What Is Eating by Texture?
Some individuals prioritise the texture of food over its taste or nutritional value when making dietary choices. This is sometimes called eating by texture. While most of us have mild preferences for certain textures, problems can arise when texture becomes the main factor in food choices.
Eating by texture can be a form of disordered eating, but it can also be associated with other conditions. Understanding the difference matters, because the right support will depend on what is driving the behaviour.
Texture Preferences and Disordered Eating
When texture preferences become rigid or extreme, they can interfere with balanced nutrition. A person might restrict their diet to foods that feel a certain way, even when this means cutting out whole food groups.
For example, someone may only eat foods that require prolonged chewing. Some believe this affects calorie burn, although there is little evidence to support this. Others might avoid anything crunchy and stick only to soft foods that feel easier to eat. These choices can become part of a pattern of controlling food intake.
The problem is not the texture preference itself. Most people enjoy some textures more than others. The concern arises when these preferences lead to nutritional gaps, weight changes, or distress around eating. Over time, a restricted diet can affect energy levels, physical health and mental wellbeing.
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
Other Reasons for Texture Based Eating
Not all texture based eating is linked to disordered eating. There are several other reasons a person might accept or reject foods based on how they feel.
- Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) often involves strong sensory reactions to food textures. People with ARFID may find certain textures distressing or physically difficult to tolerate.
- Autism and other neurodivergent conditions can affect how a person experiences sensory input, including food texture. This is not a choice or a phase but a genuine difference in sensory processing.
- Dental problems, swallowing difficulties or conditions affecting the mouth and throat can make certain textures painful or unsafe to eat.
- Past negative experiences with food, such as choking, can lead to lasting texture aversions.
The causes can vary, so it's worth considering all possibilities without jumping to conclusions.
When to Seek Support
If you notice that you or someone close to you is making food choices almost entirely based on texture, it may be worth looking into this further. Signs that suggest professional input could help include noticeable weight loss or gain, tiredness, anxiety around mealtimes, or a diet that has become very limited.
A GP can be a useful first step. They can check for physical causes and make referrals. However, not all GPs will have extensive knowledge of ARFID specifically, so asking about specialist eating disorder services or mental health teams familiar with ARFID may be helpful.
For concerns about eating disorders, the charity Beat provides information and a helpline for people in the UK. If sensory processing difficulties may be involved, an occupational therapist or specialist service can carry out an assessment.
The NHS website offers guidance on eating disorders and ARFID, including how to access treatment. It's worth noting that ARFID resources are still developing within NHS frameworks, and not all NHS Trusts have specific ARFID pathways yet. Support is available regardless of whether the cause turns out to be an eating disorder, a sensory condition, or something else entirely.
Understanding the reasons behind texture based eating can guide individuals towards appropriate support. With the right help, it is often possible to widen food choices and improve both physical health and quality of life.
Some of it comes from forced, shamed into, eating as a child.
I'm 59!! I want to incorporate more vegetables. I NEED to incorporate more vegetables.
I've tried.
For some, like green beans, if I cook the texture out I've cooked the nutrients out. What's the point then?
This goes for onions, put in EVERYTHING, peppers, carrots and other root vegetables, squashes, tomatoes ( I know, that's a fruit ), and basically any vegetable that my body needs.
What do I eat? Lettuce. Cold green peas smothered in mayo, green beans cooked to nothing, raw (ONLY!) spinach, and that's about it.
It is crippling as others have said.
Help? I'm ready to try hypnosis!
They all feel too strange in my mouth, and sometimes make me gag. Mushrooms that are battered well, and fried I can eat and enjoy. Green peppers I can't seem to enjoy even though I've tried.
Shredded coconut feels like I'm eating grass or hair, and is uncomfortable in my mouth. Fat is COMPLETELY!~ an absolute no go! My teeth can't chew it, it slides against them and my gums, EVERYTHING~ about it just feels WRONG!
I cut it off, or rip it with my teeth if I have to, it just feels wrong.. And my family thinks I'm crazy, and says "It's the best part!" and that I take it to the extreme to be dramatic.
Am I crazy?
I can't eat foods, that are soft and have something cruchy inside them, like onion. But soft foods in general I do like, mashed potatoes, cottage cheese etc etc. Certain crunchy I can also eat, but not as much as soft foods.
I am currently 20 but I've developed my eating habits better throughout the years. I still have trouble eating any salads for example. Though I love cucumber, corn and carrots at least. Also I can't eat foods that are like really chewy and rubbery.
But any advice on how to overcome this issue or where to seek the help I need would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
....I no longer "fear" cooked vegetables however I just can’t stand the texture; however I now eat green salads and some raw vegetables.
I estimate that of all the food I didn’t eat at 19 years old, I am now able to eat a third. I think with more effort I could eat half. When I go to a restaurant I can usually select two out of the ten mains dishes without any anxiety and three with some anxiety. I know there are some great foods out there ready to be discovered. I tell myself that having a bad experience will only last a moment and finding a good food can last a lifetime.
For myself, I don’t consider Texture eating as a disorder. I think it is a part of who I am. However, for people with more severe cases, I can understand how it could be considered a disorder.
