chewing and spitting

Ive noticed a few posts about this being done and Googled it up. Here is some info:

 

http://www.addictions.net/id273.html

http://www.2medusa.com/2008/11/secret-obsession-chewing-and. html


1.This behavior is akin to starvation dieting and/or binging and purging.

2. Ulcers (because food in the mouth triggers acid release in the stomach).

3. Weight gain, not weight loss is the most likely consequence. The body reacts in unforeseen ways to continual chewing and spitting. Seeing, smelling, hearing about and even the hint of food can trigger the release of insulin. This hormone regulates blood sugar and is a major player in diabetes. Tasting food releases salivary enzymes and also triggers the release of insulin. Excess insulin is a dieter’s worst nightmare, because the hormone stirs appetite, making a person feel hungrier, wanting to chew and spit more. Here lies the addiction to chewing and spitting, which like bingeing and purging can be daunting to try and quit. Heightened appetite also triggers eventual weight gain, something easily evidenced by simply reading the bloggers’ laments. If a person chews and spits long enough, they can fall into a state of hyper-insulinemia, producing too much insulin, which sets him or her up for insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and eventually diabetes.

4. Finally, a person who chews and spits is probably harboring deeper fears about his or her weight and body image. These fears– and all preoccupations with thinness and dieting– are the foundation of all eating disorders. If you chew and spit, you are setting yourself up for a serious disorder later in life.

www.addictions.net/id273.html

http://www.2medusa.com/2008/11/secret-obsession-chewing-and. html

 

 Thanks for posting this.  It is not only a distructive thing to do but it is DISGUSTING !!    

I have a friend who lost 120 lbs by this method, she ate (swallowed and digested) only chicken and whole grain rice and minimal veggies for nearly a year, and when she craved other foods, she would chew and spit.   Yes she lost weight, HOWEVER she ended up with an extreme Vitamin B deficiency, muscle atrophy in her foot and had to go through physical therapy to recover use of her foot.  Sure she lost weight, but once she started eating normally again, she gained.   She has not regained to her full weight and has managed to remain on the smaller side of obesity for years, but she also knows she could have had permanent damage to her leg and walked with a limp forever.

 

 

I will admit that I did this for about 2-3 weeks once I was on 'regular' foods. I ate my portion, but was still hungry/craving what I was eating, so I would chew & spit a few bites to satisfy that urge to eat more. I worked through all of that and haven't done it since. It WAS gross and I hate that I did it, but it got me through a bad emotional head hunger phase.

Habitual chewing and spitting is considered an eating disorder by many/most psychologists and counselors.  Like anorexia and bulimia, once someone starts doing it on a regular basis, it is VERY difficult to stop even when being treated by a mental health professional.

Lora