak to the Student Services to see if they have any details or contacts or speak to a local ADHD Support Group.

About the author: Geraldine Markel, Ph.D. is an educational psychologist specializing in learning and performance and author of Managing Your Mind® Coaching and Seminars.

next: The Impact of ADHD on Marriage
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APA Reference
Staff, H. (2008, December 16). Ten Steps for Student Success for College and Adult Students with ADHD, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, September 21 from https://www.healthyplace.com/adhd/articles/ten-steps-for-student-success-for-college-and-adult-students-with-adhd

Last Updated: February 13, 2016

Food Anxiety: Food Shapes Our Identity and Influences How We See the World

HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

Our food is better than ever. So why do we worry so much about what we eat? An emerging psychology of food reveals that when we swap sit-down for take-out, we cut our emotional ties to the table and food ends up fueling our worst fears. Call it spiritual anorexia.</

The New Food Anxiety

Food shapes our identity and influences how we see the world.

Early in the 1900s, as America struggled to digest yet another wave of immigrants, a social worker paid a visit to an Italian family recently settled in Boston. In most ways, the newcomers seemed to have taken to their new home, language, and culture. There was, however, one troubling sign. "Still eating spaghetti," the social worker noted. "Not yet assimilated." Absurd as that conclusion seems now--especially in this era of pasta--it aptly illustrates our long-standing faith in a link between eating and identity. Anxious to Americanize immigrants quickly, U.S. officials saw food as a critical psychological bridge between newcomers and their old culture and as a barrier to assimilation.

Many immigrants, for example, did not share Americans' faith in large, hearty breakfasts, preferring bread and coffee. Worse, they used garlic and other spices, and mixed their foods, often preparing an entire meal in a single pot. Break these habits, get them to eat like Americans--to partake in the meat heavy, superabundant U.S. diet--and, the theory confidently held, you'd have them thinking, acting, and feeling like Americans in no time.

A century later, the link between what we eat and who we are is not nearly so simple. Gone is the notion of a correct American cuisine. Ethnic is permanently in, and the national taste runs from the red-hot spices of South America to the piquancy of Asia. U.S. eaters are in fact inundated by choice--in cuisines, cookbooks, gourmet magazines, restaurants, and, of course, in food itself. Visitors are still struck dumb by the abundance of our supermarkets: the myriad meats, year-round bonanza of fresh fruits and vegetables, and, above all, the variety--dozens of kinds of apples, lettuces, pastas, soups, sauces, breads, gourmet meats, soft-drinks, desserts, condiments. Salad dressings alone can take up several yards of shelf space. All told, our national supermarket boasts some 40,000 food items, and, on average, adds 43 new ones a day--everything from fresh pastas to microwavable fish-sticks.

Do you know what spiritual anorexia is? Learn how food shapes our identity and influences how we see the world. Yet if the idea of a correct American cuisine is fading, so, too, is much of that earlier confidence we had in our food. For all our abundance, for all the time we spend talking and thinking about food (we now have a cooking channel and the TV Food Network, with celebrity interviews and a game show), our feelings for this necessity of necessities are oddly mixed. The fact is, Americans worry about food--not whether we can get enough, but whether we are eating too much. Or whether what we eat is safe. Or whether it causes diseases, promotes brain longevity, has antioxidants, or too much fat, or not enough of the right fat. Or contributes to some environmental injustice. Or is a breeding ground for lethal microbes. "We are a society obsessed with the harmful effects of eating," grouses Paul Rozin, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and a pioneer in the study of why we eat the things we eat. "We've managed to turn our feelings about making and eating food--one of our most basic, important, and meaningful pleasures--into ambivalence."

Rozin and his colleagues aren't just talking here about our frighteningly high rates of eating disorders and obesity. These days, even normal American eaters are often culinary Sybils, by turns approaching and avoiding food, obsessing over and negotiating (with themselves) what they can and can't have--generally carrying on in ways that would have flabbergasted our ancestors. It's the gastronomic equivalent of too much time on our hands.

