Food Fadists - STFU

[ugly ripe tomato]

Originally Posted by Lasciel

Obviously you've never seen an elderly person in the South using a cellphone. Yelling is the only way you know you're getting through!


Sorry, the acid bit was a bit unclear. I think I accidentally deleted a section of what I was writing before I hit post. I really shouldn't do homework and post on the Dope at the same time. My posting suffers.

The radio segment was about various common substances that will combat stomach acidity, and the speaker was talking about how you needed to eat acidic foods like vinegar and lemon juice or whatnot to balance your stomach pH. Which makes it sound (to me at least) like they are thinking that your stomach is base. Cue my yelling.

From what I could tell, they were going off some weird naturopath stuff that those foods, despite being acidic, make your body more alkaline? Sounded like weird wooey shit to me. I was quite peeved.

I remember seeing an episode of the Food Network show "Food Detectives" where they were testing home remedies for heartburn, stuff like chewing gum, drinking milk, sucking on hard candy. One of them was to take a shot of cider vinegar, because allegedly introducing more acid to your stomach will make your stomach produce less acid in reaction.

I can't remember if the vinegar worked (I'm assuming it didn't) but that might have been the sort of thing they were talking about, rather than saying your stomach is alkaline.

[WhyNot]

Some people have heartburn because they have too much stomach acid, and those people find relief with Tums and baking soda and the like. Some people have heartburn because they have too little stomach acid, and those people find relief with vinegar or, my favorite, pickle juice. The test is to sniff a jar of pickles when your belly aches. If it smells good, take a swig of the juice. You'll know PDQ if you're hypo- or hyper-acid. (If it smells disgusting, put the jar away and go nibble on a basil leaf.)

[grude]

Originally Posted by Hbns

I am too, though I wouldn't describe any attack I have had as life threatening, scary as shit and really really uncomfortable, but that is just me. I almost always have my inhaler on my person. And in those rare instances where I find myself without it and confronted with circumstances that might provoke an attack, I avoid those circumstances. I don't complain that the rest of the world should change to accommodate my asthma.

I've collapsed and had to be revived in the ER with epinephrine shots and nebulizer etc. And while I don't complain or blame the rest of the world, I am tired of people who poo poo accidents and show their superiority because they have had their inhaler/glucose tablets/insulin and syringe surgically inplanted so they never have an accident etc. It is just nasty judging and solves nothing, akin to berating someone who got an STD for not using a condom and relating how they have never had unprotected sex in their life etc.

I'm an adult now and do always have a rescue inhaler available and on my person, but accidents happen and there is no point in feeling superior. When I was a teenager and already had a shitty social life and the choice was not going on a road trip to the beach because I forgot my inhaler I often made the stupid choice, and I knew it and someone tut tutin' me is a waste of time.

A locally famous fashion designer who was a type 1 diabetic forgot her insulin and decided to go on anyway because she had a big show, she collapsed and died.
Calling her stupid and irresponsible doesn't solve a thing, I'm sick of it.

[amanset]

Originally Posted by grude

I've collapsed and had to be revived in the ER with epinephrine shots and nebulizer etc. And while I don't complain or blame the rest of the world, I am tired of people who poo poo accidents and show their superiority because they have had their inhaler/glucose tablets/insulin and syringe surgically inplanted so they never have an accident etc. It is just nasty judging and solves nothing, akin to berating someone who got an STD for not using a condom and relating how they have never had unprotected sex in their life etc.

I'm an adult now and do always have a rescue inhaler available and on my person, but accidents happen and there is no point in feeling superior. When I was a teenager and already had a shitty social life and the choice was not going on a road trip to the beach because I forgot my inhaler I often made the stupid choice, and I knew it and someone tut tutin' me is a waste of time.

A locally famous fashion designer who was a type 1 diabetic forgot her insulin and decided to go on anyway because she had a big show, she collapsed and died.
Calling her stupid and irresponsible doesn't solve a thing, I'm sick of it.

May I remind you of this:

Originally Posted by Lynn Bodoni

However, the glucose tablets are a short term fix, meant to stop the episode in a few minutes, and I'm supposed to follow this up by eating some protein and fat. The glucose will hit my blood very quickly, but it will also be processed quickly and if I don't have a longer acting food in my system, then I'm going to have another damn episode. I'm amazed at all the people who claim to be diabetic who don't know this. It's one of the first things I was taught in diabetes education classes.

