Mushrooms and Truffles In Islam and in Eating Disorder Recovery

Mushrooms and Truffles in Eating Disorder Recovery

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: "The truffle is among the Mann (Allah's favours) and its water cures the eye" (Bukhari). It was said that among the Manna sent down by Allah to the Children of Israel were several plants that grow in the wild without effort. Some scholars consider truffles to be a kind of Manna, althought the word Manna in the Quran refers to the sweet dew that descended from the trees (Jauziyah, 2003).

The hadith already mentioned is relevant here, too: "Heaven laughed and it produced truffles, and the earth laughed and produced capers."

Truffles grow wild underground and they are a type of fungi sometimes regarded as a mushroom and they have a strong flavour and fragrance.

 

Source: Healing Body and Soul- Your guide to Holistic Wellbeing Following Islamic Teachings by Amira Ayad



Ancient Greeks and Romans credited truffles with both therapeutic and aphrodisiac powers.  Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics reveal that mushrooms were thought to bring immortality and valued them as both food and medicine.

Benefits of Mushrooms in Eating Disorder Recovery

Mushrooms are an important dietary source of essential amino acids.

Mushrooms are excellent source of fibre, vitamins and some minerals like selenium. They are low in fat and free of cholesterol.

The body of a mushroom is an excellent source of B- complex vitamins including B12.

Mushrooms are anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-tumor and boost immune system.

Mushrooms are the only vegetable and the second known source (after cod liver oil) to contain vitamin-D in edible form.

They are rich in calcium (good for bones), iron (benefits in anemia), potassium (very good for lowering blood pressure), copper (anti bacterial) and selenium (very good for health of bones, teeth, nails, hair and as an anti oxidant).

Here are some fabulous recipes from around the world. Bon Appetite!

Arab Mushroom Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 head broccoli separated into small flowers 


• 1 cup mushroom shopped  slices 


• 1 small carrot shredded


• 2 tbs pesto cream sauce 


• 1 ts salt


• 1 ts ground black pepper 


•  3 tbs extra olive oil

Method:

1. Preheat the oven on broil.


2. Place the broccoli, mushroom in a resealable bag. Add the oil, salt and black pepper, close the bag and shake to mix.


3. Pour into a tray and broil for 15 minutes with stir after each 5 minutes.


4. Serve with pesto cream sauce and decorate with carrot. (Retrieved from: http://arabdishes.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/mushroom-salad.html)

 

Khoresht Gharch ~ Persian Mushroom Stew

 

Ingredients

8 chicken thighs
2 medium onions
4 garlic cloves
24oz mushrooms
1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp brewed saffron
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 egg yolks
oil
salt & pepper



Small dice onion and mince garlic.  Saute in some oil until golden.



Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add to onion and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Add 1/2 cup of water, cover, and cook on medium for half hour.



In the mean time clean mushrooms . Cut off the bottom portion of the stem and depending on the size of each mushroom either cut into four section or nine. You can use any type of mushrooms you like.



I personally like to use all of my mushroom, including the stem. I cut the stem off then quarter, or cut into nice pieces, the cap then slice the stems.



Saute mushrooms in a thin layer of oil until their juices come out. Allow for the juices to evaporate.



Add flour to mushrooms and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.



Add brewed Saffron and lemon juice to chicken and mix well. Then add mushrooms and continue cooking uncovered for about 10 minutes.  Beat egg yolks in a bowl and carefully taper in the egg yolks with a bit of the juices from the stew.  Add tapered egg yolks to the pot and continue cooking for another 15 minutes. Make sure to adjust seasoning if needed.

You will have a fantastic stew in just under one hour to serve over  rice!

(Recipe retrieved from: http://mypersiankitchen.com/khoresht-gharch-persian-mushroom-stew/)

 

Cream of Mushroom Soup

 



Ingredients:

• ½ lb  (225 g) mushrooms


• 1 small onion


• ½ pint (300 ml) water or white vegetable stock


• Salt and pepper


• 1 oz (28 g) butter


• 1 oz (28 g) flour


• ¾  pint (400 ml) milk


• 1 egg yolk

Method:

1. Clean the mushrooms and cut up roughly.


2. Peel and chop the onion finely.


3. Put into a pan with the stock or water and seasoning.


4. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer with the pan covered for about 20 minutes until the mushrooms are cooked.


5. Either rub through a sieve or put through a blender to make a smooth pureee.


6. Melt the butter in a pan and add the flour. Blend it well and cook for a minute or two without colouring.


7. Gradually pour in the milk, stirring all the time. Simmer for a few minutes to cook.


8. Pour in the mushroom puree and add the beaten egg yolk.


9. Stir over a low heat to re-heat without boiling..


10. Serve hot. (Retrieved from: http://www.allotment.org.uk/recipe/335/cream-of-mushroom-soup-recipe/)

 

Malay Mushroom Tikka Masala

 



Mushroom Tikka Masala Recipe
Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

For the sauce

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 large onion, minced
2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
3 medium sized ripe tomatoes, pureed
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
½ teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder or according to taste
2 tablespoons dry kasoori methi
2 tablespoons heavy cream, optional
Salt

For the vegetables

9oz fresh white button mushrooms (about 15 mushrooms)
1 large green or red bell pepper, cubed
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon chili powder, or to taste
1/4 cup whole Greek yogurt or strained yogurt
1 tablespoon oil

Method:

Heat oil in a wok, and add the cumin seeds. When they begin to sizzle add the onion. Cook on medium heat till onion is brown. Then add the ginger garlic paste and stir for about 45 seconds. Pour in the tomato puree and sprinkle the coriander, cumin, turmeric and chili powders.

Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to a simmer, and let the gravy cook for about 12 minutes or till it thickens and oil floats on top. (Canned tomato puree will cook in lesser time). If the sauce gets too thick add ½ cup water whenever needed.

