Is Picky Eating Related To Tongue Posture?

Picky Eating: Understanding the Underlying Causes and Solutions

Picky eating has become far more common than it should be in today’s society. Even within the same household, three children might have different meal preferences if their parents allow them. As annoying as it is to some parents, they should be aware that not all picky eating is by choice. Their body could be telling them something is wrong. If weight gain, weight loss, or malnutrition is an issue, myofunctional therapy might be your missing link to optimal health.

Without a wide variety of nutritious foods, the human body will lack certain enzymes and minerals needed to function at its peak. Big box food companies in America remove nutrients from our food through a process called refinement. They then add synthetic vitamins back in and label the products as “Enriched,” leading people to believe the food is healthy. However, this is far from the truth. Whole food vitamins and synthetic vitamins offer very different advantages.

We have gotten so far away from nature that our bodies are breaking down, and autoimmune diseases are running rampant throughout the U.S. With the decline of nutrition in our food supply, it’s no wonder that kids are turning their heads up to healthy choices. Even though our food quality has decreased, picky eating might be a symptom of something else going on in the human body.

There are two major reasons for picky eating that may shock you:

1) Oral Motor Deficit AKA Oral Phase Dysphagia

2) Sensory Feeding Disorder AKA Sensory Aversion Disorder

Oral motor deficit, also called oral phase dysphagia:

This is when the face and mouth muscles don’t work correctly, causing dysfunctions in receiving food, chewing, and swallowing. Limited range of motion in the mouth and other orofacial muscles can make children avoid certain foods that require more coordination of the jaw and tongue. If the mandible (lower jaw) and the tongue can’t work together properly, it can cause the face and mouth muscles to fatigue and even make the person choke when trying to chew and swallow their food. The minute someone says, “I don’t like that texture” when talking about meat or other hard, chewy textures, is the moment I want to start a tethered oral tissue and oral range of motion evaluation on them!

Sensory feeding disorder:

People with food aversions don’t just have to be children. Even though it is most common in children and pregnant women, anyone can develop food aversions at any age. Food aversions occur when someone has a strong dislike for certain foods. For example, a pregnant woman might have cravings or a strong dislike of specific foods for a short time. Hormones like human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) play a role in this.

But saying you don’t like broccoli because you don’t feel like eating it is not a food aversion.

This is a bit different because the texture isn’t the only reason a person might refuse food. It could also be the smell, look, taste, or even the sound of the food when chewing that triggers feelings of disgust. These people have sensory processing difficulties in the oral cavity that make it difficult for them to want to eat certain foods. The brain has a sensory system via nerves that tell your body what is good and bad in the world. When these systems get off track, it can make life a bit more challenging, especially for children who are still growing and learning to use their senses.

Things you can do to reverse food aversions:

• Slowly introduce new foods into your diet.
• Have a positive mindset when it comes to eating.
• Use positive affirmations about food (e.g., “I will like this meal and it will taste, smell, and feel good when eating it”).
• Don’t overeat. Only eat when you are hungry.
• Avoid punishing yourself or your child for not eating a certain food.
• Eat food with people you enjoy spending time with.
• Schedule a myofunctional therapy consult with me!

It is okay to avoid foods you don’t prefer to eat; however, you want to make sure you are consuming the correct amount of nutrients your body needs.

It is possible to have a mixture of the two: oral phase dysphagia & sensory aversion disorder. If you do, it may be beneficial to get a feeding therapist involved along with myofunctional therapy, depending on the age and willingness of the person to change. A feeding therapist will be able to determine which one a person is struggling with. Even though your preference might be to eat something else, you should be able to consume foods without a reaction or gagging. Myofunctional therapy can help strengthen the tongue and face muscles to get them operating properly so that you can eat all types of foods. When the tongue and jaw operate properly, they activate certain nerves in your face.

Tethered oral tissues are tight or restricted frenulums. A frenulum, also known as a frenum, is a small fold of tissue that restricts the movement of an organ. Our mouths contain seven frenums: two lip frenums, four buccal (cheek) frenums, and one tongue frenum. A tongue tie, caused by a restricted tongue frenum, can impair functions such as tongue and jaw movements. Lip ties affect how the lips close together or create spaces between the front teeth, while buccal ties can impact cheek suctioning. Understanding and addressing these issues are crucial for effective myofunctional therapy. It is important to note that a tongue tie is only a tongue tie if it impacts function. Even if the frenums are restricted, they might not cause any issues. However, when tight frenulums don’t allow the tongue, cheeks, and lips to move properly, it can lead to oral aversions.

How are cranial nerves connected to picky eating?

Let me explain.

Every human has twelve cranial nerves. Certain nerves are responsible for specific functions in your body such as eye movement, eating, smelling, facial expressions, hearing, and even swallowing! If there is any cranial nerve dysfunction, it is more difficult to get results with MFT. However, it is still possible; it just might take more time to heal and get back on track.

The cranial nerves really deserve their own blog with how much they do and how many there are. To save you some time, I will just tell you about the most important nerves that could be connected to picky eating. When it comes to myofunctional therapy, these nerves can actually help reverse food aversions and dysphagia when stimulated the right way.

In myofunctional therapy, we are most concerned with cranial nerves V-XII (five through twelve).

Let’s dive a little deeper into each nerve and how they are connected to MFT.

The trigeminal nerve is the fifth cranial nerve (V). This is a sensory and motor nerve. It is important for mastication and sensory perception. We can stimulate this nerve through massage, vibration, and chewing exercises.

The facial nerve is the seventh cranial nerve (VII). This nerve is important for facial movement and is stimulated through lip and suction exercises.

The vestibulocochlear nerve is the eighth cranial nerve (VIII). This nerve is important for balance and hearing. Function can be improved with myofunctional therapy tongue and suction exercises along with a balance board. The tongue can actually affect how the ear functions based on how firm the suction hold of the tongue is on the back part of the soft palate (near the uvula).

The glossopharyngeal nerve is the ninth cranial nerve (IX). It provides information to your mouth and throat. This nerve is important for swallowing, the gag reflex, and disturbance of taste. Depending on if there are lesions on the nerve and how severe they are, stimulating this nerve with tongue and soft palate exercises can be beneficial in healing issues like gag reflex.

The vagus nerve is the tenth cranial nerve (X). It is a very powerful nerve that is stimulated through humming, singing, laughing, intra-oral massage, and soft palate exercises through myofunctional therapy.

The hypoglossal nerve is the twelfth cranial nerve (XII). This is another very important nerve, stimulated through postural and tongue exercises. This nerve helps you move your tongue. It enables you to speak and move food around in your mouth.

Now that you have some basic knowledge of the cranial nerves involved with MFT, it should help you understand how these exercises can reverse unwanted symptoms of the tongue and face. The nerves in your skull tell the rest of your body how to operate. When everything works together properly (like your tongue being high up and suctioned on the roof of your mouth with the jaws in a relaxed position), the muscles and nerves can function as they are supposed to.