Food addiction is a serious issue and one of the primary reasons for some people is that they just can't control themselves around certain foods, regardless of how hard they attempt. For some, it is a coping behavior and thinks they should "reward" themselves after undergoing some stress or a situation.
On a news report in Mirror, a mother of two from London developed a strange eating habit that appears to have stayed with her forever.
Chewing sponges every day for the last seven years has became the food fetish of 26-year old Lyndsey Woodward. It started when she was pregnant with Caitlyn, her first child in August of 2008.
Pica is an obsessive compulsive disorder which someone tends to eat substance that has no nutritional value.
Just like the Duchess of Cambrige, Lyndsey experienced a very severe morning sickness which made her unable to eat or drink anything necessary for a pregnant woman. The condition is known as hyperemesis gravidarum.
Lyndsey remembered buying some cleaning sponges after her shift ends at Superdrug, and as her hands were full, she bit into the sponge packet to hold them.
"It just felt like I was eating something really tasty. So I went back home, got in the bath and just soaked the sponge and then started chewing it."
"I would have to keep re-soaking it and after it started to fall apart I would get bored and get out the bath. It seemed to be the only way to get any fluids into my system.
Lyndsey insists: "Any sponge will do. I can't stand the green scourer bit, though - that has to be removed.
Lyndsey washes the sponge to remove the original scent of the product. Then she soaks the sponge in warm water and chews them until they break into pieces. She doesn't swallow the bits though.
"I did think after my daughter's birth that this silly phase would go away, but unfortunately it didn't.
All through her pregnancy, Lyndsey would consume a pack of 20 sponges a week. She assesses she still spends £2-4 a week purchasing them even if she doesn't need them. That's up to £208 per year funding her addiction.
Her mother thinks that she's weird and her husband, David is now used to it. He evens bring her a sponge according to her. It became normal so normal for her after seven years. Nevertheless, Lyndsey didn't want her kids to get the same habit as she does.
Lyndsey said: "I don't let the children see me chewing them as I'm worried they would copy me."
"I'm happy chewing sponges - I'm not fazed by it one bit. It's become so normal after seven years."
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