I was petrified of the texture of most foods. If there was a possibility of being surprised by the texture of a sub component of a complex food I wouldn't try it. When my father forked together steak and beetroot and then scoop some onions on top I would look on in horror as he put it all in his mouth, imagining the tongue inevitably coming into contact with the slimy onions and the uncertainty of whether there is going to be a soft-crunchy onion sensation passing through his teeth as he bites down or will it be an unplanned piece of gristle from the steak which has hard to describe texture properties. And beetroot, well its colour says it all.
As a child, I used to use excuses to not try new foods, usually "it always ends badly" or my big sister would say she doesn't like something and therefore I would conveniently copy her. Being force feed only made me more anxious and therefore I pushed the food away harder.
My number one arch nemesis as a child was chicken. The sight of Mum shoving stuffing up the back end of something that looks like it has just been beamed down from Mars just seemed wrong. And then after it was cooked my family would tear its carcass to pieces chewing on its oily skin, allowing their teeth to make contact with its bones. I would sit there thinking that humans have bones and justify not trying chicken by classifying my family as a pack of cannibals. I didn’t once even attempt Chicken until I was in my 20’s.
The first time I noticed I was capable of eating new food was when I was 16 and I held up another worst enemy (a carrot) in front of me and because I hadn't been force fed in many years I couldn't remember what it tasted or smelled like. After trying really hard for five minutes to remember what a carrot smells or tastes like I took a bite and even though I didn't particularly like it, it was edible in its raw form, its texture was okay as well. I now like grated and lightly cooked carrot.
During my first year at Uni I stayed in a residence with 400 other 1st year students and I was one of two people who needed special meals every night. It was during this year that I went to see a hypnotist to discuss my difficulty at studying. We somehow got on to discussing my diet where he suggested that I had a fear of food. This was quite an apophony to me because up to this point I had always been taught that my "fussiness" was due to me being a stubborn selfish person.
The hypnotism focused on not procrastinating and trying new foods. It was helpful and over the next few years I felt more proactive at trying new foods and was able to eat most meats. Chicken is now my 3rd favourite food behind Ice Cream. I no longer fear cooked vegetables however I
Everything else makes him gag, he can eat onions if they are cut up really small, but veggies and fruit, the texture just puts him off and makes him throw up.
Any suggestions on what could be done to help him.
Thanks in advance
I just went through 4 weeks of Vitamin B shots and 8 weeks of IV blood infusions.
I too have a huge sweet tooth, but I am wondering if it is because I tend to binge and purge - not eating until I am so.hungry I have to, then just eating what is easily available? When I have cooked a meal, try to eat, and for whatever reason I can't, I get frustrated. I will Tonto bed without eating and wake up at 3 in the morning and eat 3/4's box of cereal.
When I was younger I could eat fruits, but as I get older the only fruit I can stomach are apples, period. The textures of grapes, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, blackberries, raspberries, oranges, etcetera make me gag.
I can eat cooked soft veggies such as green beans, peas, carrots, and corn, but uncooked veggies, I just cannot! I cannot eat leafy veggies or anything that has a smell of grass.
I have never been a big meat eater, but in the last, 5 years (or so) I have realized that if I am cooking something and the smell of the meat gets to me, I can't eat that meal. I cannot eat thick chunks of chicken (only nugget type cuts), I cannot eat anything on a bone, I cannot eat any thick cut of any type of meat, I used to use ground turkey in place of beef, but now I cannot stomach the smell. And I cannott stomach the texture of baked fish.
So basically the only meat I can eat is ground beef or ground sausage; however if the meat has any type of gristle in it..can't do it.
I do have ADD and have suffered from depression most of my life, as well as arthritis, fibromyalgia, and a few other medical.issues, but I am sure they are caused by weight. I want to eat healthier, even buy healthier foods to try to make healthy recipes, but end up trying them, then tossing them, and wasting food.
So I live on things I CAN eat. Things that are not healthy like a lot of carbs, cereals, etcetera. Where can I get help for this. I am in serious need for change so that I can be around fornmy children!
Anyways back to the topic: I am slowly starting to include more foods into my diet because I want to eat healthy and that requires eating foods that use to make me puke. This is a very slow process but I am trying. I can actually eat spinach and broccoli now when just a couple years ago that would be impossible. The only thing I hate about it is that the process is very slow but I am learning to like different foods. People think I am a picky eater, but I'm not, this is a physical and psychological problem, it's not just because I'm stubborn.
I don't know if I have a problem, or I'm just picky?
As I'm typing she is trying to eat porridge and after gagging as put it in the bin!
I can not seem to get anyone to understand my issue. I can be eating the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. Then I bite into a soft crunchy onion and I start to gag. I would love to continue to eat it but I know I can't stomach it. I've cried because of this. It's frustrating. No one gets it and that just upsets me more.
I don't know how to explain it to them so they might understand.
I've tried to add things but it's difficult. Just touching them or even looking at them disgusts me at times. There's a brand of smoothies and shakes in stores here (USA) called Bolt House Farms. They seem to be my best option.
I mostly exist on pasta and junk food.
Can you help me find a way to explain my issue to people? And ideas on how to add more nutrition into my diet?
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