Health Tips - 5 Dangerous Eating And Drinking Addictions

Addictions are persistent, obsessive behaviors and sufferers will feel anxious if they can't do them, regardless of any negative consequences. But while most people imagine addictions to be related to drugs or alcohol did you know there are other more unusual ones involving food and drink that can be equally as damaging?

FRENCH FRIES

Thirty-something American woman Amber Scott has only eaten French fries since she was a child. She suffers from Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) that affects her ability to eat a balanced diet.

Harm rating: This mental illness can lead to serious nutritional deficiencies.

BANANAS

Diet guru Freelee the Banana Girl eats a largely raw diet that's fruit and veg based; it's not unusual for the Australian to eat between 30-50 bananas a day.

Harm rating: Bananas are rich in potassium, which is essential to health but too much can put a strain on the kidneys.

MILK

A woman called Sandra, from Stockport in the UK, is addicted to milk. She's drunk about 10 pints (nearly 6 liters) a day for decades and will do a midnight shop if she's running low.

Harm rating: Too much of any one food can lead to a nutritional deficiency.

CARROTS

It's possible to develop a craving for carrots and numerous examples have been reported. Beta-carotene – an antioxidant that is converted in the body into vitamin A – is probably what people are drawn to.

Harm rating: Eating more than two pounds of carrots a day can turn the skin, nails and organs yellow, though this is reversible.

GLASS

Ohio man Josh, who featured on My Strange Addiction, a series on American channel TLC, gets a "warm feeling" from eating glass, especially wine glasses and light bulbs, and admits he enjoys the attention he receives from his unusual habit.

Harm rating: Josh claims not to have suffered but it's clearly dangerous.