How did my nephew survive by eating nothing but peanut butter sandwiches?

He survived by not being picky and keepin’ his mouth shut.
XD

That is incredible. I don’t understand it. A friend of mine has a son who wouldn’t eat anything but Oreo cookies. Now he’s a lawyer. A healthy one. And I’m sure he’s sick of Oreos.
This reminds me of the Twinkie Diet.

lol.. love it! Well, I love peanut butter also. And, nothing but Jif. Nothing compares to Jif. My take on this… “there is more than one way to skin a cat!”

The kids are probably eating enough of other thing too. It’s just not as obvious. I had a picky eater. If she had her druthers she’d eat nothing but bean and cheese burritos. Vegetables were a total no-no as far as she was concerned! But one day the kids, my mom, and I went to stay in a cabin in Missouri for a couple of days. Among other things, I cooked baked beans and corn on the cob…..well, jumping ahead about three months, I had taken my daughter to the doc for whatever check up, and I expressed some concern over the fact that she “wouldn’t” eat anything but burritos. My daughter, who was about three, piped up and said, “Uh huh! Remember that time I ate that corn on the cob??!!” She did, too! She ate the whole thing when we were in Mo. Mom and I were flabbergasted! The doc and I got a good laugh out of her comment. (The doc told me that corn wasn’t all that whoopy, either, as it tends to just go right through your digestive tract untouched!) Anyway, the doc said the burritos were fine..better than, say, bread and butter. I quit worrying about it after that.
Peanut butter is good for you. It takes the place of both meat and veggies, and the bread does its thing too. It’s all good.

@BoBo1946 Peanut butter has a lot of rodent hair and insect eggs in it. The FDA allows it. They can’t do anything to stop it. Same for orange juice.

@Aster So does everything else we eat, even if it comes straight off the bush. So what?

Actually, peanut butter sandwiches are not all that bad nutritionally. You have high protein from the peanut butter as well as a grain from the bread. The multi-vitiman will provide any nutrients missing in the sandwiches. However, one major missing component is fiber. This isn’t so much of a problem when your digestive tract is young and efficient, but as he gets older he will either need to add some vegetable matter or a fiber supplement or he is is likely to have constipation problems.

@Dutchess_III I know it. But this is a matter of quantity. Peanut butter is so loaded with insects and rat hair that it was published. And I guess you know, then, that strawberry yogurt is colored red with beetles? YUM. Its on the label: carmine.

@Aster It probably got published for no other reason than it was a slow day. The press knows how they can manipulate the public, get them all freaked out over nothing, and they play us. The bed bug business…..bed bugs are itchy, but no big deal, really. But to hear the press you’d think bed bugs were the number one cause of paralysis and hair loss or something. All the ads and screaming about “germs” lurking everywhere has so many people freaked out over pretty much nothing. I disregard much of what I read. Not saying it’s not true, just saying that it’s not that big of a deal.

Regarding yogurt….what’s wrong with beetles?

True. I like red beetles. Cute little things. vomit

@Aster oh thank you so much! I just ate a peanut butter sandwich. Guess you are trying to brighten everyone day!

@BoBo1946 It was the very least I could do at Christmas. Enjoy and more to come!

Got anymore goodies to brighten my day @Aster !!!! If so, please warn me!

@BoBo1946 Give me a chance. I’m trying to think of something.

@Aster… It’s all about perception. We live in a world that’s Saran wrapped and sterilized. In the wild, our ancestors ate beetles and all kinds of things that make us sick to think abut. Just about everything out there is really just part of the food chain, including rats and cats and elle-fants. (I’m not Colma. I have to streeeeetch to make rhyme!! ) Gotta go to work!

Merry Christmas @BoBo1946 !! Happy New Year !!

The vast majority of Americans simply do not realize that the FDA expressly allows rat excrement, maggots and insect heads to be put into their food. Seriously. After learning the truth about America’s food supply, you will want to eat organic food forever. The reality is that the FDA explicitly allows large levels of the most disgusting contaminants in the food that we buy in the supermarket every day.