While the sauce is cooking, work on the mushrooms. Wipe the mushrooms clean with a paper towel. If the mushrooms are large, cut them in half, if not leave them whole. Mix together the mushrooms, pepper, turmeric, chili powder, and yogurt and set side.

Heat a large skillet and add oil. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms and peppers. Make sure you don’t crowd the pan; do this in batches if needed. Cook the mushroom and peppers on medium heat, till they start to brown a little. Don’t move the mushrooms around too much, they wont brown.

When the tomato sauce is done, add the sautéed mushrooms and bell peppers to it. Also add kasoori methi and sat. Cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes or till the peppers are cooked. Turn off heat and stir in heavy cream if using. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

(Recipe retrieved from: http://rasamalaysia.com/mushroom-tikka-masala/2/)

 

 

Eating Disorder Brain Booster Smoothie

Anorexia Nervosa can cause the brain to slow down, shrink, and cause a lack of memory. The extreme dieting often disrupts the normal functions of the brain, as endocrine, leptin and serotonin levels become severely depleted. Recharge your brain with this super brain booster smoothie.  The powerful antioxidants and phytochemicals in blueberries are excellent source for improving cognitive functioning in the brain. Walnuts are a super brain booster food.  Banana is excellent for restoring loss  potassium in body, and apple juice and raspberries give this smoothie a powerful tasty punch.





 

Blueberry Brain Boost Smoothie

Recipe from Super-Charged Smoothies

 




 

Servings: Serves 2 (makes about 2 1/2 cups)

Ingredients

• 1 cup apple juice


• 1 fresh ripe banana


• 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries


• 1/2 cup frozen raspberries


• 1/4 cup raw walnuts , preferably soaked and drained

Directions

Combine the apple juice and banana in a blender. Add the blueberries, raspberries, and walnuts. Blend until smooth.

 

Another set of fabulous tips from Bulimia Help. E-mail courtesy Richard Kerr. 

10 Ways to Stop Purging After Meals

By Coach Jen on May 22, 2013 - 11:22pm

Vomiting after eating is the most common form of purging for people with bulimia. However, there are also other forms of purging such as abusing laxatives, over-exercising, diet pills, diuretics and fasting for periods of time.

Some people use only one means of getting rid of food while others use a combination of methods. The ultimate goal of these methods is to rid the body of calories consumed and prevent weight gain.

Unfortunately, these habits are neither effective nor healthy and can wreak havoc on your body, causing long-term complications or even death. The habit of purging is a very strong one. In order to stop, you will probably need some help. Most people can’t recover alone. I know that my own recovery never would have happened without the right support. If you are currently suffering from bulimia and need to stop purging, here are some tips to help you get started.

1. Understand that purging doesn’t help maintain a lower weight.

People who vomit after meals are making an attempt to reverse the calories consumed and avoid weight gain, or even lose weight. The result is exactly the opposite. Research shows that people who binged then vomited still retained 1,000 to 1,200 calories after throwing up.

Even if you feel ‘empty’ after vomiting, you are probably dehydrated, which can lead to more binge urges and salt cravings.

Also, as your body responds to the food you have eaten, it releases insulin. When you throw up the contents of your stomach, there is now too much insulin in your body. This leads to more sugar cravings!

If you abuse laxatives to get rid of calories, then you need to understand how ineffective that is. Absorption occurs high in the digestive system. Laxatives empty the lower section. Any weight loss you may feel is only due to dehydration. The same goes for diuretics, which actually worsen water retention in the long-run.

Over-exercise is another method used to reduce the calories of a binge. Excessive exercise actually increases the appetite, which increases the likelihood of a binge. There are also many risks involved, such as muscle injuries and vitamin deficiencies.

Diet pills and fasting are also used, but again are ineffective. Diet pills put you at risk for heart problems as they often contain high levels of caffeine. Fasting only leads to more binging.

These methods of purging are not only ineffective, but are dangerous. Once your body has gone into starvation mode, it holds onto calories more effectively than ever. The same goes for dehydration. When you are chronically dehydrated, your body retains water which leads to bloating- the opposite effect of what you’re trying to achieve!

2. Talk to someone.

Because so many people suffer in silence, researchers do not have an accurate percentage of who successfully recovers alone. I can tell you from experience that it is nearly impossible, and was certainly impossible for me to recover by myself!

Finding support is a great first step to changing your habits once and for all. Not only can a ‘support buddy’ provide accountability, but they can be there for you during your crucial moments. The Bulimia Help Community is full of people who can offer support.

If you need additional guidance, check out the Bulimia Help Coaching Program. Here you can find experienced coaches who have actually recovered from bulimia and can provide insight and support.

Regardless of who you confide in, be sure you aren’t trying to stop purging alone. The isolation of bulimia can increase feelings of loneliness and frustration. It doesn’t take weakness to ask for help, it takes true strength!

3. Adopt a structured eating plan.

Chaotic eating can lead directly to binging and purging. Structured eating helps to rebalance the body and provide a consistent amount of food. This helps to reduce and end purging because it weakens binge urges. With smaller, weaker binges the desire to get rid of the food also decreases, making it easier to resist.

4. Stick to your ‘safe’ foods at first.

Most people with eating disorders have food lists. These lists can include ‘safe’ and ‘unsafe’ foods. When unsafe foods are eaten, the desire to throw up after eating may arise for fear of gaining weight. By sticking to foods you are comfortable eating when you begin structured eating, you may not feel the need to get rid of the calories.

When foods that are considered to be fattening are eaten, the desire to make yourself sick, abuse laxatives or get rid of it in some way may be overwhelming and nearly impossible to resist.

As structured eating progresses and you become more comfortable having food in your body, you can gradually introduce things that have been off limits in the past. It is important you get used to feeling food in your stomach. Once you are accustomed to eating regularly from your ‘safe’ list, take it slowly by adding new types of meals and snacks as you are comfortable.

