Eat What You Want Day: Neurodivergent Dietary Restrictions
In honor of Eat What You Want Day let’s talk about Neurodivergent Dietary Restrictions (NDR). Neurodivergent dietary restrictions are limitations to certain foods due to their accessible taste, texture, and temperature. Foods that often have consistency in taste and texture are more likely to be part of one’s diet when they have NDR. Foods that have variations in taste and texture may be significantly less accessible to ones with NDR.
While many autistic people are deemed “picky eaters” or “selective eaters,” the language we should be using when discussing their dietary habits is that they have dietary restrictions, not unlike those with allergies. Understanding that only a limited number of food options are available to an individual with NDR can better accommodate a healthier diet for them. Words like picky and selective suggest that it is a choice when in fact it’s the opposite: the individual has no other choice but to eat what is accessible to them.
Some other commonly used terms when discussing the dietary habits of autistic people also include safe foods and same foods. Safe foods are foods that would be the most accessible to an individual with little to no aversions while consuming them. Same foods are the foods that appear in someone’s diet on a regular basis because they are safe foods and something the individual routinely wants to consume. These terms are only problematic if they are used to suggest that individuals choose to have them, rather than have no choice but to have them.
Not all same foods/safe foods are unhealthy, however, because processed foods tend to have the same consistency more easily than prepared whole foods, processed foods are often a common same food/safe food in the autistic community. This is likely one of many links to why heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the autistic community.
Developing a healthy relationship as much as possible with food is key for the autistic community because of the prevalence of eating disorders in the community. One in five Autistic women struggle with Anorexia Nervosa (AN). While data is limited on other eating disorders in the autistic community, it is estimated that between 4% to 23% of people with an eating disorder are also autistic. The relatively new eating disorder Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) presents in the autistic community quite commonly. ARFID is an eating disorder that causes a person to limit the amount of food in their diet and often limits the type of food they can eat.
While it may be tempting to sneak in “healthy” foods that normally cause aversions, this will establish a lack of trust between autists and their caregivers. Overly encouraging eating foods that are outside of an individual’s NDR will harm the relationship that an individual has with food. Avoiding an eating disorder is not always possible but preventative measures and treatment plans can be established to help someone struggling with them.
The more you can do to provide a variety of foods, necessary supplements, and foods that do not cause aversions to eating the more you can do to develop a healthy relationship with food. Whether you’re an individual with NDR or a caregiver to one, celebrate Eat What You Want Day with the most accessible foods available unapologetically.
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) Helpline
available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. EST
1 (888)-375-7767
References
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24869-arfid-avoidant-restrictive-food-intake-disorder
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health/eating-disorders