Integrative Medical Approach Expedites Eating Disorder

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Integrative Medical Approach Expedites Eating
Disorder Treatment
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Overview
Nearly 30 million Americans 20 million women
and 10 million men have eating disorders.
Whether its anorexia, bulimia or overeating,
eating disorders can have severe social and
health consequences if left unchecked. Many
people with eating disorders try and fail to
resolve the problem with a variety of medical and
behavioral treatments. At Mirasol Recovery
Centers, we use an integrative medical approach
to treat eating disorders. The integrative
approach seeks to treat medical and psychological
causes of eating disorders and uses a wide
variety of treatments, including alternative
methods like acupuncture, chiropractic and
neurofeedback, among others.
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What Are Eating Disorders?
Eating disorders are abnormal eating habits that
result in an insufficient or excessive intake of
food. The imbalance is so severe that it impacts
the patients social relationships and health.
Eating disorders are a lasting problem, and
impact the quality of life of the patient.
Because of self-esteem issues common in puberty,
young people are particularly susceptible to
eating disorders. About 1 or 2 of every 100
students will struggle with an eating disorder.
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Why An Integrative Medical Approach?
An integrative medical approach attacks the
problem on multiple fronts, helping to deal with
both the medical and psychological aspects of
eating disorders. Including alternative
treatments like acupuncture and neurofeedback
give doctors more tools to use to help patients
develop a healthier relationship with food.
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Traditional Approaches Behavioral and Cognitive
Therapy, Medication
Traditional approaches to treating eating
disorders are an important part of integrative
therapy. Combined, these approaches have a
greater chance of success as they leave no
underlying issue unaddressed. Cognitive and
behavioral therapies can help patients create a
more healthy relationship with eating. Medical
therapies can help address any physical problems
and help the transition to healthier eating
habits be less stressful and unpleasant. In
addition to traditional approaches, there are
also a number of alternative approaches that can
help.
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Alternative Approaches Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback reconditions and retrains
brainwaves and can be used to influence behavior.
With EEG neurofeedback, patients can be trained
to have more positive responses to healthy eating
habits and to eschew negative reactions. The use
of neurofeedback can help reduce the need for
more intensive interventions like medication.
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Alternative Approaches Acupuncture
Acupuncture can help treat eating disorders by
reducing the severity of digestive problems and
food allergies. It can also help relieve stress
that may contribute to the eating disorder and
inhibit recovery. Mirasol Recovery Centers has
been using acupuncture to treat eating disorders
for 11 years and has found it to be an effective
alternative treatment.
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Alternative Approaches EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
aids patients in helping to eliminate negative
associations caused by past experiences. In EMDR
therapy, eye movement, tactile stimulation and
bilateral stimulation is used to help activate
opposite sides of the patient's brain helping to
resolve past emotional experiences that may
contribute to eating disorders.
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Alternative Approaches Functional Medicine

• Functional medicine helps to address the
  nutritional deficiencies of patients and
  underlying health issues and imbalances that may
  contribute to eating disorders, such as
• Oxidative stress
• Nutritional imbalances
• Intestinal dysfunction
• Impaired detoxification
• Immune/inflammatory imbalances
• Endocrine imbalances

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About Mirasol Recovery Centers
Mirasol Recovery Centers are a Tucson, AZ based
treatment center of adults and young people
struggling with eating disorders. Mirasol
combines psychiatric and medical care to help
patients deal with eating disorders and lead
happier, healthier lives. Our treatment also
includes alternative medical treatments such as
acupuncture and chiropractic solutions. For more
information visit http//www.mirasol.net.