Now this applies to someone with bulimia too, even though they’re eating they are still throwing up food, which means their getting rid of important minerals and nutrients which are important for the body’s functioning and are going to waste because of their excessive vomiting.
Instead of the person just using the energy up from the foods and burning it up, they just go to great extents of throwing it up, when really it could have been used up. So in a sense they have just consumed something which may have contained a high-energy content and then just removed it all by vomiting which is just a waste of energy and a waste of money.
Usually a person with bulimia throw up so much till there is nothing to throw up which means they have nothing inside them and all the acid which is coming from the stomach as they regurgitate is touching their teeth which is causing enamel and decay. Because they have thrown up so much they aren’t getting enough calories which is why they lose weight.
Food allergies
An allergy simply means your immune system that fights infection treat the food you’re allergic to as a foreign body so then it gives you a reaction. So simplistically allergies cause reaction by your immune system. Here are some of the typical allergic reactions you can get:
Anaphlatic shock – peanuts
Celiac / wheat / gluten / - digestive problems
Lactic – sick/rash
Food allergies can have an impact on someone’s health because they’re restricted of certain foods. If they have a food that they’re allergic to they will have an allergic reaction which could be swelling, trouble breathing, rash etc. Depending on how big the allergy is determines how bad the allergic reaction will be when exposed or consuming a particular food they’re allergic to.
So obviously people with food allergies like dairy intolerant must include a dairy free diet. So the downfall of being dairy intolerant means you can’t eat foods enriched with milk such as yoghurts, cheese etc you have to adapt it for something that is dairy-free such as Soya yoghurt, Soya milk etc.
Other food allergies could be gluten intolerant this is where you can’t eat foods enriched with gluten such as white bread, pasta, rice etc so you have to opt for gluten-free foods which I admit there isn’t a big enough market for people with gluten-free allergies the stock for gluten-free is very limited in supermarkets.
I myself have made buns out of gluten free flour and gluten free icing and it is not the same as the proper ingredients because the texture and taste are totally different it hasn’t got that ‘oomph’. So this is a really difficult food allergy because there isn’t much choice and you have to double check items when shopping to make sure it doesn’t consist of any gluten ingredients it also restricts you when going for a meal because you’ve got to ask the chef to adapt a meal for you which is possible but is quite tricky.
The difficult thing about food allergies means the family must adapt to your allergy i.e. make a meal for all the family which is suitable for your allergy or make two meals one for them and one for you. This means it works out expensive and a lot of products that are gluten free and dairy are expensive too.
So having a food allergy isn’t cost-effective, supermarkets need to do more special offers because a person with a food allergy shouldn’t have to pay more he should have his items valued at the same price of other food in the supermarket.
It affects your lifestyle because you have to double-check things you can’t eat a meal on the spur of the moment you need to consider what’s gone in the meal so it’s better to plan meals and make them from scratch so you know what’s going into it.
It can make you feel depressed because you can’t eat what you want to and that you’re not in control of what you can eat. So you may feel left out if you see other people eating foods you’re restricted from.
Health
Different problematic health problems can affect what you eat because in order to stay alive you must eat foods that aren’t dangerous for you.
Examples of people who follow special diets in order to stay alive are:
Gout sufferers
People with high-blood pressure
People with high cholesterol
People with Diabetes
People with PKU
Some one with Gout can’t eat protein enriched foods or anything that has high levels of Uric acid because it will cause a gout attack. So a gout sufferer has to eliminate meat from their diet.
Someone with PKU have to have protein with amino acid Triptophen taken out as it is deadly.
Someone with diabetes is limited to anything sugary in their diet. They can have sugar but in tiny amounts and are insulin dependant.
Culture
Culture is all about tradition and people in their environment. If you or family originate from afro-Caribbean you will have links to your food. So you will have food to your traditional tastes.
Religions
Different religions can have an influence on people’s choice of food because the holy book of most religion dictates what they can and cannot eat.
True Rastafarians follow an Ital diet - meaning salt less and vegetarian. Ital also means natural food. Rastafarians don't eat the ‘flesh of scavengers’ like pork or shellfish, but fish and chicken are acceptable to many. Alcohol is discouraged. Those attending Nyabinghi ceremonies are expected to observe a strict Ital diet for the duration, which can last up to a week.
Christians have no dictates in bible what you can’t or cannot eat.
Catholics won’t eat meat on a Friday.
Jewish faith – they follow the holy book called Torah the book says they can’t eat pork – pig is seen as unclean.
Orthodox can’t have meat and milk in same food. So if you were going out for a pizza they would only be able to have a margarita but not pepperoni. They call this diet kosher as it is ritually correct, according to Halachic dietary laws.
Muslims also can’t have any pork and meat in Halal method will only be eaten. Halal refers to the meat being slaughtered in a certain way.
