Eating disorders and the immune system are interlinked to each other; but before you ask how, let us explain what these eating disorders are. The two common ones are Bulimia Nervosa and Anorexia Nervosa.
Bulimia Nervosa is nothing but binge eating and then purging. In simple words, eating too much and then forcefully inducing to vomit the food. Many women and adolescents who do not have control on meal portions and end up eating too much tend to gain weight easily. To avoid this, they forcefully vomit the food. This is linked to the hormone in the brain that induces the release of the hunger hormone, Ghrelin and the hormone that induces the release of the satiety hormone, leptin.

Over time it causes:

• Gum disease
• Osteoporosis
• Heart disease
• Kidney disease
• Death

Anorexia Nervosa is the opposite where the person has extreme fear of gaining weight and eats very less leading to underweight. The person becomes dangerously thin that can lead to deficiencies and death.
These eating disorders can take a toll on the immune system and lead to immune system abnormalities such as Rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus, Multiple sclerosis, etc.
The same goes vice versa. The exact reason behind these eating disorders are unknown, yet a research says that the antibodies in the body might be attacking the nervous system. This indicates autoimmune diseases. An autoimmune disease is something where the immune system is unable to recognize the body’s organs or tissues, considering them as foreign bodies and thereby, attacks them. Examples are hypo or hyperthyroidism, lupus, etc. Due to this, the nervous system is now unable to release the hormones in right proportion at right time.
The Statistics Around the World A Swedish research shows that around 3% of women are affected by these disorders at some point in their lifetimes.
In India, a research was conducted in Mysore, Karnataka to find how prevalent eating disorders are among students. Among 1600 students, 35 scored high in their questionnaire and they were tested and 35 students who scored low were chosen as controls. As a result, they found 26.06% of the students were more prone to developing eating disorders.
Another study was conducted in India with 210 members but thankfully, they found none to be at least prone to developing an eating disorder.

• If you check around the globe, there are more numbers among children which kept increasing as high as 119% within 5 to 6 years.


• 30 - 40% of those who opt for weight loss treatment are more prone to clinically diagnosed with binge eating disorder.

How to Prevent Eating Disorder? This shows that we still are on the safer side but as long as we have healthy eating and lifestyle habits. Once hormones go out of balance, it takes time to bring them back to normal. But, if they are already well balanced, then it will be easier to maintain. You already know, prevention is better than cure.

• Avoid eating refined foods and bakery foods like pizza, pasta, pastries, etc.


• Eat only wholesome food like whole cereals, pulses, legumes, fruits, etc.


• Have meals at the right time and at the same time everyday.


• Crash diets or FAD diets should be avoided.


• Have an early dinner and make sure there is at least 2 hours of gap between dinner and bedtime.


• Use cold pressed oils instead of refined oil as these are rich in omega-6 which causes inflammation in the body.


• Use A2 cow milk instead of A1 cow milk. A2 is nothing but desi cow while A1 is the Jersey cow. A1 cows are given hormones to give more milk which leads to hormonal imbalance.


• Sleep pattern is very important. Waking up early in the morning and sleeping before 10 pm should be made mandatory.


• Having a sound sleep is very essential as it is the time when essential mechanisms like cell repair and detoxification takes place.


• Physical activities if done daily can keep hormones at balance.


• If there is too much stress, controlling is very essential since it is the main root cause behind hormonal imbalances and other serious diseases including diabetes, heart disease, hypothyroidism, etc. This could be easily done by practicing pranayama and meditation regularly.

It is true that our Indian diet is one of the best as it is a perfect balance of cereal, pulse and vegetables. Besides, we eat plenty of fruits, at least on festivals when we fast. These give plenty of good nutrition to us while keeping the body at balance. At a younger age, students usually love to binge on street foods, packaged foods, junk foods, etc. which leads to hormonal imbalances and related health problems.