Nutritional Therapy 1

NUTRITIONAL THERAPY

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Nutritional Therapy

Nutritional therapy plays a big role in curing eating disorders because it targets the main

cause of death from this illness. Many individuals suffering from Eating disorders don't die

because of the emotions but because of either excess or lack of nutrition and food.

Nutrition is vital for our body because it helps it function well. Nutrition plays a big role

in maintaining the function of our brain and body. It also has an indirect relationship with our

emotions, for even a small nutrient deficiency can change brain function and chemistry.

Nutrients are chemical substances that we can get from the foods in our diet or our

environments. They are used in all the essential functions of our body, such as breaking down

food to give energy, or growing (building cells), repairing (healing a wound), and maintaining

life (breathing). There are many types of nutrients; however, some of the most important

nutrients for a human body are carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. These are

the nutrients humans need in the largest amounts because they supply a specific amount of

energy that helps the system in our body function well. For example, carbohydrates are the

primary source of fuel for your body and brain; protein is essential for forming muscle, creating

new enzymes and hormones; Vitamin C builds collagen, a type of protein that is a structural

component of cells, particularly skin cells; Iron carries oxygen around to cells and tissues so that

they can continue to grow and function; Calcium for Bone Strength; Zinc is a mineral that is

essential for healthy Digestion (Narula et al. 2018).

Deficiency in any of these nutrients can cause serious physical conditions. However, its

effect on psychological conditions are often overlooked. Nutritional deficiency can also cause

serve psychological problems such as dementia, depression, anxiety, etc. Studies done by the
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nutritional psychiatry institute have found many consequences and correlations between nutrition

and emotion. For example, Serotonin is an important neurotransmitter that helps regulate sleep

and appetite, mediate moods and emotions, and inhibit pain. About 95% of your serotonin is

produced in your gastrointestinal tract through essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and

omega-3 fatty (Uusitupa & Schwab, 2020). The deficiency of these essential nutrients causes the

serotonin hormone to decrease, which causes a lot of psychological consequences such as

depression, anxiety, irritability, and compulsive thoughts about food or stress that can become a

precursor to the onset of the eating disorder. The recent development of brain imaging has

revealed that there are neurobiological mechanisms caused by insufficient nutrition that underlie

eating disorder patient's abnormal reaction to food. An individual might be exposed to an eating

disorder due to psychological or social pressure; however, it is the nutritional or biochemical part

that exaggerates this illness to mortality.

Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental health disease because it

incorporates both the body's mental and physical health, both of which are compromised further

due to the body's lack of nutrients. Most of the death caused by Eating disorder is from the

growing diseases caused by an excess or lack of nutrients. As stated above, our body needs

several essential nutrients to function well (Dominguez et al. 2018). The deficiency of these

nutrients can cause serious physical conditions such as cardiovascular complications, digestive

problems, nerve and muscle damage, a blood disorder, etc.

A recent study by The Eating Disorder Institute found that three-quarters of the deaths

for patients with an anorexia nervosa diagnosis were due to cardiovascular complications related

to low body weight. Consuming fewer calories than you need means that the body breaks down

its own tissue to use for fuel. Muscles are broken down the first, and the most important muscle
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in the body is the heart. Pulse and blood pressure begin to drop as the heart has less fuel to pump

blood and fewer cells to pump. The risk for heart failure rises as the heart rate, and blood

pressure levels sink lower and lower (Billingsley et al. 2020). The Eating Disorder Institute

studies also state that approximately 23% of the bulimia nervosa deaths were also because of a

medical condition. When an individual purge by vomiting or using laxatives, it drains the body

of important chemicals called electrolytes. The electrolyte potassium is what helps the heartbeat

and muscles contract. That's why if it is often depleted by purging; there can be an electrolyte

imbalance, which leads to irregular heartbeats and possibly heart failure or even death (Wleklik

et al. 2018). Death from an Eating disorder is usually caused by physical condition; however, we

can't deny that there is always an underlying psychological condition. In fact, half of the highest

percentage of death in an eating disorder is also due to suicide. We can understand that eating

disorder isn't only about the psychological condition or physical condition. It is the result of a

complicated, intertwined relationship between them. However, nutrition definitely plays an

essential role in curing the Eating disorder, for it improves the psychological condition and the

physical conditions.

Patients who have struggled with an eating disorder often lose touch with their body's

natural signal of hunger and fullness; their metabolism, ability to process, and enjoy food, may

also be disrupted (Saitoh et al. 2016). For them to recover from that state of mind and body, or

other medical conditions, it requires balanced nutrition that is often at higher calorie levels than

usual. That's why the first task in the treatment of the eating disorder is repairing lost weight and

health and normalizing food intake and behaviors, which is the main focus of Nutrition therapy.

Nutritional therapy focuses on incorporating certain foods into the patient's diet to improve their

emotions and physical health. It focuses on calculating and monitoring energy and macronutrient
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intake to establish the required amount of nutrition for the patients. It also focuses on ensuring

diet quality and regular eating patterns, increased amount, variety of foods consumed, normal

perceptions of hunger and satiety, and supplement use suggestions. Nutritional therapy also

provides psychosocial support and involves counseling to help patients have a balanced and

sustainable relationship with food, free from negative or distorted thoughts about oneself.

References
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“Together, We Will Beat Eating Disorders. Register for a NEDA Walk Today!” National

Eating Disorders Association, www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/.

Billingsley, H. E., Hummel, S. L., & Carbone, S. (2020). The role of diet and nutrition in heart

failure: A state-of-the-art narrative review. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases.

Domínguez-Muñoz, J. E., & Phillips, M. (2018). Nutritional therapy in chronic pancreatitis.

Gastroenterology Clinics, 47(1), 95-106.

Horiuchi, Y., Tanimoto, S., Okuno, T., Aoki, J., Yahagi, K., Sato, Y., ... & Hara, K. (2018).

Hemodynamic correlates of nutritional indexes in heart failure. Journal of cardiology,

71(6), 557-563.

Narula, N., Dhillon, A., Zhang, D., Sherlock, M. E., Tondeur, M., & Zachos, M. (2018). Enteral

nutritional therapy for induction of remission in Crohn's disease. Cochrane Database of

Systematic Reviews, (4).

Saitoh, M., dos Santos, M. R., & von Haehling, S. (2016). Muscle wasting in heart failure.

Wiener klinische Wochenschrift, 128(7), 455-465.

Uusitupa, M., & Schwab, U. (2020). Evolving nutritional therapy for diabetes mellitus.