Food Intolerances/Allergies/Aversions

[Kent Wang]

My mother has a very strange reaction to beef and anything acidic. She has rheumatoid arthritis and if she eats any of those things her joints will become sore and ache painfully. This includes all beef products including tripe, tongue and tendon. Acidic foods she can't eat include vinegar, tomatoes and nearly every fruit except watermelon. It's a very unusual condition and took her nearly a decade to figure out the food culprits.

[Simon_S]

Hello all.

I have been reading this thread with interest, but it leaves me with one overwhelming question. Bear with me on this, but why do you think food allergies are so common (or so it seems to an outsider) in the US? I can think of one person out of all my acquaintances in this part of the world who has a genuine allergy (not a life-threatening one, but grapes or wine bring this particular person out in a rash). One other thought she had an allergy to wine until it eventually surfaced that the symptoms in question bore a remarkable similarity a hangover. However, my Stateside friends all seem to have one allergy or another, and by the look of this thread they are far from alone.

I am aware that nut allergies and shellfish allergies are common enough, and warnings are frequently printed on menus over here. Some menus will mark dishes gluten-free for coeliacs also. However, I have never heard anyone in a restaurant grilling a waiter or waitress about constituents of dishes due to allergies, and I've certainly never seen anyone experiencing an allergic reaction with the exception of my grape-avoiding friend above.,

While I'm on the subject, it seems that allergies in the US stretch far beyond food, and there's a whole industry built up to stem the tide of all kinds of allergies that I've never encountered in Europe.

I'm certainly not trying to in any way belittle what are real and serious allergies, but I don't really understand why it seems so much more common across the pond. Any thoughts?

Si

[annecros]

That's an excellent question Simon_S. I don't know the answer, but am eagerly awaiting responses from others.

In my case, sensitivities and allergies developed as I reached middle age, and seem to have come into play hand in hand with a chronic illness that developed at the same time. I have never been terribly keen on shellfish, with the exception of shrimp, my entire life. I had a medical test run which required contrast, and had an ugly reaction. I was advised by my doctor to avoid shellfish, which I always have, but now I am even conscious of the shrimp that I do eat, and am a bit careful with ocean fish. We switched to kosher salt several years ago. It is amazing that the body knows what it can handle sometimes, before we are rudely awakened. Hopefully, the more I limit my exposure, the longer I will be able to enjoy these foods in moderation. I can't stand regular table salt at all. Tastes incredibly metallic to me.

My mother had a thing for a while with graveyards. Not a morbid thing, but she wanted to make sure that we knew where our great granparents, great greats, and even great great great grandparents were buried, because much information can be gleaned from death records and tombstones. I was struck at the time at the number of women ancestors and relatives that died in the third or fourth decade of life, which is the typical age of onset for my particular flavor of illness. It may simply be a case of improved medical care, and appropriate diagnosis. Or it may be an exposure issue. I am not sure.

We keep the epipens handy. Between my bad reaction to iodine, and a son who is deathly allergic to bee stings, it makes sense.

Edited March 8, 2006 by annecros (log)

[gini]

Hello all.

I have been reading this thread with interest, but it leaves me with one overwhelming question. Bear with me on this, but why do you think food allergies are so common (or so it seems to an outsider) in the US? I can think of one person out of all my acquaintances in this part of the world who has a genuine allergy (not a life-threatening one, but grapes or wine bring this particular person out in a rash). One other thought she had an allergy to wine until it eventually surfaced that the symptoms in question bore a remarkable similarity a hangover. However, my Stateside friends all seem to have one allergy or another, and by the look of this thread they are far from alone.

I am aware that nut allergies and shellfish allergies are common enough, and warnings are frequently printed on menus over here. Some menus will mark dishes gluten-free for coeliacs also. However, I have never heard anyone in a restaurant grilling a waiter or waitress about constituents of dishes due to allergies, and I've certainly never seen anyone experiencing an allergic reaction with the exception of my grape-avoiding friend above.,

While I'm on the subject, it seems that allergies in the US stretch far beyond food, and there's a whole industry built up to stem the tide of all kinds of allergies that I've never encountered in Europe.