5. Practice a delay.

A very effective habit-changing practice is to delay purging until you can resist it entirely. The first time you practice this, try to delay the purge by just five minutes. Once you are successful with that, increase your time to ten minutes, then twenty, then thirty. Increase your delay time until you can completely resist. Don’t worry if you aren’t able to do this at first, it takes lots of time and practice.

Helpful Hint: While practicing a delay, be sure and distract yourself in some way so that you aren’t just watching the clock!

6. Keep a recovery journal.

Journaling is very helpful for many reasons. It gives you a sacred place to write your inner most thoughts and feelings about food, anxiety, stress or whatever triggers you.It also gives you a place to keep positive recovery thoughts and motivation such as moments of success and inspirational quotes for when you most need them. And possibly the most beneficial part of a recovery journal is the insight it gives.

You have the chance to review your thoughts and feelings once you have calmed down or are in a better mood. That is when you can rationalize and decide what was really triggering and how you can best handle it in the future. Tracking progress as well as relapses can show you exactly where your strengths and weaknesses are.

7. Analyze your pattern.

Review your recovery journal often. Even if you only write in bullet points or a few sentences at the end of the day, look over it again. Try to decide what is helping and what isn’t.

Your journal gives you the chance to decode your binge and purge cycles and see where things are most challenging. Review the successes as much as the failures. Examine what helped you succeed and focus on how to keep going!

8. Celebrate every bit of success.

During recovery it can be easy to focus on failure instead of success. Try shifting your focus and celebrating each accomplishment, no matter how big or small.

So you successfully postponed purging for five minutes? Great job!

Don’t focus on the fact that you still purged, focus on the positive changes you are making! You didn’t develop this habit overnight, and it won’t go away that quickly either.

Be patient and maintain a positive outlook as you go. It will be much more helpful than beating yourself up. You can keep a list of accomplishments in your recovery journal. This way you can review them if you are feeling down.

Remember, the journey of recovery is long and consists of many small steps. Celebrate each accomplishment as you go!

9. Take it one day at a time.

Some people keep track of how many days they can go without a relapse. Others do not. Regardless of whether you count the days, keep things simple. Focus only on today. Don’t dwell on yesterday. Release the anxiety about tomorrow. Recovery happens in the moment, which is where your attention should be.

For my personal recovery, I counted days. Looking back I think it did more harm than good. My advice to others is not to keep track. If you do, try to do like I did and just exclude relapses from your list.

For example if I relapsed on day 50, I would start over the next day as day 50 instead of going back to day 1. This keeps you from being so down on yourself.

10. Understand the risks.

The more knowledge you have about the effects, the more empowered you are in order to change your mindset and your habits. If you ignore the possible consequences like I did for many years, it can be very shocking to do the research.

The more you know, the better informed your decision to stop will be. Although your recovery should not be fear-based, you may find more motivation in knowing what the dangers are. According to the US National Library of Medicine, the following can result from purging:

• Hair loss and brittle fingernails.


• Cavities or gum infections


• Broken blood vessels in the eyes.


• Irritated or infected sinuses.


• Skin rashes and acne.


• Swollen or infected glands.


• Overall swollen appearance of the face, particularly the cheeks.


• Irritation or damage to the lining of the stomach and esophagus.


• Hypokalemia (low potassium) which can result in abnormal heart rhythms, fatigue, constipation and muscular damage


• Amenorrhea (irregular periods)


• Edema (swelling) of the body due to water retention and dehydration


• Russell’s Sign- visible scars and calluses on the hands

If you have experienced any of these, you should see a doctor for a full check-up. The earlier you start recovery, the fewer long-term affects you may experience. It’s never too late to make positive changes for your emotional and physical health.

As someone who has made a full recovery from bulimia, I know the challenges you face in accepting food without trying to get rid of the calories.

I hope you find these 10 tips to be practical and helpful. I once believed that vomiting and diet pills helped maintain a low weight, but I was wrong.

I now live a life free from bulimia, and you can too!

Don’t wait any longer to stop binging and purging once and for all! The journey of recovery can start today.

You deserve to be happy and healthy.

Jen Kneabel is a Recovery Coach at bulimiahelp.org. She has a Master’s Degree in Social Work and is experienced in using a variety of therapeutic interventions.

She relies on the Bulimia Help Method as the most effective way to help others make a permanent recovery.
Enquire about working with Jen to recover from bulimia

How to Stop Binge Eating: 3 Steps for Overcoming Your Binge Urges Forever!

How to Stop Binge Eating: 3 Steps for Overcoming Your Binge Urges Forever!

By Coach Catherine

 

For most recovering bulimics, learning how to stop binge eating can be one of the most challenging, intimidating and confusing aspect of the entire recovery process.

I'll be honest with you, before I started recovery (and even for some time after that) I wasn't completely convinced that it was possible for a person to overcome binge urges.

"Once a binge eater, always a binge eater," I thought.

I imagined as a recovered bulimic I would spend the rest of my life in a perpetual state of recovery, always wanting to overeat but reminding myself not to, fighting with everything I had in order to avoid bingeing, but always hanging on by a thread.

But just like many of my other preconceived ideas about recovery -  I was so wrong!

In a couple of months I'll be celebrating my 4 year bulimia recovery anniversary and right now I can't even remember the last time I had an urge to binge. I haven't overeaten in years!

These days lot's of people ask me how I managed to stop bingeing completely and in a second I'm going to share with you the 3 things that helped me the most when it came to overcoming my own urges to binge eat.

But before we go any further there are some things that I really want you to know...

Firstly, I want you to know that it is 100% possible to stop binge eating, even if you NEVER remember having a normal relationship with food.

For many of us recovery isn't so much about learning to eat normally again, but rather it's about learning to eat normally for the very first time, and that can be seriously intimidating.

Before recovery I can't remember having even a remotely normal relationship with food, I dieted and binged throughout my entire childhood as I expect many of you did too.

