Overeating Harms More Than Just The Waistline
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On June 6, 1822, at a range of less than one meter, Alexis St. Martin was accidentally shot in the gut.
St.Martin was a French Canadian indentured servant. He was working as a fur trapper for the American Fur Company in Mackinac Island trading post.
St.Martin had suffered a very fatal wound, he was so close to the gun that his shirt caught fire from the blast. Due to the wound, St. Martin wasn’t expected to live through the night.
Dr. William Beaumont, an army doctor, was stationed in Fort Mackinac.
Eventually, St.Martin defeated the odds and overcame his injuries, except for one. The edge of the wound in his stomach had attached to the edge of the hole in his skin, forming a fistula (passageway).
This provided easy access to whatever was going on in St.Martin’s stomach.
Dr. Beaumont realized the research opportunities St. Martin presented. Due to his disability, St.Martin could not go back to work. Beaumont took this opportunity and hired the man as a laborer.
St.Martin was assigned different tasks like chopping wood and lifting heavy items, only for the doctor to study its effects on the stomach and digestion.
He even let Beaumont dip bits of foods attached to a silk string into his stomach to observe the digestion process.
Beaumont made many discoveries and published his findings. He was known as a preeminent expert in human digestion.
Beaumont was later known as “Father of Gastric Physiology”
The stomach is the most important part of the digestive system. It is about 12 inches long and 6 inches wide. An adult’s stomach can hold about 1 quart of food.
Because of overeating, the stomach stretches like a balloon to make room for the additional food. When the stomach expands beyond its normal value it causes discomfort.
Although the stomach returns to its regular size once it digests the food, with consistent overeating it expands more easily.
What Happens To Your Body When You Binge Eat?
After every meal, regardless of the macronutrient content, the brain releases Dopamine — the “feel-good” hormone. This hormone is associated with feelings of happiness and reward.
Studies reveal that meals high in fat and sugar trigger a larger release of dopamine.
After overeating these foods, you feel fantastic. But as the dopamine wears off, most people experience an overwhelming and uncomfortable fullness, accompanied by a side of guilt or shame.
Overeating eating affects our emotions as well as our body.
Binge-eating is characterized by fast and uncontrolled eating, which harms the metabolism.
This uncontrolled food intake is associated with obesity and future susceptibility to metabolic syndrome, a condition that often leads to cardiovascular disease.
Difference between Overeating and Binge-Eating Disorder (BED)
Binge Eating Disorder was first noted back in 1959 by psychiatrist Albert Stunkard.
In his paper titled “Eating Patterns and Obesity,” Stunkard describes an eating pattern marked by consuming large amounts of food at irregular intervals.
Binge eating disorder may affect as many as 1–5% of Americans, according to the National Eating Disorder Association.
What separates overeating from binge eating disorder is:
- The binge-eating episodes occur regularly, at least twice a week for six months.
- The binge eater finds the episodes very upsetting. If there is no emotional upheaval over the meal, it is not a binge eating disorder.
- The binge eater does not like to eat in public. To him, eating is a private behavior.
- The binge eater does not feel normal physiological cues like hunger and being full. He eats more from emotional cues, such as anger and sadness.
Stress Eating is Common, Yet Very Less Talked About.
According to the American Psychological Association survey, about one-fourth of Americans, rate their stress level as 8 or more on a 10-point scale. This may result in “Stress Eating”. Back in Feb 2006, The APA released a survey — “Americans engage in unhealthy behaviors like comfort eating, poor diet choices, smoking, and physical inactivity to manage stress”.
Beverly Hills psychotherapist Allison Cohen, MA, MFT, explains that stress is a common trigger for emotional eaters.
A Harvard study states that “In the short term, stress can shut down appetite”. When the body is under stress the adrenal gland releases epinephrine (also known as Adrenaline). Epinephrine triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response — a physiological state that temporarily puts eating on hold.
If stress persists, the adrenal gland releases another hormone called Cortisol. Cortisol increases appetite.
Once the stressful episode is over, the cortisol levels fall. But if the stress still lingers or if a person’s stress response gets stuck in the “on” position — the cortisol levels may stay elevated.
Many studies, though on animals, have shown that physical or emotional distress increases the intake of food high in fat, sugar, or both.
High cortisol levels, in combination with high insulin levels, may be responsible for stress eating. Other research suggests that ghrelin, a “hunger hormone,” may have a role.
Relieve Stress Without Overeating
- Meditation- A study including nearly 1,300 patients demonstrated that meditation may decrease stress. Meditation also prevents emotional eating and smoking.
To get a sense of mindfulness meditation, you can try one of the guided recordings by Dr. Ronald Siegel, an assistant clinical professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School. They are available for free at www.mindfulness-solution.com.
2. Physical Activity- February 2011 issue of Harvard Men’s Health Watch states that regular aerobic exercise has remarkable changes in your body, metabolism, heart and also spirit.
There are several explanations, some chemical and other behavioral. The mental benefits of aerobic exercise have a neurochemical basis.
Exercise reduces the levels of adrenaline and cortisol — the body’s stress hormones.
Physical activity also stimulates the production of endorphins — the body's natural painkillers and mood elevators.
Examples of Aerobic exercises include swimming, running, hiking, country skiing, kickboxing, etc.
3. Social Support- Research suggests that people working in stressful situations, like hospital emergency departments, have better mental health if they have adequate social support.
Friends, family, and other sources of social support seem to have a buffering effect on the stress that people experience.
Overeating Could Raise The Risk Of Memory Loss
A study as mentioned in the Harvard Health Letter suggests that
“high-calorie intake over time may actually raise your odds of developing memory loss, or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), later in life”.
The study, presented in 2012 at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting, found that consuming between 2,100 and 6,000 calories per day may double the risk of MCI among people age 70 and older.
The study involved more than 1,200 men and women, ages 70 to 89, who did not show signs of dementia at the start of the study.
Dr. Gad Marshall, a behavioral neurologist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston explains — “the study implies that in late life when you are already at increased risk for cognitive impairment — primarily due to Alzheimer’s disease — increased caloric intake is associated with increased risk of cognitive impairment,”
Dr. Marshall also adds that other studies have shown a greater body mass index (BMI) is associated with an accelerated rate of cognitive decline in late-life.
Other Effects of Overeating
After a very heavy meal, the pancreas release larger than normal amounts of insulin. Over time, this results in insulin resistance, which in the long term can be harmful to your metabolism.
Once insulin resistance has set in, cells in the body don’t absorb nutrients normally. If this remains untreated, the body is exposed to a host of conditions including obesity, high blood pressure, and heart diseases.
After overeating, your system is loaded with sugars and fats. This causes hormone and energy fluctuations. Excess calories promotes fat storage, inflammation, and digestive discomfort.
Please Note: If you are suffering from Binge Eating Disorder (BED), you should consider seeking help. You can start by reading — Eating Disorder Hope — an online website with recovery tools and support.
