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Mesa, AZ, July 9, 2009/PressRelease/Anorexia and Bulimia are incorrectly thought of as issues that young girls go through in the name of vanity. Unfortunately this misconception leaves many people both men and women, suffering through these disorders without the help that they need. Often times Anorexia and Bulimia are a product of other deeper psychological problems that may not ever be addressed properly. Casa Palmera is an eating disorder treatment center that has developed techniques and therapies that will help individuals living with Anorexia or Bulimia regain back their lives.

Gone untreated both Anorexia and Bulimia will cause health problems. Anorexia causes more than weight loss. Hair loss, fragile nails, yellow skin, and skeletal damage all occur when the body is depleted and starved of the essential vitamins and minerals that the body needs to function properly. In some cases liver and kidney failure, and an irregular heartbeat may also occur, and all too often, when left untreated, death. Although people who suffer with Bulimia encounter the same medical problems, Bulimia brings with it its own set of maladies. From the act of purging alone a person with Bulimia will encounter bad breath and rotted teeth, and possible ruptures in the throat and stomach. The need for widespread attention to Anorexia and Bulimia is apparent, and required if we are going to stop the senseless deaths of people caught in the middle of a disorder they don’t have the tools to overcome.

Integrating a holistic program that promotes total healing of the person both inside and out is how Casa Palmera addresses eating disorders. An integrative medical approach coupled with psychotherapeutic modalities address the medical and psychological aspects of eating disorders. Teaching the healthful balance of spiritual reflection, fitness, healthy eating, and stress management, a resident at Casa Palmera will learn how to live their life in a positive way that will be rewarding. Using relaxing exercises that focus on the entire person such yoga, and meditation, the body will respond greatly to recovery and with 24 hour care in a safe, nurturing environment, a resident of Casa Palmera will learn what is the healthy, self loving way to care for themselves.

The foundation of Casa Palmera’s approach to health and well being is to treat the entire person based on 4 core elements. The staff at Casa Palmera is a diverse, comprehensive, extensively trained staff of professionals that work as a team to promote healing and giving the tools to each person and training them to use those tools to live a healthy, happy life.

If you are looking for an answer to your questions, if you are desperately worried about someone you love that is slowly killing themselves because of Anorexia or Bulimia and you know you have to get help, if you have tried other forms of anorexia treatment and it has failed, if you are looking for bulimia treatment that works, Casa Palmera is the answer. Casa Palmera can help you help the one you love. To schedule a consultation or if you just need to ask questions, contact Casa Palmera via email at info@casapalmera.com  or call 888.481.4481.

Bulimia nervosa is obsessive compulsive disorder of eating. The person suffering from this disorder has the tendency to consume big amount of food in a short span of time. Research says – the individual who is suffering from bulimia nervosa can eat much more than 3,000 calories in an hour.

Normally, bulimia nervosa starts at adolescence age and typically can be seen in women; it’s never mean that men are untouched from this disorder. Men also suffer from this disorder but comparatively in lesser number. The intensity of this disorder obsesses the individuals to be compulsive for the food. Resultantly, individuals loose their control and start eating. If it not get cured on time, its consequences could be dangerous enough to cause life-threatening troubles like heart damage and injury of digestive system. The other severe problems are anxiety disorders, kidney damage, and dental problems.

In addition, this disorder also forces individuals to indulge themselves into self-destructive behaviors like kleptomania, alcohol/drug abuse, sexual promiscuity, and self-mutilation.

The causes of bulimia nervosa are yet unknown to physicians and researchers. However, the probable causes are:

The person who is already suffering from anxiety or other obsessive compulsive disorder. Has low self-esteem. If the person has not healthy relationship with his/her family members. It might be hereditical. Sometimes, culture also causes bulimia nervosa.

Bulimia nervosa symptoms are viz…

Consume excessive food in short period of time. Excessive care if body’s weight and shape. Tendency to purging (self induced vomiting) immediately after intake of food by taking enemas or by abusing laxatives. And, it causes dehydration. Self-criticism; unhappy mood; feelings of embarrassment and guilt during and after bingeing and purging. An acute fear of becoming fatty. Too much exercise or fasting. Kidney problems and tooth decay.

