We all know that food is necessary to fuel our bodies, but there are many people who have a complicated relationship with food. If you're someone who feels stress and anxiety about eating, there are many people who understand what you're going through. According to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, it's estimated that 30 million Americans struggle with an eating disorder, which appears to be most prevalent among adolescents and young adults between the ages of 12 and 25. The risk of dying from an eating disorder is higher than for other psychiatric illnesses, as chronic anorexia nervosa is fatal for 20% of affected individuals who don't receive treatment.

我们都知道食物是为我们的身体提供能量所必需的，但有很多人与食物有着复杂的关系。如果你是一个对饮食感到压力和焦虑的人，很多人都能理解你的感受。根据约翰霍普金斯大学儿童医院的数据，估计有3000万美国人患有饮食失调症，在12岁至25岁的青少年和年轻人中最为普遍。饮食失调导致死亡的风险高于其他精神疾病，因为慢性神经性厌食症对20%没有接受治疗的患者来说是致命的。

An eating disorder can take several forms. For instance, people with anorexia nervosa can feel an extreme aversion to food, making them eat in very small amounts or avoid eating altogether. As explained by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), individuals with this eating disorder have a distorted perception of their bodies and consider themselves overweight even when they are to the point of emaciation.

饮食失调有多种形式。例如，患有神经性厌食症的人会对食物感到极度厌恶，他们只能吃得很少或完全不吃。据美国国家心理健康研究所(NIMH)解释，患有这种饮食失调症的人对自己的身体有一种扭曲的看法，即使他们已经到了消瘦的地步，也会认为自己超重。

Alternatively, someone with bulimia nervosa can eat large amounts of food at one time and will try to rectify it by using laxatives, making themselves vomit, or engaging in vigorous exercise.

又如，神经性贪食症患者，可以一次吃大量的食物，并在之后试图通过服用泻药、呕吐或进行剧烈运动来纠正。

The thought of clumps of your hair falling out when you're combing through it is the stuff of nightmares for most people. For some people with eating disorders, however, this can be a very real consequence of their illness. According to a 2013 article published in Clinics in Dermatology, approximately 17% to 61% of patients with anorexia nervosa reported experiencing hair loss, alopecia, and brittle hair.

对大多数人来说，梳头时掉下一团头发，想想都是噩梦。然而，对于一些饮食失调的人来说，这可能是他们疾病的一个真实的后果。根据2013年发表在《皮肤病学临床》上的一篇文章，大约17%到61%的神经性厌食症患者报告说他们经历了少发、脱发和头发脆弱。

Skin, hair, and nails are formed by an organ system called the integumentary system, which is negatively affected by anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, as explained by Within Health. Due to the restrictive eating patterns that individuals with eating disorders routinely engage in, the body can become malnourished. The body will become deprived of the essential nutrients provided by food, including a protein called keratin that is found in our hair. During a state of malnutrition, the body will use any protein available for functions that are essential to its survival, like organ function. This means that hair growth will be put on the back burner, which could contribute to weak and brittle hair in individuals who have eating disorders.

皮肤、头发和指甲是由一个被称为皮肤系统的器官系统形成的，正如《Within Health》所解释的那样，它会受到神经性厌食症和神经性贪食症的不利影响。 由于饮食失调的人经常采取限制性的饮食模式，身体可能会营养不良。身体将失去食物提供的必需营养素，包括一种叫做角蛋白的蛋白质，这种蛋白质存在于我们的头发中。而在营养不良的状态下，身体会利用一切可能的蛋白质来完成对生存至关重要的功能，比如器官功能。这意味着头发的生长将放到次要位置，由此会导致饮食失调者的头发变得脆弱。