Comments on: hair test for eating disorders: scientific triumph or an orwellian nightmare?

By: isabella mori

isabella mori — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:37:16 +0000

hi @skin roller, and thanks for commenting.

actually, there are quite a few people who have both anorexia and bulimia. there are also people who are both overeaters and undereaters. i know, it’s hard to imagine for someone who hasn’t been through it …

By: Skin roller

Skin roller — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:21:01 +0000

you cant have both bulimia and anorexia at the same time, being sick is a characteristic of anorexia but doesn’t mean your bulimic

By: Ellie - Hair loss Expert

Ellie - Hair loss Expert — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:36:54 +0000

I don’t really understand how a hair test would show whether or not someone had an eating disorder, aren’t eating disorders a psychological illness rather than a physical one?

By: Finasterida

Finasterida — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:57:58 +0000

This test is not a magic solution but it may be of help to many people suffering from these diseases. Having more information available to make a good diagnostic is important and it is also crucial to understand this condition better. The disease might be in the brain, but to cure it you must understand it so this is a step in the right direction. Finasterida's last blog post..Queda de Cabelo

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:39:42 +0000

Perhaps it another good weapon in arsenal of all that diagnosing army but am not sure that if it will work or not. No doubt, we have many unknown factors in changes in all our body and may be we need some new generation of diagnoses tests. There were times when people tests semen by its taste but we can see all the evolution.

By: Cheap Hair Straighteners

Cheap Hair Straighteners — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 09:13:47 +0000

It is good that they can now test for eating disorders, it will make them feel better now that they can prove that it is a real sickness. Cheap Hair Straighteners's last blog post..Cheap GHD Straighteners

By: Hairloss Treatment

Hairloss Treatment — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:01:06 +0000

I would say neither: It’s short of scientific triumph and certainly isn’t an Orwellian Nightmare!

It’s probably a good tool to have in the armoury of the science community. But eating disorders, in my humble opinion, are wholly entagled within the mind and can only be tackled through psycological means after emotional acceptance of the problem by the patient.

Hairloss Treatment’s last blog post..Scientia Derma Roller Instructions

By: Provillus

Provillus — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:00:15 +0000

I have a holistic doctor- she’s trained conventionally and then explored alternative treatments, and she gave me a hair test and sent it to a company called Standard Process, which analyzed the sample, diagnosed adrenal exhaustion, and provided a list of what stuff was off- some pretty important things like sodium/potassium balance, which drives how cells take nutrients in and out of themselves. Standard Process then recommended which of their supplements to take (must be gotten by the doctor). Just taking vitamins and minerals wouldn’t cut it because the stress made ratios of elements off- and you can’t buy that off the shelf in the store. I have to say I ran out of my supplements 4 days ago and my mood has swung in the wrong direction– I’m waiting for an email back from my doctor so I can pick up more! It has been great how the ‘rage’ that I felt has disapated since balancing my body. In the interim, you might see what “adrenal support” products your health food store has…but that won’t help you with the mineral balance thing if that is something going on with you. Provillus's last blog post..Vitamins for hair loss

By: Saur

Saur — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:17:08 +0000

Actually, I feel this could be very helpful. Your example is of a young man whose parents drag him in because they’re worried about him.

Why are they worried?

Because they are concerned that he may be indulging in behaviors that are injurious to himself.

Studies show that the human mind isn’t fully developed until age 25. That final piece that is developing? The part that enables us to make rational decisions.

That’s why we have the family societal structure that we have: Kids aren’t always able to make sound decisions for themselves.

If a parent’s suspicions are confirmed, that is when treatment can occur. Otherwise, the child could be suffering from a variety of things, including drug abuse.

This test could be a godsend and could potentially save lives.

Saur’s last blog post..Alicia Keys is Nuts

By: molly

molly — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 18:14:31 +0000

I agree. This hair test is ridiculous. Once again scientists are trying to use empiricism to solve a non-empirical phenomenon. Eating disorders (in my experience) are a phenomenon of the mind.

Quite besides the fact that empirical ‘evidence’ is not going to convince someone that they have an eating disorder, what about the people whose tests come back negative? Does this mean that they don’t have a legitimate cause for concern? “You’re not annorexic because your hair doesn’t indicate a problem . . . yet.” This reminds me of the other empirical indicators for annorxia, like % body mass lost etc.

I think psychologists should have figured out by now that eating disorders are about what the mind is doing, how people are feeling, not what the body indicates.