I've been a picky eater since early childhood. I continue to struggle with it today. Texture and smell are the primary factors in what I eat: certain foods (tuna, cauliflower) have an odor that brings on severe nausea. Eating these foods is not an option.
The social implications of this disorder have been crippling. Company dinners, friends gathering for a meal, family reunions are all events I avoid.
My parents, bless them, did their best to encourage me to try new foods. My brother, however, once held me by the throat, trying to force a piece of pot roast into my mouth. This further solidified my status as a social leper.
There is current ongoing medical research into human eating patterns, and why we like or dislike foods. Gut bacteria plays a larger role in food preferences than previously thought. As a child, I had many ailments (sinus infections, ear infections, kidney infections, then kidney failure), and was frequently on antibiotics, the use of which seems common among picky eaters. I believe there is a strong correlation, and some day, when medical science fully understands the bacterial role in digestion, there will be treatment, and possibly a cure for us.
Thank you for this website. I am relieved to know I am not alone in this ailment.