welche im Körper z. B. spezifische Rezeptoren massiv belegen und die Ausschüttung von Glückshormonen anregen bzw. vortäuschen können. Auch können solche Substanzen z. B. die Wiederaufnahme von bestimmten Neurotransmittern (z. B. Serotonin, Noradrenalin, Dopamin) verhindern. In diesem Kontext werden aus medizinischer Sicht vorrangig Veränderungen im serotonergen und dopaminergen Stoffwechselhaushalt festgestellt.
Aber das ist doch was im Gehirn bei Bulimie passiert oder nicht?
Einerseits habe ich das auch in "bulimie & Zucker" gelesen, es gibt noch ein paar andere Bulimie Selbsthilfebücher die von chemischer Abhängigkeit ausgehen, die ja gerade die Arten von Erklärung auf rein emotionale Ebene kritisieren und für veraltet erklären.
http://addiction-dirkh.blogspot.com/200 ... ction.html
Richard and Judith Wurtman, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) identified a subset of bulimics who binge severely and almost exclusively on high-carbohydrate foods. These bulimics tended to be mildly obese, severely depressed--and came from families with a strong history of alcohol abuse. Other researchers have reported that a significant number of bulimics are themselves abusers of alcohol and other drugs. What is being suggested is that carbohydrate-craving obesity and bulimia may turn out to be two additional forms of drug addiction. They may be variations on the addictive theme, and the underlying cause may be the same--irregularities in the reward system neurotransmitters.
http://www.thefix.com/content/binge-and-purge-addiction
PET scans have demonstrated that ex-bulimics exhibit a marked decrease in serotonin receptor activation. Alterations in the brain’s serotonin pathways often persist after recovery from bulimia, and may represent permanent changes in brain chemistry.
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Once the binge-purge cycle has been established, some researchers believe, drug-like changes in serotonin receptor distributions help reinforce the pattern. There is a definite “high,” which comes with the purging, and which has no analogue in anorexia.
Ich habe das gleich noch in einem Forum das sich wissenschaftlich mit Essstörungen auseinandersetzt gefragt. Ich hatte gehofft, dass jemand einen Link zu einer der studien hat an die ich mich vage erinnere aber leider nicht. Das waren die antworten:
Some studies have shown that sugar is, in fact, addictive; it triggers the same changes in brain chemistry that typical addictive drugs do.
I don't know, because it triggers massive anxiety for me, whether or not I know I've consumed any (if I get a drink I think is diet, and it's not, I'll have severe anxiety and possibly panic attacks shortly thereafter and have no idea why until someone tells me oops, we mixed up the drinks). But I'm pretty sure that's my strange reaction and not a property of sugar itself.
I don't think it is fair to say that bulimia is just a chemical addiction or that it is the core basis of it. Sure, you'll find brain imaging studies with some activation in the classic reward centers of the brain (namely nucleus accumbens), but that's sort of the "pleasure" center. You'll see activity there for all sorts of rewards and pleasing things. While both might have the same "signature" brain activity, or even neurochemical signatures, like release of particular neurotransmitters or activation of certain receptors (that neurotransmitters bind), there might be different causes. For example, you can have a substance that is addictive because it MIMICS the effects of dopamine, by binding to a receptor that dopamine binds to, and thus having the same downstream effect (contrary to popular belief, receptors, not the neurotransmitters, are the main players in the result feeling/behaviour/effect), OR you can have something where you've learned to associated something, like purging, with reward/pleasure. Which, probably results in the same "signature" brain activity/neurochemical release, but might be caused by neurons or groups of neurons associated for example with purging (in a very, very simplistic sense), or that activity, synapsing (or activating) neurons that release dopamine, or whatever, in the NAc.
I've read in many places (though i have no links to back this up unfortunately) that it is chemically addictive. Sugary food is chemically addictive in a similar way to alcohol (alcohol and sugar being chemically similar) and there's a lot of involvement of serotonin and dopamine in both binging and purging.
Plus it's psychologically addictive, and psychological addiction in my opinion isn't inferior to chemical addiction.
One time after a b/p i was in an ambulance (long story) and they were convinced i'd taken drugs because after every b/p my heartrate used to quicken and my pupils dilated a lot to the extent i couldn't see properly. My ED specialist explained that for brain-chemical reasons b/p-ing is like taking drugs and that was why i got like that.
Well, I recovered from my eating disorder (and I say "recovered" because I just don't want to binge/purge any more, and if I overeat I just accept it as something people do sometimes, rather than panicking like I would when I was actively bulimic), and had to enter recovery for alcoholism because after I stopped binging and purging I started to really drink alcoholically. For me, alcohol was a psychological, not physical addiction- I needed to drink in the same way I needed to binge and purge; not because my body needed it, but because I wanted it so badly it started to take over my life. I see a big connection with the two especially since, when binging/purging was no longer my maladaptive coping strategy of choice (I honestly don't see it as an option any more), drinking became my way to "deal". I like the way my sponsor (also recovered from an eating disorder) put it- I don't have a drinking problem, I have a drinking solution. My problem is that I am uncomfortable simply existing as myself, and to avoid that I tend to make my options "feel bad" (IE deal with why I am so uncomfortable in my own skin) or "feel nothing", and I will always choose the latter option.
I have no doubt in my mind that people can be addicted to food. I know that I am. So to me, binging being addictive is a no brainer. As far as purging goes, I'm pretty sure it releases certain chemicals that become a persons thing they're fixing for. They want to purge because those chemicals help them cope.
think that all addictions have a psychological aspect that might be even stronger than the chemical/physical aspect. Otherwise people would not relapse after detoxing.
I'd say they can both be addictive, but they're addictive in different ways-- if that makes sense. I would say alcohol is probably more chemically addictive (e.g. you don't get delirium tremens or anything resembling it as far as I know if you don't binge and purge) but there is also an element of addiction in bulimia.
I don't know anything about this myself, but my psychologist said purging was addictive.
The overall similarlites in behavior and brain adaptations with sugar bingeing and drug intake described above support the theory that obesity and eating disorders, such as bulimia and anorexia, may have properties of an “addiction” in some individuals (Davis and Claridge, 1998, Gillman and Lichtigfeld, 1986, Marrazzi and Luby, 1986, Mercer and Holder, 1997, Riva et al., 2006). The auto-addiction theory proposed that some eating disorders can be an addiction to endogenous opioids (Heubner, 1993, Marrazzi and Luby, 1986, 1990). In support, appetite dysfunctions in the form of binge eating and self-starvation can stimulate endogenous opioid activity (Aravich et al., 1993).
Bulimic patients will binge on excessive amounts of non-caloric sweeteners (Klein et al., 2006), suggesting that they derive benefits from sweet orosensory stimulation. We have shown that purging leaves DA unopposed by satiety-associated ACh in the accumbens (Section 5.D.). This neurochemical state may be conducive to exaggerated binge eating. Moreover, the findings that intermittent sugar intake cross-sensitizes with amphetamine and fosters alcohol intake (Sections 4.D. and 4.E.) may be related to the comorbidity between bulimia and substance abuse (Holderness et al., 1994).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... =pmcentrez
I would guess that sugar plays a major role. I think most underestimate the effect it has on the brain.
Den letzten Link finde ich ziemlich gut, da er auch ein bisschen wissenschaftlicher ist als das meiste was man sonst dazu findet.
Und einfach ganz persönlich kann ich sagen, dass ich auf jeden Fall körperlich abhängig war davon zu hungern und zu spucken. Ich denke aber, dass es nicht zwingend bei Bulimie der Fall sein muss.