# If a food item makes you gag when you try to eat it, is it fair to say you're allergic to it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 15, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624 "2014-08-15T18:14:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/21 "2014-08-15T23:39:05Z")
> [@FlyingRat](#): > > 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’m currently going through allergy shots, one of the things I’m being immunized (is that the right word?) for is birch pollen. I’m hoping some day I’ll be able to eat apples, I’ve never been able to. In fact, because of that, I’ve just really never eaten fruit at all. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/22 "2014-08-15T23:42:07Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > Not fair to whom ? I chose that wording because the title of the thread is, and I quote, “ **If a food item makes you gag when you try to eat it, is it fair to say you’re allergic to it?** ” ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/23 "2014-08-15T23:59:54Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > 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, very much. > [@freckafree](#): > > 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 what I would say. I have a few foods that I can’t choke down, and this is what I say. > [@Lydia\_Phalfav](#): > > 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. It’s possible this is something called “The Garcia Effect.” If you throw up after eating a food, you will develop an intense intolerance of it, and it doesn’t matter if the food itself made you sick or not-- you may have had a virus, and just happened to throw up. This happened to me with orange juice once, and I couldn’t drink it for about four years. It also happened with food from a restaurant that just happened to be called “Garcia’s,” which is why I remember the name. I couldn’t eat their food again, and I know I had a virus, because my cousins and I all had it after a family birthday party. Anyway, you may have been slightly sick, and even if you didn’t actually vomit, you may have felt “off” enough to associate it with the PB, so that you can’t eat it anymore. > [@Lowdown](#): > > 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. I have a really strong gag reflex too. I can’t hold any non-food thing in my mouth. I have thrown up at the dentist more than once. They give me the gas now, just for cleanings, because it suppresses my gag reflex. I also try to get the first appointment of the day, and I don’t eat after six pm the night before. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/24 "2014-08-16T02:34:19Z")
When I was a kid, I went through a phase where marshmallow and a few similar sweets made me gag. It started spontaneously one day for no apparent reason (I wasn’t sick), and maybe six or eight months later it ended nearly as quickly as it started. I like **freckafree** ’s suggestion of “\_\_\_\_ just doesn’t agree with me”. It has the desired effect of preventing people from serving you the food, while not suggesting anything more than is actually true, and is vague enough that it doesn’t raise further questions. Oh, and an oral allergy is certainly and unambiguously an allergic reaction. If you want to provide more detail, you can say “mild allergy”, so people won’t think you need an epi-pen, or that they need to panic about truly trace amounts. But there’s nothing inaccurate about it. ---
**Author:** ![jbarro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@jbarro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbarro)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/25 "2014-08-16T04:08:03Z")
I was about 10 years old when we had a phone call while we were eating supper, telling us that my grandmother had just passed away. I was eating spaghetti at the time and I had such an intense emotional reaction to the news that for many years afterwards I was unable to eat spaghetti - if I tried to put it in my mouth it would feel like my throat was closing up and I would gag. It felt like an allergy but it must have been some kind of psychosomatic issue. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/26 "2014-08-16T04:09:14Z")
As Miss Manners wrote of a slightly different situation, all one needs to say is “oh, I’m so sorry, but I just can’t.” I’ve explained to my college-age niece what a useful phrase this is for a respectable young woman. “I’m so sorry, but I just can’t eat them” is completely sufficient, even if it must be repeated several times verbatim. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/27 "2014-08-16T06:27:22Z")
Generally I don’t like food. I think I’m possibly a supertaster, because bitter and sweet things seem to be the things I avoid the most (vegetables, fruit, cake, etc), whereas I like savoury things okay (meats, pastries, eggs). And then there are some things I just don’t like, and which wouldn’t seem so weird if I didn’t have all these long lists of other things I don’t eat (nuts, alcohol). Most people, I find, love food, to the point where they can obsess over it, or do extreme things in order to experience foods of different kinds, like travel to other countries or spend lots of money just for single meals. It is very weird to me. Anyway, people who like things a lot generally want everyone elsoe to experience them too, and share their love of those things. They do it out of generosity, as in their minds they are expecting others to share the pleasure and be grateful, surely it can only be a good thing that they’re doing. Well, for me, after 45 years on this stupid planet, I know what I like and don’t like. And if I don’t want to eat a particular food (or drink), which is most of them, then don’t repeatedly insist. I’m not missing out, because I wouldn’t enjoy it. Trust me. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/28 "2014-08-16T07:16:16Z")
Just tell them that it makes you hurl up some really nasty vomit, that hardens like glue. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/29 "2014-08-16T10:11:51Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Generally I don’t like food. I think I’m possibly a supertaster, because bitter and sweet things seem to be the things I avoid the most (vegetables, fruit, cake, etc), whereas I like savoury things okay (meats, pastries, eggs). And then there are some things I just don’t like, and which wouldn’t seem so weird if I didn’t have all these long lists of other things I don’t eat (nuts, alcohol). If you’re a super taster, it’s probably best if you stick to superfoods.\* As for me, I would never claim to have an allergy to any substance that doesn’t kick my anaphylactic system into overdrive. I WILL, however, declare that a substance which I cannot consume without gagging is not really a food, and I have no problem with calling people liars when they tell me lies (f’rinstance, that oysters are made out of food). It doesn’t win me a lot of friends, but that’s balanced out by the fact that I don’t have to contend with people thrusting inedible stuff at me, and insisting that I “try” it. \*Seriously, though, “super tasting?” What the hell kind of a super power is that? I don’t LIKE to sound condescending, but I have to admit, I’m at a loss to think of any crime-fighting applications this one might have. For that matter, even supervillains might turn down a candidate who only brought THAT to the table… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/30 "2014-08-16T15:03:24Z")
