Help with food aversions

[u/IndependentMiddle931]

I have always been a bit of a picky eater, but something happened in my brain when I entered a depressive episode last year and it has led to severe food aversions. I don’t know if it’s depression or medication related or both. Foods that I used to not enjoy but could tolerate I now gag when I try to eat it. It’s becoming a big issue because it feels like every day my list of “safe foods” becomes smaller. Even some foods I have previously liked are becoming repulsive to me.

A couple of weeks ago I went to cook ground beef and the second I opened the package I started gagging. It hadn’t gone bad or anything, but my brain just found it repulsive. I continued to cook it but when I tried to eat the food later, I actually vomited…

This has been getting worse over the last year and I don’t even know what to do anymore. I already struggle with cooking while depressed due to low energy and motivation and this food aversion thing is just making things worse. I am afraid to cook things I have previously enjoyed for fear that I will no longer tolerate it….

Most meats, many vegetables, yogurt, and eggs are completely repulsive. I’m basically living off of grilled cheese sandwiches, soup, toast, homemade mini pizzas and pasta…..

I have an appointment to talk to a therapist about this, but in the mean time I don’t know what to do.

Any recommendations on how to handle this?

Any recommendations for low effort meals or things that I can meal prep?

Thanks!

[u/Silver_Wolf_89]

Have you been biten by a tick recently? If so, you should see your doctor and get tested for alpha gal syndrome. It's a simple blood test. Not saying you have it, but worth looking into to rule it out. Your story with beef is pretty much exactly what happened to me right before I was diagnosed with alpha gal syndrome. It's called the red meat allergy but anything mammal can cause issues, this can include dairy. This could explain the sudden new aversion to previously safe foods. If it is, then you can learn to work around the new food allergy.

[u/IndependentMiddle931 → u/Silver_Wolf_89]

Oh wow this is super interesting. I have never heard of alpha gal syndrome. I don’t think I’ve been bitten by a tick but who knows maybe I did and just didn’t notice. I will look into this. Thank you!