If you are like every other person in the world, then on an occasion you will like to slightly (or excessively) indulge in food. You’ll be fully aware you should not be consuming this amount of unhealthy foods (chocolates, cheese, sweets, crisps etc), but sometimes you just can’t help yourself!
This extreme snacking may seem innocent, but I’ll explain the long and short-term effects on the body and mind, even after a single binge.
What is ‘Binge Eating’?
Binge eating is something that most people will have experienced at some point in their life.
It could be a simple hangover cure involving extra greasy fry-ups, the day after a big event. Or in other instances, it may be much more severe or concerning.
Bingeing is eating in excess.
In your life this may not occur very often, but even on one occasion this diet may be exposing your body to long term problems.
Impact on the Body: One Day Binge
Everything is good in moderation. But one day of binge eating, the voice in your head that says “just one more…” or “today is my day off” can actually have serious health repercussions.
A study on 15 healthy students, Binge Eating for one day, showed a 28% decrease on the body’s insulin levels.
Insulin is important in the body for converting food into energy. The more food the body has, the more the Pancreas has to make insulin to convert it into energy.
The extra strain on this organ can cause it be dysfunctional, and may cause type two diabetes in later life.
This study, and many others like this, suggests that acute binge eating causes immediate metabolic health consequences.
Another issue with one-day bingeing can be weight gain. Bingeing on unhealthy foods such as some of our favourite snacks or take-aways, can cause almost instantaneous weight gain.
Food which has high salt concentration causes the body to retain more water. This is in order to dilute unusually high concentrations of salt in the body and blood stream.
Although this is a short-term issue, once you have stopped this excessive eating it will take the body hours the digest the food and for you to return back to your previous weight.
This returns back to my previous point… everything is fine in moderation.
It is when we start bingeing on unhealthy foods regularly that the repercussions of our actions start to have long lasting effects on the body.
Bingeing: Long Term Effects
Eating in excess regularly, not followed by Bulimia (vomiting or over exercising) allows the binged food to get absorbed. A side effect of this is significant weight gain.
Overindulging in our favourite delicious foods could lead to common diseases, such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
During bingeing episodes, masses of calories can be consumed and absorbed by the body, causing weight gain.
These occasions of mass eating tend to consist of fatty and sugary foods, with little to no nutrition. This can lead to problems caused by vitamin and protein deficiencies due to the lack of nutrition.
If your binges become more frequent rather than occasional, this is when weight gain can become much more apparent.
So, to conclude, an occasional binge may only cause very short-term weight gain. However, even if you participate in this diet as a one off you could lead to long term complications on the body.
Love and Hugs
Linda x