Is this safe?

Hello I am 5'3 and 95 pounds. i have always been skinny and i feel that i look disgusting. but i have no appetite to eat in order to gain weight. My activity level has grown in the last week and it will continue to grow. because of this i fear that my body will break down because i am not feeding it enough. i feel weak most of the time my energy level is and has always been low. i have issues with my hands shaking. i have issues with focus and memory. I went to the clinic for help and got nothing back. they did some tests told me im healthy (i dont know how a person with these issues can be healthy) and i tried to ask them questions about the tests only to be greeted with a smile and no answer. they told me it was hereditary pretty much. i will like to go back and  explain the no appetite part. I don't enjoy eating most foods i know i have to in order to live. I like eating lavishly made food but my budget doesnt allow that nor does my time. and when i try to force myself to eat when i dont want to i end up gaging and because i dont want that to turn into throwing up i stop eating. so this is the question, there are some "natural supplements" on the market like super mega vitamins and this Naturade sugar free weight gain formula i have been looking at is this safe... what or my other alternatives. (sorry for this long question) and also whats wrong with me?

[Patricia Pitts, PhD]

Dear Lola567,

You are correct.  You are not healthy.  Labs, EKGs, other markers can come back normal; however, you are malnourished.  Malnourishment causes numerous symptoms of which you gave some:  weakness, low energy, poor concentration, poor memory and shaky hands.  Heredity is not an answer for a BMI of 16.8.  In addition, you have reasons it’s hard for you to take in more calories on a daily basis.  There is a reason you have difficulty maintaining a normal weight.  If there is no other medical explanation, you could have an eating disorder.  

At The Bella Vita, we would encourage food for weight gain.  When needing a supplement, we would recommend Ensure Plus, Boost Plus, or Equivalent.  You can find these products at grocery stores and drug stores.  

Due to your low weight and difficulty eating, you may need to be refeed.  Thus, you would need to be monitored by a doctor and/or registered dietitian to avoid medical complications.  I would recommend you seek treatment from eating disorders specialists.  

To learn more about anorexia and treatment options, visit our website.  You can also take our confidential eating disorder survey.

Dr. Pitts

Patricia Pitts, PhD
The Bella Vita
Los Angeles, California

[sushan520]

San Lu milk powder contamination

Little mingming was a very cute boy who was only 10 months old,comes from Jiangsu province China. Because of the working, her morther ablactated him when he was 7 months old. And since then her parents fed him with milk powder. Because he is the singleton in his family, his parents cares about his garowing a lot. So when they choose the brand of the milk powder, they chose one of www.lowestmall.com ,the most famous milk brand San Lu to fed their son. Buat they were terribly shocked and get angry when the Scandal of San Lu milk powder contamination was exposed. And they stoped to use their milk powder righy away. But they were worried abouy to use any other barand of milk powder. Because San lu was one of the best brand in China.

Such as the Nike, Adidas, or Puma sportswear and shoes. If you bought a pair of shoes from a common website such as www.lowestmall.com, even if there was some quality problems abouy, you won't worry abouy that. because it may be replica one. And such as another example, if you bohght a Rolex, or Omega,or Patek Philippe watch from a common site just like www.watchinstyle.com, that's ok. But if you bought these shoes and watches from everywhere and they were all have some quality problems, Then how would you think? I bet you will have the same feelings. Because in our conceptions, they are the best, they should have the best quality.  When you find they are not as good as you expected someday suddendly,  you will feel confuse and angry about that.And the San Lu accident is one of the similar  things.  

More than 6,000 babies are sick, three have died and 150 have serious kidney failure after drinking milk powder that had been deliberately contaminated with melamine, a toxic substance used in plastics.

The International Herald Tribune said police had confiscated 300 kilograms of suspected chemicals, including 222.5 kilograms of melamine, a chemical which is believed to have caused the deaths of three babies and left more than 6,200 sick. And Hebei police have arrested 12 more people in connection with China's tainted milk scandal and detained the sacked chairwoman of the San Lu Group, part-owned by New Zealand's Fonterra. It is reported that a top local official in the northern city of Shijiazhuang, where San Lu is based, had also been sacked over the food safety crisis.

Beijing has also cancelled all kinds of exemptions for inspections previously given to food producers.The head of China's quality control watchdog agency, Li Changjiang, said 5,000 inspectors would be sent out nationwide to monitor companies after government testing showed that 20 per cent of the companies producing milk powder had dairy products with melamine.The chemical additive was at the centre of a pet food scandal in the United States in 2007. An estimated 1,500 dogs and cats died after ingesting a pet food ingredient manufactured in China that was laced with melamine.

In a sign of the government's concern, Premier Wen Jiabao presided over a meeting of China's Cabinet to back plans for a national inspection of milk products, according to a notice on the government's website.

We all belicve that this things wil be solving appropriately, but it do remind us to pay more attention on the security of food safety.

[Super_sally888]

You could try taking b vitamin supplement.  These are sometimes used to increase appetite.