It’s hard to believe that it’s February already! I have been in Florida for over three weeks and, while I am enjoying the rain-free days, I have to say it’s much colder than I expected. I am hopeful the beautiful sunshine will continue to warm the air.
Besides the cold, the last three weeks have, once again, been phenomenal times of recovery, growth and abstinence. As Phil wrote recently, we had a very successful Primary Intensive in January, followed by an alumni weekend. Another Primary Intensive begins this week. WOW!! I have personally witnessed so many miracles. Here is one: A participant had been struggling with Type 2 Diabetes for years, unable to manage her numbers. On arrival she said her blood glucose level was 428, and when she left two weeks later she indicated it was 109! That’s a 75 percent drop in just 17 days. A miracle of detox and abstinence!!
February has a focus on Eating Disorder Awareness and Heart Health. In the past, we have written on eating disorders and the difference between an eating disorder and food addiction. Eating disorders are serious and can be fatal; it can also be fatal to be treated only for an eating disorder when also suffering with the disease of food addiction.
Simply put, the biggest difference between these two diseases is that an eating disorder is a response to being unable to deal with feelings around past trauma, and food addiction is when our bodies are physically dependent upon the consumption of addictive foods. The treatment for both is also very different: for eating disorders, it is lifestyle changes and therapy to assist in learning new ways to cope with feelings; this is very difficult work. For food addiction, treatment is complete abstinence from all addictive foods and eating behaviors.
Most people coming to ACORN have both an eating disorder and food addiction.
- For a more detailed description of the difference between these often deadly disorders and the treatment for them, click here.
- For more information on eating disorders go to http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org.
- If you have further questions, please feel free to reach out to me. I would love to chat with you about this.
February is also Heart Health Month in North America. The Center for Disease Control states that “heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S. and also the leading cause of death worldwide.”
Might food addiction be one of the leading causes of heart disease?
According to the American Heart Association these 7 things can stop heart disease and add years to our lives:
- Maintain a healthy body weight
- Eat a healthy diet
- Manage blood pressure
- Take charge of cholesterol
- Keep blood sugar at healthy levels
- Don’t smoke
- Engage in regular activity
“Life’s Simple 7,” as the American Heart Association calls them, look, to me, like “Food Addiction’s Simple 5” – since the top 5 points are usually taken care of when following appropriate protocol for food addiction recovery.
While it’s true that the leading cause of death written on deaths certificates is heart disease, I truly believe that heart disease is frequently secondary to food addiction. Can we change the stats on the #1 killer in North America? I say a resounding YES! if, and only if, we take food addiction seriously and treat it like the deadly disease that it is.
The great news is that there is successful treatment for food addiction which gives people the chance to live a life of physical, mental and spiritual health. Many of us never believed this was possible. Yet, we witness these miracles almost daily as we support people up and out of the deadly grip of food addiction.
February 14 is Valentine’s Day, a good day to remember heart health. Is your heart health suffering? Is the heart health of someone you love suffering? Would managing one or all of “Life’s Simple 7” help? If so, and you think food addiction may be a contribution factor, please join us at one of our upcoming workshop options Click here for the Event Schedule.
Wishing you a day full of peace, love and abstinence,
Amanda
P.S. If you have a story of your heart health being restored with food addiction treatment, please share it with me. I love to hear the miracles and hope in your stories of recovery!!