Because that seems to sway people a lot easier than saying: “I don’t like green peas”.
All too often people will respond: “Oh you don’t like green peas? Well, you haven’t tried MY green peas. You simply must try them!”
Uh, no. I simply must not. Not unless you want me to hurl on the dinning room table.
So do you think saying “I’m allergic” is a bit of a stretch? 
Well, it would be a lie.
I have this problem with some foods. I have generally found that saying that I do not like it or cannot eat it, with sufficient firmness, to be an adequate solution. If it is not, just leave the stuff on your plate.
No, my brother had a taste aversion (?) to peanut butter. 'twas my fault. One day he ate about 10 pieces of peanut butter toast and proclaimed ‘if I even smell any more peanut butter I’m going to throw up’. I put the jar of peanut butter right in his face…he promptly puked. That was when he was 8 or 9 years old. He’s 30 now only only just now able to even be at the same table as someone eating something with peanut butter without gagging a little. His wife was thrilled when she could even have it in the same house.
He’s not allergic to it, he just really doesn’t like it (anymore).
Anyways, as a picky eater (who actually is allergic to peas, with the test results to prove it), I’ll never understand why “No thanks” isn’t enough. Even “No thanks, I really don’t like green beans” must be followed up by “but you haven’t had my green bean casserole”.
C’mon, if I don’t like green beans, do you really think an entire casserole made up of them is the thing that’s going to make me change my mind.
If you don’t have an actual physiological reaction to the food, then it’s a lie. Just saying “I very strongly dislike this food” should be enough. Even if you do have an actual physiological reaction to the food, it’s not necessarily correct to say that it’s an allergic reaction. For instance, a person with lactose intolerance is not allergic to milk, though it’s understandable that people not up on the details of such thing would get them mixed up.
I’ll end up doing that, but I feel bad, I mean, I’m trying not to insult you but at some point it’s going to come down to that. That is, “No thanks” becomes “No thanks, I don’t like green beans” which turns into “It really doesn’t matter how you make them, I’m not going to eat them” and then “No, really, I don’t want any” etc etc etc until they’re just sitting there on the plate uneaten and you ask me why I didn’t like them.
We’ve had countless threads on this, but in the end I remember that I was the polite one, picky or not when it comes to ‘normal’ foods, I do know what I like and what I don’t like. I hate green beans and I’m not even going to attempt to choke them down (also I’m allergic to them).
Sometimes a better phrasing is “I’m sorry, I don’t eat green beans.” It’s a little firmer and leaves your reasons more ambiguous, and also doesn’t imply that you would eat them if they tasted better. Of course, you’re always going to get someone asking you WHY you don’t eat green beans, but I find that just sort of shaking your head and saying, “it’s really not a good idea” will work.
Claiming allergies is a problem because it leads to people not understanding the seriousness of true allergies, or assuming that anyone who says they have allergies just doesn’t like a particular food.
This.
I like George Bush’s statement: “I’m the President of the United States, and I don’t have to eat broccoli if I don’t want to.”
I’m not President, but I remember with joy being able to say, “I’m an adult now, and I don’t have to eat green beans anymore.” Or wax beans, brussel sprouts, etc.
When I was a kid there were certain foods (green beans and peas being two of them) that gave me, what I called, a ‘weird sore throat’. My mom just told me I was being picky. To make a long story short, even as an adult she had me convinced that I was just being picky and from time to time I would still try to eat them and they still made my throat tingle. About a year ago I had prick testing done…all those things that made my 8 year old self say “this gives me a weird sore throat” I was allergic to.
A few months or years earlier someone here made me aware of Oral Allergy Syndrome and my symptoms lined up with that so I sort of expected it, but it was still nice to see it on paper.
I had this exact experience: when I was growing up, I never liked to eat carrots, canteloupe, or skin-on apples because I got an “itchy mouth”. Being a kid, I always thought that that feeling was something that everyone got when eating those foods, and that my weirdness was in finding it uncomfortable*. Sure enough, I got tested a few years ago, and - Oral Allergy Syndrome.
Fortunately, none of the foods have been served to me in a situation where I’ve had to refuse…but if it did come up, I guess I could legitimately claim an allergy, even if it’s technically not a food allergy.
*My mom recently confessed that she thought I never liked to eat whole or skin-on apples because I was "lazy"and wanted someone else to cut/peel them for me. :rolleyes: Gee, thanks, Mom. She’s now very apologetic for the misunderstanding!
I’d say it’s a bit of a stretch. I gag sometimes on hard-boiled eggs, but I can eat them no problem. (Aside from that.) I know this because of my personal crusade against picky eating. I’ll eat a hardboiled egg a few times per year just to spite my gag reflex. It’s not the boss of me!
I also get a gag reflex when I have to hold non-food objects in my mouth, especially metal. I can only hold my keys in my mouth for a few seconds. I’m certainly not allergic to these things.
Stating you’re allergic to peas will probably get you out of eating them though! Which seems to be the goal. Clued-in people are likely to see through your ruse, however. 
What’s wrong with ‘I’m sorry, I can’t eat peas’? That makes it clear that this is more than a mild dislike, so it should avoid the whole ‘But you’ll like mine!’ thing. It’s nobody’s business if you can’t eat them because you’re allergic, because they make you gag, because they blow up your digestive system, because it would mean breaking your solemn vow that when you grew up you would never eat peas again, or what.
And the answer to ‘Why not?’ is ‘Oh, let’s not get into that.’
I can’t guess why dislike is not given the same respect as allergic. The ultimate effect is identical.
I throw up at the taste of marzipan, aniseed, fennel and asafoetida. I have no interest in finding out if I am allergic; I just avoid them. If anyone tried to insist I should try something I dislike, I would refuse since I also gave no interest in throwing up repeatedly. If they continued to insist, which hasn’t happened since I was a small child, although mild-mannered I would really make it clear they should shut it.
Saying you’re allergic seems fine.
No, it’s not fair to say you’re allergic. There’s a big difference between feeling nauseous and dying of anaphylactic shock.
I used to claim that walnuts made my face break out – into an expression of disgust.
How about “Peas just don’t agree with me.” It’s true (I would certainly call causing gagging is “not agreeing with”) and it circumvents the whole “But you must try my peas!” discussion. Few people are going to try to force you to eat something that makes you sick.
This is how I feel too. I used to eat peanut butter with a spoon straight out of the jar, then one day & took a spoonful & the smell made me gag. It just happened out of the blue. I never overdosed on it previously or anything.
From then on I can’t stand to be in the same room as peanut butter.
However, food that has peanut butter cooked into it doesn’t bother me. I still LOVE peanut butter cookies, but something changes when it’s cooked.
Not fair to whom ?
I thought I was allergic to onions. I described my symptoms (repeated explosive diarrhea) after eating them to my Dr once. He said I wasn’t allergic to them, I just had a “sensitivity”. So now, if I’m suspicious, I just ask if there are onions in it. And if someone asks if I don’t like them, I say “It’s not that I don’t like them, they really dislike me.”
But I think it’s nicer to say “I can’t eat onions, I’m allergic to them.” at the dinner table than to describe what happens to me if I do eat some.
All the people that, for example, have Celiac disease. What is it, something like a half percent of the population, truly can’t handle gluten without becoming seriously ill but most people roll their eyes when someone says “Umm, do you have anything that doesn’t have wheat in it, I’m allergic to gluten”. No you’re not. If you were allergic to gluten you wouldn’t be at an Italian restaurant. Just say “I’m on a gluten free diet” if that’s what you’re on and so the people whose intestines will turn inside out don’t sound like they’re on a fad diet.