If you don’t believe us, perhaps you will believe the FDA.

You see, the FDA has actually published a pamphlet entitled “The Food Defect Action Levels: Levels of Natural or Unavoidable Defects in Foods That Present No Health Hazards for Humans” that instructs our food producers on exactly how many “natural contaminants” are allowed in our food.

@Aster : Gee, thanks. Let me put away my yogurt, now…

awwww sh*t… can we get back to talking about dancing on New Year’s Eve or anything…..Rodent hairs, beetles, etc in MY peanut butter. Good grief… everytime i sit down to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich… hot dang! I’m just going to make like this never happened.

Right !! There’s a lot of protein in maggots ! And with all those beetles, you can now understand if you seem to feel Much Better after eating yogurt.

@BoBo1946 The rodent hairs have no protein but their intestinal waste has quite a bit. So enjoy your peanut butter, booboo. It won’t hurt you. I don’t think.

There is a lot of protein in maggots! I was thinking about this as I was getting ready for work…I wonder if there is any protein in slugs. And now I wanna frow up!!!! Fine. I’m going to MickeyD’s for lunch. :)

gosh knows… ummm… see you later.

@noelleptc “I remember sitting in front of the TV when I was little with a jar of peanut butter and a spoon. Thinking about doing that now grosses the hell out of me.”
LAUGHING !!!

There is a new show on The Learning Channel called Freaky Eaters, that is all about people who have psychiatric dispositions to eat only one type of food. It’s really heart-breaking to watch. They bring on a team of nutritionists to help the person understand the type of damage that is being done to the body by avoiding certain foods (like vegetables and fiber) and eating only one thing. Then they try to help the person, with the help of behavior modification and education and slowly introducing new foods to the person.

At least your nephew is eating peanut butter, which is fairly healthy, but he is missing out on a lot of nutrients that could prevent disease or unpleasant physical problems (I’m thinking about bone problems due to lack of calcium and bowel problems due to lack of fiber) down the line. I hope he talks with a doctor and a nutritionist to get some help.

I have not read above answers.

You said it yourself he took a mltivitamin. Peanut Butter has a lot of protein. He probably was outside getting his vitamin D, and the sandwich bread was probably fortified/enriched with vitamins and minerals. Lastly, unless he drank water, Coke, or Kool Aid at every meal, he probably got some extra C, D, and other nutrients in some of his beverages.

His diet was probably better than a kid who eats frozen pizza, hot dogs, and spaghetti every week.

When I was little and we went ona food jag my mom just made us pop a Flintstone’s vitamin.

Well, you guys have turned me off of peanut butter. since we are on the subject, what about jams and jellies? are they safe to eat? so far, i have reduced my intake of peanut butter, so is jam safe to spread on the bread?

@john65pennington :)-

One of my daughters developed a choking phobia and would eat absolutely nothing for several weeks. She was a half a pound away from hospitalization and a feeding tube before we found something she could/would eat. She lived on nothing but melted vanilla ice-cream for over a year. To add in some of the nutrients and protein she was missing out on, we ended up adding some Ensure to each bowl of ice-cream. She eventually ate pudding for lunch at school, too, but even getting her to eat that was a huge struggle.

It was the most nerve-wracking year of our lives. We were so worried about her! Took months and months of therapy and medication to get her to eat again. She was already a very picky eater before that, and I had already been worried about her nutrition. Our doctor assured us that she would survive it, and indeed, she did. Although her case was extreme, he said it’s not that unusual for children to eat only one food for long periods of time. As long as they’re getting enough calories and protein and take a multi-vitamin, they generally come out ok.

When I was little I had a classmate who ate nothing but peanut butter and crackers, and chocolate milk. One time another kid gave him a Dorito and he threw up.

I ended up becoming friends with his brother, and I saw him at the brother’s wedding a few years ago. He’s still alive, handsome and healthy, but he’s expanded his menu somewhat.

