5 Negative Effects of Overeating and Why You Can’t Seem to Stop
We all do it. Whether we are getting together with family and friends, or binging on our favourite Netflix show, mindless overeating seems to be commonplace and even encouraged. Most times, if we choose to be mindful about what and how we are eating, we are much more likely to eat regular sized portions and stop when we feel full. But what happens when we overeat on a regular basis?
EFFECTS OF MINDLESS OVEREATING
Diminished Digestive Fire
Regularly eating meals that are too large will cause our digestive fire, aka the hydrochloric acid (HCl) in our stomachs, to decrease, which can become a chronic issue. Low HCl leads to poor digestion of proteins, which causes gas, bloating, indigestion, food allergies, immune suppression and more.
Nutritional Deficiencies
When your digestive fire is not as strong as it should be, which is the case for most people, and you’re not digesting food properly, this will lead to nutritional deficiencies. The more nutritionally deficient we are, the more prone we will be to developing symptoms of dis-ease.
Overloaded Organs
We not only overload our stomach, but the other organs involved in the digestive process as well. Eating too much or too often causes the pancreas to overproduce digestive enzymes, which can eventually decrease the amount of enzymes we produce in the long-run. Additionally, the liver, our main filter, has a much harder job dealing with all the excess, along with the gall bladder. Also, eating too many refined carbohydrates leads to insulin resistance, Type 2 Diabetes, obesity and more.
Added Stress and Fatigue
We’ve all experienced the post-dinner food coma, where all we want to do is take a nap after devouring a big meal. The digestive process utilizes a lot of energy, so the more work we give our bodies, the more fatigued we will feel. Digestive overload can also lead to chronic fatigue over time.
What causes us TO overeat?
Man-Made Foods
Food manufacturers are paid to produce food-like substances that are VERY hard to resist. Processed foods are literally created to keep you wanting more. They contain highly addictive sugars, trans-fats, neurotoxins and artificial flavours that trick your brain into coming back over and over again.
Imbalanced Blood Sugar and Insulin Resistance
Consuming a diet high in refined carbohydrates and sugars creates unstable blood sugar levels, which causes a number of issues, including increased insulin levels and the desire to overeat. Eating balanced meals containing fat, fiber and protein helps to balance blood sugar and avoid the intense hunger and cravings we experience when our blood sugar plummets after a sugary, refined-carb meal.
Leptin Resistance
Regular overeating, and weight gain that accompanies it, can cause the receptors for our hunger hormone leptin to become desensitized. This makes it difficult to control our eating and lose weight, as we feel less satiated.
Critters
Parasites and other microorganisms like candida can cause us to overeat because they are actually feeding on what we eat! If you never feel satiated, or have intense cravings, this may be something to investigate.
Eating Quickly and Distracted
Eating too quickly does not allow enough time for our stomach to send the signals to our brain telling us we are full, allowing us to pack it away only to realize shortly after that we are way too stuffed. Eating while watching TV, working or driving will cause us to eat more, chew and digest less, and do all of this in a stressed state, which further inhibits digestion.
Choose to eat your meals more mindfully today!
Asher Kleiber
Registered Holistic Nutritionist™
Sources:
Eating Alive by Dr. Jonn Matsen ND