Hindus and Sikh’s can’t eat beef
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Convenience
Conveniences foods are pre-prepared foods which are designed to save consumers time in the kitchen, and often reduce costs due to spoilage and the economies of scale.
Convenience foods require minimal preparation, typically just heating, and are often packaged for a long shelf life with little loss of flavour and nutrients.
Typically convenience foods come in a variety of formats, including frozen, chilled and canned.
Because convenience foods are quick, fairly cheap and easy more and more people opt for them compared to getting fresh ingredients and making them from scratch. The reason people often buy them is also because they might be in a rush or doing awkward hours at work so don’t have any time to cook something up. So a person’s job and activity throughout the day can contribute to relying an awful lot on convenience foods.
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Phobia
Phobia links a lot with psychological i.e. someone may comfort eat or might not eat at all. This may be because they’re unhappy and don’t feel in control of things which is why they skip their meals because they feel control in the amount they eat. A reason someone would comfort eat is because they feel like their life is a mess and their only happiness is food.
Phobia is all about fear so if something happened to you in childhood i.e. someone may have commented on meat what you was eating and making animal sounds which has played on your mind right through adulthood which has made you refuse to eat anything meat due to the guilt of eating an animal that has been slaughtered. So you may eat certain food but not the ones you feel comfortable with due to your experience.
OCD
Obsessive compulsory disorder can affect the choices you make when eating food because of the simple fact you want everything to be clean or made to a certain standard. You don’t want germs so continuously ensure it’s clean what your eating and rarely buy anything when your out because you don’t feel comfortable eating it as you see it as unclean.
Availability
People eat foods that are available to them if there was a shortage people would have to limit it so it lasted.
If you live in a remote village or somewhere high in the mountains far from the shops you would be limited on food because you won’t want to trek to the shops all the time. You will try to survive on what is left.
There are loads of different issues with availability you might have a staple diet where you live but people who live in affluent countries after give food to those who are suffering from draught/crops. Food doesn’t always get distributed evenly to the people from the government so this becomes a government issue.
A young mum has no transport, 5 kids and they’re all hungry. So she is obviously going to buy food from the nearest shop which may be highly-priced but convenient for her at that time.
People who live in relative poverty eat food that is quick to make, cheap to buy and don’t actually sit together. They have more availability when it comes to food choice compared to someone who is living in absolute poverty who doesn’t have much choice they will share grains between the entire members of the village everything will get used up and if nothing is available to them they will die of starvation, kill animals that are in the territory or eat flowers.
Media
The media can have a huge impact on what we eat because of what we hear on the news i.e. foods which are unhealthy or healthy, what we see advertised on the TV i.e. fast food outlets, MacDonald’s for instance promotes itself by images of food looking tasty, good value for money and happy meals appeal to young kids because they choose what they would like and it is in bright packaging with pictures and also they get a free toy. This encourages pester power because a child will demand to go to MacDonald’s just because they want a toy they like.
But if it persists this will have major affect on the child’s diet if the parent constantly gives into them. The child could gain weight and develop a very unhealthy lifestyle with bad eating habits. Really the parent should allow the child to go once every fortnight as a treat and should also teach the child to cook and cook things from scratch so when the child gets older he/she will have knowledge of cooking meals from fresh ingredients which has far more benefits than relying on a greasy, takeaway.
As well as media highlighting food on adverts, billboards, in magazines and on the radio. It also features celebrities a lot and children look up to certain celebrities because of their talent and appearance. The celebrity is their role model but because it’s their idol and they aspire to them so much it can have dangerous consequences.
So for example, e.g. if who you aspire to is someone like Victoria Beckham and she is always immaculate looking and incredibly skinny you may adapt your diet in a dramatic way i.e. cut out fat and decrease your calorie intake because you feel it will make you closer to becoming your idol. This is dangerous for a young growing girl because cutting out really important nutrients can have damaging affects for example, e.g. cutting out dairy products is usually the case because dairy contains fat so this means you’ve got a higher risk of getting osteoporosis and also your periods can stop because your not getting enough essential nutrients in your diet which are important for the female reproductive system when you get older so your damaging your chances of fertility this means you may not be able to have children and will go through an early menopause where your periods stop permanently.
Also because your restricting the foods you eat this means your lacking certain minerals and vitamins which are important for the body functioning so for example if your missing out fats you will not be receiving enough vitamin D and E this means you will have brittle nails, weak hair and more prone to acne.
So the media can actually cause a huge impact on a young person because it features people in the media who to them appear “cool”, “super skinny” and “perfect” so this sends an image to them that they have to be like them to achieve everyone liking them. So if you have low-self esteem and aren’t very popular the thought of acting like your role-model so imitating them to get popular will spurn you on.