I'm certainly not trying to in any way belittle what are real and serious allergies, but I don't really understand why it seems so much more common across the pond. Any thoughts?

Si

←

Hmm...interesting. Actually, out of all the people I know here in the states, only three of them have food allergies - mr. gini with his shrimp, my mother with any red crustacean - crab, shirmp, lobster-, and my cousin with strawberries. However, my family and friends in France, Italy, Hong Kong and Canada don't have any food allergies that I know of. Of course, my uncle in Canada drinks enough scotch to kill anything in his body .

My mother's allergies developed when she was in her 50's, much like annecros. She started with shrimp, then began itching from being in contact with lobster shells (but the meat was ok, so she used to take them apart with rubber gloves), then finally it became full blown. As for mr. g and my cousin, they've both been allergic forever.

That wasn't a scientific answer, just an observation. Thankfully I am free and clear of any allergies. Woohoo!

[A Patric]

I'm certainly not trying to in any way belittle what are real and serious allergies, but I don't really understand why it seems so much more common across the pond. Any thoughts?

Si

←

Interesting question.

Well according to a Jeffrey Steingarten article in one of his two books, he thinks that most allergies may either not be real, or at least may be greatly exaggerated. Basically, he sees many food allergies as people's ways of avoiding foods that they don't like. He doesn't say that they all are, but that many of them are. For example, everyday there seem to be more people with lactose intolerance in the US, and most of them won't even touch aged cheeses under the pretext that they will get sick. Of course, aged cheeses have had all, or the vast majority of the lactose in the milk converted into different compounds by the bacteria, and thus shouldn't impact the lactose intolerant person's health. I recommend reading the article, because though he is--always--being a bit facetious, I think he is also hitting on some truth (i.e., many people have imagined allergies). However, I also think that food allergies--knowing about them and being tested for them--have become part of US culture. Everyone expects to have an allergy to something, so everyone is on the look out for their own allergies. Milk and wheat are the main foci right now. The problem is that there is a difference between an allergy to peanuts that can be life threatening, and an allergy to lactose, where eating a little will usually, except with extreme allergy, not have any noticable impact on one's health. Yet, people don't often seem to make such distinctions. With all of the above in mind, I have two, obviously just "off the top of my head," hypotheses:

1) Food allergies are part of American culture and therefore people go searching for having them, often finding them even if they don't exist, and making more out of some than they really need to.

2) Non-Americans may actually have food allergies and simply not be aware of them because, since it is not part of the culture to go looking for them, they take the effects of the allergies to be something else, i.e., eating something bad, mild cold, etc. This is especially the case because many food allergies are not life threatening and aren't clearly discernable if one isn't paying attention.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. Like I said, though, they aren't scientific or anything. Also, I do not at all disparage those with true and serious food allergies. I know that they can be quite dangerous, and I would never trick someone into eating something if s/he says s/he is allergic to it; though, I might push for clarification.

What it boils down to for me is: If you are allergic to it, then that leaves more for me.

Alan

Edited March 8, 2006 by A Patric (log)

[annecros]

I'm certainly not trying to in any way belittle what are real and serious allergies, but I don't really understand why it seems so much more common across the pond. Any thoughts?

Si

←

Interesting question.

For example, everyday there seem to be more people with lactose intolerance in the US, and most of them won't even touch aged cheeses under the pretext that they will get sick. Of course, aged cheeses have had all, or the vast majority of the lactose in the milk converted into different compounds by the bacteria, and thus shouldn't impact the lactose intolerant person's health. I recommend reading the article, because though he is--always--being a bit facetious, I think he is also hitting on some truth (i.e., many people have imagined allergies). However, I also think that food allergies--knowing about them and being tested for them--have become part of US culture.

