# Why does a Snickers bar make me cough? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 24, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924 "2010-09-24T19:55:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/1 "2010-09-24T19:55:28Z")
At least, I think it does. It definitely produces a tickle in the back of my throat. Is it the peanuts, the nougat or something else. I don’t think I notice this effect when I eat just a plain chocolate bar. I may notice this with other bars, but this one was fresh in my mind today. ---
**Author:** ![Westrogothia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@Westrogothia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Westrogothia)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/2 "2010-09-24T19:59:41Z")
Might be allergic to peanuts or almonds. You allergic to grass or birch? > **[Oral allergy syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_allergy_syndrome)** > > Oral allergy syndrome (OAS) or pollen-food allergy is a type of food allergy classified by a cluster of allergic reactions in the mouth and throat in response to eating certain (usually fresh) fruits, nuts, and vegetables. It typically develops in adults with hay fever. > OAS is not a separate food allergy, but rather represents cross-reactivity between distant remnants of tree or weed pollen\[clarification needed\] still found in certain fruits and vegetables. Therefore, OAS is only seen in people... ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/3 "2010-09-24T20:03:30Z")
> [@Westrogothia](#): > > Might be allergic to peanuts or almonds. You allergic to grass or birch? > > [Oral allergy syndrome - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_allergy_syndrome) NOne of the above. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/4 "2010-09-24T20:49:05Z")
I dunno, but chocolate also often does this to me. It’s fast, faster than any allergies I’ve experienced, and doesn’t feel allergic. I think it is something chemical. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/5 "2010-09-24T20:50:43Z")
I know it’s delicious but you have to chew, bro. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/6 "2010-09-24T21:04:41Z")
I have no known allergies to any of the ingredients, but both Snickers and Milky Ways do this to me, too. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/7 "2010-09-24T21:42:48Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I know it’s delicious but you have to chew, bro. Win. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/8 "2010-09-24T22:29:28Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I have no known allergies to any of the ingredients, but both Snickers and Milky Ways do this to me, too. Weird. Thx for that. Milky Way does it also. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/9 "2010-09-24T23:07:44Z")
You’re not preparing them correctly. They have be frozen, then battered, and deep fried. ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/10 "2010-09-24T23:37:43Z")
Sugar filled nougat dehydrates your throat tissues. Drink some water, fool. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/11 "2010-09-25T00:00:29Z")
When I was young, I had an asthmatic response to all chocolate. There was no other allergic symptom, but chocolate could make breathing very difficult, potentially hospitalizingly difficult. I was not allergic to peanuts almonds or nuts in any way. I’m told that actual chocolate allergies are unusual. I have no idea. One of the medicines used to treat asthma at the time was Theophylin (spelling?). I think that the molecular structures similarity to Theobromine is very curious, particularly given my complete lack of any other obvious allergic response. ---
**Author:** ![Aestivalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Aestivalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aestivalis)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/12 "2010-09-25T03:00:30Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > Sugar filled nougat > dehydrates your throat tissues. > Drink some water, fool. Agreed, and I like the haiku! ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/13 "2010-09-25T03:45:53Z")
Both Milky Way and Snickers do the same thing to my daughter. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/14 "2010-09-25T07:38:42Z")
Years ago, I started a thread about my coughing when eating certain hyper-sweet things, even things containing sugar substitute. I don’t think I got a definitive answer. ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/15 "2010-09-25T08:06:21Z")
I would have thought the peanuts would be the cause, little hard chunks of them going down your throat could trigger a coughing reflex. No idea about Milky Way though. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/16 "2010-09-25T08:16:06Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > At least, I think it does. It definitely produces a tickle in the back of my throat. > > Is it the peanuts, the nougat or something else. I don’t think I notice this effect when I eat just a plain chocolate bar. I may notice this with other bars, but this one was fresh in my mind today. Wow. I’ve thought about starting this thread for _years_, but I thought I was the only one. For me it seems like one bite invariably starts to go down the wrong pipe, and a coughing fit ensues. Snickers is the _only_ food that consistently does this to me. It’s also the only candy bar I like. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/17 "2010-09-25T17:25:55Z")
Has any of the afflicted Dopers ever tried an experiment - looking carefully at the labels to make sure of all ingredients, take a bite from a plain full milk chocolate, bitter chocolate, nougat, haselnut bar, (cleaning the mouth with water in between, of course), writing down the observed effects? (For further credits, repeat blindfolded the next day to rule out nocebo reactions). For those who like Whynot react to chocolate: there are some very pure chocolates available in organic/ 3rd world stores, like 70% cocoa from Ecuador, 70% cocoa from Venezuela, etc. Have you tried tasting those? Because if it’s all chocolates, it might be theobromaine or similar, but if it’s only some chocolates, it’s another ingredient. Anybody know a Doctor (Doper) or nutrionalist or Biochem Doper with lab access? Any grad student looking for a topic for their dissertation thesis? It reminds me of a study done recently that confirmed that about one third of the population doesn’t like cauliflower and related family- vegetables, because of a (sulfur?) compound there which creates that bitter taste for people with this biochemical/ genetic disposition. So it’s not only pickiness, there is a biochemical reason. Maybe something similar can be found for chocolate? Swelling of throat tissue or drying does sound like a definite reaction to me. ---
**Author:** ![berff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@berff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/berff)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/18 "2010-09-25T18:39:30Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever noticed this with chocolate, but really sugary candy such as candy corn almost always makes me cough. So I assume it’s the sugar? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/19 "2010-09-25T19:50:11Z")
Maybe it wants to examine your balls? ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924/20 "2010-09-26T03:51:59Z")
> [@evilbeth](#): > > Both Milky Way and Snickers do the same thing to my daughter. Me, too. I know exactly what the OP is talking about. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-a-snickers-bar-make-me-cough/554924.md?page=2)