But recovery taught me that just because you've never had a normal relationship with food in the past, doesn't mean you won't be able to have one in the future.

Secondly, I need you to understand that your ability to overcome binge urges has NOTHING to do with how much willpower you have.

Many of us convince ourselves that binge eating is a sign of weakness, something that we're choosing to do, something that we could overcome if only we were a little bit stronger.

But in reality, willpower has very little to do with it.

If you try to fight off your binge urges using willpower alone then yes, it may work for a short time, but eventually those urges are going to overpower you.

You could have all of the willpower in the world and it still wouldn't be enough to fight those urges.

Why?

Well, to answer that question you need to understand the reasons why you're driven to binge in the first place.

Those of you who are already members of The Bulimia Help Method will be familiar with this, but just so we're all on the same page let's briefly take a look at the 2 reasons bulimics are compelled to binge eat...

REASON 1: Your body is literally starving!

Now I know what you're thinking, "I binge on so much food, how can I be starving?"

But what you also have to bear in mind is that as a bulimic you purge either through fasting, excessive exercise, laxatives, or vomiting - all of which are certain to ensure your body remains in a malnourished state.

Being malnourished creates very powerful binge urges because your body thinks you're experiencing a famine. It wants to do everything it can to ensure your survival through this famine, and so it tells you to eat everything in sight.

At Bulimia Help we call this "The Body Binge Urge."

REASON 2: Over time you've learned to rely on bulimia for emotional support.

When you've been bulimic for a long time it's common to start relying on the cycle of bingeing and purging for emotional or psychological support. What this basically means is that you've learned to use food to numb emotional pain and to distract yourself from unwanted thoughts and feelings.

This is something I used to do all of the time before recovery, whenever I was even the slightest bit stressed or upset I would feel my urges to binge skyrocketing!

At Bulimia Help we call this "The Mind Binge Urge."

When you understand exactly why you're compelled to binge on food it's easy to see why willpower alone is just not going to be good enough to help you to overcome urges to binge.

So what can you do to stop binge eating?

Here are my 3 biggest tips to help you stop binge eating...

3 steps for overcoming your binge urges - forever!

STEP 1: Start eating more (seriously)

It sounds a bit strange to say "in order to stop binge eating you have to start eating more" but that is exactly what you need to do.

In fact normalizing your eating behaviors by implementing a structured eating meal plan for recovery is the single most powerful step you can take if you want to dramatically reduce your binge urges.

While you're restricting your food intake powerful and overwhelming binge urges are going to be unavoidable.

• This means no more food restriction and no more skipping meals.


• It means making a big commitment to gradually begin letting go of your food rules and dieting mentality.


• It means starting to eat regularly (usually every 3 hours to begin with) and having to sometimes eat when you really don't want to.


• It means facing some of your biggest fears.


• But ultimately it means saying hello to your brand new life where hunger binge urges are nothing but a distant memory.


• It means giving your body and mind the fuel and nutrients they need to become happier, healthier and more balanced and alive than ever before.

I can't emphasize this enough - structured eating saved my life and it will save yours too if you let it. It is the key to recovery and it has to be your first step when it comes to beating binge urges.

STEP 2: Start eating all types of foods (yes, even the "bad" ones)

I know this may be the scariest thing I've said to you so far today, believe me, I had a very extreme reaction myself the first time I learned about the importance of eating triggering foods during bulimia

But in recovery there comes a time when you do need to start adding more variety and balance to your diet because if you continue to avoid certain foods then you will always be vulnerable to bingeing on them.

It can be a bit of a bumpy road when you initially start re-introducing all of the foods you've previously avoided through fear, but you can't even imagine how liberating this is going to be in the end.

I used to be someone who could easily eat 20 candy bars in one sitting and still want more. Now, thanks to recovery I am "one of those people" who often eats half a bar of chocolate and saves the rest for later.

A claim like that won't sound big to anyone who hasn't experienced bulimia, but I'm pretty sure you can understand the magnitude of it.

Take a look at our article on how to eat triggering foods without bingeing if you'd like some further advice on this.

STEP 3: Stop waging war against your thoughts

There's a quote I hear from time to time which says, "change your thoughts and you'll change your life," and it's a nice sentiment.

I'm all for positive thinking during recovery, I like to "look on the bright side of life" and I'm forever trying to remain optimistic even in seemingly dreadful situations.

But I'm also realistic.

I understand that there are times when thoughts, urges and compulsions become so intense that you can't even breathe let alone think straight.

Times when no amount of positive thinking is going to "snap you out of it."

But you know what, that's okay, because in recovery I learned that one of the worst things you can do is try to fight back against those negative and unwanted thoughts and urges.

When you fight against a binge urge you only add fuel to the fire. 

You reinforce the idea that it is something to panic about and it is this reaction to the thought that creates anxiety and intensifies the binge urge.

What you really need to do when a thought about bingeing appears is practice accepting it - and I know that may sound ridiculous if you've never tried it before, but give it a go, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Binge urges do not last forever, although it feels as though they will. If you practice accepting them you will find that eventually they peak and then subside.

You will be amazed the first time you simply sit there, welcoming and accepting all thoughts, feelling those urges, and then slowly watching as they leave you.

By practicing acceptance of all thoughts we are teaching ourselves that they have no real power over us, that we do not have to react strongly to them - that we do not have to fight with them.

In the Bulimia Help Method there is a whole section dedicated to helping you overcome mind binge urges in this way, all centered around a powerful technique called "Thought Diffusion" which is a process where you teach yourself how to react differently to binge urges and thoughts about bingeing.

Some points to remember as you continue on your journey...

As with all aspects of your recovery from bulimia it's important to understand that the changes you're hoping for are not going to magically happen over night.

They will take time, there will likely be more ups and downs than you ever could have imagined and if you're anything like me you're probably going to experience lots of moments where you convince yourself you're never going to overcome your binge urges.

