Whether you are on a diet or struggle with an eating disorder, you probably have a list of foods that you’re comfortable eating. You probably also have a list of foods to avoid at all costs. These are also known as safe foods and fear foods.
Read on for:
- What safe and fear foods are
- Why someone may feel comfortable or avoid eating certain foods
- The reason you can’t recover from an eating disorder while only eating safe foods
- Why and how to adopt an all foods fit mentality in eating disorder recovery
Eating Disorders and Control: Sticking to Safe Foods
As children, we don’t see food as anything but food. We all decided what to eat based on our likes and dislikes. However, as we grow up in a diet-centric world, food starts to take on other qualities. Food gets labeled as “good or bad”, “clean or unhealthy”, “wholesome or junk.”
People who diet, and people who develop eating disorders, may take those associations to the next level. They start labeling some foods as safe foods, and others as fear foods.
Safe foods are foods considered “safe” to eat, and they are different for every individual who struggles with eating. Since eating disorders and control (or, really, the illusion of control) go hand in hand, sticking to safe foods may feel like a way of staying in control.
Fear foods are the ones that cause deep feelings of fear and anxiety when eaten, even though they are physically safe to eat. Someone with fear foods experiences distress when around those foods, even though they are not allergic to them and will not get sick from eating them. Still, these foods are typically “off-limits” or “forbidden.” No one person has the same exact set of fear foods, since every person fears certain foods for specific reasons.
What makes something a fear food?
Fear foods are unique for every individual with an eating disorder. And since there is a high probability of someone’s behaviors changing over time, their safe foods are also likely to fluctuate. But in general, these are the driving factors behind fear foods by diagnosis.
ORTHOREXIA: FEAR OF “UNCLEAN” FOODS
Individuals with orthorexia are obsessed with “clean eating”, going to great lengths to avoid food that have salts, sugars, fats, food coloring, dye, pesticides, and/or additives of any kind.
They cut down on the number of “unclean” foods they eat until there are very few foods that they feel comfortable eating. Eating only “clean” foods creates a feeling of control, despite the fact that they severely limit themselves.
Fear foods for individuals struggling with orthorexia may be:
- Processed snack foods
- Oily foods, or foods filled with “bad fats” such as canola oil instead of olive oil
- Labeled as “junk food” by diet culture
- Foods prepared by someone else, as they can’t tell whether “clean ingredients” were used
- Made without alternatives (not sugar-free, low-carb, fat-free, etc.)
- Foods that do not offer high levels of macronutrients
- Anything other than whole foods
Related: Read more about signs, causes, and treatment of orthorexia.
ANOREXIA: FEAR OF FOODS THAT MAY CAUSE WEIGHT GAIN
Individuals with anorexia have an intense fear of weight gain, and often avoid foods that:
- Are high in calories, sugar, fats, and/or carbs
- May trigger a binge (more on this below)
- Have an unknown amount of calories, such as takeout or food that is not portioned out
- Are dense and filling
Some individuals who struggle with anorexia may also show signs of orthorexia. They may stick to “clean foods” as well.
Others may only worry about the total number of calories they take in. Safe foods for them include low calorie, low volume foods such as low calorie ice cream (usually made with additives and preservatives) or popcorn. These people may feel a sense of control since they still allow themselves to eat “treats.” However, their eating disorder would never allow them to eat ” the real thing.”
AVOIDANT/RESTRICTIVE FOOD INTAKE DISORDER: FEAR OF NEGATIVE PHYSICAL CONSEQUENCES
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is characterized by extremely picky eating, without the extremely negative body image that comes with other types of eating disorders. Extremely picky eaters have a very short list of foods they will eat. Many individuals with ARFID avoid food because they find it boring, or they simply do not have an appetite. But others actively fear many foods, typically because they fear:
- Choking, vomiting, and/or GI discomfort
- Certain foods may be infected/cause disease
- Having an allergic reaction, even though they have not been diagnosed with allergies
- Foods being mixed together or contaminated in some way
Fear foods for people with ARFID may be:
- Solid
- Hard to swallow
- Foods that need to be cooked
- More difficult to digest than basic foods
- Foods containing major allergens
- Prepared by someone else (so they can’t know what was used to make the food)
- Foods containing several ingredients
Safe foods for people with ARFID are usually simple foods such as pureed fruits and vegetables, cereal, or pudding.
