75% of people who say they have food allergies are neurotics

BREAKING NEWS: SOME PEOPLE DON'T LIKE CERTAIN FOODS
Erroneous references to dislikes as "allergies" risks levee collapse

There are a couple of Jeffrey Steingarten essays about this.

Or maybe a few.

It's controversial.

My friend, who was (and maybe she still is?) anorexic blamed much of her eating "style"' on milk/butter/cream allergy.

Nabisco: then why not just say they don't like the food rather than cop a plea?

Stevinixed: otm

UPDATE: Bear shits in wood

My aunt claims she is allergic to coconut "because it makes her gag." Which is fine, if a little silly. The downside was that she made her daughter completely paranoid about even TRYING coconut because, of course, her daughter would be "allergic," too. Daughter finally tried coconut in college and LOVED IT.

Nabisco: then why not just say they don't like the food rather than cop a plea?

People who say they don't like foods are seen as childish.
Saying you are allergic sounds more important.

my friend has coeliac disease, and she bears the brunt of this kind of behavior. it's a serious condition for her, but she's often taken less seriously because of people who go around whining that they can't have bread.

xpost - Nick got this already

Reasons people might call dislikes allergies:

1. everyday mild exaggeration
2a. to convey that it's not just a taste issue, and that the thing just physically doesn't sit well
2b. to convey 2a specifically to forestall people telling them it's an acquired taste or saying maybe they should try just a little or generally trying to talk them out of it
3. because they imagine the strong negative reaction they have to something must be what "allergies" are like (but of course there's no reason to see a doctor about it, because they can just not eat the thing, which is simpler)

To be fair about 2a, there are foods that create reactions in people that aren't just about tasting bad -- say, something that makes your throat go all phlegmmy, or always gives you bad indigestion, or whatever. These may not properly be "allergies," but saying "allergies" at least communicates that it creates some kind of negative physical reaction.

Real food allergies can be deadly serious, of course. But, like being a vegan, they usually used as a vehicle for eating disorders/food neurosis. I've long suspected this and it's interesting to see some data that backs that up.

xpost to Nick That's the most hilarious thing I have ever heard. You don't like it, you don't like it. Like I would consider you a child if you disliked something? I would consider you silly if you hadn't tried it, but if you have, then why would people think you're a child?

I can sort of understand (seeing how people reacted to my friend claiming she had a milk/butter allergy): people immediately shut up.

lactose intolerance is very very real

^^^true

That's the most hilarious thing I have ever heard. You don't like it, you don't like it. Like I would consider you a child if you disliked something? I would consider you silly if you hadn't tried it, but if you have, then why would people think you're a child?

I agree it's silly, but it's happened to me plenty of times. I don't say I'm allergic to things, but I've had people tease me (albeit usually good-naturedly) because there are lots of "normal" foods that I don't like (tomatoes, cucumbers, yogurt, milk, etc.)

I have stupid food allergies - to lettuce and kiwi fruit, primarily, both of which make my mouth itch and give me abdominal pain for several hours afterwards. It does mean, though, that I don't have to ever eat salad.

Stevie I don't think Nick was trying to put any value on the assertion that you are seen as childish for not liking certain things, just that it's true. I also imagine there are levels of that, like

you don't like desserts in Indian restaurants = yeah, understandable

you don't like green beans = grow th' fuk up

xpost to nick exactly

also haha you don't like tomatoes nyah nyah

at this point, i don't think i know anyone who doesn't claim to be lactose intolerant. there's a big difference between intolerance and something being hard to digest, though.

(that's not directed at bell, btw. just a general observation.)

i'm sort of lactose intolerant? i don't know what that really means. it means i can eat a bowl of ice cream and usually be okay. cheese is okay, too. but a glass of milk is fucking disgusting, hard to digest, etc.