But eventually, if you persevere with your recovery you are going to see yourself transforming and you are going to see the "impossible" becoming possible.

Imagine a life where you can eat the foods you love without fear of bingeing or gaining unneeded weight.

Think of the day where you'll start eating when hungry and stop eating when you've had enough, no matter how good the food you're eating tastes.

Envisage the moment when you realize you can eat half a bar of chocolate and save the rest for later, where you can have just one bowl of cereal, where you can cook a huge pasta dish without panic.

If you've already started your recovery then that life is so much closer than you realize.

Change is always possible.

I learned how to stop binge eating and I honestly believe you can to. Bulimia is not a life sentence and recovery does not need to be a life-long ordeal.

Here's to your freedom!

Catherine works as a Bulimia Recovery Coach for BulimiaHelp.org.

Article taken from www.bulimiahelp.org. Courtesy of Richard Kerr

My Binge Eating Disorder and Islam

A reader is sharing her compulsive overeating story with us to explain how this disorder has jeopardised her professional and personal life. I will not be publishing her name.

Suffering in shame and silence, the stigma of Binge Eating Disorder

I’ve been suffering from Binge Eating Disorder for over six years now.



Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is a lack of control over eating and consuming larger amount of food during a short period of time. BED is a type of eating disorder not otherwise specified and is characterized by recurrent binge eating without the regular use of compensatory measures to counter the binge eating. This is such a bizarre eating disorder and I pray to God that people realise the seriousness of this horrid disorder.



I am on edge and I feel slightly suffocated when clock strikes 8:00 at night. I cannot wait for my 3 year old son to go to sleep. I read him story after story, but at times he is just so handful. Once he’s sleep, I go downstairs. I’m shaking in anticipation of indulging my eating disorder with a large carbs infused binge. This has been my life for past six years now. I binge after my son has gone to sleep and after exhausting myself and body with large amounts of food, I retire to bed by 1:00am. My son is an early riser. He wakes up at 7:00am and I spend my day attending to his needs, restricting food and planning my night time binges.  What a way to live your life?

My social life is non-existent. My weight has fluctuated between obesity and obesity for several years now. Once an obsessed cleaner, now my house is tidy but no way near what it was few years back.  My relatives are always commenting on my weight gain. My mother is critical of me and ashamed of my lack of control over food. No one can hate themselves as much as I hate myself. It was only after years of hiding my disorder that I came to terms with my illness. This disorder is swathed in shame and secrecy and how can you explain to your close knit Muslim community and friends and family that you have an obsession with eating huge amounts of food?

My husband works night shifts and does not get back till 3am in the morning. He has no clue. In fact he is often confused by my weight gain. In front of him, I’m perfectly composed. I eat less and give out a message that I’m trying every method in book to lose weight.

What happened, and how did I become such a compulsive over eater?

I was always overweight. I went on a diet at age of 17. It wasn’t an extreme diet. I just reduced my intake of junk food and incorporated healthier foods such as fruit and veg into my diet. By the time I finished my accounts degree at university, I had lost over 16 kilos in weight. After my degree I got married and though I gained weight, it was only by few kilos and it was just a happy post wedding weight.

I started binge eating at night to cope with the pressures of my job.  I was working full time and also studying for my Masters degree.  Every day after my evening classes, I would come home and eat large amounts of junk food and study. This cycle continued for 1 year. I completed my Masters, but by that time my disorder was out of control. I ate all the time, if I was happy I ate, if I was sad I was eating non-stop, this resulted in a huge weight gain and in 11 months I ended up gaining 18 kilos in weight.  Food was my best friend. After my binge, I would be consumed by enormous guilt and hatred for myself; I would feel sluggish, ugly and out of energy. People thought I was pregnant.  I tried few more diets but failed. I just couldn’t stop late night binges.

After the Binge Hell Follows

I started losing my confidence and left my job to stay at home. Depression followed with insomnia and I became more trapped in vicious cycle of binge eating. My routine revolved around buying large amounts of food and consuming those foods in large binges. I would purchase multi packs of crisps, cheeses, seeded breads, croissants, chocolates, biscuits, cakes, fizzy drinks, ice creams and frozen ready meals. Other times I would be running to convenient stores to replace the food I had eaten during my binges. My husband was unaware. It was during these times that I fell pregnant.  During my pregnancy I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and other health problems. I had a very difficult pregnancy.

Binge Eating costs you a relationship with God

I was also slipping further and further away from Islam. I used to pray daily, fast in month of Ramadan and attend events at mosque. As a result of my eating disorder, I stopped praying and stopped reading Quran. I was always depressed, irritable, angry and overly tired. Ramadan became a nightmare and I would only manage to keep few fasts here and there. All the time I was busy thinking about food and planning my binges.

Now I’m a mother and my disorder is having an impact on my son’s life as well. After my binges, I’m depressed, upset and in pieces.  At the age of 27, I have a high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol levels. My doctor is constantly advising me to lose weight. I can deal with high blood pressure, my diabetes, difficult pregnancy and even my fluctuating weight, but what I can not deal with is my eating disorder and how it has completely possessed me. In six years, I have binged every day and I am under a huge financial debt to serve my addiction.

My relatives are unaware of my mental state. My poor husband has no clue. He refrains from passing comments on my weight because he doesn’t want to upset me.

A Learning Curve

But what have I learnt from all this? Please do not live in denial. I cannot emphasis enough on how important it is to get help as early as possible. If your disorder is picked up right at the start and treated correctly, Inshallah, God willingly you will will make a fairly quick and full recovery, but if you leave it untreated, the way i did, the impact of an eating disorder worsens.

Get Help

I have taken a step to get help.  Maybe it’s late but never too late. I am getting one to one therapy, but I have also visited a Sheikh, a spiritual leader to help me deal with inner turmoil and depression. My first step has been to establish some form of regularity with my diet and my prayers.

