How to get over a fruit and vegetable phobia?

I’m 25 now and I have the same problem. My mom tells me it started when she switched from baby food to real food. I also have a vague memory of my father trying to use reverse psychology on me by saying I never had to eat them again. Needless to say, it didn’t work.

I had no idea there were so many people who had the same problem! I feel relieved that I’m not the only one who suffers. When I was little my mom desperately wanted me to eat them, but she’s given up, more or less now. I don’t want to give up, though. I want to have kids one day and I can’t eat like this if I’m pregnant- I won’t do that to my future offspring.

I take a multi-vitamin to be safe and I eat corn, and any kind of potatoes. It’s the smell of fruits that get to me, I think. Any of the fruits, especially citrus, makes my eyes water. I don’t eat any kind of candy, though, and I don’t drink or smoke, so I figure that has to balance some of it out. I wish I knew what to do to make my phobia go away, but I feel so much better knowing there are others out there! Thank you all for sharing!

If you are phobic of vegetables, it’s nothing to be ashamed about. I have vegetable phobia too. the only veggies I eat are potatoes, tomatoes and pickles. If you’ve been to nutritionists and doctors, and nothing has helped, then You’ll just have to come to terms with the fact that your digestive tract cannot tolerate veggies (I get the biggest stomache in the world, the minute I finish swallowing a swallow or two of some veggie (if I can even swallow the veggie, there’s usu. a lot of gagging until I can get that stuff down my throat!!) that someone forced me to eat (I’m an adult now, so noone forces me to eat veggies anymore, but whenever someone convinces me that it’s pshycological, in my head like, and that I “have to get over it” My digestive tract suffers big time as a result.)

So my suggestion is to tell everyone to lay off, and accept the fact that this is not in your head, but in your digestive tract. and your mom doesn’t really have to make “separate” dinners for you, she should just set aside some meat, before throwing in the veggies, and bake it in a muffin tin, or cook it in a small pot, (you’ll help her wash it out) and there’s nothing like just throwing a quarter of a chicken, or a small slice of meat into the broiler for aout 15 minutes (meat for a shorter time) and then flipping it over for another 5 or 10. that’s a simple dinner that doesn’t take much prep time at all. also offer to make your own pasta or rice dish. just plain old “follow the direction on the box” prepared rice/pasta

I totally understand how you feel. Because? I don’t eat ANY fruit or vegetables. I’m glad you asked. it makes me feel slightly better to know that I’m not alone in this. I’m 16 right now, and I STILL don’t eat fruit or vegetables.

for me, it’s most embarrassing when you go out with people, and especially when you share food, people will ask you if you want _ (a vegetable) and I’ll be like “sorry, I don’t eat that.” I’m so tired of that.

I pray to God every once in a while too. It’s really hard for me. When I try to eat vegetables, I immediately gag and then I kinda throw up. Most of the people I heard (that had this problem) got over it (at the latest, 15 or 16, which is my age)

My mom yelled at me too. She was worried about my health…

For those that DO eat vegetables and fruits, consider yourself very lucky. You don’t have to go through what we (that don’t eat vegetables and fruits) have to go through.

But best of luck to you! I hope we BOTH eat vegetables adn fruits soon! =)

Hi there all!!

I’m 24, pretty perfect skin, and very slim… and I DONT EAT FRUIT OR VEG!!! like the rest of you, I just want to gag at the thought! I’d run away if you came near me with something of the sort and I wont kiss my husband if he’s eaten any of it! I’ve been on the net all day today trying to see if there’s a way I can get over this and all I could come up with is hypnosis as this is a nurological condition that makes our minds respond negatively to these things, so yes it is in the head, but can someone who’s scared of dying, or heights or planes just ‘get over it’? no, so there’s no reason why we should feel embarrased and disgrased. I hate going to eat out, unless I can order a steak, I freak out!!! so I guess for now, I ‘m just going to have to live like this and if I go all wrinkly at 35 then I do. so be it!!! but as for stressing over this any longer… I’m not going to. all those people trying to ‘encourage’ (rather more like force) me to eat fruit and veggies can just well SHOVE OFF! getting over it, is accepting you have it and living as normally as possible… it could be worse…

I also have a nephew that has a very limited diet. We used to worry about his health also. My sister once offered him $500 to eat a small burger; he refused! He is 18 now and he is fine. He has added a couple of healthier foods to his diet. Make sure you take a high quality multivitamin. As far as being embarassed in front of your boyfriend–who cares!? He likes you for you, not what you eat. He might even appreciate that the kids meal is cheaper! lol. Order from the regular menu and tell the waiter/waitress that you don’t want any veggies on your plate. Swap any veggies with french fries(do those count as a veg?) What do you usually eat in a day? I’m sure this is very frusturating for you. Try not to be so embarassed by this, we all have things that we struggle with every day. It seems as though your whole family is focused on this and it’s taking it’s toll. Try to focus on something else, maybe exercise or grades. Do you have any hobbies? Sometimes we get so wrapped up in things and all the pressure to fix the problem actually makes it worse. Try to focus on something else for a few days and help your mom in the kitchen. Take care. I hope some of this helps.

Believe it or not I have a nephew who was in almost the exact same situation.

