Water Weight and the Dangers of Laxative Abuse
A common way to lose weight when inflicted with an eating disorder is through the abuse of laxatives. Laxative abuse is the frequent and repeated misuse of laxatives to rid ones self of calories, or to become thinner. The main misconception behind laxative abuse is that laxatives can be used to hurry the journey of food through the body. People mistakenly believe that food can be hurried through the bowels before it can be absorbed by the body, and ones weight can be controlled by doing this. This doesn’t happen, and can have dangerous side effects.
Laxatives work by making the large intestine empty its contents. The problem with the belief that laxatives hurry food through is that all the absorption is already completed before the laxative takes affect. Since a majority of food is absorbed in the small intestine and laxatives primarily affect the large intestine, the induced bowel movement caused by the laxatives contains little to no actual food.
Laxative abuse causes the body to lose precious electrolytes, water, and minerals. The weight loss associated with laxative abuse usually results from water weight loss. In other words, dehydration is the reason for weight loss. This weight is gained back when the person drinks water. Dehydration has extremely dangerous side effects. Most notably, chronic dehydration can cause organ failure, which can cause death.
To stop the destructive cycle of laxative abuse you should consult a medical health professional. A doctor can advise you on the best course of action for stopping. A sudden stop of use or a slow regression of use both might be recommended by the doctor. A high fiber diet and a long walk in the morning before breakfast can get things moving in your GI Tract. Also, a cup of warm water with some lemon juice in it also will stimulate that area. Make sure to eat breakfast, because ingestion of food after you wake up also stimulates the nerve endings in the GI Tract that are responsible for bowel movements.
Laxative abuse can become a dependency, so it is very important to have a mental health expert to consult with. A mental health professional can help overcome any mental barriers associated with the stop of use, but more importantly the professional can analyze your progression toward an eating disorder and work to correct dangerous lifestyle patterns. Laxative abuse is commonly used in conjunction with dieting and exercise, which puts a dangerous toll on the body.
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