The person who is suffering from bulimia nervosa has no need to bother about it because there are many bulimia treatment centers running useful bulimia treatment program. Many people get cured and again re-started their healthy lives.

The objective of bulimia treatment is to lessen or abolish binge eating and purging tendency. Hence, as soon as individuals identify the bulimia nervosa symptoms, they should immediately get in touch with bulimia treatment center. Bulimia treatment center provides comprehensive medical care by monitoring the all activities of patients.

However, bulimia treatment program exclusively designed in such a way that it –

Counsels the patients to diagnose the problems properly Assists in restoring the lost weight Control the behaviors of excessive eating, dieting, and purging Provides long term bulimia treatment for full recovery Bulimia treatment program also takes care of the other disorder associated with bulimia nervosa.

Moreover, the bulimia nervosa, disorder of excessive eating can be easily diagnosed and cured by proper identification of problems. Bulimia treatment center has well established program for the treatment of bulimia patients. Above all, psychotherapy helps patients to regain the lost self-esteem and correct the distorted behaviors.

Bulimia is yet another eating disorder reality and one of the fastest growing neuroses in the western world. Unlike anorexia which is a very visible as serious disease, bulimia is a master of disguise and characterized by binging and purging behaviors. The person who face this type of disorder usually consume or eat a lot of food at once and then try to get rid of the excessive food either by vomiting, using laxatives or even sometimes by over-exercising. In addition to this, person with bulimia eating disorder is preoccupied with his or her weight and body image.

These days this type of eating disorder is most common in adolescent and young adult women. This type of eating disorder might appear a tiny factor in their early stages, but with the passage of time it may develop and produce numerous negative effects. Though the exact and real cause of bulimia is not known, there are various factors that appear to cause its development, like:

•    As per recent studies, it has been found that eating disorders occur more frequently in relatives of people with bulimia than in others. This incidence appears to be related to genetics, but family influences may also be important.

•    Researchers have even recommended that altered levels of the chemical serotonin in the brain also play a major role. Serotonin levels are usually interrelated to the development of clinical depression.

Effects of Bulimia

If we talk about the effects of Bulimia then we can see that the repeated loss of fluids and nutrients caused by bulimia can render a body useless. The sufferer may also feel fatigue and apathy. It may even lead to casualty, if the disease is not taken care of. The functioning power of internal organs can be severely disrupted by bulimia and more likely an organ may fail to work.

Symptoms of Bulimia

Bulimia may affect the whole body of the person and so it becomes very important to identify its warning signs, like-

1.    Extra obsession with calories and food

2.    Routine use of different medicines to control weight of body

3.    Unusual swelling around the jaw

4.    Over concern about body weight even if the person is not overweight

5.     Damaged tooth enamel & bad breath

6.    Sore throat or mouth sores

In addition to all this, people with bulimia might complain of general weakness, abdominal pain and loss of menstrual cycles. Sometimes, they might also complain of vomiting or diarrhea without telling that it is self-induced.

Treating Bulimia

Bulimia treatments should be followed strictly, if possible it must start from the early stages of the condition. Early treatment is very important, because if a person tries to delay in treating this eating disorder, excessive eating behavior pattern might further become more deeply ingrained and harder to change.

Today many people suffering from Bulimia are treated by psychologists without being admitted to the hospital until a severe physical complication requires hospitalization. Therapies like Individual therapy, combined with group therapy and family therapy are new way of treating Bulimia eating disorder. These days often counseling combined with the use of antidepressant medication are widely practiced for treating Bulimia eating disorder.

Apart from all this, as per recent observation it has been found that people with bulimia are more likely to have vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Moreover, vitamin deficiencies can result cognitive difficulties such as poor judgment or memory loss. Getting enough vitamins and minerals in daily diet or through supplements can correct the problems and reduce symptoms.

Bulimia is usually a long-term disease, and so it also becomes very important for an individual who are suffering from Bulimia check his or her weight, exercise habits, and physical and mental health periodically.