That's where the high and mighty started. And I reacted as someone that admits to not always carrying sugar and expects the world to bend over backwards to accommodate them, yet acts like that ... well, they just don't have a case.

And yes, (directing this now towards) Lynn. You expect the world to bend over backwards for you. And frankly, this talk of how no one will accommodate you is just bullshit. As a student I worked in McDonalds and many a time I prepared fries without salt (wipe down the fry station, add fries, put in bag, then salt for the others) or burger orders from the utterly basic (pattie, no salt and nothing else) to the weird (Mac no meat, throw in just about anything else to make it some kind of weird salad sandwich) without blinking. This idea that you can't find ANY food that satisfies your myriad of different ailments is absolute grade A codswallop. This claim you have that no restaurant will provide you with the food you need, when I know that I have done such things many, many times in a cheap fast food joint, leads me to just think you are making it all up. I'm sorry, but I think you are full of shit - and considering how often you post about you taking a shit on this forum that is a pretty fucking remarkable state of affairs.

[Hbns]

Originally Posted by grude

I've collapsed and had to be revived in the ER with epinephrine shots and nebulizer etc. And while I don't complain or blame the rest of the world, I am tired of people who poo poo accidents and show their superiority because they have had their inhaler/glucose tablets/insulin and syringe surgically inplanted so they never have an accident etc.

Sorry. I think you got the wrong idea from my post. It wasn't meant as a comment on the seriousness of your situation, only meant to point out that my much less serious situation still has me almost always packing my inhaler and actively avoiding situations that are triggers if I do not have it.

The comment about expecting the rest of the world to change to accommodate my asthma was aimed at Lynn and her expectations of restaurants regarding pepper. My apologies that I didn't make that clear.

[Myrnalene]

Originally Posted by grude

Yay for judgemental victim blaming!

This is completely tangential, but this isn't what victim blaming means. As much of a martyr as Lynn is acting in this thread, she is not actually a victim.

It's hard enough to have it taken seriously as a concept without people applying it incorrectly to random mean comments on the internet.

[curlcoat]

Originally Posted by Broomstick

If you live where I do during the long winter when there is essentially no pollen in the air many people find their OAS goes away, only to reappear in the spring (though some unfortunates suffer regardless). If you live in, say, Southern California there may be sufficient pollen always in circulation to make OAS a year round affliction.

I lived near the Canadian border for many years and it didn't make any difference - neither did washing fruit/veggies. Cooking seems to be the only thing that makes them safe.

[Broomstick]

Well, then, should you ever have a chance to dine in my household (unlikely, I know) I will make sure anything in the way of vegetables or fruit offered to you is sufficiently cooked for you to avoid problems.

You know your reactions best. I try as best I'm able to accommodate the needs of my guests.

[DSeid]

Now I don't give a rat's ass about most of this thread. But.

Originally Posted by A Monkey With a Gun

Heh. Lightning kills about 50-60 people in the US each year. In a population on 300 some odd million. It's rare as fuck, but it does kill more people than peanuts do. That's my take on the peanut threat in a, um, nutshell.

Do try to not make up shit. Stats.

food allergies cause approximately 150 to 200 fatalities per year, based on data from a five year study of anaphylaxis in Minnesota from the Mayo Clinic.33
Fatal food anaphylaxis is most often caused by peanuts (50-62%) and tree nuts (15-30%).34

In comparison lightning killed 26 people in 2011.

Meanwhile about 9500 annual hospital admissions due to food allergies, mostly peanuts and tree nuts. An order of magnitude larger than lightning strikes

Yes there are MANY who hop on-board food fads and self label or alternative provider label as having food allergies or sensitivities and other crap. They deserve at least to be mocked if not Pittted. And a hundred or so deaths and less than 10,000 hospitalizations is not exactly up there with AIDS (100X more deaths annually) or even the 600 to 800 annual deaths from bicycle accidents, but then again it is 10X as many deaths as Salmonella causes a year and even all foodborne infectious diseases cause 1/8th as many deaths and hospitalizations. It is not insignificant.

Bottom line: making up shit to preemptively dismiss those with real allergies and real risk of death is just bad form.

