A dietary approach to bulimia treatment.

To determine the effect of diet on bulimia, a treatment group of 10 bulimic women were placed for 6 weeks on a nutrient-dense diet containing no fewer than 1400 calories and free of suspected blood sugar-insulin level destabilizers. Simultaneously, a control group of 10 bulimic women were placed on a Sham Food Plan which allowed unknowing duplications of their pre-study food patterns. After three weeks they were switched to the nutrient-dense diet for the remainder of the study. No subject received psychiatric counseling. The treatment group assigned to the nutrient-dense diet ceased to binge (p = (1/2)9 less than 0.002, sign test). The control group on the sham diet binged steadily until switched to the nutrient-dense diet, after which, all binging ceased. Subjects lost weight effortlessly (or maintained weight by choice) and have remained binge free for over 2 1/2 years. Evidence suggests that malnutrition and blood sugar-insulin level destabilizers may play a role in precipitating the bulimic condition.

The effect of the human menstrual cycle on nutrient intake.

The dietary intakes of eight human females were obtained by interview each day for 60 days to determine whether the menstrual cycle affected nutrient intake. Analysis showed that over the menstrual cycle there were fluctuations in carbohydrate consumption, but not in protein and fat consumption. The mean post period (preovulation) intake was between 51.6% to 56.4% of the preperiod (postovulation) consumption. The evidence indicates that women eat more carbohydrate per day after they ovulate than before.