Bulimia is an eating disorder that affects a large number of people all across the world.An individual suffering for bulimia will binge on food and then in most cases induce vomiting in a cycle that is called “binging and purging”. Generally, Binge eating  refers to eating large amounts of food ( much larger than would be considered normal) in a discrete or measured and usually quite short period of time. Today there are various methods used to treat this disorder. Most people are treated by doctors and psychologists on an outpatient basis without being admitted to  hospital unless a serious physical medical condition manifests. Over the past few years Cognitive Behavioural Therapy has emerged as one of the most popular models of treatment for Bulimia Nervosa.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, also known as CBT, is a psychotherapeutic approach that primarily aims to influence dysfunctional thought processes. It is one of the treatment procedures that helps the patient to become aware of thought distortions which cause both psychological and physical distress.

CBT makes use of use psychological approaches that are based on scientific, clinically proven research. It has emerged as one of the best treatment options in recent times and proved to be effective for problems associated with various eating disorders. This therapy starts with an assessment procedure using diagnostic tests, and a semi-structured interview. In the treatment phase the client has an individualized program specifically drawn up for them.

For any individual who is suffering from Bulimia, understanding the relationships between thoughts, emotions and actions is extremely important. This is because, once these relationships are understood, the patient can recognize and appropriately react to the negative thoughts and feelings that have previously resulted to abnormal eating behaviours with more positive thoughts that lead towards a healthy lifestyle.

The first and the key part of this treatment targets symptomatic relief for specific by using a series of Behavioural techniques. The second part of the treatment actually educates clients about the relationship between thoughts, feelings and behaviours. This is very important and plays a vital role in treating Bulimia. As clients learn to recognize and categorize negative thoughts, he or she can challenge those thoughts and replace them with more balanced alternatives. For an individual, it is important to have some type of relaxation or “de-stress” strategy and with CBT it is accessible. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy has been clinically proven as an effective treatment for Bulimia Nervosa.

Parents involved in their children`s bulimia therapy may double the children`s percentage to overcome binge eating after six months, according to American researchers.

The study was conducted at the University of Chicago and involved eighty teenagers, aged twelve to nineteen, who suffer from bulimia nervosa. Thirty-nine people were assigned to supportive psychotherapy and forty one to family-based treatment.

The study`s results showed that forty percent of the participants who had family-based treatment managed to stop binge eating and purging, and only eighteen percent of those who had supportive psychotherapy. Thirty percent of the participants who had family-based therapy managed not to binge or purge at six-months after treatment, while only ten percent of the standard therapy group had the same results.

Parents may play a key role in their children`s therapy, according to Dr. Daniel Le Grange, lead author of the study and Director of the Eating Disorders Program at the University of Chicago. Parents should encourage their adolescents to eat healthy and normally, and watch them during and after mealtimes to make sure they are not purging.

Parents and their follow-up role have been left out of the therapy although the family-based approach proved to be more efficient, said Dr. Le Grange. However, the researchers are still questioning whether the family involvement or the eating behavior in the family was responsible for the improved results.

Eating disorders may lead to serious health hazards and further research is needed in order to understand and treat eating disorders, said Le Grange.

(c) Project Weight Loss 2008. All rights reserved.

Cheap health insurance has become the issue of the moment in South Carolina and across the country. More small businesses are increasingly unable to provide cheap health insurance plans to their employees because of the rising cost and the lack of federal and state legislation that would allow small businesses to purchase cheap medical insurance in pools. In the meantime South Carolina and other states are looking to cut the costs of the Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs for the elderly and the poor. However, more affordable forms of health insurance plans are available as some private companies are experimenting with a new variation of cheap health insurance known as health discount plans. In the article that follows we’ll explain the various aspects of cheap health insurance in South Carolina and how to find a plan that works for you.

Health Care Costs due to Managed Health Care

The current health care system in America is inaccessible to approximately 47 million poor and lower middle class people. In order to address the growing health care insurance crisis in the U.S. that resulted in health care cost growth in the 1970s and 1980s, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) sprung up. These were initially as non-profit groups designed to separate unnecessary tests and treatments from those that the patient required in an effort to keep costs down. Managed care organizations began screening requested procedures by physicians to pre-authorize what the HMO would or would not cover. However, the number of people who are the riskiest to insure-diabetics, cancer, etc.-continues to rise. Many South Carolina managed care industry experts say the cost of cheap health insurance is still high because of the existing pool of insured people who use the health care system more than an average amount.

The other battle that is ongoing in South Carolina involves the health insurance companies and hospitals, the latter which cannot turn anyone away from care by law. However, as the number of South Carolinians who cannot afford cheap health insurance increases, hospital emergency rooms are handling the majority of the load. More people have to turn to hospitals as their primary health care givers given a lack of adequate or non-existant health insurance coverage.