Liberated from the "nutritional imperative," we've become free to write our own culinary agendas--to eat for health, fashion, politics, or many other objectives--in effect, to use our food in ways that often have nothing to do with physiology or nutrition. "We love with it, reward and punish ourselves with it, use it as a religion," says Chris Wolf, of Noble & Associates, a Chicago-based food marketing consultancy. "In the movie Steel Magnolias, somebody says that what separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize. Well, we accessorize with food."

One of the ironies regarding what we eat--our psychology of food--is that the more we use food, the less we seem to understand it. Inundated by competing scientific claims, buffeted by conflicting agendas and desires, many of us simply wander from trend to trend, or fear to fear, with little idea of what we're seeking, and almost no certainty that it will make us happier or healthier. Our entire culture "has an eating disorder," argues Joan Gussow, Ed.D., professor emeritus of nutrition and education at Teachers College, Columbia University. "We are more detached from our food than at any time in history."

Beyond clinical eating disorders, the study of why people eat what they eat remains so uncommon that Rozin can count his peers on two hands. Yet for most of us, the idea of an emotional link between eating and being is as familiar as, well, food itself. For eating is the most basic interaction we have with the outside world, and the most intimate. Food itself is almost the physical embodiment of emotional and social forces: the object of our strongest desire; the basis of our oldest memories and earliest relationships.

I probably learned more about who I was, what I wanted, and how to get it at my family dinner table than anywhere else.

Lessons from Lunch

As children, eating and mealtimes figure hugely in our psychic theater. It's through eating that we first learn about desire and satisfaction, control and discipline, reward and punishment. I probably learned more about who I was, what I wanted, and how to get it at my family dinner table than anywhere else. It was there that I perfected the art of haggling--and had my first major test of will with my parents: an hours-long, almost silent struggle over a cold slab of liver. Food also gave me one of my first insights into social and generational distinctions. My friends ate differently than we did--their moms cut the crusts off, kept Tang in the house, served Twinkies as snacks; mine wouldn't even buy Wonder bread. And my parents could not do Thanksgiving dinner like my grandmother.

The dinner table, according to Leon Kass, Ph.D., a culture critic at the University of Chicago, is a classroom, a microcosm of society, with its own laws and expectations: "One learns self-restraint, sharing, consideration, taking turns, and the art of conversation." We learn manners, Kass says, not only to smooth our table transactions, but to create a "veil of invisibility," helping us avoid the disgusting aspects of eating and the often violent necessities of food production. Manners create a "psychic distance" between food and its source.

As we reach adulthood, food takes on extraordinary and complex meanings. It can reflect our notions of pleasure and relaxation, anxiety and guilt. It can embody our ideals and taboos, our politics and ethics. Food can be a measure of our domestic competence (the rise of our souffle, the juiciness of our barbecue). It can also be a measure of our love--the basis of a romantic evening, an expression of appreciation for a spouse--or the seeds of a divorce. How many marriages begin to unravel over food-related criticisms, or the inequities of cooking and cleaning?

Nor is food simply a family matter. It connects us to the outside world, and is central to how we see and understand that world. Our language is rife with food metaphors: life is "sweet," disappointments are "bitter," a lover is "sugar" or "honey." Truth can be easy to "digest" or "hard to swallow." Ambition is a "hunger." We are "gnawed" by guilt, "chew" over ideas. Enthusiasms are "appetites," a surplus, "gravy."

In fact, for all its physiological aspects, our relationship with food seems more a cultural thing. Sure, there are biological preferences. Humans are generalist eaters--we sample everything--and our ancestors clearly were too, leaving us with a few genetic signposts. We're predisposed to sweetness, for example, presumably because, in nature, sweet meant fruit and other important starches, as well as breast milk. Our aversion to bitterness helped us avoid thousands of environmental toxins.

A Matter of Taste

But beyond these and a few other basic preferences, learning, not biology, seems to dictate taste. Think of those foreign delicacies that turn our own stomachs: candied grasshoppers from Mexico; termite-cakes from Liberia; raw fish from Japan (before it became sushi and chic, that is). Or consider our capacity to not only tolerate but cherish such inherently off tastes as beer, coffee, or one of Rozin's favorite examples, hot chilies. Children don't like chilies. Even youngsters in traditional chili cultures like Mexico require several years of watching adults consume chilies before assuming the habit themselves. Chilies do spice up the otherwise monotonous diet--rice, beans, corn--many chili cultures must endure. By rendering starchy staples more interesting and palatable, chilies and other spices, sauces, and concoctions made it more likely that humans would eat enough of their culture's particular staple to survive.