Carry on.

[mister nyx]

Originally Posted by DSeid

Meanwhile about 9500 annual hospital admissions due to food allergies, mostly peanuts and tree nuts. An order of magnitude larger than lightning strikes

Since you came up with this new figure to compare, how many hospitalizations are there annually for lightning strikes? You didn't cite that.

[Mighty_Girl]

Originally Posted by Broomstick

You know your reactions best. I try as best I'm able to accommodate the needs of my guests.

Well, one would have to be a gigantic ass not to.

Given sufficient information from the guest (see my post about my friend not telling me about her allergy and we having to abandon my nicely-prepared dinner and go eat out) any sane person should have to make sure that either the food is safe for the guest, or warn them if it is not. It's the decent thing to do.

[ralph124c]

My teeth itch when I eat white bread!

[Broomstick]

Originally Posted by Mighty_Girl

Well, one would have to be a gigantic ass not to.

You'd be surprised how many gigantic asses exist in this world.

[DSeid]

Originally Posted by mister nyx

Since you came up with this new figure to compare, how many hospitalizations are there annually for lightning strikes? You didn't cite that.

Closest I could find was in the same article:

Only about 10% of people struck by lightning are killed, according to weather service data, while the remaining 90% are left with varying levels of disability.

Based on that I'd deduce less than 300 in 2011. But it wasn't a hard number so I held off posting it.

[OtisCampbellWasRight]

Yeah, and what about those people who have a problem with eating someone else's face? Huh?

<Forgive me if someone else made this (lousy) joke upthread.>

[StarvingButStrong]

Just back from grocery shopping. The tub of sliced ham I picked up is labeled "Gluten free."




Yeah, and I bet their carrots are cholesterol free, too.

[WhyNot]

Originally Posted by StarvingButStrong

Just back from grocery shopping. The tub of sliced ham I picked up is labeled "Gluten free."

All meat is naturally gluten free, of course, but people put all kinds of things on and in it, so I appreciate the labels, and appreciated them even more when I was new at this.

Most lunch meat is gluten free, but there are exceptions. Fewer now, but Spartan brands contained gluten up until I stopped looking at their labels. Nathan's hot dogs used to contain wheat flour, don't know if they still do. I find gluten in deli chicken lunchmeat quite often, in the seasoning they pump into it or put on the outside. I can't recall having run into gluten containing ham, but I still read every damn label to be sure.

Gluten hides in a lot of places you wouldn't expect it. Here is KFC's entire gluten free menu: green beans, corn and three bean salad. That's it. Even the mashed potatoes and the grilled chicken without breading has gluten.

[ugly ripe tomato]

Originally Posted by OtisCampbellWasRight

Yeah, and what about those people who have a problem with eating someone else's face? Huh?

<Forgive me if someone else made this (lousy) joke upthread.>

SOME PEOPLE ARE ALLERGIC TO FACE YOU INSENSITIVE CLOD!!!!!

[A Monkey With a Gun]

Originally Posted by DSeid

Do try to not make up shit. Stats.

Please take this opportunity to bite me, I didn't make up jack shit. The New York Times says:

Originally Posted by The New York Times

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put the number of deaths linked to food allergies at 12 in 2004, the most recent year for which data are available.

Wikipedia was the source of the average lightning deaths. Average, not the lowest on record - which is what you used.

But all that's kind of irrelevant. I have no desire to trade cites and argue whether it's 10 or 150 peanut deaths in a population of 300,000,000. My point is that the reaction is not only out of proportion to the threat - it is also most likely counterproductive. On the first page, Alessan compared my argument to "the anti-vaccine clowns". That's straight up ridiculous and exactly backwards. Just like vaccines, exposure will keep the number of allergic reactions down. Evacuating a bunch of ten year olds just because there is goddamn peanut on the school bus (cite. Hey, that ones got some numbers for DSeid) is part of the reason we have so many kids allergic to 'em. When we panic about this shit and isolate kids from bacteria and allergens, we increase the number of kids with allergies. It's called the hygiene hypothesis.

I'm not saying we shouldn't take precautions. School officials should be trained to treat severe allergic reactions. Having epipens on hand would be a great idea. What I am saying is that peanuts are not the fucking boogieman, and maybe the efforts to keep kids away from peanuts at all costs are not very well thought out.

