What if you could only eat one food for 17 years?
What food would you choose?
No cheating either, it has to be the same exact food with no modifications.
This may seem like an impossible question to answer, but for Austin Davis the only food
he has eaten in 17 years has been mac and cheese.
His story is much more complicated than you might think.
What causes someone to eat only mac and cheese for 17 years of their life?
Is it even possible?
Will this diet cause lasting damage?
Let’s find out.
When you think of mac and cheese you may think of specialty dishes you can get in restaurants,
or a family recipe that includes breadcrumbs and bacon, but this is not the type of mac
and cheese Austin has been eating.
Instead, he only eats boxed mac and cheese.
Not only that, but 9 times out of 10, the mac and cheese is just traditional Velveeta
Shells and Cheese.
Imagine only eating the same brand, and type, of mac and cheese every day for 17 years.
This may seem unthinkable to you, but for Austin it is reality.
Austin is addicted to mac and cheese.
He has Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, which in his case, was brought on by events
from his past.
But before we get into the surprising reasons about how and why this man came to only eat
mac and cheese, let's take a look at what his diet actually consists of.
Austin prefers Velveeta Shells and Cheese, but in dire situations he will eat other types
of mac and cheese.
The reason he prefers Velveeta is because it consistently tastes the same, there has
been little to no change in recipe for 17 years apparently.
When in dire straits, Austin will eat Deluxe four cheese and Kraft mac and cheese, but
for 17 years Velveeta has been his go to.
Austin has never bought anything other than mac and cheese for himself at the grocery
store.
Even while standing in line he is never tempted by impulse items like candy bars or bags of
chips.
Austin eats mac and cheese, and only mac and cheese.
When describing his eating habits there are some foods that cause him more anxiety than
others.
For example, there is something about meat that Austin finds particularly hard to stomach.
When he is in the meat section of the grocery store, he sees it as a form of hell.
When he describes meat, he talks about how eating muscle and veins freaks him out.
Plenty of people are vegetarians and live healthy lives, so meat isn’t absolutely
necessary, but what about fruits and vegetables?
Austin doesn’t eat those either.
Fruits and veggies are less repulsive than meat to him, but he will still only eat mac
and cheese.
His doctor unsurprisingly warned him that as he gets older a broader diet will be necessary.
Only eating mac and cheese can sustain the body for a time, but needs to be supplemented,
and this is where Austin runs into trouble.
He is literally addicted to mac and cheese.
It is like an addiction to alcohol or drugs, his brain is chemically wired to only see
mac and cheese as a viable option.
There are a few more idiosyncrasies that we need to explore before going more in depth
as to what caused Austin to develop this eating disorder.
The mac and cheese is almost always cooked in the same pot.
It is Austin’s go to pot.
In special circumstances he will use his Grandma’s pot, but this is rare, and changes the taste
slightly.
If someone else makes mac and cheese for him not using his pan, he can tell.
Austin admits he will still eat it, but it is not the same.
It is also important to Austin that he keeps a week of mac and cheese stocked in the cabinet
at all times.
It would be disastrous to run out, because his body physically wouldn’t let him eat
anything else.
Austin explains experiencing other foods in this way.
He starts by stressing over trying something new.
This ramps up into full blown anxiety, even before the food touches his lips.
His gag reflex is ready to kick in at a moment's notice.
The way that Austin describes trying new food is like a bell curve of anxiety.
The closer the new food comes to his mouth, the higher up the anxiety curve he gets.
The pinnacle happens once the food enters his mouth.
Regardless of if he likes the taste or texture, he starts to gag.
If he does not like the taste or texture he vomits.
Either way his body rejects the food.
Once he moves away from other foods and back to mac and cheese the anxiety slides back
down the bell curve and dissipates.
You might have some questions right now like why does Austin’s body only allow him to
eat mac and cheese, and can he survive on just that diet for much longer?
Or maybe you’re wondering what changed in his life that caused him to stop eating all
other food except mac and cheese?
These are questions that have answers, but the answers might surprise and shock you.
The reason that Austin’s body will not allow him to eat anything but mac and cheese is
because he has Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder.
This is a rare eating disorder where the brain has been programmed to only eat one particular
food.
It is like a very extreme case of addiction to one specific thing.
It was not until Austin was out of high school that he found out about the disorder.
The way he explains finding out about Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder is that it was like a
huge weight had been lifted off of him, because now maybe he could be treated.
Until that point he thought that he was just quirky or an incredibly picky eater.
Austin did not choose to only eat mac and cheese, and as you can imagine this diet caused
stresses in his social life.
He didn’t feel comfortable eating out, or around other people, because he would have
to explain that he could only eat that one food.
When he found out about Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder his life changed.
He reached out to therapists who specialized in eating disorders.
Unfortunately, living in the United States, it is hard for Austin to find a specialist
who will take his insurance.
Insurance companies often times market mental health as more of a luxury than a necessity.
So, although Austin had pinpointed the problem that was restricting from eating other foods,
he could not afford the solution.
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder is a mental block, but can Austin survive
on eating only mac and cheese for the rest of his life if he has to?
What are the negative effects of this one food diet?
Surprisingly, Austin’s doctor informed him that for now his diet was okay, as long as
he took some vitamins to supplement it.
However, as he gets older, his diet of strictly mac and cheese will end up killing him.
