text: A young woman says she lives on almost nothing but Rice Krispies – and insists she is still healthier than most people. Natalie Swindells, 26, eats four bowls of the cereal every day. She can’t face eating much else and has not tasted a vegetable for nearly two decades. The bank worker, who says she has never taken a day off sick, stopped eating most other foods from the age of two. She now believes overeating causes more health problems than having a very restricted diet like her own. In a typical day, Miss Swindells will have two bowls of Rice Krispies with milk for breakfast, followed by a slice of bread and butter for lunch, and two bowls of Rice Krispies again for dinner . ‘I think doctors overestimate the amount of vitamins that we need to be healthy,’ she said. ‘I think it is about how much you eat, not what you’re eating.’ In a typical day, Miss Swindells will have two bowls of Rice Krispies with milk for breakfast, followed by a slice of bread and butter for lunch, and two bowls of Rice Krispies again for dinner. Consultant dietician Sian Porter said: ‘It might not sound like it but Natalie is actually getting a pretty balanced diet . She will also occasionally eat milk chocolate, ready salted crisps and chips. Although she consumes fewer than half of the recommended 2,000 calories for women Miss Swindells still has an active lifestyle. She lives in Macclesfield with her boyfriend Daniel Walsh, 26, who she says has grown accustomed to her strange eating habits. ‘He’s pretty cool with it,’ she said. ‘When we first got together he tried to make me eat different things but it didn’t last very long. It was just pointless. Everything he made me try I didn’t like.’ In fact, the last time she tasted a vegetable was 18 years ago, when her mother tried to make her eat a roast dinner – and failed. Consultant dietician Sian Porter said: ‘It might not sound like it but Natalie is actually getting a pretty balanced diet. She’s getting protein and calcium from the milk and of course Rice Krispies are fortified with lots of vitamins and iron so this could explain why she’s stayed so healthy.’ But nutritionist Dr Carina Norris warned: ‘Her diet is lacking massively in minerals and vitamins. It is miles from any dietary recommendation.’ ÷ Each Kellogg’s Rice Krispie is made from a single grain of rice that is toasted. ÷ The breakfast cereal has added sugar, salt and barley malt flavouring, as well as added vitamins and minerals. ÷ A small, 30g serving of Rice Krispies contains 115 calories of energy (6 per cent of the recommended daily allowance), 0.3g of fat (less than one per cent of the RDI), 26g carbohydrates (3g of which is sugars) 0.3g fibre and 1.8g protein. ÷ Rice Krispies arrived in British shops in November 1928. ÷ The brand’s famous Snap, Crackle and Pop elf characters first appeared on cereal boxes in 1941. ÷ Jonathan Ross made his television debut in an advert for the cereal aged ten in 1970. ÷ In 1963, the Rolling Stones recorded a song for a TV ad for the cereal.
target: Natalie Swindell, 26, eats four bowls of Rice Krispies a day and little else .
  Despite the  boring diet, nutritionists say her eating habits are balanced .
  Bank worker claims she has never eaten anything else since the age of two .