Gwen wins 11-year battle against food phobia

For 11 years, Gwen Gunter was too frightened to eat meat or vegetables.
The 80-year-old from Greerton said she did not touch chocolate or sweets or nuts and her "baby food" diet consisted mainly of the humble spud.
That was until two weeks ago when she was told she could eat whatever she wanted again.
When she found out she "danced and jumped around" and now eats every type of food she can get her hands on.
Her diet issue goes back to the 1990s when she underwent two major surgeries on her stomach.
She was put on a strict diet that was meant to last a few months. But for the past 11 years she has been in and out of hospital, which led her to believe she could not go off her diet.
Her diet sheet said she had to stick with specific foods. There was also a list of things she could try to see if they worked with her.
She tried some but had an adverse reaction, so stuck to foods she knew would not cause any problems.
"I was always afraid to eat something because I thought I'd end up in hospital," she said.
Two weeks ago Mrs Gunter mentioned her diet sheet to her nurse, who she said could not believe she was still on it after all these years.
"[The nurse] took my diet sheet and threw it out," she said.
She said her care at Tauranga Hospital had been "wonderful" and she was just glad she could get back to eating normal foods.
"I'm much happier now than I've been in a long time."
When she was on the diet, Mrs Gunter had a lot of health problems and put it down to "not getting enough vitamins".
Since eating "normal" food, she said she's had a new lease on life.
"I'm sleeping better at night, I feel better," she said. "I used to get tired and a bit run down."
"[Now] I eat a lot of nuts, lollies and chips. I eat fruit with skins on, I can have just normal meals like everybody else."
Mrs Gunter said she was thankful to her husband, Bill, who ate whatever she did to make things easier. "He's been very patient, he's looked after me a lot."
Nutritionist Anna Rolleston said the lack of greens in Mrs Gunter's diet would have caused her to miss out on important nutrients.
"If she wasn't eating any greens and wasn't taking any supplements some of her functions wouldn't work or wouldn't work very well," she said.
Mrs Gunter isn't dwelling on the past, she's celebrating a brighter future. "It's going to be a good year for me this year."
"I'm going to sit and watch TV tonight and eat my lollies."