"Duke University" news and stories

Most of us will chow on anything without a hazard sign, but, for some, our abundant foodshed is a minefield. Even the most adventurous eaters have their Kryptonite -- Julia Child had a habit of tossing cilantro; Ruth Reichl refuses to eat honey.

Odd eating habits have plagued every walk of life, perfectly rational people, and confused scientists and indulgent omnivores for years. For some, it's sensitivity to texture that gets in the way of a good piece of fish. Perhaps it's something in our past (or another life) that makes us squirm at the mush of a banana or the tree-like tops of broccoli. The BBC recently interviewed a woman who can't eat pasta because it feels like tiny worms; a bite of tomato, like maggots. Some people's lists of don't eats are longer than their dos. So what causes this seemingly childish aversion to perfectly good food?

Thanks to the minds at Duke University, we may soon have our answer.

Photo: Duke Medicine News.

For more than two years John Manley had trouble breathing.

The Wilmington, N.C., man was constantly under the weather, prone to pneumonia and shortness of breath, and doctors didn't know why. His wife, thinking he was depressed, even bought two dogs to try and cheer him up and get him out of the house.

But last week, doctors at Duke University Medical Center finally unraveled the mystery of Manley's chronic health woes: a piece of a Wendy's plastic utensil had been lodged in his lung.