Are Food Phobias Affecting Your Diet Choices?

[Evo]

I was watching a tv show about adults with serious food phobias. They actually would have panic attacks thinking about these foods.

One guy would eat nothing except bread, cheese, (think grilled cheese) and over cooked french fries. He couldn't even go to restaurants.

Another woman would only eat bread and peanut butter.

I know people that won't eat bread or peanut butter because it sticks to the roof of their mouth and it scares them.

Do you have any food related phobias? Is there something you are afraid of eating because of texture or taste or something else?

 

[Crazy Tosser]

Monkey brains maybe?
BTW I now avoid French restaurants because I have had a painful experience with them in San Francisco. After the 3 dishes (goose pate, salad, cheeses), I nearly wanted to throw up. Luckily, the dessert was good. But now I will only go to Italian restaurants, just in case...

 

[Proton Soup]

i remember seeing a guy on tv once that ate nothing but oscar meyer hotdogs and buns. i don't remember it being described as a phobia, but allergies don't seem logical. but he was a reasonably fit and healthy man, otherwise, and did a hundred pushups every day.

 

[Evo]

i remember seeing a guy on tv once that ate nothing but oscar meyer hotdogs and buns. i don't remember it being described as a phobia, but allergies don't seem logical. but he was a reasonably fit and healthy man, otherwise, and did a hundred pushups every day.

Yeah, well the "jogging guru" Jim Fixx thought he was healthy until he keeled over dead due to clogged arteries.

 

[moose]

When I was 8 I bit into a strawberry, only to find half of an ant left in the strawberry. To this day I can only eat strawberries if there are zero openings.

This next one really isn't a food phobia. I used to love burgers, until I felt sick after eating one. After that I wasn't able to eat burgers, and now whenever I force myself to eat one, they just taste bad.

 

[lisab]

My niece had a baby with a lot of birth defects. His first six months were spent with tubes down his throat.

He recovered, but would absolutely refuse to eat, or put anything near his mouth. He would gag, even thinking about swallowing something.

It took years and years of specialized therapy, but finally he eats like a normal kid. I don't know if this counts as a phobia, though.

 

[Proton Soup]

Yeah, well the "jogging guru" Jim Fixx thought he was healthy until he keeled over dead due to clogged arteries.

at least he died healthy.

 

[Proton Soup]

When I was 8 I bit into a strawberry, only to find half of an ant left in the strawberry. To this day I can only eat strawberries if there are zero openings.

This next one really isn't a food phobia. I used to love burgers, until I felt sick after eating one. After that I wasn't able to eat burgers, and now whenever I force myself to eat one, they just taste bad.

i had the same problem after getting dry heaves drinking rum

 

[Kurdt]

I don't like small things and most seafood. The small things could be described as a phobia, the seafood thing probably isn't, it just tastes bad.

There was a similar show in the UK about a year ago called Freaky Eaters where there was one guy that just ate cheese pizza and crisps etc. Its odd how somebody could get to that stage since they seem like normal people otherwise.

 

[Vanadium 50]

I once dated a woman who refused to eat anything round. Cylinders depended on the aspect ratio: a string bean was okay, a scallop was not.

 

[Kurdt]

I used to get dreams about smoothenss where all you could see was a big fluid plane that seemed to be changing shape and when it was perfectly smooth it was pleasing but I used to feel anxious when it became rough. It wasn't exactly rough either. It was still smooth but the global structure made it seem rough and spiky and I think it was the combination of a smooth surface in a rough shape that was the problem. Because the surface was fluid though it kept getting rough then smoothing out and there was a definite point where there was a transition from it being ok to being really bad. I sometimes used to associate the same feelings with food but I can't remember what food exactly.

The explanation is bad but its really hard to describe.

 

[hypatia]

I can not get myself to bite into a piece of blue cheese. Something about how it feels on my teeth..its just yuccky.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Tsu and I have this sort of symbiotic phobia going: She has panic attack when I eat beans.

Dunno... it's very strange.

 

[binzing]

LOL Ivan.

 

[Cyrus]

You people are nuts.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Once I ate at a 4 star restaurant and it was quite off-putting to see a customer drinking red wine with fish. Since then I have stuck with 5 star restaurants.

 

[DaveC426913]

I don't like small things and most seafood. The small things could be described as a phobia, the seafood thing probably isn't, it just tastes bad.

I'm confused. You only like to put large things in your mouth? Like, you won't eat a piece of a potato but you will happily stuff an entire spud into your maw? What's the threshold?

