Health Options Alan Titchenal  & Joannie Dobbs                    Wednesday, June 26, 2002

Food phobias are often overblown

Nearly every day, a media report proclaims the potential harmful effects of one food, multiple foods, or even whole food groups. The report states that food A contains pesticides, food B contains compounds that have been shown to cause cancer in mice and food C contains too much fat, sodium, or cholesterol. And the list goes on.

Question: Is it natural to fear certain foods?

Answer: If you asked this question of cave people, the answer might be an unequivocal "Yes." Hunters often had to face dangerous animals. And our food-gathering ancestors had to choose from among hundreds of plants without today's reference books on poisonous varieties. Verbally passing along historical knowledge of plant toxicities became a matter of survival.

Prehistoric people also had to be wary of foods that became contaminated with bacteria from natural surroundings and improper food handling. It is no wonder that only about 50 percent of the people made it into their 20s.

And so in very early times, fear of foods could be considered not only natural, but a necessity. Fortunately for humanity, the drive to meet calorie needs was stronger than the fear of foods.

Q: What is the difference between food aversions and food phobias triggered by food-content information?

A: Food aversions usually occur when a person gets sick shortly after consuming a food. Sometimes the illness is not caused by the food, but the association in time triggers the aversion. If a person becomes ill shortly after eating watermelon, he or she may not want to consume watermelon again.

This natural reaction may or may not be grounded in reality, but it is similar to the survival response of prehistoric times.

Food phobias are triggered by family, friends or media reports that describe environmental, food-processing and naturally occurring toxins. This fear may be a survival instinct, but today it is typically based more on rumor than on fact.

Most foods, from every food group, do contain tiny amounts of naturally occurring toxicants. However, eaten in small amounts, these compounds have little or no effect upon our long-term health, as might be reconfirmed by increasing longevity, even in countries that consume large amounts of processed foods. Food contamination by microorganisms due to poor food handling is likely a more serious problem.

Q: Can food phobias negatively affect health?

A: Absolutely. As people eliminate individual foods or food groups from their diets, they may also eliminate essential nutrients. The more foods eliminated, the greater the risk of nutrient deficiencies.

People tend to forget about the many benefits associated with foods. Because the body is in constant turnover in order to repair damaged tissues, getting all of the 50 or so essential nutrients is imperative for long-term health.

There may be a great deal of wisdom in following the old adage, "Eat a little of everything, not too much of anything and everything in moderation."

Our next two columns will focus on urban-legend food concerns that probably shouldn't be concerns.