Cheap Health Insurance Plans Through the Workplace

Most cheap medical insurance policies in South Carolina are usually written through group coverage offered at work by your employer through a private South Carolina cheap health insurance company. This is usually the more cost effective way to purchase cheap health insurance now available since a large number of employees allows South Carolina companies to reduce their insurance premiums. Similar to buying in bulk, the more health insurance plans a business can purchase for its employees the less expensive the insurance is per employee. In South Carolina, like the rest of the nation, the number of companies that can provide cheap health insurance for their employees is declining.

Personal Health Insurance Plans

Health insurance plans can be purchased by individuals and families from virtually every insurance provider in South Carolina. Trying to purchase health insurance on an individual basis can be more expensive if the person already has a health problem, known as a pre-existing condition. Many companies will not cover people with pre-existing conditions if they have no continuation of coverage-renewing health insurance coverage after only a prescribed short period of time-picked up from an earlier cheap health insurance policy.

South Carolina Health Insurance Pool

The South Carolina Health Insurance Pool is a state health insurance plan designed to provide coverage for those that either do not have or have lost medical coverage at no fault of their own and are uninsurable. The pool was created by the General Assembly to help people who couldn’t get health insurance coverage from any other source, including people with certain disabilities. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina currently administers the pool.

Coverage is available to a person who has been a state resident for at least 30 days and meets the following criteria:



They were turned down for private health insurance coverage for health reasons;

They were accepted for private health insurance, but have pre-existing illnesses or conditions excluded from coverage, for a period exceeding 12 months;

They are paying health insurance premiums for comparable coverage which are more than 150 percent of the premium levels charged by the pool;

In certain situations, other individuals whose last health insurance coverage was an employer based group health plan may be eligible for coverage.



No matter what your age, there are also several federally sponsored programs to help you if can’t afford the premiums for individual health insurance, providing you meet their eligibility guidelines.



Medicare, a health insurance program for people age 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and people with end-stage renal disease.

Medicaid, a program for the poorest individuals and low-income families with children.

The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a plan that provides health care to children whose parents make too much to qualify for Medicaid, but earn too little to afford individual health insurance.



Types of Cheap Health Insurance Coverage

Cheap health insurance plans generally fall into one of two categories: indemnity plans and managed care plans (HMOs, PPOs or POS plans). An indemnity plan allows you to choose your own doctors and pays for your medical expenses totally, in part, or up to a specified amount. Managed care plans generally provide broader coverage within a specified network of health-care providers.

Although you can purchase cheap health insurance plans that cover specific areas of health care (surgical, hospital, physician expense plans) most plans cover varying degrees of health care in a number of different areas. This health insurance coverage, known as major medical insurance, offers extremely broad coverage with a very high maximum benefit that’s designed to protect you against losses from catastrophic illness or injury.

When comparing cheap medical insurance plans, check to see if they provide additional benefits that you may need, including prescription drugs, preventive care, mental health benefits, maternity care, and vision care. A comparison of various health insurance policies and rates through many South Carolina health insurance companies can be obtained at www.insurances.sc.

Cheap Health Insurance Recipient Costs

With most cheap health insurance policies available in South Carolina, the way to control cost is to cut down on the out-of-pocket expenses. Since most health care insurance policies require you to make a co-payment (the amount you pay a health care provider with every visit), anything involving a lot of time spent in the doctor or dentist’s office can become expensive. Most also require a deductible (costs you must cover out of your pocket for any major expense before your cheap health insurance policy picks up the remaining costs). You may also have coinsurance, the percentage of cheap medical insurance cost you will still have to pay after you reach your deductibles.

Another thing to consider is COBRA health insurance. This law allows employees who leave a job the ability to stay on that South Carolina company’s employee health insurance for up to 18 months although they have to pay the full amount of the coverage. Check the COBRA benefits to see if purchasing a less expensive individual health insurance plan may be in your best interest.

How to Buy Cheap Health Insurance

If you need to purchase individual health insurance, it can be expensive. Unlike group plans, in which the costs and risks associated with health care are spread among many people; individual health policies are “medically underwritten” to take into account your personal health history. Any “pre-existing” condition such as heart disease, diabetes, and even pregnancy, can nix your chances of acceptance or boost your premiums.