[Hbns]

Originally Posted by DSeid

Bottom line: making up shit to preemptively dismiss those with real allergies and real risk of death is just bad form.

Carry on.

You might want to dig a little deeper into the accuracy of those numbers you cite.

Food Allergy Deaths: Less Common Than You Think

One Is Too Many, They Are Always Tragic!

Just sayin.

[alice_in_wonderland]

Originally Posted by StarvingButStrong

Just back from grocery shopping. The tub of sliced ham I picked up is labeled "Gluten free."

You should probably tuck that into your pocket for use at a future time - many processed deli meats contain gluten. Most, even.

[DSeid]

Originally Posted by A Monkey With a Gun

Please take this opportunity to bite me, I didn't make up jack shit. The New York Times says:
Wikipedia was the source of the average lightning deaths. Average, not the lowest on record - which is what you used.

But all that's kind of irrelevant. I have no desire to trade cites and argue whether it's 10 or 150 peanut deaths in a population of 300,000,000. My point is that the reaction is not only out of proportion to the threat - it is also most likely counterproductive. On the first page, Alessan compared my argument to "the anti-vaccine clowns". That's straight up ridiculous and exactly backwards. Just like vaccines, exposure will keep the number of allergic reactions down. Evacuating a bunch of ten year olds just because there is goddamn peanut on the school bus (cite. Hey, that ones got some numbers for DSeid) is part of the reason we have so many kids allergic to 'em. When we panic about this shit and isolate kids from bacteria and allergens, we increase the number of kids with allergies. It's called the hygiene hypothesis.

I'm not saying we shouldn't take precautions. School officials should be trained to treat severe allergic reactions. Having epipens on hand would be a great idea. What I am saying is that peanuts are not the fucking boogieman, and maybe the efforts to keep kids away from peanuts at all costs are not very well thought out.

Okay, then let's move on and address what you are now stating are your points. I can agree with a bit actually.

1) You are correct that exposure might actually keep food allergy down BUT the exposure in question is early exposure, not exposing kids who are known to be at current risk other than as part of research protocols (more on that later). It is indeed true that the effort to prevent food allergies by trying to delay exposure might be a big backfire as complete avoidance is not possible and small exposures early prime strongly while large early exposures may induce a suppressor response. I'd be happy to discuss that research in depth but it has nothing to do with any effect on kids who are regularly exposed during childhood or with exposing kids who do have documented serious reactions. It does OTOH have everything to do with early feeding practices. I would not recommend avoiding particular foods preemptively and am waiting with bated breath for the results of a longer term prospective study in progress that will potentially prove that early exposure to peanut products early reduce longer term risks. There is zero reason to believe that greater exposure of school kids to peanuts will decrease peanut allergy or the converse. There is some work that very careful controlled exposure to increasingly larger tiny amounts of peanuts may induce a remission in some children, but that is research in a very controlled environment.

2) Accepting the hygeine hypothesis, or any of its more sophisticated variants, does not imply anything about exposing to peanuts. It does suggest that a consequence of having prevented many serious illnesses and chronic parasitic infections has been an increase in allergies and autoimmune diseases. And such may indeed be a factor albeit it is unclear how much of one.

3) Yes, school officials and some parents become needlessly hysterical. Is it not possible however to both recognize those responses as hysterical without being dismissive of those who have well founded and justified concerns? Yes, as you suggest, have the EpiPen at the ready, and allowing those who are at documented real risk of serious reactions (and 9,500 pediatric hospitalizations a year and something like 30,000 Emergency Department visits is enough to take seriously) to be able to attend school without undue fear by virtue of knowing that they are at low risk of being given something with peanut in it without their knowledge, seems like a reasonable response.

4) Thank you for the invitation to bite you but I think I am allergic to monkey.

[A Monkey With a Gun]

Originally Posted by DSeid

4) Thank you for the invitation to bite you but I think I am allergic to monkey.

Well, if your mama didn't douse you with hand sanitizer every five minutes, maybe you wouldn't be.

More to the point though, I am not saying that greater exposure to peanuts is going to help a kid who already has an allergy to peanuts. Obviously, that is a bad idea. What I am saying is that the mentality behind the peanut nazis (i.e. don't let a kid be exposed to anything) is the problem. You are correct in that the time of exposure is most important, but...