It is a duty of every Muslim to take care of their health. If you have an eating disorder then please don’t ignore it, get help before it’s too late.  With BED seeking professional help from a doctor is important – push for a specialist help if required, for example from a dietitian to help with establishing a regular eating pattern to a therapist to a counsellor for help with depression and stress management. Don’t forget through suffering God helps us to better ourselves and make good our mistakes. 

https://waragainsteatingdisorder.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post

Love, Marriage and Anorexia

An Interview with an old Friend from Islamabad on her struggles with anorexia nervosa. In order to seal the anonymity, I will not be using the real name of interviewee; instead I’ll be referring to her as QG. 

I would like to thank QG for sharing her story on this blog.


MK: How did you become anorexic?

QG: I fell in love with a distant relative in Karachi, who at times was studying at Columbia University in New York. It was all very perfect and for me it was a love at first sight. It was all very quick and according to my mother he had every reason in the world to fall for me. You know Maha, how outstandingly beautiful my family is, how us sisters were so famed for our beauty and our looks. We were a product of our mother’s imagination, beautiful well-mannered girls that everybody envied.   Within months we were engaged and he returned to New York to complete his studies. We were engaged for two years. Once he returned from New York, wedding date was set by our families. It was a  request by him and his mother that I lose some weight before the wedding that started the whole journey into world of anorexia.  I had 8 weeks to lose 6 kilos. I was always cautious about my weight and this led me on a journey where a diet became something more. I became so focused on losing weight that at times I would fast for days and other days I would be on bed trying to recover from headaches and fatigue. Losing weight took precedence over everything including my studies, my wedding preparations and my social life .

MK: How did dieting lead to anorexia?

QG: It wasn’t just a diet, but also the pressure of getting married, meeting demands of my in laws and trying to strike a balance between my studies and home life.  In Pakistan there is a certain obsession with finding a most perfect daughter in law, one that is slim, fair, beautiful, educated, well-mannered, well-dressed, obedient and modern. I met these criteria perfectly, except when it came to weight. For my height 5:4, I was 53kilos, but my fiance wanted me to drop down to 47 Kilos. I guess he was influenced by size zero craze that was plaguing American society. He had a vision of wife who looked like a runway model. In panic, I started restricting, cutting out morning and afternoon meals and started to exercise compulsively.I became obsessed with not eating, every food was bad, and soon everything in food pyramid became my enemy.

MK: Is there a pressure on girls to be certain size, certain height and have certain traits?

QG:  Once your 13 girls have to look their best all the time. It’s unbelievable, how certain people have an obsession with people who look beautiful on surface. Beauty matters and people are more appreciative of outer beauty then inner beauty.  Also weight is always taken into consideration. If your slim and beautiful then your guaranteed a good proposal, a good social life.

MK: Did your family and friends notice your anorexia?

QG: They knew I was losing weight, but it was all put down to stress and pre wedding jitters.

MK: Did you get married in your anorexic condition?

QG: Yes! When I got married 2 months later, I had already lost over 5 kilos of weight. I didn’t look healthy, just frail and out of place. I was only living on a cup of tea and few salted biscuits at that time. I could not look at cooked food without feeling sick.

MK: How did your condition affect your married life?

QG: The first few weeks are always bliss, but not mine. I was low in confidence and petrified that I will fail in my married life.  I tried to avoid all meal times and would only eat few bites to hide my disordered condition. My in laws applauded me on my willpower and always complimented me on how smart I looked.  I was struggling, I was unhappy and I was always passing out with hunger. I also developed a hatred for dressing up in glittery outfits, started to hate make up and hated going out. I really did fail to be a perfect outgoing girlfriend my husband wanted me to be. Within few weeks of our marriage, I embarked on another diet. I lost more weight, and was put on bed rest. My mental health really deteriorated and I was sent back to my parent’s house. I was so low in weight that I was immediately hospitalized. Within few days of hospitalization, doctors diagnosed me with severe depression and low weight. I stayed in hospital for 3 months. I started hallucinating and became so paranoid that all reassurances proved fruitless. I thought everyone including medical team was secretly plotting to make me fat.

MK: What treatment did you receive in Islamabad Hospital?

QG: I was in a psychiatric ward. I had my own room and a team of psychologists were involved in my treatment. First few weeks of my hospitalization, no progress was made, as I refused to speak. In order to make some progress, I was threatened with electric shock therapy. I still refused to eat. I was given 8 hours notice to start eating or the medical team will be forced to take matters into their own hands. My parents had already consented to electric shock therapy. After 8 hours of ordeal, I still refused to eat or talk. I thought I rather die than eat. But once I was taken towards that chair, I broke down and that was the first breakthrough doctors made with my anorexia. After three months I was discharged. I had gained 10 kilos.

MK: After the discharge, did your anorexia still have an impact on your life?

QG: Two weeks after the discharge, I was served with divorce papers in post. I had a severe break down and I relapsed. In relapse all I cared about was how much weight I could lose. And this time anorexia was very strong, I dropped to an unhealthy weight of 29 Kilos.

MK: When did you realize that you needed help?

QG: After my divorce, which is an irony.

MK: What kind of treatment did you go through after your divorce?

QG: After my divorce I became restrictive and this time no team of medical professionals was involved, instead my father took it into his own hands to make me eat. We had rows, long quarrels, exchange of words, but I could not bring myself to eat. I was losing weight rapidly and also my sanity. It was during these turbulent times that we came across a Malay Psychiatrist in Islamabad. He was in his retirement and was helping out at local university with development of curriculum. After speaking to my mother, he took my case for free and he became my savior. We started off with simple meditation exercises to relax my mind. I learnt how to distinguish between my thoughts and thoughts of anorexia. He taught me how to reconnect with God, to read Quran again and to become more observant in my prayers. He taught my mother about anorexia and he taught me about darkness of living in anorexic world.



MK: How did you deal with refeeding?