In fact, for most of our history, individual preferences were not only probably learned, but dictated (or even subsumed entirely) by the traditions, customs, or rituals a particular culture had developed to ensure survival. We learned to revere staples; we developed diets that included the right mix of nutrients; we erected complex social structures to cope with hunting, gathering, preparation, and distribution. This isn't to say we had no emotional connection with our food; quite the contrary.

The earliest cultures recognized that food was power. How tribal hunters divided their kill, and with whom, constituted some of our earliest social relations. Foods were believed to bestow different powers. Certain tastes, such as tea, could become so central to a culture that a nation might go to war over it. Yet such meanings were socially determined; scarcity required hard and fast rules about food--and left little room for differing interpretations. How one felt about food was irrelevant.

Today, in the superabundance that characterizes more and more of the industrialized world, the situation is almost entirely reversed: food is less a social matter, and more about the individual--especially in America. Food is available here in all places at all times, and at such low relative cost that even the poorest of us can usually afford to eat too much--and worry about it.

Not surprisingly, the very idea of abundance plays a large role in American attitudes toward food, and has since colonial times. Unlike most developed nations of the time, colonial America began without a peasant diet reliant on grains or starches. Faced with the New World's astonishing natural abundance, especially of fish and game, the European diets many colonists brought over were quickly modified to embrace the new cornucopia.

The portly, well-fed figure was positive proof of material success, a sign of health. At the table, the ideal meal featured a large portion of meat--mutton, pork, but preferably beef, long a symbol of success--served separately from, and unsullied by, other dishes

Food Anxiety and the Yankee Doodle Diet

Gluttony in the early days wasn't a concern; our early Protestantism allowed no such excesses. But by the 19th century, abundance was a hallmark of American culture. The portly, well-fed figure was positive proof of material success, a sign of health. At the table, the ideal meal featured a large portion of meat--mutton, pork, but preferably beef, long a symbol of success--served separately from, and unsullied by, other dishes.

By the 20th century, this now-classic format, which English anthropologist Mary Douglas has dubbed "1A-plus-2B"--one serving of meat plus two smaller servings of starch or vegetables--symbolized not only American cuisine but citizenship. It was a lesson all immigrants had to learn, and which some found harder than others. Italian families were constantly lectured by Americanizers against mixing their foods, as were the rural Polish, according Harvey Levenstein, Ph.D., author of Revolution at the Table. "Not only did [Poles] eat the same dish for one meal," Levenstein notes, "they also ate it from the same bowl. They therefore had to be taught to serve food on separate plates, as well as to separate the ingredients." Getting immigrants from these stew-cultures, which extended meat via sauces and soups, to adopt the 1A-plus-2B format was regarded a major success for assimilation, adds Amy Bentley, Ph.D., professor of food studies at New York University.

The emerging American cuisine, with its proud protein emphasis, effectively reversed eating habits developed over thousands of years. In 1908, Americans consumed 163 pounds of meat per person; by 1991, according to government figures, this had climbed to 210 pounds. According to food historian Elisabeth author of The Universal Kitchen, our tendency to top one protein with another--a slab of cheese on a beef patty, for example--is a habit many other cultures still regard as wretched excess, and is only our latest declaration of abundance.

There was more to America's culinary cockiness than mere patriotism; our way of eating was healthier--at least according to the scientists of the day. Spicy foods were overstimulating and a tax on digestion. Stews were non-nutritious because, according to the theories of the time, mixed foods couldn't efficiently release nutrients.

Both theories were wrong, but they exemplify how central science had become to the American psychology of food. The early settlers' need for experimentation--with food, animals, processes--had helped feed a progressive ideology that, in turn, whetted a national appetite for innovation and novelty. When it came to food, newer nearly always meant better. Some food reformers, like John Kellogg (inventor of corn flakes) and C. W. Post (Grape-Nuts), focused on increasing vitality through newly discovered vitamins or special scientific diets--trends that show no signs of fading. Other reformers lambasted the poor hygiene of the American kitchen.