There are a couple of problems with only eating mac and cheese, or just one food in general.
There is no single food that has all of the nutrients and vitamins that your body needs
to survive.
In the case of mac and cheese there are a lot of fats and cholesterol associated with
it.
Austin’s diet was causing him to gain weight at an alarming rate.
In order to combat the weight gain Austin took up boxing.
He sticks to a work out regimen that is rigorous and high intensity.
This allows him to burn hundreds of calories every time he works out, offsetting what he
takes in by only eating mac and cheese.
Unfortunately, this workout routine will not be sustainable forever.
There was a period of time when Austin stopped boxing; he immediately started gaining weight.
He reached an unhealthy weight level, and out of necessity, returned to his boxing routine.
Eating only mac and cheese requires a lot of exercise just to keep the weight down.
At this point boxing is not optional for Austin, but necessary.
So what caused Austin to go from eating a variety of food to solely mac and cheese 17
years ago?
Unfortunately, as with most eating disorders, Austin’s is connected to childhood trauma.
During his childhood Austin was diagnosed with PTSD from a number of altercations in
his home.
He was removed from the toxic environment by the Department of Children and Families.
He was then placed in the custody of his grandparents, who raised him, and helped him through the
rest of his formative years.
It was around this time that Austin’s Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder for only mac and cheese
manifested itself.
It is not one hundred percent clear why Austin’s brain retreated to the comforts of mac and
cheese, but the way Austin describes his memories, it probably has to do with a sense of control.
Austin remembers mac and cheese always being something he could look forward to and could
make himself during turbulent times.
Austin knew that no matter what was happening that day, he could always look forward to
a bowl of mac and cheese for dinner.
He also describes mac and cheese as a comfort food.
He says there is something about the texture and way it looks that is appealing to him;
something that other food just doesn’t have.
The causes of Austin’s Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder are connected to his
childhood trauma and the comfort that mac and cheese gave him.
This is an incredibly rare, and extreme, reaction to events by his brain, but it was never within
his control.
It is important to remember that Austin didn’t choose to be like this, and that his eating
habits have negatively impacted several parts of his life.
Now you may be wondering if there are other people who have similar eating disorders as
Austin.
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder is extremely uncommon, but it does happen.
There are other people around the world who only eat one or two foods.
We know that someone can survive off of mac and cheese for 17 years as Austin has.
We also know that trauma can induce eating disorders, and that the brain can exert immense
control over someone’s body and eating habits.
Let’s take a look at a few more examples of people only eating one type of food.
If you found Austin’s story of only eating mac and cheese for 17 years surprising, then
you won’t believe some of these other people’s eating habits.
Jay Campbell only ate french fries for 15 years.
Unlike Austin, Jay had a physiological issue that led her down the path of only eating
one type of food.
At age 12, Jay was diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux.
This meant that when she ate, her body would experience intense burning pain as the stomach
acid flowed up into the esophagus.
It is like having intense acid reflux every time you eat.
For Jay the only food that did not cause her stomach to flare up was french fries, and
for 15 years that is all she ate.
Recently she was diagnosed with a phobia of food and worked with psychologists to expand
her diet.
Although Dave Nunely does not eat the mac part of mac and cheese, he does eat the cheese
part.
In fact Dave only eats cheese.
His diet consists of plates of grated cheese, and like Jay, has been diagnosed with Cibophobia,
or a phobia of foods.
This phobia can manifest itself as only being afraid of certain types of foods, or, as in
Dave’s case, all types of food except one.
Now imagine eating only chicken nuggets every day.
This was the diet of Stacey Irvine for 15 years.
At the age of 17 she collapsed at work and had to be rushed to the hospital.
You’re probably not surprised that the reason she collapsed was because of the unhealthiness
of her diet.
The human body cannot survive on chicken nuggets alone.
In fact, the diet caused Stacey to develop anemia and for her veins to swell.
This caused constriction of blood vessels to vital organs, and eventually led to her
body shutting down until she was treated at the hospital.
The doctors were horrified to find out what her diet consisted of, and told her that if
she did not start eating fruits and vegetables, she would die.
Derek Nance has taken the Paleo diet to a whole new level.
He only eats raw meat.
Unlike Austin this diet is by choice.
Derek was battling constant nausea and found that eating raw meat helped with the symptoms.
He now eats every part of an animal, so his diet is not just one specific type of food.
However, he does not eat fruits or vegetables.
To get probiotic nutrients Derek will even eat rotten meat, so technically he eats bacteria
as well.
This brings us back to Austin.
Eating mac and cheese for 17 years is not healthy, but it is also not by choice.
Austin’s Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder developed because of childhood trauma,
so there is very little he can do to force his body to change its behavior.
That being said, Austin has been working with therapists to find ways to manage the anxiety
of eating other foods, so hopefully one day he can expand his diet.
He has said that his goal is to be able to go to a restaurant with friends, order a meal
other than mac and cheese, and eat it.
Mental health is important and often not talked about enough.
If you or someone you know has an eating disorder please reach out to a doctor or therapist
for help.
You are not alone.
Now check out “What Would Happen If You Only Ate Meat and Nothing Else?”
Or watch “Do These Bipolar Disorder Symptoms Sound Familiar?”
Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe.
See you next time!