Teenager suffering from bizarre food disorder only eats chips and cheese and suffers panic attacks at the thought of fresh vegetables

Interesting that a severely limited diet for 8 years  seems to have caused no harm aside from her being overweight.  It shows how adaptible the human physiology is.  Having NONE of the vaunted "5 a day" appears to have had no effect on anything

A teenager suffering from food phobia has had nothing but cheese and chips for eight years – because other food petrifies her.

Abi Stroud suffers panic attacks at the thought of eating fresh fruit and vegetables and even seeing someone peel a banana makes the 18-year-old heave.

The A-level student’s average weekly diet consists of three blocks of mature cheddar, three bags of frozen chips and three bags of bread – but only from the right brands.

Abi, from Newport, Wales, began refusing food aged ten and says she is so embarrassed by her phobia that she has never had a boyfriend.

The unusual condition, called Selective Eating Disorder (SED), means she has a phobia of almost all foods, leaving her scared of trying anything new and was once reduced to tears by a teacher who tried to tempt her to try a chicken nugget.

Abi said: ‘I'm living off chips and cheese and I hate it. I'm so embarrassed about it - I've never had a boyfriend because I'm worried about what he would think.

‘I never go out for dinner with friends or eat with other people because so I'm worried about being expected to eat something else.

Abi will only eat food prepared by her mother Debra, 42, but will extend to bread and chips from her local takeaway when her mother and father Russell, 42, are away.

As she is finishing her A-levels the prospect of University which looms come September is terrifying the teen.  'I'm going to uni in September and I really want to get help so I can enjoy myself and not have to think about chips and cheese.’

The student’s condition has been a part of her life for eight years and Abi believes it may be connected to her grandmother’s death with whom she was very close.

She said: ‘When I was 10 I stopped eating just about everything. I physically couldn't put something I didn't want into my mouth.

‘I don't remember when it happened but it was around the time my nana died and it could have had a psychological effect.  ‘If someone asks me to try something else it makes my heart race. The smell hits me first, then the thought of the texture on my tongue.

‘Once on a school trip my teachers tried to get my to eat a chicken nugget and I burst into tears.

‘It's so embarrassing that I pretend to like things when I don't. If someone posts a picture of food on Facebook, I'll say it looks really good. But in reality I'd never touch it."

As well as chips and cheese, Abi makes chip butties using white bread - but only if it's the right brand.

She goes without breakfast, has a plate of chips and cheese for lunch then another for dinner with a chip butty to finish.

Her diet had a severe effect on her health. By the age of 16,  Abi weighed 15 stone and went to the doctor to find out more about her phobia, but was dismissed.

She said: "The doctor said it was a phase I was going through and basically told me I needed to get over it or I would never have children and probably die young - I was devastated.’

However, instead of changing her diet and introducing healthier food, Abi started eating less to control her weight.

‘I cut down on the amount of chips and cheese I was eating because I still couldn't face changing my diet."

Last year Abi was referred to a specialist who diagnosed her with SED - and through diet and exercise she slimmed to 13 stone.  She said: ‘Now I know it's not just me being a fussy eater I feel more confident.  ‘I'm determined to try something new.'

SOURCE





Mayor Bloomberg pushing NYC hospitals to hide baby formula so more new moms will breast-feed

Like the good Leftist he is, a resort to coercion is a reflex for him

The nanny state is going after moms.  Mayor Bloomberg is pushing hospitals to hide their baby formula behind locked doors so more new mothers will breast-feed.

Starting Sept. 3, the city will keep tabs on the number of bottles that participating hospitals stock and use — the most restrictive pro-breast-milk program in the nation.

Under the city Health Department’s voluntary Latch On NYC initiative, 27 of the city’s 40 hospitals have also agreed to give up swag bags sporting formula-company logos, toss out formula-branded tchotchkes like lanyards and mugs, and document a medical reason for every bottle that a newborn receives.

While breast-feeding activists applaud the move, bottle-feeding moms are bristling at the latest lactation lecture.  “If they put pressure on me, I would get annoyed,” said Lynn Sidnam, a Staten Island mother of two formula-fed girls, ages 4 months and 9 years. “It’s for me to choose.”

Under Latch On NYC, new mothers who want formula won’t be denied it, but hospitals will keep infant formula in out-of-the-way secure storerooms or in locked boxes like those used to dispense and track medications.  With each bottle a mother requests and receives, she’ll also get a talking-to. Staffers will explain why she should offer the breast instead.

“It’s the patient’s choice,” said Allison Walsh, of Beth Israel Medical Center. “But it’s our job to educate them on the best option.”

Lisa Paladino, of Staten Island University Hospital, said: “The key to getting more moms to breast-feed is making the formula less accessible. This way, the RN has to sign out the formula like any other medication. The nurse’s aide can’t just go grab another bottle.”

Some of the hospitals already operate under the formula lockdown.
“New York City is definitely ahead of the curve,” said Eileen DiFrisco, of NYU Langone Medical Center, where the breast-feeding rate has surged from 39 to 68 percent under the program.

Breast-feeding in the first weeks gives a baby a critical healthy start, many medical experts say. It helps the digestive system develop and protects the baby with the mother’s immunities. Nursing also helps the mother recover from childbirth.

But not everyone is convinced. “They make formula for a reason, and the FDA makes sure it’s safe,” said Roxanne Schmidt, whose 14-month-old twins were fed with formula from birth. “Locking it up is just wrong.”

SOURCE