Twinkies Time

In short order, the very concept of homemade, which had sustained colonial America--and is so prized today--was found unsafe, obsolete, and low class. Far better, reformers argued, were heavily processed foods from centralized, hygienic factories. Industry was quick to comply. In 1876, Campbell's introduced its first tomato soup; in 1920, we got Wonder bread and in 1930, Twinkies; 1937 brought the quintessential factory food: Spam.

Some of these early health concerns were valid--poorly canned goods are deadly--but many were pure quackery. More to the point, the new obsessions with nutrition or hygiene marked a great step in the depersonalization of food: the average person was no longer deemed competent to know enough about his or her food to get along. Eating "right" required outside expertise and technology, which American consumers increasingly embraced. "We just didn't have the food traditions to hold us back from the helter-skelter of modernity," says Gussow. "When processing came along, when the food industry came along, we didn't put up any resistance."

By the end of the second World War, which brought major advances in food processing (Cheerios arrived in 1942), consumers were increasingly relying on experts--food writers, magazines, government officials, and, in ever-greater proportions, advertisements--for advice on not only nutrition but cooking techniques, recipes, and menu planning. More and more, our attitudes were being shaped by those selling the food. By the early 60s, the ideal menu featured plenty of meat, but also concocted from the growing pantry of heavily-processed foods: Jello, canned or frozen vegetables, green-bean casserole made with cream of mushroom soup and topped with canned french-fried onions. It sounds silly, but then so are our own food obsessions.

Nor could any self-respecting cook (read: mother) serve a given meal more than once a week. Leftovers were now a blight. The new American cuisine demanded variety--different main courses and side-dishes every night. The food industry was happy to supply a seemingly endless line of instant products: instant puddings, instant rice, instant potatoes, gravies, fondues, cocktail mixers, cake mixes, and the ultimate space-age product, Tang. The growth in food products was staggering. During the late 1920s, consumers could choose among only a few hundred food products, only a portion of them branded. By 1965, according to Lynn Dornblaser, editorial director at the Chicago based New Product News, nearly 800 products were being introduced every year. And even that number would soon seem small. In 1975, there were 1,300 new products: in 1985 there were 5,617; and, in 1995, a whopping 16,863 new items.

In fact, in addition to abundance and variety, convenience was rapidly becoming the center of American food attitudes. As far back as Victorian times, feminists had eyed central food processing as a way to lighten the homemakers' burdens.

While the meal-in-a-pill ideal never quite arrived, the notion of high-tech convenience was all the rage by the 1950s. Grocery stores now had freezer cases with fruits, vegetables, and--joy of joys--pre-cut french fries. In 1954, Swanson made culinary history with the first TV dinner--turkey, cornbread stuffing, and whipped sweet potatoes, configured in a compartmentalized aluminum tray and packaged in a box that looked like the TV set. Although the initial price--98 cents--was high, the meal and its half-hour cooking time were hailed as a space-age marvel, perfectly in synch with the quickening pace of modern life. It paved the way for products ranging from instant soup to frozen burritos and, as importantly, for an entirely new mind-set about food. According to Noble & Associates, convenience is the first priority in food decisions for 30 percent of all American households.

Granted, convenience was, and is, liberating. "The number-one attraction is spending time with the family instead of being in the kitchen all day," explains Wenatchee, Washington, restaurant manager Michael Wood, of the popularity of take-out home-cooked meals. These are called "home meal replacement" in industry parlance. But convenience's allure wasn't limited to the tangible benefits of time and saved labor.

Anthropologist Conrad Kottak has even suggested that fast-food restaurants serve as a kind of church, whose decor, menu, and even conversation between counter-clerk and customer are so unvaried and dependable as to have become a kind of comforting ritual.

Yet such benefits aren't without considerable psychic cost. By diminishing the wide variety of social meanings and pleasures once associated with food--for example, by eliminating the family sit-down dinner--convenience diminishes the richness of the act of eating and further isolates us.

