Food aversion: the bride only eats chicken nuggets on the wedding day

problem: Hi, Dr. Zach, today is the day I finally change my life. I have encountered the same problem since I was a little girl, which created obstacles in my life-it may seem ridiculous, but I can only eat chicken nuggets.

Any other food, especially fruits and vegetables, will make me sick and sick-I can’t even swallow before vomiting uncontrollably. I always put the problem under the carpet, and until today I don’t like eating in front of anyone.

When I was married on the day of my wedding, in front of all the people I love in my life, they saw me eating chicken nuggets and they were eating delicious food that my husband and I spent thousands of dollars on, I realized all my problems.

What’s wrong with me? How can I change it? – Stasi, Tasmania

Reply: Hi, Stacey, you have what medical experts call food aversion, and it’s serious. I am especially worried about your aversion to food because of how dangerous chicken nuggets are. They are nutrient mines.

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The disgust of food is the clearest indication of how uncontrollable thinking is, which is why I always emphasize to my patients the importance of taking good care of themselves. Stay away from unnecessary traps such as alcohol, saturated fat, insufficient water, and too much caffeine, and learn how to meditate so you can notice signs of stress in your life.

Remember, active mental health care is a marathon, not a sprint.

What is food aversion now? In short, this is a natural response of the brain, which sends a signal to the vomiting reflex to prevent food from being swallowed. When I was a kid—this was the case with me and cooked Brussels sprouts—thank you mom! To this day, I avoid them in the supermarket.

Instead, I supplemented Brussels sprouts with many other vegetables, so I did a great job in this regard. Your food aversion is a completely different kind of ball game.

In the age of cavemen, this vomiting reflex would be used to prevent ourselves from eating rotten meat or poisonous berries, not just your partner trying to eat bacon-wrapped asparagus (I mean how can bacon be ruined. ….. It will applaud itself when it is cooked)).

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Now, although our mind is a supercomputer, failures can still occur. Modern food aversion is most common in food poisoning. Suppose you eat tuna salad and are very sick. Your brain subconsciously records this disease and associates it with food.

Now your brain may think that the salad is causing the disease, but it is actually tuna. Just like that, you may be trying to eat vegetables all your life.

If you eat your favorite comfort foods when you have the flu, you may unknowingly program yourself to stop eating these foods. For this reason, people are often advised to eat less beloved foods when undergoing chemotherapy.

Avoid Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is a new diagnosis for people with similar symptoms. Although many children have experienced the stage of picky or selective eating, people with ARFID will not consume enough calories to develop normally, which usually leads to developmental delays.

A recent study in Switzerland estimated that the prevalence of ARFID among children aged 8-13 was approximately 3.2%. Unfortunately, little is known about the incidence of adult ARFID. Some studies have shown that it affects approximately 9.2% of adult patients with eating disorders, and it affects more women than men.

In ARFID, the body cannot obtain the essential nutrients needed for normal functioning. As a result, the body is forced to slow down all its processes to save energy, leading to serious medical consequences.

The body is usually resilient to the stress of eating disorders, and laboratory tests can often look perfect even if someone is at a high risk of death. Electrolyte imbalance can kill people without warning; the same is true for cardiac arrest.

I think chicken nuggets should be banned, they are at the same level as cigarettes.

A 20-piece chicken meal contains 58 grams of fat and 926 calories, which exceeds the recommended daily intake of 56 grams of fat and is almost half of the recommended daily intake of 2,000 calories.

Your high-salt, high-fat diet will astronomically increase the risk of future chronic health problems, including heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

Because you are skipping the colorful fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins A, C, E, K and folic acid. You may end up with scurvy, vision problems, or blood clotting problems.

The dislike of food is largely psychological. You are not allergic to food, your brain just associates food with the time you were sick. Here are some ways to try and fight food aversion:

* Establish a new association. You may associate the coconut flavor with the time you get sick after eating coconut cream pie, so you associate coconut with vomit. Instead, consciously try to associate coconuts with tropical islands, vacations, or relaxing on a warm beach.

* Make food in a new way. If you get sick after eating omelettes, try to prepare your eggs in different ways—for example, omelettes—to avoid linking eggs with illness.

* Increase your exposure. Slowly increasing your exposure to the taste that disgusts you can prevent you from feeling sick or disgusted by the taste. Try to smell first, then taste a little.

I recommend that you see a doctor and refer to a mental health doctor; they can develop a tailor-made treatment plan for you and guide you to return to a normal diet. Hope that one day you can relive your vows and proudly eat the same food as everyone else.

Dr. Zac Turner holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Sydney. He is both a doctor and the co-owner of telemedicine services, Concierge Doctor He is also a qualified and experienced biomedical scientist. He used to be a registered nurse and is currently studying for a doctorate in biomedical engineering. | @drzacturner