You can stop your food cravings with the power of your mind: not by using willpower but just thinking about the consequences the binge will have on your health. Most of us know willpower is an extremely difficult thing to conquer. After all who hasn't eaten that extra piece of chocolate even though we said we wouldn't.New research just out in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal has shown that people can stop their cravings by thinking of the consequences of their actions.
21 people with binge eating problems participated in the research. They were asked to think about the consequences when enticing food was offered. All of them said that their cravings to eat the food were much weaker while thinking about the consequences of binging on their health.
The study used an MRI scanner (magnetic resonance imaging) to see what happens in the brains of people when they are shown food they normally binge on and then asked to think of their immediate feelings. After that they were asked to think about the bad consequences these foods can have on their health.
It was shown in the research that the part of the brain involved in controlling their negative emotions where activated and the parts of the brain responsible for cravings started to shut down after they thought about all the health risks. The research has proven that the way you think has an impact on your ability to stop your cravings.
For eating disorder sufferers being able to stop their cravings is a pivotal point to stopping and controlling their disorder. People with binge eating, bulimia and overeating will benefit from this method enormously.
So, next time when you feel like binging again think of what harm binging will actually do to you.
Binge eating will bring you high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol level, heart problem, liver and gall bladder disease. It will also make you depressed, anxious and even suicidal. Don't you think that's enough to stop you from binging?
Bulimia will give you heart palpitations and irregular heartbeats, tooth decay, spells of fainting, fatigue, weakness due to electrolyte imbalance, bad skin, weak hair, brittle nails, kidney failure, brain disorder or even death. Just think of that when you are going on a bulimic binge next time.
Aren't all the above problems a great incentive to help you stop your eating disorder for good?
One of the things the study also said was to try doing it by yourself at home, but you will need to have therapist to help. There is a bit of a problem with this aspect of the research and as most eating disorder sufferers know that their problems are at home when they are on their own with no therapist to hold their hand. Plus the researchers don't actually tell you exactly what to do.
Luckily there are a number of tactics you can use at home to bolster your own resolve without the need of a therapist. There are methods available that will help you control the cravings based on the power of neuroplasticity. The power of the mind to change the way your brain works by your thoughts, actions and words.
All in all, the result of this study proves once more that we can control the binges with the power of the mind. All we need to do is find the right method that will work for each individual person.
Most people if they learn a proven method to help with the "thinking of consequences" method should have great success. Always remember that brain can only be controlled with your own mind and in the end it all comes back to the resolve of the sufferer to change.
Dr Irina Webster MD is a Director of Women Health Issues Program. She is an author and a public speaker. To read more about how to stop binge eating disorder go to http://www.eating-disorders-books.com
Article Source:Irina_Webster
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