@augustlan That is so awful about your daughter’s choking phobia. Did the doctor happen to say how he thought that may have started? How did she take to the therapy? What exactly did they do to persuade her to start eating again. I hope she’s ok now.

You’re nephew was lucky.

My cousin went on a bread, butter and cheese kick for several years as a kid.

She eventually had to have surgery to remove part of her colon and I believe some intestine. I haven’t heard the full story in years, I’d give more detail if I could remember it.

just DON’T, read the threads, could be harzardous to your health!

@Kardamom She had always had pretty serious anxiety issues, and when she happened to gag (not even choke, just gag!) on her food twice in two days… well, that did her in. She didn’t eat another bite of solid food for over a year. It was really awful. At 8 years of age, she weighed just 44½ pounds. It took months to even find a therapist who could help her, this phobia is so rare. Luckily, the only expert on it in the whole country turned out to be at Children’s Hospital in Washington, DC… fairly close to our home! She absolutely hated going, but we persevered, anyway.

The treatment consisted of an old school tri-cyclic anti-depressant/anti-anxiety drug (because it was available in liquid form) coupled with de-sensitization therapy. Similar to the treatment for any phobia… working up from the least scary thing (say, making a list of your favorite foods) to a scary thing (seeing pictures of food) to a more scary thing (eating one soggy cheerio) and on up the scale to the terrifying things. The first time, this took place over many, many months. Once she was back to eating a limited menu, the therapy and drugs stopped. A while later she relapsed once, and went back to the regimen, taking only weeks to recover that time.

She still suffered from the anxiety and panic attacks, so medication and general therapy (with a different therapist – one she enjoyed seeing) did continue for several years. Today, she is 15 years old and has been out of therapy and off the medication for a couple of years. She still has some anxiety (and a pretty limited diet, by most standards… but a HUGE improvement for her), but overall she is doing just great! She’s a tough kid, that one. :)

PS: She is the lovely mangeons, here on Fluther. She’ll probably kill me for telling you that, so shhhh.

@augustlan Very interesting. I never had anxiety related to eating, but I did choke quite a bit when I was very young according to my mother, more than most. I do take small bites of food, chew a long time, i am one of those very slow eaters, and can’t understand how anyone thinks it is funny to stuff their mouth with tons of food as a joke. I also, to this day, have trouble swallowing pills. I can’t tell how annoying it is that adults dismiss this as in my head. I once wound up with huge ulcers in my esophagus, because I reluctantly took prescription generic ibuprofen huge pills split in half that did not go down well, and basically burned holes inside of me. I have pictures from the endoscopy. My husband didn’t want to pay extra to buy Advil over the counter when we had free pills through insurance. I still take ibuprofen, have never had a problem again, but always take my candy coated Advil with a glass of wter and a little food. Pills that break apart quickly, even tiny ones, are very difficult for me to swallow. As I got older I can take fairly large pills, but I do have a fear I will choke to death one day on one. I hate taking huge pills when I am alone.

Lastly, I was very phobic, still have intense dread, about throwing up. My gag relex is extremely strong, and I truly believe it is all related. I think when I puke it is more uncomfortable han it is for the average person. I tell you all of this in the possibility that your daughter might have similar complaints, and you might see she is not alone, and it is not just her brain, but possibly anatomical as well.

@JLeslie She has a strong gag reflex and did develop a phobia about vomit, too. One of the things that we noticed is that she had huge tonsils. She’s had them removed for just that reason.

@augustlan I still have my tonsils and have never been told that mine are large. Are you sure it was not her adenoids that were huge? Did removing her tonsils help with her gag reflex? That makes no sense to me.

@augustlan Your poor little girl. That sounds horrifying. Just imagining what it must have been like for her. The treatments you described sounded similar to what they do on that show Freaky Eaters (although they didn’t, but probably should have also employed the anti-depressants). I’m guessing that your daughter is likely to be in for a life time of having the phobias re-appear. Take care.

It must be the nutrients from the bread.

No, the peanut butter is far more nutritional than the bread.