Would you have evacuated a school bus if you found a peanut?

The "peanuts are the boogieman" people and the super-hygiene people are the anti-vaccine brigade. They cause panic among well meaning mothers who then over-react and make sure that there young one's aren't exposed to anything. Which then makes the young one's immune system weak.

[Guinastasia]

Originally Posted by StarvingButStrong

Just back from grocery shopping. The tub of sliced ham I picked up is labeled "Gluten free."




Yeah, and I bet their carrots are cholesterol free, too.

Peter Pan says on their peanut butter jars, in bold lettering: Contains peanuts. Well, I bloody hope so! That's why I bought it!

[DSeid]

Monkey,

You obviously never met my mama! She was an odd bird to be sure but keeping me excessively clean was not her long list of quirks.

Again I think we agree on quite a bit. There is hysteria and fears get magnified as fears often do. No I would not evacuate a school bus. But a more measured response is desirable. The peanut free table, clear labeling, and opportunity to easily avoid contact should be done without any fuss. I just don't think that complete dismissal of realistic concerns is the best response to those whose fears go overboard.

[A Monkey With a Gun]

Originally Posted by DSeid

Monkey,

You obviously never met my mama! She was an odd bird to be sure but keeping me excessively clean was not her long list of quirks.

Again I think we agree on quite a bit. There is hysteria and fears get magnified as fears often do. No I would not evacuate a school bus. But a more measured response is desirable. The peanut free table, clear labeling, and opportunity to easily avoid contact should be done without any fuss. I just don't think that complete dismissal of realistic concerns is the best response to those whose fears go overboard.

The peanut free table is NOT desirable. It gives a false sense of security for the administrators. Train for response - don't set up a goddamn quarantine.

[Binarydrone]

Originally Posted by Broomstick

You'd be surprised how many gigantic asses exist in this world.

That's only because everyone on the planet is gluten\carb sensitive. It they would eliminate these things from their diets and perhaps schedule some acupuncture sessions they would find that their bodies would find a balance and their asses would not be so big.

Personally I am allergic to everything except quinoa that has been harvested during a full moon by vegan lesbian separatists.

[DSeid]

Monkey here we will just have to leave it that we disagree strongly. Preventing an emergent situation in an easy to implement manner is to me always preferable to handling an emergency well.

I like the fact that I have a smoke alarm and a fire extinguisher but I'm still not going to store oily rags near the furnace.

[grude]

Originally Posted by Hbns

I am too, though I wouldn't describe any attack I have had as life threatening, scary as shit and really really uncomfortable, but that is just me. I almost always have my inhaler on my person. And in those rare instances where I find myself without it and confronted with circumstances that might provoke an attack, I avoid those circumstances. I don't complain that the rest of the world should change to accommodate my asthma.

The point is even the most careful person will trip up eventually, and I don't think people looking down at them solves anything.

A casual friend came to your house after being at their other friend's place which is soaking in cat dandur and triggered an attack? Well clearly you are to blame, you shouldn't allow anyone over to your place!

You can see how this quickly just becomes pointless superiority high fiving?

[A Monkey With a Gun]

Originally Posted by DSeid

Monkey here we will just have to leave it that we disagree strongly. Preventing an emergent situation in an easy to implement manner is to me always preferable to handling an emergency well.

I suppose we will. But just know this, I believe that the idea that we can "prevent" allergies is the reason we have seen an increase in allergies.

I will not belabor the point, though. I am tired of this subject, myself.

[CanvasShoes]

I know a person who does the "trendy allergy of the month" thing. She's my daughter's former MIL. I wonder if a poster up thread is my daughter's former BIL, because his description of her sounds EXACTLY like ole' crazy pants.

As far as I know, I'm only allergic to two foods, pecans and walnuts. It's only a mild allergy, but I love pecans and so I'll still eat them, even if it does terrible things to my mouth (basically causes the skin to come off, as if my mouth had been exposed to some sort of acid..sorry! I know, gross). I don't like walnuts so I don't eat them, but I don't tell people I'm allergic to them in order to get special menu privileges or something, in fact it's just the opposite, I usually reassure people who do know, that it's only a mild allergy, and that the walnuts or pecans they have in their recipe aren't going to hurt me (much ).