QG: I was a very restrictive anorexic. After my divorce, I became worst with food. I hated eating more than anything in the world. If someone even offered me something to eat, I would fly into rage. I was also exercising in my room for 4-5 hours a day.  Refeeding and recovery was such a slow progress, we started off with water and dates. He taught me about benefits of eating dates and how Prophet Muhammad loved dates. We then included milk in my diet and after few weeks, we made a progress to incorporate other foods in my diet. It took 6 months of constant counselling for me to start having 3 meals and 3 snacks in my daily diet.



MK: When did you recover from your illness?

QG: In 2011. Though I still needed counselling to deal with events in my life, but food was no longer an issue, no longer a mechanism that controlled my life.

MK: Did your family and friends ever come to terms with your illness?

QG: Only my mother did, my father still views the whole episode of marriage and divorce as a worst nightmare. My relatives are still baffled and upset by my divorce. My ex-husband and his family feel cheated and blame my parents for burdening them with an ill daughter in law. In simple words, even I find it difficult to come to terms with what has happened.

MK: How is life after recovery?

QG: despite the entire ordeal, I’m in a much better position in my life now. Anorexia is an ensuing hell and is purely destructive. I went back to my job as a teacher. I love my job and I know that I need to feed my body and my mind, if I want to make a difference in society. I still struggle with certain foods, such as red meat, deep fried foods, but I eat well. I eat with my family and at times eat at social events as well. Let me tell you Maha that in my anorexic days all I did was exercise in 45 degree heat and hate myself and world in general. Life was unpleasant. Recovery is beautiful in a sense that it teaches you to live for yourself, to take care of yourself and to deal with challenges in your life.

Thank you ever so much for sharing your story. I’m sad, but there is so much I’ve learnt from you. May Allah keep you in His protection always.

 

Eating Disorder Vegan Recipes

Cooking For Vegans

10-minute meals

Some almost-instant meal ideas for when you've no time to cook.

1.    Beans on toast

2.    Couscous, tomato and chickpea stew

3.    Flat mushrooms in a bread bun with chilli sauce and salad leaves

4.    Jacket potato with baked beans or houmous

5.    Mixed vegetable stir fry with cashew nuts or tofu pieces

6.    Pasta and baked beans with dried mixed herbs

7.    Pasta and jar of sauce, vegan pesto or stir-through sauce

8.    Quick vegemince spaghetti bolognese

9.    Spicy spinach and chickpeas with rice

10. Tinned or fresh soup with bread (but watch out for milk and honey in the ingredients)

11. Vegan sausages or burgers with instant mash, frozen peas and vegan gravy

 

 

Vegan food products N-Z

Paneer

A soft, white Indian cheese that comes in a block and is usually fried. Although not exactly traditional, tofu works well as an alternative in various recipes, such as saag paneer.

Parmesan

Traditionally-made Parmesan isn't suitable for vegetarians (or vegans) as it contains animal rennet (calves' stomach lining). This is why you might notice seemingly vegetarian dishes in Italian restaurants not labelled as suitable for vegetarians.

There is a dairy-free version of grated parmesan available called Parmazano, which is sold in a lot of supermarkets. Particularly useful for making risotto.

Vegetarian parmesan isn't the same as vegan parmesan - it is still made with milk, it just doesn't contain animal rennet.

Pâté

Vegan pâtés are particularly useful as sandwich fillings or as a vegan alternative to cheese and biscuits/bread. Independent wholefoods shops are the best place to find a good range of ready-made ones. Holland and Barrett sell the varieties of Cauldron pâté which are suitable for vegans, which are Chickpea and black olive and Soya and mushroom (they don't tend to sell the vegan varieties in supermarkets). You could also use ready-made houmous, which comes in a variety of flavours and is readily available in supermarkets, or make your own houmous with tinned chickpeas.

Alternatively, pâtés are usually quick and easy (and cheap) to make - there are many vegan recipes out there for pâté made with mashed beans or vegetables and herbs if you fancy making your own.

If you're making sandwiches, make sure the margarine is also vegan if you're using any.

Pesto

Pesto usually contains parmesan and other cheeses, so isn't suitable for vegans (and often vegetarians - see above). Sacla's aubergine pesto is suitable for vegans, but other than that I've never found a vegan pesto in supermarket Italian sections, although they often stock vegan pesto in the free from section. Otherwise it's a trip to a wholefoods shop to find some. Suma make nice vegan green and red pesto. Some stir-through pasta sauces are suitable for vegans, which can be an alternative to pesto depending on what you're using it for.

Pies

Linda McCartney country pies are suitable for vegans (find them in the freezers in the supermarket) - very handy for pie and pea suppers - or see if your local wholefoods shop sells Clive's Pies. Most are vegan and they also do a range of gluten-free pies.

Sausages

Not generally intended to be identical to meat sausages. Useful for taking to barbecues and using in sausage casserole, sausage and mash, cooked breakfast...

Vegan brands: Redwood's VegeDeli range, Linda McCartney, RealEat, Fry's, Taifun, some but not all Wicken Fen varieties.

Ones to avoid - vegetarian but not vegan brands: Quorn, Cauldron, most supermarket vegetarian sausages.

Sausage rolls

Fry's and Linda McCartney sausage rolls are suitable for vegans. Or make your own - dead easy!

Stuffed pasta

Stuffed pasta was one of my favourite foods before I went vegan, so I was very pleased to learn that you can buy vegan versions of it. The ones I've found in the UK are in the Biona range of products. Mail order from Goodness Direct, or some independent shops stock it.

Worcestershire sauce

Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies and isn't suitable for vegans or vegetarians. Vegan worcestershire sauce is available in wholefoods shops or in supermarket 'free from' sections. If you're anywhere near Sheffield, get your hands on some Henderson's Relish instead.