New research shows that while the average upper-middle class consumer has some 20 contacts with food a day (the grazing phenomenon), the amount of time spent eating with others is actually falling. That's true even within families: three-quarters of Americans don't breakfast together, and sit-down dinners have fallen to just three a week.

Nor is convenience's impact simply social. By replacing the notion of three square meals with the possibility of 24-hour grazing, convenience has fundamentally altered the rhythm food once bestowed upon each day. Less and less are we expected to wait for dinner, or avoid spoiling our appetites. Instead, we eat when and where we want, alone, with strangers, on the street, on a plane. Our increasingly utilitarian approach to food creates what the University of Chicago's Kass calls "spiritual anorexia." In his book The Hungry Soul, Kass notes that, "Like the one-eyed Cyclops, we, too, still eat when hungry, but no longer know what it means."

Worse, our increasing reliance on prepared foods coincides with a diminished inclination or capacity to cook, which in turn, only further separates us--physically and emotionally--from what we eat and where it comes from. Convenience completes the decades long depersonalization of food. What is the meaning--psychological, social, or spiritual--of a meal prepared by a machine in a factory on the other side of the country? "We're almost to the point where boiling water is a lost art," says Warren J. Belasco, head of American studies at the University of Maryland and author of Appetite for Change.

Add Your Own... Water

Not everyone was satisfied with our culinary progress. Consumers found Swanson's whipped sweet-potatoes too watery, forcing the company to switch to white potatoes. Some found the pace of change too quick and intrusive. Many parents were offended by the pre-sweetened cereals in the 1950s, preferring, apparently, to spoon the sugar on themselves. And, in one of the true ironies in the Age of Convenience, lagging sales of the new just-add-water cake mixes have forced Pillsbury to un-simplify its recipes, excluding powdered eggs and oil from the mix so that homemakers could add their own ingredients and feel they were still actively participating in cooking.

Other complaints weren't easily assuaged. The post-WWII rise of factory food sparked rebellions by those who feared we were becoming alienated from our food, our land, our nature. Organic farmers protested the rising reliance on agri-chemicals. Vegetarians and radical nutritionists repudiated our meat passion. By the 1960s, a culinary counterculture was underway, and today, there are protests not just against meat and chemicals, but fats, caffeine, sugar, sugar substitutes, as well as foods that are not free-range, that contain no fiber, that are produced in an environmentally destructive way, or by repressive regimes, or socially unenlightened companies, to name but a few. As columnist Ellen Goodman has noted, "Pleasing our palates has become a secret vice, while fiber-fueling our colons has become an almost public virtue." It has fueled an industry. Two of the most successful brands ever are Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice.

Clearly, such fads often have a scientific basis--the research on fat and heart disease is hard to dispute. Yet just as often, evidence for a particular dietary restriction is modified or eliminated by the next study, or turns out to have been exaggerated. More to the point, the psychological appeal of such diets has almost nothing to do with their nutritional benefits; eating the right foods is for many of us very satisfying--even if what's right may change with the next day's newspapers.

In truth, humans have been assigning moral values to foods and food practices forever. Yet Americans seem to have taken those practices to new extremes. Numerous studies have found that eating bad foods--those prohibited for nutritional, social, or even political reasons--can cause far more guilt than any measurable ill-effects might warrant, and not just for those with eating disorders. For example, many dieters believe they have blown their diets simply by eating a single bad food--irrespective of how many calories were ingested.

The morality of foods also plays a huge role in how we judge others. In a study by Arizona State University psychologists Richard Stein. Ph.D., and Carol Nemeroff, Ph.D., fictitious students who were said to eat a good diet--fruit, homemade wheat bread, chicken, potatoes--were rated by test subjects as more moral, likable, attractive, and in shape than identical students who ate a bad diet--steak, hamburgers, fries, doughnuts, and double-fudge sundaes.

Moral strictures on food tend to be heavily dependent on gender, with taboos against fatty foods strongest for women. Researchers have found that how much one eats can determine perceptions of attractiveness, masculinity, and femininity. In one study, women who ate small portions were judged more feminine and attractive than those who ate larger portions; how much men ate had no such effect. Similar findings turned up in a 1993 study in which subjects watched videos of the same average-weight woman eating one of four different meals. When the woman ate a small salad, she was judged most feminine; when she ate a big meatball sandwich, she was rated least attractive.