[moejoe]

I confess that I lie and say I'm allergic to chocolate all the time. For some reason people just CAN NOT accept that I don't enjoy eating it, plus it can be a migraine trigger so it's better for me to just avoid it.

I don't get any kind of sick when I eat it, it's just not worth the calories or the small chance of migraine so I decline, and people get just crazy. But it's really good chocolate! You have to have some! Just a taste!

Since these people usually can't take -no thank you- for an answer I just lie and say oh gosh, that looks great but I'm allergic, have some for me!

[A Monkey With a Gun]

Originally Posted by moejoe

I confess that I lie and say I'm allergic to chocolate all the time. For some reason people just CAN NOT accept that I don't enjoy eating it, plus it can be a migraine trigger so it's better for me to just avoid it.

I don't get any kind of sick when I eat it, it's just not worth the calories or the small chance of migraine so I decline, and people get just crazy. But it's really good chocolate! You have to have some! Just a taste!

Since these people usually can't take -no thank you- for an answer I just lie and say oh gosh, that looks great but I'm allergic, have some for me!

moejoe, let me preface this by saying I have no doubt that chocolate gives you migraines, but you should not say you are "allergic" to it. An allergic reaction is a specific thing, and I may be wrong, but you don't sound like you are "allergic" to chocolate.

Again, I have no doubt that chocolate can trigger a migraine, it is a well known trigger for migraines, but don't describe it as an allergy. That's a specific thing, and what you have is not an allergy. So just tell the truth. Don't say "I can't eat chocolate because I'm allergic" People are going to rightly call bullshit on that. Say "I can't eat chocolate because it may trigger a migraine", because that's the truth.

[hajario]

Originally Posted by A Monkey With a Gun

moejoe, let me preface this by saying I have no doubt that chocolate gives you migraines, but you should not say you are "allergic" to it. An allergic reaction is a specific thing, and I may be wrong, but you don't sound like you are "allergic" to chocolate.

Again, I have no doubt that chocolate can trigger a migraine, it is a well known trigger for migraines, but don't describe it as an allergy. That's a specific thing, and what you have is not an allergy. So just tell the truth. Don't say "I can't eat chocolate because I'm allergic" People are going to rightly call bullshit on that. Say "I can't eat chocolate because it may trigger a migraine", because that's the truth.

I have never liked the taste of chocolate. That's what I tell people when I am offered some. When I was a kid I would tell people that I was allergic so that they would STFU and leave me alone when I told them that I didn't want any.

[Guinastasia]

Originally Posted by A Monkey With a Gun

I suppose we will. But just know this, I believe that the idea that we can "prevent" allergies is the reason we have seen an increase in allergies.

Oh yeah? Got a cite for that, oh wise one?

[A Monkey With a Gun]

What the fuck, Guin?

[DSeid]

Well I'll pony up with a cite that supports that belief. Delaying exposure to potential food allergens, trying to avoid them for the first year or so of life, has been the main means of trying to prevent food allergies. I referenced the studies that show that such might be counterproductive already.

Here's the best known:

Despite guidelines recommending avoidance of peanuts during infancy in the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, and, until recently, North America, peanut allergy (PA) continues to increase in these countries. ... Jewish children in the UK have a prevalence of PA that is 10-fold higher than that of Jewish children in Israel. This difference is not accounted for by differences in atopy, social class, genetic background, or peanut allergenicity. Israeli infants consume peanut in high quantities in the first year of life, whereas UK infants avoid peanuts. These findings raise the question of whether early introduction of peanut during infancy, rather than avoidance, will prevent the development of PA.

Again, the more definitive longer term prospective study is in progress.

Meanwhile an aside - I get migraines but the only times they have been the real killer ones have been after I ate mussels. It took me a few times to put it together. Since then when my wife and I are out and I've needed to ask if a dish contains mussels my wife has sometimes piped up that I am allergic to them. To which I've chimed in, "no not allergic, it triggers migraines" - Her response: "A normal person would say they were allergic."

No winning.