Yoghurt

Alpro is the main brand to look for, they make fruit-flavoured and plain yoghurts. Commonly available in the dairy products section of large supermarkets. Alpro also make soya desserts, which are similar to yoghurt but don't need to be kept in the fridge.

 

Spicy couscous, chickpea and tomato stew

Serves 2 as a main meal

1 onion
1-2 tsp chilli powder (depending how spicy you like it)
1 x 420g tin tomatoes
1 x 220g tin chickpeas
125g wholemeal couscous
1 stock cube
150ml water
oil for frying

Chop the onion. Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the onion with the chilli powder for a few minutes until softened. Add all the other ingredients. Bring to the boil, cover, turn off the heat and leave to stand for five minutes. Stir and heat through before serving.

 

 

Flat Mushroom Burgers

Make two 'burgers' per person as a meal, one as a snack.

Large flat mushrooms
Henderson's Relish or vegan Worcestershire sauce (optional)
Bread buns
Chilli sauce or tomato ketchup
Bag of salad leaves
Olive oil

Brush the mushrooms with the olive oil and Henderson's Relish if using. Heat them under the grill (or on a barbecue) for a few minutes on each side until tender. Serve in bread buns with chilli sauce or ketchup and salad leaves.

 

Stir fry

Stir fry is your friend when you need a low-effort meal that's also tasty and healthy. They're also a great easy way to boost your vegetable intake.

People who say they don't like vegetables might enjoy stir fry as you can keep the vegetables slightly crunchy and full of flavour - many people are put off vegetables because they're used to boiled, soggy vegetables and it's the texture that puts them off. Using a stir-fry sauce also makes them taste more interesting than plain vegetables.

To make stir-fry, chop your vegetables (or buy pre-prepared ones), heat a bit of vegetable or groundnut oil in a frying pan or wok, fry your ingredients until they're cooked and add stir fry sauce or seasoning of your choice. In the meantime, cook some rice or noodles to go with it.

For a tasty stir fry, you will need:

Vegetables

For an 'instant meal' stir-fry you can buy packs of pre-prepared stir fry vegetables from the supermarket, which often come with a sachet of stir-fry sauce.

If you have a bit more time, use fresh vegetables and chop them yourself - it doesn't take long even then and it means you can choose your own combinations. Plus fresh veg usually tastes better than the packaged ones, especially if you use organic vegetables as they tend to have much more flavour.

Good vegetables for stir-frying include peppers, courgettes, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, mangetout, sugar snap peas, baby sweetcorn, okra, spinach, aubergine, kale, and leeks. You could also add beansprouts, bamboo shoots or water chestnuts for more of a Chinese flavour. Pick a range of colours to make it look more appetising, for example red pepper, carrot and courgette is a simple but attractive combination. I tend to go for three or four different vegetables in a stir-fry.

Other ingredients

Cashew nuts, pumpkin seeds or tofu pieces are great ingredients for adding to the flavour and nutritional content of stir fries. Cauldron make marinated tofu pieces which don't need to be cooked, you can just throw them in to heat through at the end. Look for them in the chiller cabinets at the supermarket, usually near the chilled vegetarian sausages and ready meals. If you prefer, buy a block of firm tofu (again, Cauldron is the main brand sold in supermarkets), drain off the water, cut it into chunks and marinade it in soy sauce and sesame oil before cooking. Have a look at the tofu page for more detailed instructions.

Noodles or rice

If using noodles, choose wheat or rice noodles rather than egg noodles. Many stir-fry noodles only take about three minutes to cook and there's usually a good selection in supermarkets. If using rice, go for the 10-minute brown rice for a speedy meal.

Sauce or spices

Use either a ready-made stir fry sauce or just throw some spices or soy sauce in.

Many ready-made stir-fry sauces are suitable for vegans (check the ingredients though). Blue Dragon label their vegan sachets of stir-fry sauce as suitable for vegans, which makes life easier.

Alternatively, for a lighter meal you can add flavourings such as soy sauce or tamari, sesame oil, chopped fresh chillies, garlic and ginger, ground coriander, ginger or chilli powder, tamarind paste, spice grinders with a combination of dried spices - whatever you fancy really!

For a really quick stir-fry I just use a bit of soy sauce, sesame oil and ground ginger.

Quick vegemince bolognese

Makes two servings. This is a good recipe for freezing, so if you only need one portion you can freeze the other portion for later.

1 onion (optional)
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
75g-100g frozen soya mince
1 vegetable stock cube
a few tablespoons water
vegetable or olive oil for frying
wholemeal spaghetti

Optional extras: frozen peas, dried herbs, tomato puree, vegan Worcestershire sauce or Henderson's Relish, salt and pepper.

Cook the spaghetti according to the instructions on the pack.

If using, chop and fry the onion in a saucepan. Add the tomatoes, soya mince, stock cube and any extra ingredients, stir and cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes until the soya mince has softened and absorbed most of the liquid. Add a few tablespoons of water if the mixture becomes too dry. Taste, adjust seasoning if necessary and serve.

If you have more time you can add vegetables to the sauce, such as courgettes, mushrooms, peppers, aubergines or carrots - chop into small chunks and cook them with the onion before adding the mince and tinned tomatoes.

Spicy spinach and chickpeas with rice

Use brown rice for this recipe, it fills you up for longer and contains more nutrients than white rice. Brown rice normally takes longer to cook than white rice but you can get pre-prepared versions that cook in 10 minutes.

Serves 2

250g spinach
1 x 220g tin chickpeas
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp chilli powder
salt and black pepper
vegetable oil for frying
10-minute boil-in-the-bag brown rice, enough for two people

Cook the rice according to the instructions on the pack.

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the cumin, coriander and chilli powder and fry for a few seconds. Add the spinach and fry until almost wilted. Add the chickpeas, black pepper and a small amount of salt, cook gently until the chickpeas are warmed through.

Drain the rice and serve onto plates with the spinach and chickpea mixture on top.

 Recipes taken from www.veganrecipes.co.uk