Palate Rehab

Healthy Eating Means No Cravings, No Overeating

Changing your diet is not about removing things from it, but adding to it. Unfortunately, many people are picky eaters or have had minimal exposure to food variety. Their palate has never grown beyond that of three old. Worse, a lot of adults are traumatized due to childhood force feeding, punishment, or pressure around mealtime. All of these patients tend to stick to a limited food repertoire or what feels safe to them.

Palate rehabilitation is a program that progressively introduces the patient to new flavors and textures in a safe environment at their own pace.

Palate Rehab in Two Phases

Our tongue has many papillae (also known as taste buds) that shed every 6 to 24 hours to be replaced by new ones. By exposing the patient to new flavors, the new buds will assimilate he new taste and send positive signals to the brain. In the case of trauma or extreme pickiness, this can be a lengthy process. The nutritionist/therapist has to first earn the trust of the patient.

Phase One: Psychology of Eating

Eating is not simple. A lot of people have fear of new foods or a strong dislike to certain flavors that make them gag when they smell or taste them. Traumatic experiences such as parental insistence during childhood or food poisoning can influence food preference. In this situation, a psychologist trained in feeding therapy should be the first step.

Phase Two: Nutrition

Picky Eaters

A trained nutritionist introduces new foods slowly by mixing them with the familiar and accepted ones. She also knows when to back off and when to be persistent by observing the patient’s behavior and physical cues.

The transition needs to be gradual and consistent while ensuring the patient enjoys the new flavors, foods and textures introduced.

As the patient feels more confident in trying new foods, she can be moved toward more complex flavors, dishes, learn how to enjoy nutritious meals, and transition to a healthy diet.

To learn more about picky eaters, you may read this research article, published in 2015, called A Test to Identify Persistent Picky Eaters.