Woman in Her 30s Who Consumes All Her Food Through Her Nose Shocks Viewers, Says It Helps Her Avoid Overeating [Health Talk]

According to Financial News, the story has emerged of a woman who blends all her food and inhales it through her nose using a straw.
On the 14th, the New York Post reported that Catherine, a woman in her 30s living in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, has been consuming her food by inhaling it through her nose for the past five years.
Catherine said, "When I was in college, my friends and I made a bet to inhale a fruit-flavored drink through our noses," adding, "My head was pounding, but the fruit aroma was much stronger than when I drank it by mouth, and it was truly amazing. Since then, for about five years, I have been consuming all my food through my nose."
Catherine consumes omelets with spinach and mushrooms, spinach and steak blended into liquid form, coffee, and even spicy guacamole through her nose.
Catherine explained, "I have always had an aversion to the strange textures you feel when eating food," and claimed, "Thanks to my unusual habit of eating through my nose, I can avoid overeating and choking. There really are no particular downsides."
However, her unique eating habit is said to cause discomfort to people around her, including her family and her partner.
On an episode of the TLC (formerly The Learning Channel) program "My Strange Addiction," she opened up about her problem to Justin, a boyfriend she had recently started dating, and the show featured the two of them visiting a restaurant together.
As soon as she sat down, Catherine asked the server, "Could you blend the food for me?"
The server replied that there was no blender, but instead offered "grits, tomato soup, and homemade vegetarian sausage gravy."

Catherine chose grits, which she could drink through a straw, along with an iced coffee. When the food arrived, she inserted a straw into her right nostril and sucked up the iced coffee.
A startled Justin asked, "What on earth are you doing?" as laughter broke out around them.
Justin later admitted, "I can’t bear to watch Catherine eat."
The two went to a hospital, where Dr. Matthew Hayden warned her about the dangers of taking in nutrition through the nose.
Dr. Hayden said, "Food, even in puréed form, can get stuck in the throat or airway, block the flow of air, and cause choking," adding, "In particular, highly acidic or spicy foods can cause severe burning sensations, inflammation, and bleeding in the delicate tissues of the nose and throat."
He went on to point out, "If you inhale beverages through your nose as well, fluid can accumulate in the lungs, and infections can spread to the central nervous system and become fatal."
A subsequent examination of her lungs fortunately revealed no inflammation. Catherine said, "I think I was lucky. From now on, I will do my best to break the habit of inhaling food through my nose."

However, when a person is in a coma or cannot take in nutrients orally due to esophageal or oral disease, an "enteral tube feeding" regimen may be used, in which a tube is inserted through the nose to deliver a nutrient mixture.
Typical side effects of enteral tube feeding include diarrhea, constipation, nausea, and Aspiration pneumonia. Diarrhea can occur when the infusion rate is too fast, when the formula is too cold, or when there is bacterial contamination. Constipation may develop if too little additional fluid (water) is provided besides the enteral formula. Nausea can occur when the volume of enteral tube feeding is excessive relative to body weight.
Aspiration pneumonia, which develops when the feeding formula or oral secretions reflux and enter the airway, causing inflammation in the lungs, is the most serious complication. Therefore, during enteral tube feeding, the patient’s head should be elevated by at least 45 degrees.
moon@fnnews.com Moon Young-jin Reporter