Eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, night eating disorder, and other similar conditions are rarely included in discussions of obesity. In the past, they were often considered to be opposite conditions. I’m here to correct this distorted perspective. To me, it’s clear that eating disorders and obesity are intimately connected, and likely are part of the same pathology. Allow me to explain.
At the onset of the obesity epidemic in the 1970s, I decided to ignore the experts and not use BMI to diagnose obesity in my patients. After all, obesity is defined as “excess body fat”, and BMI is a size measure that tells you zippo about how much fat is in your body. I purchased equipment to measure body composition, and for decades, I measured the body composition of every patient at every visit. I also had an interest in neuroscience, and I was very familiar with the typical symptoms of brain dysfunction. Over time, I noticed a striking correlation between specific symptoms of brain dysfunction and changes in body composition. Patients would develop increased brain symptoms, and within a few weeks, their percent body fat would begin to increase. Later, when I found ways to suppress these symptoms, their percent body fat would start to fall within a few weeks, regardless of their food intake.
Over time, this fit the pattern of a distinct disease that I call Carbohydrate Associated Reversible Brain syndrome or CARB syndrome. Because the symptoms of CARB syndrome overlap with many traditional brain disorders, the emergence of this disease has created massive diagnostic and therapeutic confusion in the medical and scientific communities. I believe CARB syndrome is driving our dual epidemics of obesity and common brain disorders.
How do you know if you are a victim of this disease? Go through this list of the 22 symptoms of CARB syndrome. If you experience many of these symptoms and appear to be storing excess body fat, you likely have this common disease. In my experience, virtually all patients with eating disorders have CARB syndrome as their actual underlying pathology. You can’t fix something that you don’t understand, and I believe this lack of knowledge about the true nature of eating disorders is driving our current epidemics of these common conditions. Anorexia is a good example of this connection between obesity and eating disorders. After weight loss, those with anorexia have low levels of body fat, lean body mass, and bone mass. When they regain weight, much of this new weight is composed of fat, especially visceral fat. Even though they may return to a normal weight, the percentage of fat in their body is high. Those with other types of eating disorders have excessive body fat throughout all phases of their illness. This is because virtually all patients with eating disorders have CARB syndrome as their underlying disease. If that’s the case, what is the solution? If you appear to fit this pattern, I recommend following these seven principles.
- Eliminate ultra-processed foods with high-glycemic carbohydrates, excessive sugar, and omega-6 fatty acids from your diet, and consume a sensible amount of whole foods.
- Utilize low-dose medications to manage key symptoms and enhance compliance when needed. For example, combining phentermine and Prozac (Phen-Pro) hits both dopamine and serotonin, suppressing typical CARB syndrome symptoms. I only use medications for the short term. Supplements like CARB-22 are very effective at controlling these symptoms in the long term.
- Take targeted supplements to boost neurotransmitter levels and support healthy brain function. The one I recommend is CARB-22.
- Exercise your body and mind. This includes regular physical exercise, mental challenges through learning new things, and meditation.
- Get plenty of restful sleep.
- Maintain as many healthy relationships as possible to enhance your social life.
- Minimize inflammation by consuming sufficient high-quality omega-3 fatty acids and limiting the intake of seed oils to maintain an AA/EPA ratio of 1 to 3. I recommend OmegaRx 2 by Barry Sears.
All individuals with eating disorders tend to crave sweet and starchy foods, regardless of whether they are eating these foods. During recovery, these cravings often take over, pushing you to consume more of the very food that is frying your brain. If your symptoms are severe, start with a low-dose medication supplement as outlined above. Over the long haul, the key to suppressing these cravings is to take a precursor supplement, such as CARB-22, twice daily on an empty stomach. The bottom line is, if you are suffering from any eating disorder, treat your underlying CARB syndrome if you hope to regain your physical and mental health.