[A Monkey With a Gun]

I did think we mostly agreed, DSeid, and you also make me question myself regarding my advice to moejoe. Most people aren't going to care, or even know, the difference between a food allergy and a migraine trigger. After the initial question of "why don't you want to eat that?" it is probably easier to just say "I'm allergic" and be done with it rather than risk having to teach an impromptu Nursing class on migraine headaches.

[WhyNot]

Can we compromise with, "Oh, no thanks, I'm allergic. Well...it gives me migraines."?

That way I don't have to live in fear that the delicious scent of my chocolate bar wafting in your general direction is going to make you stop breathing, and the ignorant can stay ignorant.

I tell people, "She's not allergic to gluten, but I'd rather not be up at 1:30 with a sick kid. If she accidentally eats something with wheat, don't panic, just let me know so I can set my alarm."

[Broomstick]

I've stopped saying "I'm allergic" in most contexts because of how the word has been corrupted, misused, and hijacked by assholes and idiots. Now I say "It doesn't agree with me." If there is persistence I say "I don't want to break the mood/cause inconvenience/etc. by becoming ill during your event/in your restaurant/whatever)" I don't know why, but that seems to work better for some reason.

I expect I'll have to change strategies again in 5 years.

[moejoe]

Originally Posted by WhyNot

Can we compromise with, "Oh, no thanks, I'm allergic. Well...it gives me migraines."?

That way I don't have to live in fear that the delicious scent of my chocolate bar wafting in your general direction is going to make you stop breathing, and the ignorant can stay ignorant.

I tell people, "She's not allergic to gluten, but I'd rather not be up at 1:30 with a sick kid. If she accidentally eats something with wheat, don't panic, just let me know so I can set my alarm."

Talking about migraines is often even more annoying than getting pressured to try just a little bit because it's chocolate! How can you not like chocolate! I've had people actually argue with me that "pure" chocolate wont cause migraines or gosh wouldn't it be worth it to enjoy something this delicious? Not to mention the stories about oh gosh I had a migraine this morning too, it was so bad I had to take two aspirin instead of my usual one! I'm willing to chance the bad karma of telling a small lie to avoid all of that.

Lately it seems that "I'm allergic" has become the new "no means no".

[smiling bandit]

Are there honestly bundles of people out there who don't accept a kindly, "No, thank you, I don't want any." ?

[Guinastasia]

Originally Posted by A Monkey With a Gun

What the fuck, Guin?

I asked for a cite -- pretty standard around here when making a specific claim.

[moejoe]

Originally Posted by smiling bandit

Are there honestly bundles of people out there who don't accept a kindly, "No, thank you, I don't want any." ?

Female office workers mostly, but yeah, they're out there.

[A Monkey With a Gun]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

I asked for a cite -- pretty standard around here when making a specific claim.

Just fucking bite me. Guin. I used to like you, but you attacked me in two different threads simultaneously without adding to either discussion. If you have a problem with me personally, pit me personally.

[curlcoat]

Originally Posted by Guinastasia

I asked for a cite -- pretty standard around here when making a specific claim.

You asked him to cite something he believes. I guess that makes his post his cite...

[A Monkey With a Gun]

Originally Posted by curlcoat

You asked him to cite something he believes. I guess that makes his post his cite...

That's another thing. How the hell am I supposed to back up an opinion with a cite?

[Bosstone]

Originally Posted by smiling bandit

Are there honestly bundles of people out there who don't accept a kindly, "No, thank you, I don't want any." ?

Sure. They're well-intentioned most of the time; they just think you're turning it down to be polite and you really do in fact want some.

I hate that little bit of protocol for that exact reason. If someone says no, how do you decide whether they mean no or they're just being polite? It's easier just to take them at their word.

[A Monkey With a Gun]

Apropos of not much, I'm reminded of a time a was a bit of clueless asshole:

Friend: I can't eat that.
monkey: C'mon man, I smoked these things for six hours. Just look at those ribs, the meat is falling off the bone!
Friend: I just can't eat it, man.
monkey: You're not turning all vegetarian in me, are you? When did you lose your balls so much that you can't eat some pork ribs?
Friend: I'm Jewish.
monkey:

I knew he was Jewish beforehand, I just fucking forgot.

[Tully Mars]

This thread reminds me of the comment I made, rather indelicately, when my wife mentioned that someone we know is a picky eater. Before thinking, I said, "Judging from her size, she's not too damned picky."