Friend who only eats the same thing

Question
Hi Susan,

I hope you can help me.  I've just come back from a visit with my oldest friend of 25 years.  He's a 32-year-old man who only eats the exact same thing day after day.  Although he's always been well above-average intelligence (probably close to genius level), he is very very skinny, and is dopy and unresponsive to talk to.  I'm very worried about him.

His daily diet is, without exception:

-Two bowls of cereal
-One and a half sandwiches (three slices of brown bread) with margarine and steamed carrots and peas
-One microwaved jacket potato with margarine and the same steamed vegetables
-One peeled apple
-One KitKat chocolate bar (chocolate and wafers)

He's been eating like this for the last 5 years at least and I'm very worried about him.  He must be borderline malnourished by now.  He never goes out, sees anyone or eats out at all.

Would it be possible to let me know what kinds of nutrients he might be missing and, more importantly, what the health risks are?  He won't listen to me, but a nutrition expert might be able to talk him round.  He has a crazy notion that he only needs the energy to get him through the day.

many thanks for your help,


Adam

Answer
Hi Adam,

This guy sounds depressed. The diet is so bad, I can't say if it is the cause or the effect.

Margarine is not digestable, real butter is better. Peeling the apple is a mistake. Peas are empty. Losing the refined sugar and refined flour - the kitkat and white bread might do wonders for his joie de vive.

A lot of plain water might help. Should have 5 servings of raw fruit and 5 servings of raw or slightly cooked fresh non-starchy vegetables A DAY. Then there is whole grains and maybe a serving of meat a day, but not at the same meal as (quality) carbs.

He is stuck in a vicious cycle. Do something to break it.
Aspiring just to get thru every day is not healthy. Okay, crazy.

Susan http://www.premiumfuel.com

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