 

[DaveC426913]

I won't eat Brussels Sprouts.

But that's not a phobia, that's just good thinkin'.

 

[Monique]

Mint & Chocolate, terrible combination! It is the only thing I find disgusting to eat.

As for phobias, I'm not a fan of dissecting a carcass for food. I once was given a whole chicken (the ones that go into the oven). If I had had a pair of gloves I might have been able to prepare it, but touching a carcass with my bare hands just freaked me out. I gave it away.

 

[physics girl phd]

While I generally regard myself as an adventurous eater, I think my limit would be drawn at bats, particularly when the hair is still on :

 

[Monique]

Look at those teeth!

 

[LowlyPion]

While I generally regard myself as an adventurous eater, I think my limit would be drawn at bats, particularly when the hair is still on :

I'm sorry. But that's not a phobia. That bat soup is just plain nasty.

 

[Evo]

That's horrible!

 

[Oerg]

woah.. the chef must have been really lazy

 

[LowlyPion]

Here's a recipe that I don't care how rich and delicious it's supposed to be. I have my limits.

Now to make it look delicious. [What? A blindfold?]

Separate the solids and liquids into two dishes and remove the bones.
Ladle some of the liquid into a bowl.
Add a few pieces of meat into the broth.
Put some parsley, green onions, radish, and warm pita or lavash bread on the side (Sangak would be ideal but its almost impossible to find it here).
Squeeze a good amount of lime on it. [There isn't enough lime in the world.]

The broth is very rich and fatty because of all the special meats of the brain and tongue. The meat tends to be very soft and some it (especially the brain) almost melts in your mouth.

Enjoy![Not on your life.]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Kaleh_Pacheh_Sheep_head_soup/
From, this ...

... to this.

 

[Evo]

Oh Nooo...

 

[Cyrus]

I won't eat Brussels Sprouts.

But that's not a phobia, that's just good thinkin'.

Oh man, are you kiddding me? I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Brussel sprouts and cabage.

Probably get it from my swiss-german grandfathers side of the family.

 

[Cyrus]

When I was little, I had a gag reaction to mango. Every time I would eat a piece of it I felt like I was going to throw up. It was the only thing I couldn't eat. Now I can eat it no problem, but I don't know why I couldn't eat it before.

 

[Monique]

I was just watching a documentary about the food industry, where they find out that cheese in food products is mosty analogue cheese (fake cheese, which the food industry wants to pretend that it does not exist).

So after a lot of trouble they are invited to view the analogue cheese in a factory and they are offered a bit to taste, after which the interviewer starts to gag and after a few failed attempts to swallow the product spits it out to the floor

Really sad actually that the food industry tries to trick its customers in such a way (it is not listed in the ingredients).

 

[binzing]

I thought that bat was a spider at first glance, with the carrot slices being spots...

 

[Evo]

Those aren't carrots, but I can't remember what they're called. They're used in Asian cooking, have medicinal properties, supposedly.

 

[LowlyPion]

Those aren't carrots, but I can't remember what they're called. They're used in Asian cooking, have medicinal properties, supposedly.

Medicinal ... like in keeping the eater conscious, ... or more as an Ipecac to aid in disposition of the meal?

Is there any wonder why so many zoonotic diseases come from China?

 

[jtbell]

I don't like raw tomatoes or tomato slices because of the texture. I cheerfully let my wife eat any tomatoes that turn up in my salad in restaurants. I refuse to eat okra for the same reason.

According to my mother, when I was very small, I refused to eat the grapes in fruit cocktail. When asked why, I responded, "because they're round!"

(I do eat grapes now, however. )

My wife, on the other hand, is repulsed by bacon, whereas I love it!

 

[brewnog]

Hard boiled eggs. The smell makes me retch so much that the sight of them disgusts me.

 

[LowlyPion]

I refuse to eat okra for the same reason.

I refuse to eat it for any reason. Any vegetable with what looks like mucous is off my list of things I will eat voluntarily. Even hiding it in a dish with stewed tomatoes is simply a waste of tomatoes.

My nightmare meal would be warm calves brains, okra and tomato stew and a heaping serving of hominy.

 

[DaveC426913]

My wife, on the other hand, is repulsed by bacon

You should check her for a navel.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Those aren't carrots, but I can't remember what they're called. They're used in Asian cooking, have medicinal properties, supposedly.

I never heard of or saw them before, but since you said Asian, I asked my wife. She recognized them right off the bat (so to speak). She called them gojidzi and a little research revealed the name goji berries or wolfberries.