> [@](#): > > For that matter, even supervillains might turn down a candidate who only brought THAT to the table… I don’t know, supertasters might make good poison taste-testers. Yeah, you’ll get a bunch of false positives, but that just means you have to publicly execute a few extra chefs-- Much preferable to the consequences of a false negative. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/31 "2014-08-16T15:05:49Z")
Huh. Way to think outside the (bento) box, **Chronos**! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PorchePine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@PorchePine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PorchePine)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/32 "2014-08-16T15:32:22Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > 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. My best friend has Celiac disease, and runs into the eye rolling all the time. Although he’s happy that this fad has provided easy access to pre-made snack treats, he often complains that the gluten-free fad should just go away. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/33 "2014-08-16T16:30:23Z")
It’s extremely rude to tell the cook that you are allergic to a food when you simply don’t like it. I have friends with kids who have ended up in the ER after eating nuts or eggs (once the nuts were in cookies that we had brought to their house - we felt terribly, although prior to that incident they thought she just didn’t like nuts and had no idea she was actually allergic). So if someone tells me they have a food allergy, I am going to assume they can’t eat anything that was prepared or served with shared utensils or on the same surface. This could totally throw a monkey wrench into my planned menu, which has already likely been planned around vegetarians, vegans, egg, dairy, nut, and gluten allergies, and now low-oxalate diet as well. Menu planning is kind of a PITA already with all these restrictions. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/34 "2014-08-16T16:38:32Z")
It’s even more rude to continue to suggest something already declined. _“Ahh willya go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on !”_ ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/35 "2014-08-16T16:54:41Z")
(1) If you have no medical/health issue regarding a particular food, such as intolerance, allergy, etc. (2) If you have no religious or ethical/moral prohibition regarding that food (such as being Jewish or vegetarian), (3) If you are in a social situation in which you are being fed by someone else, then (4) You should be able to politely accept and taste a little bit of it and subtly discard the rest (5) Without ever stating that you don’t like or don’t prefer that food (unless someone asks), and (6) Without lying. That is what is required of a mature, properly socialized adult. If the host obnoxiously presses you about why you didn’t finish it or why you _should_ like something, then that’s a fault on the part of the host. But up until such happens, a guest should be able to perform the above. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/36 "2014-08-16T17:07:30Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > (1) If you have no medical/health issue regarding a particular food, such as intolerance, allergy, etc. > > (2) If you have no religious or ethical/moral prohibition regarding that food (such as being Jewish or vegetarian), > > (3) If you are in a social situation in which you are being fed by someone else, > > then > > (4) You should be able to politely accept and taste a little bit of it and subtly discard the rest > > (5) Without ever stating that you don’t like or don’t prefer that food (unless someone asks), and > > (6) Without lying. > > That is what is required of a mature, properly socialized adult. > > If the host obnoxiously presses you about why you didn’t finish it or why you _should_ like something, then that’s a fault on the part of the host. But up until such happens, a guest should be able to perform the above. I disagree with you on 4. My most unliked food item is red onions. Unfortunately, it’s so bad, that if I even smell them, it’s enough to send my gag reflexes into overdrive. No way am I going to politely taste something like that. But good points on the others though. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/37 "2014-08-16T17:15:47Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > I disagree with you on 4. My most unliked food item is red onions. Unfortunately, it’s so bad, that if I even smell them, it’s enough to send my gag reflexes into overdrive. No way am I going to politely taste something like that. > > But good points on the others though. I don’t know how the other points are all that useful without No. 4. If you don’t have a true medical diagnosis, then being an adult member of human society requires that you find a way to get over your aversion enough to at least go through the motions. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/38 "2014-08-16T17:24:28Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I don’t know how the other points are all that useful without No. 4. If you don’t have a true medical diagnosis, then being an adult member of human society requires that you find a way to get over your aversion enough to at least go through the motions. The hell I do. If someone is serving (to go with the above example) green beans. I’m not eating them, period, full stop. I’ve tried them, I don’t like them, I’m not eating them. I’ll say “No thanks”. Anything that comes after me saying “no thank you” WRT you trying to get me to eat the green beans is YOU being childish not me. Some people just have to learn how to accept ‘no’ as an answer, I don’t have to learn how to eat a food I don’t like. #Sorryimnotsorry. ETA, to say (paraphrased) “you don’t have a medical reason why you can’t eat them, so you should just eat them” is absolutely condescending and horrifically rude. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/39 "2014-08-16T17:46:12Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I don’t know how the other points are all that useful without No. 4. If you don’t have a true medical diagnosis, then being an adult member of human society requires that you find a way to get over your aversion enough to at least go through the motions. You’re right, the other points (save lying) are nonsensical with out 4. So let me just say I disagree with you. Also, I find it rather odd, that you seem to think a gag reflex is something that can be controlled. Sure it can be on some level, but there are some things so repulsive, there is no “Overcoming the aversion” just for the sake of “Being an adult member of human society”. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624/40 "2014-08-16T18:41:04Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > \*Seriously, though, “super tasting?” What the hell kind of a super power is that? I don’t LIKE to sound condescending, but I have to admit, I’m at a loss to think of any crime-fighting applications this one might have. For that matter, even supervillains might turn down a candidate who only brought THAT to the table… [Let me introduce you to Tony Chu.](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chew_(comics)) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-food-item-makes-you-gag-when-you-try-to-eat-it-is-it-fair-to-say-youre-allergic-to-it/695624.md?page=3)