To determine the acceptability of a particular applicant, a health insurance underwriter can require information regarding the following:



The individual’s age: Age determines rates and whether coverage will be issued at all.

The individual’s gender: at younger ages, males have a lower rate of illness and injury than females. That changes by age sixty.

The individual’s health history and physical condition: Someone who has had a previous condition that can contribute to a future illness/injury is not considered an ideal risk. In response to a less than ideal medical history, modified coverage may be offered depending on the individual’s health, higher than normal premiums may be issued, or the person may be denied coverage altogether.

The individual’s occupation and hobbies: Some occupations such as construction workers have higher insurance rates, along with people who enjoy dangerous activities such as skydiving or bungee jumping. At times certain occupations are considered so hazardous that insurance companies will not cover them at all.



Your first step in getting cheap health insurance coverage is to understand exactly what you need. Think carefully about what coverage you must have. Do you need health insurance for your whole family, or just yourself? Do you want to choose your providers? If you’re over 65, do you need insurance to fill the gaps in Medicare? Do you need – and can you afford – long-term disability and/or long term care coverage? Even if you begin by soliciting cheap health insurance quotes you must still know exactly what you want in terms of health insurance coverage so you will be comparing apples to apples when weighing any cheap health insurance premium quote.

After that, contact a South Carolina insurance agent in your area. Ideally, you can start with an independent South Carolina insurance agent who is familiar with the insurance companies that do business in your area. This agent is also not bound to write coverage for any particular health insurance company so he or she can give you an honest appraisal of various health insurance policies.

When you’ve found the right coverage, you’ll give information to your agent to complete the necessary forms. Be honest. It’s important to disclose your medical history thoroughly and accurately. Report all of your health problems to your agent. If any of your health information is misstated or incomplete, the company might refuse to pay your claims and could cancel your policy.

If you are considering buying a health insurance plan the details of your plan are critical and there a variety of questions which you have to ask. Simply looking at the premium that you are being asked to pay is not enough and you need to look at various different things including any limitations, exclusions, restrictions on where treatment can be undertaken, additional payments and fee requirements and several other things.

Below are a few very important questions that you must always ask whenever you are buying a health insurance plan:

1. What deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses am I going to have to pay? The premiums are merely the beginning and most plans will require you to cover the cost of your bills up to a specified figure before your insurance kicks in. After that, you will usually also have to make a contribution towards the cost of each medical bill.

2. Are health screenings and medical exams included in the plan? Look carefully to find out whether your plan includes cover for routine medical exams including things like breast exams, mammograms and pap smears for women.

3. How are specialist care treatments and referrals dealt with? Look at the procedures you have to follow if you have to be referred for specialist treatment and whether there are any special provisions for meeting the cost of specialist treatment.

4. What cover is given for hospitalization or emergency care? {Take a good look to see if you will have to have pre-approval for hospital or emergency treatment. It might seem ridiculous but some policies will not let you seek emergency treatment without the pre-approval of a designated physician.

5. Is cover given for prescription medicines? Many plans will limit the drugs which can be prescribed frequently stating that listed generic drugs rather than brand name drugs have to be prescribed. You also need to look very carefully at the proportion of any cost you will have to meet for medicines.

6. Is cover for vision and dental care provided? A lot of plans do not cover dental and vision care at all while some limit treatment to only routine annual dental and eye checkups.

7. Is psychiatry, psychotherapy and other mental health care cover provided? Not all insurance plans will provide cover for mental health care and where cover is given you need to look very carefully at just what cover is being offered.

8. Is hospital, nursing home and home care covered? It is very important to examine the extent to which cover is given for care in hospital, in a nursing home or at home and whether there is a ceiling on your cover.

9. Is physical therapy and rehabilitation covered? Accident or illness frequently results in a need for physical therapy or rehabilitation and so it is important to look at the extent to which these are covered.

10. Is alternative treatment covered? As an increasing number of us are turning to alternative treatments such as the use of holistic treatments or acupuncture you should check to see if these are covered if this is an area which you wish to make use of.

The premium you will be paying for your health insurance plan is of course very important but you have to bear in mind that it is only one small element of the total package you are buying.