Given the power that food has over our attitudes and feelings for ourselves and others, it's hardly surprising that food should be such a confusing and even painful subject for so many, or that a single meal or a trip to the grocery store can involve such a blizzard of contradictory meanings and impulses. According to Noble & Associates, while just 12 percent of American households demonstrate some consistency in modifying their diets along health or philosophical lines, 33 percent exhibit what Noble's Chris Wolf calls "dietary schizophrenia": trying to balance their indulgences with bouts of healthy eating. "You'll see someone eat three slices of chocolate cake one day and just fiber the next," Wolf says.

With our modern traditions of abundance, convenience, nutrition science, and culinary moralizing, we want food to do so many different things that just enjoying food as food has come to seem impossible.

Food Anxiety: Is Food the New Pornography?

In this context, the welter of contradictory and bizarre food behaviors seem almost logical. We're bingeing on cookbooks, food magazines, and fancy kitchenware--yet cooking far less. We chase the latest cuisines, accord celebrity status to chefs, yet consume more calories from fast food. We love cooking shows, even though, Wolf says, most move too fast for us to actually make the recipe at home. Food has become a voyeuristic pursuit. Instead of simply eating it, says Wolf, "we drool over pictures of food. It's food pornography."

There is evidence, however, that our obsession with variety and novelty may be on the wane or at least slowing down. Studies by Mark Clemens Research show that the percentage of consumers who say they're "very likely" to try new foods has dropped from 27 percent in 1987 to just 14 percent in 1995--perhaps in response to the overwhelming variety of offerings. And for all that magazines like Martha Stewart Living lend to culinary voyeurism, they may also reflect a yearning for traditional forms of eating and the simpler meanings that go with them.

Where can these impulses lead us? Wolf has gone so far as to rework psychologist Abraham Maslow's "hierarchy of needs" to reflect our culinary evolution. At the bottom is survival where food is simply calories and nutrients. But as our knowledge and income grow, we ascend to indulgence--a time of abundance, 16-ounce steaks, and the portly ideal. The third level is sacrifice, where we begin removing items from our diet. (America, says Wolf, is firmly on the fence between indulgence and sacrifice.) The final level is self-actualization: everything is in balance and nothing is dogmatically consumed or avoided. "As Maslow says, nobody ever really gets to be completely self-actualized--just in fits and starts."

Rozin, too, urges a balanced approach, particularly in our obsession with health. "The fact is, you can eat almost anything and grow and feel good," Rozin argues. "And no matter what you eat, you will eventually face deterioration and death." Rozin believes that to resign enjoyment to health, we've lost far more than we know: "The French have no ambivalence about food: it's almost purely a source of pleasure."

Columbia's Gussow wonders whether we simply think too much about our food. Tastes, she says, have become far too complex for what she calls "instinctive eating"--choosing foods we really need. In ancient times, for example, a sweet taste alerted us to calories. Today, it may indicate calories, or artificial sweetener; it may be used to hide fat or other flavors; it may become a kind of background flavor in nearly all processed foods. Sweet, salty, tart, spicy--processed foods are now flavored with incredible sophistication. One national brand of tomato soup is sold with five different flavor formulations for regional taste differences. A national spaghetti sauce comes in 26 formulations. With such complexities at work, "our taste buds are constantly being fooled," Gussow says. "And that forces us to eat intellectually, to consciously assess what we eat. And once you try to do that, you're trapped, because there's no way to sort through all these ingredients."

And how, exactly, are we to eat with more pleasure and instinct, less anxiety and less ambivalence, to regard our food less intellectually and more sensually? How can we re-connect with our food, and all the facets of life that food once touched, without simply falling prey to the next fad?

We can't--at least, not all at once. But there are ways of beginning. Kass, for example, has argued that even small gestures, such as consciously halting work or play to fully focus on your meal, can help recover an "awareness of the deeper meaning of what we're doing" and help mitigate the trend toward culinary thoughtlessness.