> tomatoes, cucumbers

You are living 1/4 of a life, at best. OTOH, I'm sure many would say the same about my aversion to mushrooms and olives.

xpost like crazy

He's too young to remember it consciously, but Nick was scarred deeply by this movie

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/MG/142722~Attack-of-the-Killer-Tomatoes-Posters.jpg

(my wife laughs at me when i claim lactose intolerance, but i don't mind.)

being able to eat ice cream and cheese without a problem undermines your case a bit.

HEY GUYS WAY TO PROVE MY POINT ABOUT PEOPLE MAKING UP SHIT ABOUT ALLERGIES BECAUSE PEOPLE MAKE FUN OF THEM FOR NOT LIKING CERTAIN FOODS

GOOD JOB

Sometimes I wonder if I am "lactose intolerant" because I have never liked milk, even as a baby, but then I remember that I eat like 4 lbs of cheese every day.

Instead of claiming allergies to food they don't like, people should burst into tears and claim sexual abuse.

xpost Cheese doesn't have very much lactose, unless it's like cottage cheese or something.

seriously, if i drink a glass of milk, i will die.

i also heard ice cream doesn't have much lactose?

Most older children and adults do not have to avoid lactose completely, but people differ in the amounts and types of foods they can handle. For example, one person may have symptoms after drinking a small glass of milk, while another can drink one glass but not two. Others may be able to manage ice cream and aged cheeses, such as cheddar and Swiss, but not other dairy products. People can also tolerate more lactose by having smaller amounts of it at one time. The level of dietary control needed with lactose intolerance depends on how much lactose a person’s body can handle.

Ha! From this website:

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/lactoseintolerance/

lactose intolerance is very very real

So is anorexia. Refering to my friend here. I do hope she managed to battle it, but I doubt it as both she and her parents were in complete denial of her condition.

The ability to digest milk into adulthood is basically a freakish mutation of European genetic stock, isn't it? We're not supposed to be able to do this. (Most other people around the world who drink milk would seem to be either cooking or cheesing with it, or else doing things like drinking camel milk because there's not much else around.)

i also heard ice cream doesn't have much lactose?

less per unit than milk, but I imagine only because there's other stuff mixed in it other than milk

If my wife drinks milk or eats certain cheeses, cream, or ice cream, she gets pretty sick. Like rolling on the couch, painful cramps, groaning, cold sweats sick. This is often followed up by violent burping. So she usually skips out on the diary products, or takes a pill before eating ice cream. Her mother and brother are the same.

I don't know if it's allergies, but eating green chilies usually does the same thing me a couple hours later. Red ones to a lesser degree, and the hotter they are the less problems - probably because I eat less in terms of volume.

if i eat ice cream i throw up.

You need a hug.

i don't say "allergic" though, i say "intolerant"
the food aversion thing doesnt apply cos i fucking love ice cream/cheese etc

"I'd never join a religion that restricts my diet. I don't want to get to Heaven that way." - Guillaume Fontaine Delatour Dauterive (aka, Fat Bill the pitiable divorcee)

there was one tribe (iirc) in africa that evolved to be able to digest cow's milk, but otherwise my impression is that it's pretty much only caucasians that can handle it well.

quick search found this bit:
<i>Lactase persistence, i.e. the ability to digest milk and milk-products as a grown up as effectively as children do, has evolved several times independently in human populations such as many African peoples, in central and northern Europe and in central Asia. The corresponding mutations, found by genetic and computational analysis, are also evidence that humans are still evolving and even more so, they do so at a surprising pace.</i>

I don't like cucumbers either, but I'd never claim to be allergic to them.

I am however intolerant to onions, which fucking sucks because I love onions and practically all my favourite food has onions in it. Anyone who thinks I'm making it up is welcome to eat my shit.

One thing that's clear from this thread is that nabisco lies about having allergies.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/LacIntol-World2.png

I don't think I've ever claimed to have an allergy! For a while when I was maybe 10, any colored soda got me all choked up with phlegm, but that's the only thing that's ever given me specific physical troubles.

I know a Puerto Rican who drinks a ton of milk.

sorry, nabisco, just funnin' ya.

