Showing posts with label Effects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Effects. Show all posts

The Malign Effects Of Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa is a very common type of eating disorder. The main characteristic of the disease involves self-restrictive food behaviors, determining the affected persons to keep drastic diets in order to lose weight. Anorexia involves a phobia of being fat and people affected by the disease develop obsessions with food. Although the actual causes of anorexia are not clear, it seems that the disease has a pronounced psychological character. Anorexia occurs on the premises of emotional distress and mental instability and the majority of affected people have a low self esteem and a poor self-image.

While anorexics may at first only follow strict diets, in time they may also engage in acts of self-starvation. People who suffer from anorexia also exercise a lot in an attempt to lose “extra” pounds. In time, anorexics become obsessed with food and dieting, and they eventually develop an altered perception of their physical appearance. No matter how much weight they may lose, anorexics are never satisfied with their achievements, continuously trying to become thinner.

There are many hypotheses regarding the actual reasons why anorexics constantly engage in unusual food behaviors. Medical scientists believe that people affected by anorexia are actually trying to achieve self-respect through their actions. It is believed that strict dieting and exaggerated physical exercise are anorexics’ ways of trying to maintain control over their lives. Anorexia usually affects poorly adapted individuals and psychologists believe that anorexics engage in restrictive behaviors in order to prove themselves and other people that they actually hold control over their bodies and lives.

People affected by anorexia engage in similar behavioral patterns. At first, anorexics keep very strict diets and exercise a lot in an attempt to lose weight. Later, anorexics become so obsessed with food and the idea of being fat, that they may even engage in acts of self-starvation. They become depressed and isolate themselves from the outside world, developing complexes of inferiority. As the disorder progresses, anorexics can’t think about anything else but food, dieting and their intake of calories. They may even have obsessive dreams about being fat and repulsive.

As the disorder progresses, anorexics become more and more depressed and their perceptions are considerably altered. In advanced stages of the disorder, many affected persons lose their sense of reason and they become victims of their own actions. It is very important to understand that anorexics can’t overcome the disorder through their own efforts. People affected by anorexia need all the help and support they can get! Anorexics often need to follow psychiatric programs that can help them confront their fears and fight their addictions.

Psychiatric therapy is not aimed at convincing anorexics that their behavior is wrong; the purpose of therapy is to explore the actual causes of their extreme behavioral acts and to encourage them to overcome their addictions.

The Benefits And Side Effects Of Creatine

What is creatine?

Creatine is an amino acid (amino acids are the building blocks of protein) which is made in the body by the liver and kidneys, and is derived from the diet through meat and animal products. Creatine (creatine monohydrate) is a colorless, crystalline substance used in muscle tissue for the production of phosphocreatine, an important factor in the formation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the source of energy for muscle contraction and many other functions in the body.

What does creatine normally do in the body?

In the body, creatine is changed into a molecule called “phosphocreatine” which serves as a storage reservoir for quick energy. Phosphocreatine is especially important in tissues such as the voluntary muscles and the nervous system which periodically require large amounts of energy.

Why do athletes take creatine?

Studies have shown that creatine can increase the performance of athletes in activities that require quick bursts of energy, such as sprinting, and can help athletes to recover faster after expending bursts of energy. Creatine is best for the serious bodybuilder. It helps increase muscle mass, rather than muscle endurance, so it’s not well suited for athletes participating in endurance activities. However, the increase in muscle mass may be due to water retention and not an increase in muscle tissue.

Why have I been hearing so much about creatine and neuromuscular disorders?

Two scientific studies have indicated that creatine may be beneficial for neuromuscular disorders. First, a study by MDA-funded researcher M. Flint Beal of Cornell University Medical Center demonstrated that creatine was twice as effective as the prescription drug riluzole in extending the lives of mice with the degenerative neural disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease). Second, a study by Canadian researchers Mark Tarnopolsky and Joan Martin of McMaster University Medical Center in Ontario found that creatine can cause modest increases in strength in people with a variety of neuromuscular disorders. Beal’s work was published in the March 1999 issue of Nature Neuroscience and the second paper was published in the March 1999 issue of Neurology.

I want to start taking creatine — is it safe?

For the most part, athletes haven’t experienced adverse side-effects from taking creatine, although recently there have been a few reports of kidney damage linked to creatine usage. No consistent toxicity has been reported in studies of creatine supplementation. Dehydration has also been reported to be a problem while taking creatine.

Athletes generally take a “loading dose” of 20 grams of creatine a day for five or six days, then continue with a “maintenance dose” of 2 to 5 grams of creatine a day thereafter.

What are the side effects?

Little is known about long-term side effects of creatine, but no consistent toxicity has been reported in studies of creatine supplementation. In a study of side effects of creatine, diarrhea was the most commonly reported adverse effect of creatine supplementation, followed by muscle cramping.18 Some reports showed that kidney, liver, and blood functions were not affected by short-term higher amounts or long-term lower amounts of creatine supplementation in healthy young adults. In a small study of people taking 5-30 grams per day, no change in kidney function appeared after up to five years of supplementation. Muscle cramping after creatine supplementation has been anecdotally reported in some studies.