There's a difference between food caution and food phobia, and there are reasonable precautions that can be taken without letting food anxiety rule your life. "Food phobia or extreme anxiety goes beyond the normal level of concern or caution. It begins to take control of your life," Albers says. Albers says people who already have health anxiety OCD and those with disordered eating or an eating disorder may be more vulnerable to food phobias around these outbreaks. She adds that those with health anxiety can also hyper-focus on some of the natural digestive clues, like fullness or a gurgling stomach, making them more significant than they are.