A schoolboy who could only eat beige foods has been ‘cured’ in time to enjoy his Christmas dinner with all the trimmings – thanks to hypnosis.
Nine-year-old Noah Young suffered from avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) since 18 months old – so much so, he once threw up from eating a carrot.
Noah always refused to eat any fruit and vegetables and instead stuck to an unhealthy diet of just beige junk foods, which stunted his growth.
The schoolboy’s breakfast previously consisted of toast, pancakes or dry cereal without milk – while lunch and dinners involved mainly plain pasta, chips, chicken nuggets or pizza.
In fact, eating something new or different would make him gag or even be sick.
After doctors dismissed Noah as a fussy eater, his mum Caroline, 35, decided to get professional help by turning to London-based hypnotherapist David Kilmurry.
And after just one three-hour session, Noah has now tried various fruits and vegetables.
Caroline, of Derby, said: ‘When Noah turned 18 months old he suddenly just got more fussy.
‘He once got sent home from school when he was six for being sick after they tried to make him eat carrots.
‘They tried to encourage him to eat his fruit and vegetables but he was just getting worse and even lettuce would make him throw up.
‘He used to have pasta with the sauce but then he just wanted it plain. Everything was plain. With potatoes he won’t eat them unless they are chips.
‘I just assumed it was fussy eating as everything says that. Trying to get him to eat anything good was a challenge, he would be crying and gagging.
‘When it started getting bad we noticed he wasn’t growing. We were trying to find someone to deal with it. I was worried he wasn’t going to develop.
‘He ate plain pasta, ham sandwiches and jam sandwiches, crisps, chocolate, pizza, chicken nugget, all the beige junk foods.
‘He would go to bed without eating at all when we were trying to get him to eat things that were good for him.
‘That’s when we thought this was more than fussy eating.’
Caroline came across an article about a woman with ARFID who also got help from David. This spurred her on to make contact.
The mum says she was completely stunned when she saw the results after the very first session.
Caroline added: ‘The doctors just assumed it was a fussy eater. But David got him eating oranges, mangos and cherries.
‘He did magic tricks to keep him calm. He kept breaking it up to encourage him.
‘We saw him just two weeks ago, on the first session he got him eating it. He bases it on meditation and he was calm.
‘We’d been trying for years and David got him to do it straight away.’
Noah is now aiming to try 50 foods by December 17. So he should be able to have a proper Christmas dinner this year.
The mum added: ‘He’s still got his normal diet but now he’ll have an orange or a cherry for a snack instead of a biscuit. He’s having peas and sweetcorn in small portions.
‘He’s encouraging him to eat better already. If he can eat over 50 types of food he isn’t classed as having ARFID anymore.
‘He’s tried 22 types of food now. It’s mainly fruit, but it’s really good progress.’
Caroline also hopes Noah will have a growth spurt if he continues to improve his diet.
She added: ‘He’s still small, my son who is two-and-a-half years younger is taller him. It had definitely affected his growth.
‘When you see all the lads he plays football with, he’s nowhere near their size. Last weekend they had a huddle and he got lost in the middle.
‘Hopefully he will progress. It’s time and patience and I’m just happy he’s even trying them.
‘He hasn’t been sick since, he realises these foods are not going to hurt him.
‘He’s massively pleased that he’s trying things. You can see he’s proud of himself and so he should be.’
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