#514: Too Afraid To Eat Article Club podcast

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#514: Too Afraid To Eat

4d ago 20:16

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Dear Article Clubbers,

We had a great discussion last Sunday. Thank you to everyone who made it so!

At Article Club, we do two main things:

* Every week, we read great articles on race, education, and culture.

* Every month, we do a deep dive on one article.This means reading and annotating the article, interviewing the author, and gathering together for a discussion on Zoom on the last Sunday of the month.

This week’s issue has both components. Let’s dive in.

First, I’m pleased to announce October’s article of the month. It is “The Monster at the Dinner Table,” by Caitlin Moscatello. New York Magazine’s cover story in July, the piece explores ARFID, or avoidant / restrictive food intake disorder. A relatively new phenomenon, the condition is affecting young children, shutting off their instinct to eat. And it’s incredibly shocking and scary. We’re not talking picky eating here, or when your kid goes through a only-chicken-nugget phase. This is something altogether different. You’ll find more info below. If you’re already intrigued, feel free to sign up for our discussion on October 26.

Second, I’m including an article about fruitarians, whose diet relies entirely on eating fruit. If you’ve been a longtime subscriber, you know I’ve included tongue-in-cheek articles that warn about the health hazards of consuming fruit smoothies and fruit juice. Well, this piece is decidedly not funny. But it’s a wake-up call for anyone seeking the promise of “clean eating” or finding the essence of truth via an Internet influencer in Bali. I hope you’ll consider reading it.

1️⃣ The Monster At The Dinner Table

Caitlin Moscatello, on ARFID, yet another reason to freak out about raising children:

Previously, Amelia ate a wide-ranging diet, but after the chicken-nugget incident, she began to refuse solid foods. Within a week, she would consume only yogurt and liquids. “We would buy every drink that she could possibly want — chocolate milk, juice. We were desperate,” said Laura. “And it got worse every single day.” Amelia cut out the yogurt, convinced she would choke on it. A couple of weeks later, she rejected liquids, too. She began spitting into a napkin, unable to swallow her own saliva. It felt like something was stuck in her throat, Amelia said. She believed if she did try to swallow, she would choke, suffocate, and die.

Dinner turned into a nightly standoff: Amelia on one side of the table, growing thinner and frailer, Mark and Laura on the other, their panic mounting. Sometimes, they tried coaxing her. Other times, they couldn’t help but yell. “We didn’t know how to deal with it. Like, ‘Why can’t you eat?’” said Laura. It felt like a failure. They tried to quiet their terror by leaning on what one may believe to be a biological fact — that humans are wired for survival and, eventually, a child will get hungry and want food. “I kept thinking, Mother Nature’s going to kick in here,” said Mark. Instead, Amelia’s hunger response seemed to have shut off. If they tried to feed her, she would spit out the food.

By Caitlin Moscatello • New York Magazine • 26 min • Gift Link

➕ We’re discussing this article on Zoom on Sunday, October 26, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT. It’s free and easy to sign up. All you need to do is click the button below.

2️⃣ The Woman Who Ate Only Fruit

Ej Dickson, on people who believe that eating fruit is the pathway toward nirvana:

Fruitarians make up a smaller, even more fringe part of the raw-vegan community and subsist almost exclusively on uncooked fruit. Many followers believe that fruit is nutritionally complete and contains the most prana, the Sanskrit word for “life force,” of any food on the planet.

As Karolina wasted away, her loyal followers cheered her on. “I truly believe that you have the right answers. You know what’s good for you even if right now seems like chaos,” one wrote on a selfie she posted in 2023. “Nice neck and collarbones,” a fan wrote on a photo she posted where her clavicle juts out of her skin. “It is so nice to see you so happy,” another posted on a video of an Instagram Live she did last September. She would be dead less than three months later.

By Ej Dickson • The Cut • 10 min • Gift Link

Thank you for reading and listening to this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀

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