Expert: Joanne - 4/3/2008

Question
I have an eating disorder and i am just starting therapy. I exercise 6 days a week for at least 2 hours each time.  I do eat so that i can exercise about 1000-1200 cals a day.  I usually eat most after 6 PM.  I will only eat a few certain things and I have gone from one disorder to the next over a 10 year period.  I now chew and spit a lot!  I get a very upset stomach and severe bloating. Is this due to the chew and spitting?  Also, I am always very cold my hands are freezing!  Is this a complication?
Thanks,
Sarah


Answer
Sarah

When you smell, see, taste food, your body begins to release more stomach acid and insulin.  Having an increase in insulin causes an increase in sugar storage - basically insulin grabs what sugar it can from the blood and moves it into muscle, and the liver as stores, and this will show in your weight!  A lot of people will find that they may gain weight rather than lose it when chewing and spitting.

The excess stomach acid can be eroding your stomach, so I would maybe get this checked to see whether that is what is causing your upset stomach.

Bloating - well that can be due to your poor diet and your digestive system not working as well as it should due to it, meaning that food you have been eating is 'backing-up' and not being processed properly.  Chewing and spitting can also cause you to swallow a lot of air which is one of the major causes of bloating.

You will also be missing essential nutrients, which can cause a number of health problems.

Cold hands, this is most likely due to a slowed metabolism.  Under-eating and over-exercising can cause your metabolism to slow down as much as possible so that you burn few calories as possible, cutting out some non-essential processes, or doing them in a way that you can survive, but doesn't do them properly.  Feeling cold is one of the most common side effects of a lowered metabolism.  Heat energy is a by-product of most reactions going on within the body.  If these processes aren't occuring, the heat isn't being produced.  It can also be due to problems with your circulation.

Joanne