Of course, we all fall victim to binge eating every once in a while.
Binge eating is a serious disorder that comes with both short- and long-term physical and mental consequences.
Here’s what happens to your body when you binge eat.
You experience high levels of dopamine
It’s no secret: eating makes you feel great.
Not just because it tastes good or fills upyour hangrystomach.
There’s actual science involved, too.
As Registered Dietitian-NutritionistDafna Chazinexplained, your body releases a chemical called dopamine when you eat.
“Binge eating is much like bingeing on other things like drugs or alcohol.
“Abby Langer, registered dietitian and nutrition counselor in Toronto toldShape.
to get things done efficiently, your body focuses most of its energy on digesting the high-calorie meal.
“As a result, people often feel fatigue and low energy,” Haythe toldTeen Vogue.
The cycle is just as mental as it is physical.
Unsurprisingly, your stomach is one of the major organs that binge eating takes a toll on.
A 1999 studyin theJournal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolismfound that this disrupts your system in the long run.
Researchers tracked leptin levels of seven healthy women on two separate occasions.
In the first round, the women ate three normal-sized meals for three days.
You disrupt your circadian rhythm
The effects of binge eating on the body aren’t just physical.
Eberlyexplained toPopSugarthat binge eating messes with your internal clock.
It’s also a direct side effect of binge eating.
EberlytoldPopSugarthat the “stomach makes hydrochloric acid to break down food.”
This acid “irritates” your stomach lining and eventually makes its way into the esophagus.
Regular binge eating breaks your body down in the long run.
Those two feelings are warning signs of more dangerous digestive issues.
“This leads to very loose stool that have a high water content,” said Chazin.
“This loss in fluid is usually not adequately replenished to restore the person’s hydration balance.”
So unsurprisingly, the binge eating cycle leads to weight gain.
Being overweight puts you at risk for more health problems as well.
Friedman agreed and added that weight gain can also “increase joint and muscle pain and inflammatory conditions.”
It can also be exacerbated if weight gain accompanies binge eating.
This shame involved with binge eating can lead to clinical depression and anxiety.