←

Well, according to my GI doc (yeah, I've got one ), celiac sprue is one of the most underdiagnosed illnesses in the world, and lets face it, there is gluten EVERYWHERE.

That and Lactose Intolerance are particularly insipid, I think, because so much of it is "hidden" in other product and day to day items people come into contact with. For example, adhesives on postage stamps and envelopes contain lactose. Got to love those self adhesive thingys. 3M did something right. I think people are generally exposed to the allergen, and don't know it. They just know they are sick with something.

Fortunately, there are very well defined tests for these problems these days, and any competant medical practitioner should be able to pinpoint these problems definitively, right off the bat. I have neither problem.

Now, IBS, is another issue. Stress, I think. Stress kills. Although it may go the way of ulcers eventually, for which they have found a specific medical test for, and yes it is a bacteria. I don't have an ulcer, but I do have IBS. Doc prefers to call it "Undifferentiated Inflammatory Bowel Disorder." I call it crappy.

Go figure. There is so much they have yet to learn about the human body. In the meantime:

Eat, drink and be happy - what you can and while you can!

Edited March 8, 2006 by annecros (log)

[JohnL]

While I'm on the subject, it seems that allergies in the US stretch far beyond food, and there's a whole industry built up to stem the tide of all kinds of allergies that I've never encountered in Europe.

I'm certainly not trying to in any way belittle what are real and serious allergies, but I don't really understand why it seems so much more common across the pond. Any thoughts?

Si

←

I think you answered your own question.

The US has a very active and expansive media.

a sizable health profession and all sorts of special interest groups

and a large populace of citizens with fairly sizable incomes.

Combine this and you have a volatile mix.

Real problems are expanded and blown up to seismic proportions.

People don't like taking responsibility for themselves--human nature--so any problem they may have (or in many cases are easily convinced they have) that can be attributed to something or someone else is readily welcomed.

The basic human malady that once was attributed to the "vapors"--basically--"I don't feel well today." Is readily explained by our media --a poll--a new book by a renown "expert"--etc etc etc.

and there are solutions available--books, TV and radio shows.

I would say we have these things in abundance compared to the rest of the world.

Instead of applying some basic journalistic principles and skepticism and providing good information, our media loves to scream dire warnings at us. "Studies show dust may be killing you--news at eleven."

We are bombarded with all sorts of messages whose prime motivating factor is to get our money.

A problem like obesity is first blown out of proportion--

"We are all fat."

Then some hysteria is applied:

"Obesity is killing us"

Then comes the solution (s):

"new easy diet available--just buy the book or the tape or the supplements..."

Kids listless in school--must be a food allergy.

Kids too active in class--must be a "syndrome"

There's a book to explain it and solve it or a drug or a diet to fix it! How did our civilization survive in the days before Oprah and Dr Phil and Dr Atkins and...... !!?

Now there are elements of truth to all this--but these are amped up, hyped up wildly out of proportion and beyond reality.

So we now have an entire multibillion dollar industry around dieting.

Guess what--it doesn't work--it is self perpetuating.

The answer is basically very simple (and very inexpensive) one can avoid obesity (in most cases) by simply eating in moderation and getting some exercise.

So too we have the allergy industry. Works synergistically with the healthfood industry and the diet industry. After all why should anyone have to sneeze occasionally or not feel perfect every day.

we have a cadre of experts to provide the answers and an equal number of experts with solutions.

So a basic real problem --allergies are real problems--is blown up out of proportion--and a lot of people are making a lot of money.

[turckie]

Some very interesting points made here. I am very aware of food allergies and sensivity issues. I personally have sensivity issues with a several vegetables. I love them, but my tummy responds within an hour with terrible cramps and bloating. Several of my relatives have various allergy/sensivity conditions. I cook accordingly when any one of them is in my company.