I don’t know if it was exactly a phobia but for years he wouldn’t eat anything except, grilled cheese sandwiches, balogna sandwiches with only bread and meat, cheese pizza and chicken nuggets. He refused all other foods. His worried mom took him to the doctor several times and inspite of his terrible diet his blood tests all came back fine. As an adult he did start eating vegetables but his youthful diet didn’t seem to cause any real damage. I wouldn’t consider this an urgent problem but rather something to work on over time.

I’d suggest making it a goal to find one vegetable that you can tolerate. It might help if you tried a vegetable that doesn’t look like a vegetable like a fritter or something breaded and deep fried (not that fried food is healthy but it might be a first step toward eating vegetables). Is the problem something you don’t like about vegetables or just knowing that there are vegetables in something?

thanks that was very kind of you and encouraging. and yes, I eat spagetti sause and pizza and all that stuff. I like hamburgers, potato chips and french fries and I CAN eat mashed potatoes but theyre definitely not my favorite food. and sure, I could just forget about it and live my life but its just very difficult. like its easy for you to just say “dont worry about it just keep ordering from the kids menu” and stuff but you see you dont even have this problem.. im the one who actually has to do this all the time. and what kind of model will I be for my children some day when im trying to get them to eat their veggies yet I wont even eat my own! my parents have also tried bribing me but I wont do it. I dont think theres a word I could use that would describe the intensity of how awful I feel about myself and the guilt I carry about this. oh and one more thing: yes, I do take vitamins. dont worry my parents make sure of that since I wont eat anything else haha. but every night before I go to bed I pray that I will be able to get over this phobia. I’ve been praying for years now and im running out of faith in this situation and faith in myself as a person :((

its really no big deal just when you go out 2 eat wit peepz just replace any vegges wit mashed potatoes frech fries hash browns etc && try 2 focus on other stuf like sports or skool kk hope dis helps ps im a really picky eater

My girlfriend has this with fruit too, the smell of banana’s for example makes her gag (literally). Odd but not life-threatening. She takes extra vitamins just to be on safe side though…

Have you ever tried eating your vegetables RAW? They taste really good and are so much better for you. And there is no work to preparing them. If you would eat Organic fruits & vegetables you would immediately taste the difference in them unlike cooking the enzymes out of them. Try it, you will probably like it!

Try eating one or two bites of a vegetable at dinner. Gradually add a bite or two every several days. Do you eat spaghetti sauce? If so, you can add more veggies to the sauce and you won’t even notice.

I kind of understand how you feel. I will not eat ANY fresh fruit that my mom, and my mom alone, has not washed. I am not the person who eats fruit from the fruit platter that has been sitting out in a room all day, that is just nasty.

Well if you can’t eat fruits or vegetables, just eat anything else healthy. Eat nuts. It doesn’t replace vegetables, but it’s still good for you.

You could also help your mom by cooking your own side to replace the veggie she cooked for the rest of your family. She doesn’t have to do all the work, you’re old enough to do that much.

no.. I cant. you dont understand. like its just the THOUGHT of eating a fruit or vegetable that makes me gag. like I can touch them but I dont want them any where near my mouth and after I touch them I have to wash my hands. and in response the the 1st reply.. this needs to be stopped now. not when im an adult. I still have to order from the kids menu which is extremely embarassing and I just got a boyfriend and im so scared about when we might go out on a dinner date or something I mean what am I going to do?? whisper to the waiter for a kids menu? NO! I need to get over this. its ruining my life and its quite embarassing when my 10 year old brother orders from the adult menu and I still order from the kids menu :[[[

I understand - I have the same phobia and always have (I am now 24). I don;t eat any fruit or vegetables except for potatoes made into chips or roasted (but not mashed). I cannot explain why or how I feel about vegetables but it is continually embarrasing. I am now considering treatment as I want to think about having babies soon and will need to eat veggies when pregnant. I have a referral to a pschlogist to determine if this is a phobia or if it is anxiety related (at the direction of my doctor) and if the psychologist can’t help I will be trying hypnotherapy - there are a number of success stories on the net.

I don’t understand why you feel so awful and are carrying guilt. It’s just vegetables. Is the problem that you have a phobia or that you can’t eat veggies? Spaghetti sauce and pizza sauce are made with tomatoes which are very good for you. I’m not suggesting that you stop worrying about it for good, just try to focus on something else for a couple of days. Don’t worry about what your kids will eat. Children learn what we teach them. Besides, thats a long way down the road for you. Eating and liking veggies is not the most important thing for a child to learn. Believe me, I’ve got a picky 9 yr. old. Please stop being so hard on yourself.

I totally understand. I also have a phobia which I find really difficult. I’m 19 now and have found that my skin is gradually getting worse because of it. I have tried but I can’t physically eat them it seems to be the texture that I can’t stand. I really want to become healthier and have better skin but I’m finding it really hard and don’t really think some people understand.

I always read about people being afriad of veggies and I was like “they can’t even move or talk or look at you…what can be so horrid about them?” but when you word it like you do its understandable. they do grow in the ground and stuff. however I don’t know how to help you because I am a fruit and veggie FINATIC, my mom tells me to eat aton more meat, but I eat very little meat and way to many veggies. meat is just GDFJGIJDSHIHJFDIHDH, so I have the exact oppisent problem.

try smoothies becuase technically they arent a fruit and vegetable any more but a drink

Veggies keep you healthy, just try to remember that.

Omg I am the same.the only vegetables I can eat are potatoes and they have to be made into chips or mashed.

You took the words right out of my mouth, Jess.