Related: Learn more about ARFID, a lesser known eating disorder that has severe consequences.
BULIMIA, BINGE EATING DISORDER, AND MORE: FEAR OF TRIGGER FOODS
The majority of individuals with eating disorders struggle with binging at some point in the course of their eating disorder.
A person may start out with a restrictive eating disorder that morphs into a binge-purge disorder. Others struggle with bulimia, night eating syndrome, or binge eating disorder (the most common type of eating disorder).
Related: What is night eating syndrome and how do you know if you have it?
In recovery, many people also experience extreme hunger, which can feel like a terrifying loss of control around food. Whatever the case, those stuck in an eating disorder and some in recovery often avoid certain foods because they are associated with binges. Even people who diet (which can often lead to a full-blown eating disorder) avoid buying certain foods. They fear having an entire bag of chips or box of cereal in the house because they may eat all of it in a matter of hours.
Many believe that, by restricting these foods, they are keeping in control and will avoid a binge. However, restricting a food only makes you crave it more. Finally, you “give in” and binge on it, promising yourself that you won’t have it again after that episode. This creates a perpetual binge-restrict cycle that is so hard to get out of.
Fear foods for people who binge may include:
- Anything that is not already portioned out
- Foods high in sugar or carbohydrates
- Things they may eat mindlessly while watching TV or doing some other distracting activity
- Foods they have previously binged on
Related: This is how to end the binge-restrict cycle in eating disorder recovery.
Why You Can’t Fully Recover on Your Safe Foods
If you have ever been to eating disorder treatment, you have probably had to face fear foods multiple times a day, every day. At treatment centers, menus consist of things like pasta, takeout, oatmeal with toppings, and ice cream. Snack options include things like chips and chocolate — all things that your eating disorder (and diet culture) label as “off-limits.”
There is a method to the madness when it comes to eating disorder treatment: you can’t find full food freedom if you recover but only eat the foods your eating disorder deems “safe.”
EXPOSURE TO FEAR FOODS: PROVING TO YOURSELF THAT ALL FOODS FIT IN RECOVERY.
As you continue exposing yourself to the foods that you fear, without using eating disorder behaviors after you eat them, a few things happen in your brain:
- You realize that whatever bad consequences you think will happen when you eat these foods, will not happen the way you think it will
- Your brain will slowly stop associating those foods with fear.
- You stop restricting fear foods, which reduces how intensely you crave them.
For example, if you avoid ice cream because you fear binging on it, eating a bowl of it over and over again in treatment (and at home) will signal to your brain that you can have it without binging. And you don’t have to restrict it, which makes you crave it less.
Related: This is how meal support works in eating disorder treatment.
Developing an “All Foods Fit” Mentality: You have to let go.
You may need to rely on safe foods early on in recovery, or when you slip up in recovery, just to make sure you’re eating enough food regularly. And that’s okay — it’s more important at this point to eat enough and not push yourself too hard. But a little later on, and with the support of an eating disorder professional, you may start to challenge fear foods.
Once you let go of the idea that some foods are dangerous and forbidden, then you realize that all foods fit in your diet.
All foods fit, except the ones that:
- You don’t actually enjoy eating
- You only eat because diet culture tells you to
- Are spoiled/objectively unsafe to eat
- You are allergic to, as diagnosed by your doctor
While it may seem like restricting certain foods puts you in control, it doesn’t. Accept all foods, regardless of whether they’re “safe” foods or not, and you will find real freedom.
If you or someone you know fears eating certain foods or struggles with any eating disorder behaviors, take the first step and talk to someone about recovery. Or, simply learn more about the holistic eating disorder recovery programs we offer.