To reiterate, I just have no patience for the individual who refuses to try something because they insist they won't like it or it's 'weird' and there are no known allergies or problems associated with such item. I never force a certain food on anyone because they're picky or finicky. They are now told beforehand what is being served and I leave it up to them if they want to attend. Just leaves more for the rest of us!

As a side note, I do have a few food items that I have tried many times, and I just do not like them. But, at least I tried.

[nocturnalsunshine]

Wow, this has sparked some serious discussion,

I'm glad.

So what I have learned from all of this is that its seems more socially acceptable these days to have a food allergy. Saying you dont like it may get weird stares or questions so to avoid it some, not all, but some people create an allergy.

Actual allergies are like people and vary in ways we cant imagine.

Attitude is a factor, if someone is truly allergic to something they will go to great lengths to make sure that item isnt present, checking lables asking questions, and with good freaking reason.

Those who simply dont like a food may go through greater lenghts to avoid that food and this may be the key to determining who really just wants the attention. Throwing a big scene isnt the best way to get your point across. If you are allergic in a life threatening way then you do your research on food and thats the smartest thing. After all you may not be eating pine nuts directly but that salmon was cooked on a cedar plank, research and questions are your friend.

Some people assume they dont like it after one or two tries but it seems to take several tries of an unfamiliar food to determine like or dislike. Tastes change, I've known this because i hated coconut as a child and love it now, so trying food you didnt like before every so often can be a good thing.

Ive read the Jeffrey Steingarten book too and was amazed at how many people i knew that werent truly allergic to anything. I am still wary when people say they dont like it. And will still make sure if you say youre allergic im going to make sure I dont kill you in my kitchen. But if youre chowing down on pesto and telling me youre allergic to pine nuts and basil then something aint right.

Heck I even got a lesson in human nature from this post.

[JohnL]

Very sensible turkie!

I have never been to a dinner party where the host berated anyone because they didn't eat all their.....

One needn't make any excuses for not eating anything.

also-nothing wrong with just saying I don't really care for.... but I will have more of....."

My wife doesn't eat red meat--if that is the main course she eats the veggies and the salad etc.

She also shouldn't have to declare--I don't like meat or I don't eat meat or I am allergic to meat.

and Hosts should never question a guest as to why they didn't eat something.

Hosts also should not have to issue a questionnaire the week before a dinner party--or have to prepare a wide ranging menu or foods.

basically, between appetizers, main course and sides and desert there should be enough to eat for any and everyone.

[tejon]

I've seen the theory that the US has more chemicals and irritants present in daily life - environmental as well as present in foods. With enough of an overload of mild alergens, the kind that no one would really notice, the body gets overwhelmed and reacts much more intensely than normal. This would be much less common in other areas where there is less of a daily challenge to the immune system than here in the US. I do know for me that I have a harder time with all of my allergies (that I found through allergy testing and an anaphylactic reaction to dairy when I was very small) when pollen counts are high in the Spring - anecdotal evidence. It's an interesting theory, if nothing else.

[annecros]

I think the aging issue needs to be taken into account as well.

After all, those kids in the Woodstock video cavorting in the mud and dropping acid are now retired with grandchildren, and things change my friends. Things change. The boomers are a significant proportion of the US population.

You adjust and move on, but your body changes as it ages, and you have to change your habits in order to cope.

Maybe we are living longer than we were designed for? I heard the other day that the 100th birthday may very well become closer to the norm than exceptional.

Don't know, but I want to eat what I like when I want to eat it. I just can't pull the all night, drunken, bar hopping binge any more without paying for a couple of days. Turns out, I no longer have a desire to do so.

Learned the hard way! If I knew I was going to live to be this old, I would have taken better care of myself.

[amylou]

Hosts should never question a guest as to why they didn't eat something.

←

Amen to that!!

