Jam yesterday, now and forever…
Craig Flagman is every nutritionist’s nightmare – a fifteen-year-old who never eats anything except bread and jam, but, unbelievably, is perfectly healthy! Although, his diet contains hardly any protein and is 60% sugar, he is 1.84m tall, weighs 69 kg, and his parents say he has never been seriously ill apart from typical illnesses.
Friends know him as 'Jam boy,' but Craig avoids all kinds of meat, fish, fresh produce, and vegetables. His diet revolves around bread and jam except at breakfast, when he prefers chocolate cereal, and during tea time, when he occasionally has a chocolate cake slice. He also consumes two pints of semi-skimmed milk daily.
The roots of Craig's unusual diet reach back to his fourth year. During infancy, he rejected solid foods completely until his father offered him a sugar sandwich at nine months old. Chocolate spread sandwiches followed, and together with milk, this remained his sole diet until he turned four and wished to sample jam, beginning an eleven-year obsession.
Occasionally Craig desires variety, yet whenever he attempts to eat something different, he becomes ill. Medical experts think his condition may have originated from a choking episode as an infant. Craig himself says, 'Doctors keep telling me I'll grow out of it, but I'm doubtful I ever will.' Though Craig's parents eat normally, family meals are complicated by his sister Amy, who at thirteen years old, is vegetarian. Before going to restaurants together, they must ring ahead to make sure jam sandwiches are allowed for Craig.
Nutrition/Diet (Based on New English File Intermediate, Student's Book)