University of Maryland's Belasco has another strategy that begins with the simplest of tactics. "Learn to cook. If there is one thing you can do that is very radical and subversive," he says, "it is either starting to cook, or picking it up again." To create a meal from something other than a box or can requires reconnecting--with your cupboards and refrigerator, your kitchen utensils, with recipes and traditions, with stores, produce, and deli counters. It means taking time--to plan menus, to shop, and, above all, to sit and enjoy the fruits of your labors, and even invite others to share. "Cooking touches a lot of aspects of life," says Belasco, "and if you are really going to cook, then you're really going to have rearrange a lot of the rest of how you live."

next: Genes That Predispose Some People to Anorexia and Bulimia
~ eating disorders library
~ all articles on eating disorders

APA Reference
Staff, H. (2008, December 16). Food Anxiety: Food Shapes Our Identity and Influences How We See the World, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, September 21 from https://www.healthyplace.com/eating-disorders/articles/food-anxiety-food-shapes-our-identity-and-influences-how-we-see-the-world

Last Updated: October 15, 2017

Natural Alternatives: EEG Biofeedback or Neurofeedback

HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

EEG Biofeedback or Neurofeedback

This drug free approach is becoming very popular in the USA and is also available in the UK (see below).
The EEG Spectrum website at http://www.eegspectrum.com/ explains it best......

EEG Biofeedback is a learning strategy that enables persons to alter their brain waves. When information about a person's own brain wave characteristics is made available to him, he can learn to change them. You can think of it as exercise for the brain.

What is it used for?
EEG Biofeedback is used for many conditions and disabilities in which the brain is not working as well as it might. These include Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and more severe conduct problems, specific learning disabilities, and related issues such as sleep problems in children, teeth grinding, and chronic pain such as frequent headaches or stomach pain, or pediatric migraines.

The training is also helpful with the control of mood disorders such as anxiety and depression, as well as for more severe conditions such as medically uncontrolled seizures, minor traumatic brain injury, or cerebral palsy."

Bal Singh from the UK writes:

"EEG Biofeedback or Neurofeedback pioneered in the USA has been available in the UK since 1996 from EEG Neurofeedback Services. This is the UK's only full-time comprehensive neurofeedback practice offering treatment as a NHS service provider or by private referral. As well as treating ADD/ADHD they have also dealt with a variety of other conditions such as Tics, Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Learning Disabilities, Asthma, Epilepsy, etc. This leads to the elimination of medications such as Ritalin, Pemoline, Respiridone, Becotide, Epilim as the brain learns to take control. Actual write-ups from people who have received the treatment can be found at http://www.eegneurofeedback.net as well as local press/radio articles featuring the work of the practice. The work of the practice has also been featured nationally, in the Sunday Times, since 1998."

Alex Elsaesser, PARNET Assistant, Cerebra-For Brain Injured Children and Young People writes:

"The Imperial College School of Medicine is to start testing a remarkable NEW THERAPY for attention problems from the USA. This comes after two years of negotiations and a transatlantic trip for Professor Gruzelier instigated and funded by The Rescue Foundation - (now Cerebra-For Brain Injured Children and Young People).

The therapy requires no drugs, surgery or other invasive procedures, just training of the child to regulate their own brain!

It has been known for many years that children with attention, hyperactivity and learning problems often have abnormal brain waves (EEG) and that they can be trained to alter them. Professor Lubar of Tennessee has demonstrated repeatedly that when these children self-regulate their brain waves the symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity diminish or disappear altogether! But .... the first children that will have the opportunity to try this remarkable therapy in the UK will be those enrolled on the research program that is validating the therapy for the UK. The intention is to train appropriate professionals to make the therapy more widely available hopefully through the NHS."

Alex Elsaesser
PARNET Assistant, Cerebra-For Brain Injured Children and Young People, 13 Guildhall Square,

Note: Please remember, we do not endorse any treatments and strongly advise you to check with your doctor before using, stopping or changing any treatment.

APA Reference
Staff, H. (2008, December 16). Natural Alternatives: EEG Biofeedback or Neurofeedback, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, September 21 from https://www.healthyplace.com/adhd/articles/eeg-biofeedback-or-neurofeedback-on-adhd

Last Updated: October 15, 2019

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