I have Crohn's disease, an inflammatory digestive disorder with occasionally unfortunate consequences. There is no "set list" of what I can and cannot eat (except broccoli and other Brassica veggies, I can't eat many of them in one dat.... too bad.... ).

Sometimes, there are certain normal foods that I know will make me sick. If I pick at a item that a host serves, sometimes a barrage of questions ensues: "did you not like it?" "was it too salty?" ... "can I make you something else?".....etc.

My extended family is particularly guilty of this. Sometimes I want to scream at them "If I eat this, I'll be in the little girl's room for the next 8 hours!!" Maybe next time I will

[annecros]

Hosts should never question a guest as to why they didn't eat something.

←

Amen to that!!

I have Crohn's disease, an inflammatory digestive disorder with occasionally unfortunate consequences. There is no "set list" of what I can and cannot eat (except broccoli and other Brassica veggies, I can't eat many of them in one dat.... too bad.... ).

Sometimes, there are certain normal foods that I know will make me sick. If I pick at a item that a host serves, sometimes a barrage of questions ensues: "did you not like it?" "was it too salty?" ... "can I make you something else?".....etc.

My extended family is particularly guilty of this. Sometimes I want to scream at them "If I eat this, I'll be in the little girl's room for the next 8 hours!!" Maybe next time I will

←

So sorry about the Crohn's. I know it is miserable.

Don't bother demonstrating for your family. After all, they won't be in the little girls room holding your hand. Trust me. Hubby is the only one in the family that truly appreciates the extent of my much less serious bowel disorder, and only because we share the master bedroom.

Not pretty.

Funny how you can tell what is going to make you sick as soon as you smell it, isn't it? I have had the same experience. Listening to your body is the important thing.

[Chris Amirault]

Hi Folks! We've decided that the thread hasn't really focused on cooking, so we've moved it here to General Food Topics. Let's continue to stay right on the topic of food allergies and dislikes. Thanks much.

[Athena1963]

I am sensitive to dairy. Not gastric distress, not anaphylatic shock but if I have dairy, I get a stuffed up nose and I wheeze. For hours. I keep the decongestant and nose spray industry in business. I LOVE dairy! Milk, cheese, butter, etc. I drank gallons of milk as a child. This hit when I was a teen. But I pick and choose what I am willing to not be able to breathe for. It's not worth wheezing and coughing for a cracker or Cool Whip. I don't eat ice cream much anymore. And plenty of other things. Not to mention the eczema I get when I overindulge in dairy.

I found out about MSG and my migraines the hard way. When I first began eating Asian food thre years ago, I didn't think about it. I didn't normally eat things that had a lot of MSG. If it is way down on the list of ingredients I am OK. Well apparently Noodles and Co uses a lot of MSG. I got a migraine like I have never had before. And I have been getting them for 26 years. I know from headaches. For three days I was nauseated and felt like someone was drilling an ice pick repeatedly deep into the center of my brain. Prescription drugs couldn't even touch the pain! This has happened two other times. Needless to say, I look out for MSG.

There are also some foods I just cannot eat. Raw onion-I can eat it cooked into something else when it is cut up really small. But to just eat a piece of raw or a big piece of cooked onion-I will gag. even if I don't see it. Same thing happens with blue cheese. I had salad dressing that was blue cheese. I didn't know it. I took a bite of salad and started gagging. Green peppers give me heartburn for several days.

I have tried shrimp, scallops, scrod, lobster, crab, oyster stew. I just do not like seafood. Period. I periodically try it again and still don't like it. So I don't eat it. I don't claim an allergy to it.

Special K cereal. When I was 12 or so, I had really long hair. I was eating a bowl of Special K and one of my hairs had gotten in it and down my throat. I was gagging. 30 years later I still cannot eat it. My sister had the same thing happen with a green bean string. She still can't eat them.

My dad cannot eat cheese or drink milk. He can tolerate small quantities if it is a minor ingredient, but large quantities make him ill. For over 50 years my mother has tried to trick him into eating it. She doesn't get it. I always gaurantee to him that I haven't used any dairy or cheese in anything I make for him and warn him if anything else has it in it.