 

[Vid]

Try okra in a seafood gumbo you might change your mind. :P

I've never tried smothered cabbage because of the smell even though my mom cooks it every New Years Day. I used to refuse to eat anything with spinach in it until I tried a spinach curry my friend ordered at an Indian restaurant. That was surprisingly delicious.

 

[Evo]

I never heard of or saw them before, but since you said Asian, I asked my wife. She recognized them right off the bat (so to speak). She called them gojidzi and a little research revealed the name goji berries or wolfberries.

That's it! Tell your wife thank you!

 

[dst]

I used to get dreams about smoothenss where all you could see was a big fluid plane that seemed to be changing shape and when it was perfectly smooth it was pleasing but I used to feel anxious when it became rough. It wasn't exactly rough either. It was still smooth but the global structure made it seem rough and spiky and I think it was the combination of a smooth surface in a rough shape that was the problem. Because the surface was fluid though it kept getting rough then smoothing out and there was a definite point where there was a transition from it being ok to being really bad. I sometimes used to associate the same feelings with food but I can't remember what food exactly.

The explanation is bad but its really hard to describe.

I think your brain is trying to tell you you're doing too much maths.

 

[Evo]

My nightmare meal would be warm calves brains, okra and tomato stew and a heaping serving of hominy.

That sounds disgusting, but I will eat fried okra (it doesn't have the mucous) and I love tomatoes.

Canned white hominy corn was created in hell as the ultimate punishment for man.

 

[G01]

I don't understand this. Personally, I will eat most things considered edible by most western cultures. There are still things I won't eat though. (I wouldn't eat that bat soup for instance.)

But that isn't a phobia. I'm not afraid of the bat soup. I didn't have a panic attack or run screaming from the room when I saw the picture. I just do not find it appetizing.

What is the definition of a food phobia? I think many people hear are confusing dislike for something, like okra slime, for a fear of it.

 

[Evo]

I don't understand this. Personally, I will eat most things considered edible by most western cultures. There are still things I won't eat though. (I wouldn't eat that bat soup for instance.)

But that isn't a phobia. I'm not afraid of the bat soup. I didn't have a panic attack or run screaming from the room when I saw the picture. I just do not find it appetizing.

What is the definition of a food phobia? I think many people hear are confusing dislike for something, like okra slime, for a fear of it.

Yes, most people here are describing food dislikes or preferences.

Food Phobia is where someone is genuinely so frightened of the thought of eating a particular food that they have a panic attack. Just looking at the food sends them into a fit. It's normal food too, not something weird.

 

[lonton]

A Vietnamese Chinese man living in the US eat all kind of pus-sies ( = little cats ?) because he loves raw cat meat. Years ago on a business trip to Northern Japan, he ate a Northern cat there, she has small eyes like his, small two lips and the meat inside is juicier than the cats he ate in Chicago

 

[DaveC426913]

A Vietnamese Chinese man living in the US eat all kind of pus-sies ( = little cats ?) because he loves raw cat meat. Years ago on a business trip to Northern Japan, he ate a Northern cat there, she has small eyes like his, small two lips and the meat inside is juicier than the cats he ate in Chicago

Wait! I know this one!

He was marooned on a desert island with his shipmates who told him it was seagull meat!

 

[D H]

Do you have any food related phobias? Is there something you are afraid of eating because of texture or taste or something else?

I came down with mono 30+ years ago. Full-time job + grad school at night + girl friend whenever I could steal the time = sleep is for whimps. One day before the symptoms really kicked in I ate at Wendy's.

It took 20+ years before I could eat a square hamburger.

 

[lonton]

Wait! I know this one!

He was marooned on a desert island with his shipmates who told him it was seagull meat!

It was my husband's sister's husband by the way.

 

[G01]

Yes, most people here are describing food dislikes or preferences.

Food Phobia is where someone is genuinely so frightened of the thought of eating a particular food that they have a panic attack. Just looking at the food sends them into a fit. It's normal food too, not something weird.

OK. That makes sense. Hmm. That must be a debilitating illness, especially if your afraid of some really common food, like hot dogs or pizza.

I also wonder if some examples given, such as the guy who would only eat hot dogs or the woman who would only eat round foods would be better classified as OCD, not a phobia.

 

[lisab]

... She recognized them right off the bat (so to speak)...

omg jimmy...

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I'm afraid to eat blowfish. There is this nagging fear that I could die.