Seems to be a trend for people wondering whether they have food allergies/intolerances (I blame shitty magazines) and complaining of "feeling tired all the time" (normal ime?) then going to some quack who confirms it. This definitely happened to a friend of mine, he went to a chinese medicine specialist who tested a strand of his hair and came up with a loooong list of foods he should cut down on/avoid and see if he felt better - he was veggie and it restricted foods like tomatoes. He went on a strict diet for about a year and afaik it didn't do anything other than the obvious benefits of being strict about what you eat. Meanwhile I tried to keep my objections re this sort of test (p sure it doesn't work) to myself.

yeah i'm allergic to cats too (MUCH more so than to dust mites) and was reading up - it's sort of alarming how little anyone actually knows about allergies. it could be the saliva, their hair, some people are allergic to some breeds but not others - personally there are some cats who give me mild asthma, streaming eyes and uncontrollable sneezing, all of which can last for 24 hours afterwards, if i'm even in the same room as them. and there are other cats i can play with for hours and not suffer a bit.

― لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Thursday, May 13, 2010 2:31 PM (12 minutes ago) Bookmark

iirc the new theory is that cats generate little tiny cats ("kittens") that get into your nose and lungs and tickle them with their whiskers

i've never read anything on it, but i always wonder if more people today are allergic to stuff cuzza the pesticides involved. they spray the crap out of most produce with some serious deadly stuff. would almost make more sense that small children were allergic to the crap coating a strawberry than the strawberry itself.

i get the spring allergy thing. started in my early 30's. mostly itchy eyes and sniffles. but sometimes it can give me flu-like symptoms for a day or two. it can get bad after a heavy rain in the spring. living on martha's vineyard i always felt like i was getting stuff from nature. so many weird mold strains there and crazy pollen and stuff. i got a christmas tree rash on the island! a rash on your chest that resembles a christmas tree. had it for six months. and it was just from inhaling weird old dust or mold or something. doctor didn't know where the hell it came from.

i used to be lactose intolerant. it went away when i stopped drinking two six-packs of beer every night.

he went to a chinese medicine specialist who tested a strand of his hair and came up with a loooong list of foods he should cut down on/avoid and see if he felt better - he was veggie and it restricted foods like tomatoes.

Well you can tinker with your diet infinitely, to an incredibly restrictive degree if that makes you think you feel better. Pretty much none of us eat at anywhere near our optimum level for physical health and future well-being. (See certain posts & links on the Nutrition Nazi thread for proof of greater and greater levels of obsession.)

Protein is the building material of cancerous cell growths, so if you only eat BARELY enough to supply your body's baseline needs, you'll be helping starve cancer cells. Tomatoes are a nightshade, can cause inflammation responses in certain people, and are prohibited in a macrobiotic diet along with pretty much everything else that doesn't taste like shit. Dairy products will surely kill you, and sugar becomes a deadly toxin once ingested.

So there's really no end to the perfectionism of the self through diet, but it's not the same as whatever specific reaction indicates "allergies".

unless your head blows up like a balloon when you eat something then what you have is, you know, not bad. maria sneezes a lot when she drinks certain beers. do you think that's gonna stop her? hell, no, she's a trooper!

xp Sure, I mean he had specific complaints like itchy flakey skin that he was trying to clear up. I'm all for being a nutrition nazi but due to the rise of "food doctors" on TV there's this attitude that whatever's wrong with you is caused by you not eating organic nuts or something. /bengoldacre

best to eat nothing but kale and air

Laurel, seriously you are full of so much shit.

uh...

I...am?

I'll go ahead and SB myself.

Well, not just here, to be fair. But generally.

iirc, due to the length of the small intestine all of us are full of shit

Except for the breathatarians.

They are full of hot air! *rim shot*

I totally get the assist on that.