My friend has eaten nuts for years but about 2 years ago she had some walnuts and her lips started to swell and tingle. She avoids walnuts.

Two siblings have Crohn's disease. Needless to say, we are sensitive to food issues because we have witnessed the effects.

Now as to my Mother in law, who claims to be allergic to dirt and will not garden, that is another story.

[Sugarella]

A lot of the allergies being listed by everyone aren't even allergies. Crohn's disease or colities are bowel diseases, not allergies. Lactose intolerance is not an allergy; neither is an upset tummy when you eat something that occasionally disagrees with you or causes gas or diarrhea, no matter how uncomfortable it may be.

I think John L hit the nail on the head. Not to belittle those with actual allergies, because I do know they are very real for some people, but I agree this is just another way for media and culture to perpetuate another level of the "fear of food/food is bad for you" syndrome that's been festering for decades.

[jgm]

When my friends tell me they have allergies, I make sure to respect them, even if I believe they're lying --or maybe just out to lunch. One guy, a few years ago, told me he was allergic to tomatoes; however, he could put half a pizza away with no problem. Let him get a slice of tomato on a sandwich, it had to come off! Neither would he eat spaghetti or other Italian dishes. When I pointed out the tomato sauce on pizza, he countered with an excuse that it doesn't amount to that much. I didn't bother pointing out that tomato sauce is fairly concentrated, and he was getting far more of it than he believed.

Oh well.

One disturbing thing that I've seen over the last 15 years or so, is a particular doctor in town makes a living from diagnosing allergies in people. He apparently does a blood test of some sort, and then at the next appointment hands them a long list of things they must not eat. Everyone I've known who has gone to his clinic has followed his instructions to the letter for awhile... but begin backsliding, and later admit they didn't notice any difference in the way they felt. In this instance, I think it's fairly clear that the man is making a living diagnosing "allergies" in food. He doesn't deal with allergies to cats, dogs, etc.

[Tess]

A lot of the allergies being listed by everyone aren't even allergies. Crohn's disease or colities are bowel diseases, not allergies. Lactose intolerance is not an allergy; neither is an upset tummy when you eat something that occasionally disagrees with you or causes gas or diarrhea, no matter how uncomfortable it may be.

I think John L hit the nail on the head. Not to belittle those with actual allergies, because I do know they are very real for some people, but I agree this is just another way for media and culture to perpetuate another level of the "fear of food/food is bad for you" syndrome that's been festering for decades.

←

A common theory (the most common, I believe) is that Crohn's is a problem with the immune system. To call what many people get with Crohn's an "upset tummy" is, shall we say, somewhat of an understatement.

I have three family members who have, not Crohn's but various other combinations of autoimmune disorders such as scleroderma, Sjogren's syndrome and Hashimoto's, not to mention rheumatoid arthritis. (For some reason, everyone i know seems to get these in threes.) I have seen two of these people drastically improve their health with regimes that include modification of their diets and, yes, avoiding certain foods. I don't care if (as some scoffing older relatives claim) the effect of these regimes is all in their minds; this is what works for them.

Sure, some people have irrational fears of certain categories of food but others are just taking care of themselves in the best way that they can. Overall, I think the idea of trying to talk or trick others out of their eating habits-- be those rational or irrational-- is unrealistic and I agree with whoever said just serve enough of a variety so most people will have something to eat.

[annecros]

A lot of the allergies being listed by everyone aren't even allergies. Crohn's disease or colities are bowel diseases, not allergies. Lactose intolerance is not an allergy; neither is an upset tummy when you eat something that occasionally disagrees with you or causes gas or diarrhea, no matter how uncomfortable it may be.

