A young woman eats only beige foods because she is afraid that eating anything else will cause her to choke, vomit, or even die.
Sara Barnes from Ontario, Canada, has only been able to eat certain “safe” foods since childhood, such as bread, chicken and yogurt.
However, it was only three years ago that the 22-year-old was diagnosed with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID).
Ms Barnes said the condition means her diet is similar to that of a toddler as she ‘cannot cope with different textures’. As a result, foods such as rice porridge, red meat and pizza are a ‘no-go’.
Ms Barnes, who works in telephone sales and is awaiting treatment, said: ‘I get so panicked by what food looks like because I can imagine what the texture will feel like in my mouth and I know straight away that I can’t eat it.
Sara Barnes, from Ontario, Canada, says she eats alone to survive and has a limited number of “safe” foods
Plain bread, such as bagels, pictured, white meat including chicken and turkey, and some fruits and vegetables are foods she considers safe
Some foods are an ‘absolute no-go’ for Mrs Barnes, such as rice porridge, chicken wings because they are ‘stringy’ and red meat because it has ‘bits of fat’ on it. But carbs and white meat, like the one pictured on the left, are some of her favorite foods. Cheesy pasta, pictured at right, is another safe food for Mrs. Barnes
‘I’m so afraid I’m going to throw up if I swallow something because of the texture.
‘I have so much trouble finding food that I think doesn’t sound terrible or that I think I could even tolerate. Nothing seems right to me.”
Ms Barnes said her parents noticed she wouldn’t eat as a child and only wanted juice instead.
They had trouble getting her to try new foods and sometimes not eat anything at all.
They took her to a doctor who warned them that she would become unwell if she stopped eating.
Eventually, Ms. Barnes identified safe foods she could eat.
But it wasn’t until she was about ten years old that her parents realized she would get hungry during the day but she didn’t feel like she could tolerate food.
Ms Barnes said she knew something was wrong but said it was not anorexia as she had no intention of keeping her weight down.
It wasn’t until she was 19 that she saw a psychiatrist, who diagnosed ARFID.
According to eating disorder charity Beat, sufferers eat only a very limited number of foods that do not cause severe aversion.
It differs from conditions such as anorexia and bulimia because it is not linked to body image. Instead, it’s more of a physical aversion to food.
People with ARFID are not just picky eaters, but are very sensitive to the taste, texture, smell or appearance of certain foods. They may vomit, choke, or become scared or angry around certain foods.
As a result, they may struggle to consume enough calories to maintain a healthy weight, suffer from nutritional deficiencies, and may even need to be tube fed.
Children with ARFID may also suffer from growth retardation.
The condition was only recognized in 2013, after it was included in the American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which is widely regarded as the ‘bible’ of psychiatrists.
Normally, people with ARFID only eat basic carbohydrates, such as bread, dry cereal, chips, cookies, chocolate and yogurt.
In a TikTok video of Ms Barnes trying to eat a sausage, the caption says she fears she will ‘choke, throw up or even die’ if she looks or thinks about certain foods.
Ms Barnes captioned the video: ‘I know I won’t do it but I can’t convince my body to tolerate it’
In a TikTok video of Ms Barnes trying to eat a sausage, the caption says she fears she will ‘choke, throw up or even die’ if she looks or thinks about certain foods. “I know I won’t do it, but I can’t convince my body to tolerate it,” she wrote.
Ms. Barnes said, “I feed myself like a toddler, snacking on plain foods all day long, such as plain toast, plain bagels, chicken, turkey, crackers, plain Greek yogurt and frozen foods like ice cream and popsicles.
“I can also tolerate most fruits and vegetables because they come from the earth, so I feel like they are safe to eat.”
She added: ‘Foods that are absolute no-nos for me are things like rice pudding, chicken wings because they are stringy, ribs and red meat because it’s worst when there are bits of fat on them.
‘I also go crazy for things like stuffed peppers and pizzas with lots of different toppings because I can’t deal with all the different textures.
‘I can’t eat mayonnaise, thick salad dressings or sauces with bits in them, like onions and peppers.
“It’s so hard to get help for ARFID because it’s quite niche. Before I was diagnosed, I had never heard of it.
‘People often think I’m a picky eater, but I don’t eat it because I don’t like something. It’s because I think it’s going to make me sick.”
Ms Barnes is currently on a waiting list for treatment and in the meantime says she is just trying to survive on the food she knows she can manage.
Ms Barnes is terrified of certain foods that make her vomit and admits she feeds herself ‘like a toddler’
Ms Barnes is currently on a waiting list for treatment.
Treatments may include cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure to foods that activate ARFID, and anxiety management training. Medication may also be recommended to reduce anxiety, Beat said.
In the meantime, she survives by eating food she knows she can handle.
She added: ‘I eat to survive, not for pleasure like most other people. I tend to skip breakfast because I never wake up hungry.
‘I don’t really eat during the day either, unless my mother makes me something that I can tolerate.
‘I get hungry around 5pm and if I’m at work I’ll have a Subway on plain white bread, with turkey, cucumber, lettuce and black olives, or a regular taco from Taco Bell.
“When I’m home, I have a plain bagel or English muffin with butter, plain pasta, or a fruit salad.”
Ms Barnes said one of her biggest challenges is remembering her nutritional needs and making sure she ‘gains weight’ and ‘then maintains the weight she has gained’.
She said: ‘I also have severe anemia. “I get dizzy when I get up, I’ve been underweight for as long as I can remember, which scares me because I don’t want to end up on a feeding tube, and I’m always exhausted no matter how much sleep I get.”