Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia means the loss of desire to have food even when one is hungry. This disease is known as aruchi in Ayurveda. This condition can arise due to a sedentary lifestyle, stress and wrong eating patterns. In this condition a person has no appetite for food due to indigestion or psychological causes. In some cases the patient gets a bad taste in the mouth and has no desire to swallow the food.
Note that anorexia (simple loss of appetite) is not the same as anorexia nervosa (commonly known as anorexia), which refers to serious psychological and physiological conditions usually seen in women where they develop and aversion to eating and have a distorted body image and a fear of being obese. A person with anorexia nervosa often has severe and even life-threatening weight-loss. In contrast, anorexia (the simple loss of appetite) is usually temporary and does not develop into anorexia nervosa.
Causes :
According to Ayurveda, anorexia is caused by an aggravation of vata, pitta and kapha doshas, and psychological factors such as fear, anger and stress, leading to incomplete digestion of food. This leads to the formation of ama (mucus). This ama blocks the gastrointestinal channels of the body and thus disturbs the sense of taste.
The following contribute to this condition: inactive lifestyle; oily, sweet and heavy foods; snacking between meals; and having meals in a disturbed atmosphere, such as eating while watching television.
Symptoms
Dieting despite being underweight
Obsessed about calories & fats
Avoiding eating with some excuse
Dramatic weight loss
Secretly vomiting after meals
Overexercising
View Of Ayurveda
According to Ayurveda, the physical causes of aruchi (anorexia) are aggravation of vata, pitta and kapha in the stomach. Kapha is a mucus-like substance, which is cold, dense, heavy, firm, slow, thick, sticky, wet and clear in nature. Aggravation of a type of kapha, known as bodhak kapha, leads to a loss of appetite.
Diet & Lifestyle Advice
A single day of fasting is good for digesting ama (mucus). Have freshly prepared warm food. Meals should be taken at regular intervals, so that the previous meal gets digested. Avoiding snacking between meals. When psychological factors are involved, creating a happy and calm atmosphere helps to improve the condition. Being in the company of good friends and relatives relieves stress and improves digestive power. Yoga postures such as pawanmuktasan and bhramari pranayama is also beneficial for people with anorexia.
An ayurvedic treatment has wonderful results in Anorexia nervosa disease. It may cure permanantly if patient follow the complete course of treatment with all diet, life-style & panchkarma realeted advises.