I think John L hit the nail on the head. Not to belittle those with actual allergies, because I do know they are very real for some people, but I agree this is just another way for media and culture to perpetuate another level of the "fear of food/food is bad for you" syndrome that's been festering for decades.

←

Well, to be fair, it is a lot easier to say you have an "allergy" than to explain the mechanics of an inflammatory bowel disorder. And sometimes, people take the phrase "I can't have..." to imply that there is an allergy, and it is easier just to let that sleeping dog lie. Quite often I am forced to leave food on the plate, because my GI cannot handle the portion. I always apologize and smile sweetly, and I know that I have brusied some egos from time to time, but I HAVE to stop at a certain point.

The less said, the better. Especially at a dinner party. People really do not want to know, and those that are stricken with it are not inclined discuss. Makes it that much easier to enjoy what you can, relax, and have a good time. Besides, why should a guest have to produce medical records in order to pass on a particular dish? It really isn't anyone else's business. I don't want to share, and you don't want to know.

Which is on topic in this particular thread, concerning those that "say" they are allergic to this or that.

We are not talking just some discomfort here, either. Many people with inflammatory bowel diseases also have malabsorption issues and can eat all day and still starve to death, and diarrhea can put you in the ER pretty quick with dehydration.

Been there, done that. Had a tube in my arm and two full bags of saline in order to stave off the admission.

It is hard for anyone who has never lived with someone with this sort of disorder to understand. The typical person has an upset tummy for a day or two, then they are back to work. There is no predetermined "sick" time with these illnesses, and there is really nothing to do for them except treat the symptoms as they arise. A social situation will not clue you in to the realities of what some people are living with. Most are very adept at keeping it together for a few hours.

Edited March 8, 2006 by annecros (log)

[amylou]

Hubby is the only one in the family that truly appreciates the extent of my much less serious bowel disorder, and only because we share the master bedroom.

←

Hubbys are the best

I never say I have allergies, just am sensitive to certain foods!

Back on the subject of allergies, my roommate in college was allergic to corn. I never realized how many things corn was in until I met her, even baking soda and baking powder can have corn starch!

[nocturnalsunshine]

Does it belittle an actual food allergy when someone says they have an allergy but are really just sensetive to a food?

Edited March 8, 2006 by nocturnalsunshine (log)

[nocturnalsunshine]

Back on the subject of allergies, my roommate in college was allergic to corn.  I never realized how many things corn was in until I met her, even baking soda and baking powder can have corn starch!

←

Woudl that include high fructose corn syrup as well? I mean that stuff is in everything, I think theres some in my keyboard right now.

[amylou]

Woudl that include high fructose corn syrup as well? I mean that stuff is in everything, I think theres some in my keyboard right now.

←

Yes, corn syrup is a major no-no. I never realized what all it was in until I met her. Some food which is kosher for Passover does not contain corn, so she would stock up on a lot of non-perishables around Passover.

She had to be careful when eating out, as most people with allergies have stressed here.

[JohnL]

Does it belittle an actual food allergy when someone says they have an allergy but are really just sensetive to a food?

←

Yes.

I believe it does.

Allergy and "sensitivity" very different things. If a person becomes physically ill exhibiting symptoms it is one thing. If a particular food item or ingredient doesn't "agree" with someone that's quite different.

(I'm sure someone really qualified here-maybe DocSconz could step in and help sort this out)

As a host or cook --I really do not care--for the most part--If you are bothered by something to any degree then don't eat it.

However--someone who has a serious food allergy--shell fish, peanuts etc wherein they can become dangerously ill--they should ask about ingredients. As a host/cook I would do whatever I reasonably could to accommodate them.

What is annoying are people who believe that they should be accommodated in all circumstances.

This I believe is a malady of the baby boom generation (I am a card carrying member of this generation) who are IMOP a bit too self indulgent and self centered.

These traits are what allow the charlatans to prosper!

Why it is enough to give me the vapors!!!!

Edited March 8, 2006 by JohnL (log)