Bizarre Explanation by a British Woman Who Lives With restrictive Food intake Disorder
People nowadays are beginning to be vegetarian and it is healthy too. But to the surprise of many doctors, a woman who has not eaten a single vegetable or fruit for the past 22 years is still healthy.
Summer Monro, from Cambridge, UK, of age 25, is that woman who lives on eating chicken nuggets and chips alone as an everyday diet. She has a disorder called avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). She developed the food phobia after she was forced to eat mashed potatoes when she was three years old.
‘Monro does not eat breakfast, has chips in a bag for lunch, and dinner consists of six to eight chicken nuggets with fries.’
"All I eat is Birds Eye chicken nuggets or crisps. My weight fluctuates with what I eat. I don't eat fruit or vegetables. I can't remember the last time I did, I'd say it was when I was about three," Monro told.
And also, the fussy eater said that on looking at vegetables and fruits makes her choke and gag. She even turned down her grandfather's �1,000 (Rs. 1 lakh) offer to eat a single garden peas.
Monro does not eat breakfast, has chips in a bag for lunch, and dinner consists of six to eight chicken nuggets with fries. This was her everyday diet.
She has tried eating fruits and vegetables but she could not take a single bite. "It's not that I don't want to try. It just makes me feel sick, there's a part of my brain that physically won't let me do it," she said. She explained that she was diagnosed that she had ARFID, an eating disorder.
She continued saying, "It's worse at lunchtime when people are eating sandwiches and I have a packet of crisps. I just can't see myself changing. I like the smell of food, but if I try to eat it, it makes me physically sick."
Monro has tried treatment and therapy twice and hypnotherapy to allay her fears but they did not help at all.
People with ARFID are very picky eaters with food. When they eat only limited preferred foods as diet, it can lead to poor growth and nutrition. This disorder definitely starts at a young age. People with this disease do not feel hungry and will be turned off even after they smell the food.
The chicken nuggets Monro cooks also have to be crispy for her to eat. She said that people are surprised that she doesn't get ill because of her diet.
"A lot of people say they're surprised that I'm never ill. I'm also a very upbeat, happy person and people don't understand how I've got so much energy," Monro said. "It doesn't affect me physically. I don't feel lethargic or anything and I've had blood tests but they're all fine." She explained, "Doctors don't really understand the condition. When I go to the doctors, they say I'm fine because I'm getting protein from the chicken and I'm not overweight or underweight."
Last year, when she noticed a chicken had a vein, she stopped eating them for three months. She just survived the chips at the time.
Monro said that ARFID affects her mentally but her partner has been supportive of her.
Shockingly, the fussy eater said that she's in great shape and doesn't take any vitamins as diet or supplements.
Source: Medindia