I think we can all agree that that is fucking crazy

― Have a slice of wine! (HI DERE), Thursday, May 13, 2010 1:23 PM (51 minutes ago) Bookmark

no it isn't. while it's by no means totally mainstream, the idea that worms distract what would be an otherwise hyperactive immune system is pretty common---we talked about it in my immuno class and it was floated as a v legit hypothesis iirc.

anecdotal evidence: friend of mine in med school had a bout of scleroderma, which is an autoimmune disorder. however, since a trip to ecuador a few years ago, he hasn't had any recurrence and has seen an almost complete reduction in seasonal allergies.

moreover, he eats like a football player and is rail thin.

is he magic?

I think what people consider crazy is that hookworm is considered a better alternative to having allergies?

worms are people too

tspeworm?

x-post

people used to swallow tapeworms on purpose, right? to lose weight.

they still do!

I mean you can distract yourself from a headache by constantly punching yourself in the balls but it's not considered a viable medical treatment

I think what people consider crazy is that hookworm is considered a better alternative to having allergies?

― congratulations (n/a), Thursday, May 13, 2010 2:24 PM (38 seconds ago) Bookmark

well it would be for some ppl. but i think hookworm would def be better than, oh, i don't know, diabetes. or lupus, or w/e other autoimmune syndrome you have that ~might~ be treatable with helminth therapy

What is crazy is just willy-nilly giving yourself and other people hookworm.

iirc the biggest problem with hookworm is the possibility of anemia

xp - dude was desperate (reallllll desperate) and gave it a shot. here is the thing you guys: hookworm is like 100% treatable/eradicable, iirc. if someone wants to inoculate themselves with worms from another man's butt to see if it'll fix their incapacitating AI disorder, then fine! it's not like giving yourself cancer or punching yourself in the balls, even!

Can you "manage" the hookworm population inside you somehow? I'm not sure I'd ever STOP being freaked out by finding the dead worms/segments in my uh waste, but I guess it beats going blind and having your feet chopped off, for instance.

well, guessing management would be -azole tx that kept juuuuuuust enough worms around to keep IgE/mast cells busy and not fighting self, but not so many that you'd go anemic

See, and this ^^^ is the difference between an unorthodox clinical treatment and some dude selling people hookworms over the Internet.

yeah, did a bit more reading on hookworm---while not seriously dangerous in most cases, there seem to be enough caveats that just buyin em off the internet and self dosing is probably foolish for all but the most dedicated/informed.

or punching yourself in the balls, even!

we had a thread on this, even

not its health benefits per se

bit of research revealing that this is indeed an actual legit thing! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helminthic_therapy

the dude harvesting hookworms from himself is still o_0 in the extreme though

he should get together with frozen peas girl and they can live on pantry food and worms

"fattening up our tapeworms.."

http://img.youtube.com/vi/_W2fDGM1IRU/0.jpg

stumbled upon this when searching for that one food allergy thing that generally well-to-do people are all about, that one where they have to have a special kind of bread/flour/beer etc, and found this

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-some-food-can-make-us-sick.html

Scott I had christmas tree rash once too! Mine was mostly on my back. Until I found out what it was, I was convinced it was flesh eating virus.

Seriously, though, are any of you parents? The peanut allergy thing is relatively new but totally out of control and everywhere. It's a real issue. My kids' preschool has or had kids allergic to peanuts, eggs, dairy, wheat, even mango. Mango!?

Christmas tree rash is pityriasis rosea, right?

100% of people have Morgellons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtAxrL7NgCI

Yep, pityriasis rosea. Pityriasis Scaretheshitouttaya more like.

My wife is slowly, over the course of weeks, getting over pityriasis rose, but no Christmas tree for her. She got an itchy chicken pox-like rash over her entire body save (to her relief) her face. No one knows how you get it, but at least you can't give it to anyone else!

Sometimes my allergies make me so miserable I consider the hookworm thing, especially the year before last that was horrific.

gonna mention the hookworm thing to my allergy-besieged wife and see how many punches I can dodge

you should just surprise her with a gift box full of them

I'll combine this with the chocolate vs cheese thread and just get her a hunk of that maggot cheese

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/a-cure-for-the-allergy-epidemic.html?hp&rref=opinion

cure: chill w/ cows, or amish

i think i saw a disney movie abt. this research once