By Passant Hisham
KUWAIT: There must be a logical explanation behind why a specific type of food can bring a smile on someone’s face but can make someone else’s face wrinkle in disgust. The cause of this is simply the blending of our genetic makeup, personal preferences and childhood experience that usually shape our taste perception. According to Ghazal Al-Ghaben, a nutrition specialist, this either connects us with or repels us from certain food types.
Developing a relationship with food usually starts from an early stage in life, as the emotions that children associate with food have a greater potential to last forever, and that’s the time when they are more likely to become picky eaters, Ghaben noted. She highlighted negative childhood experiences as one of the most common causes behind this phenomenon.
Instances like consuming specific foods during illness, experiencing discomfort, vomiting after a particular meal, or facing parental punishment for not finishing a dish, even if occurring just once, can influence a person’s food preferences for a lifetime. Extreme picky eaters tend to limit their dietary intake, often developing aversions to nutritious foods and leaning towards starchy, fried, and ready-to-eat options. This can lead to nutritional imbalances, weight gain and health issues such as anemia and metabolism disorders.
In this case, as Ghaben stated, it’s important to put personal preferences aside and start taking the problem more seriously. "The good news is our likes and dislikes in food change, and we are more likely to start accepting foods that we didn’t like in our childhood. So, we need to start small, start introducing those foods back into our diet and hide them within other ingredients. Try to pair these foods with flavors that we like within small portions,” she said, noting that such a transition needs time, and it’s important to stay patient with the process to generate effective results.
Ghaben emphasized that while supplements cannot fully replace the deficiency in picky eaters’ diets, they can complement a balanced diet consisting of whole foods to ensure sufficient intake of essential nutrients. Before taking supplements, she advised picky eaters to undergo blood tests and consult with a doctor or dietician to ensure the right dosage.
For those looking to enhance their diet through supplements, multivitamins are recommended, especially for nutrients lacking in their diet due to the avoidance of healthy food choices like vegetables, fruits or proteins. Ghaben identified iron, vitamin D, calcium, B12, zinc, magnesium, potassium and omega-3 as essential nutrients that should be incorporated.
Recognizing the critical role of childhood in shaping food preferences, Ghaben advises mothers to be proactive in preventing picky eating behaviors in their children. She suggests starting slowly with soft foods when introducing new items, avoiding heavy spices and making the food experience enjoyable for children, treating it as a game, such as cutting it into shapes. Mothers should stay attuned to their children’s signals of acceptance or rejection of food and avoid imposing specific types of food on them.