Is it "wrong" to say you alergic to food that you hate?

If you hate something, then it is safe to say that your TASTE BUDS have an “allergy” to it.

September 3, 2008, 5:53 PM EDT

Listen, the reason you hate it MIGHT JUST BE because you have an allergy to it, so you might not be lying. So long as no one there knows if you’re telling the truth, I’d say go for it.

Just be honest and say you don’t really care for _______. Seems odd to lie about something like that, but if you feel more comfortable doing that then go for it.

It is what is known as a “white lie.” That is, a falsehood told to help someone feel better about a situation and that does no harm to anyone. As long as the “truth” will never come out in a hurtful way, there should be no problem with saying that you are “allergic” to it.

However, if someone tells ME they don’t like some particular food, I certainly don’t fuss at them, nor do I serve it to them again.

And as Mr M says, it could be that the reason why you don’t like a food may mean that you are indeed allergic to it.

Um, it’s misleading. Is that wrong? That’s up to you.

I say I am allergic to egg whites. It’s never been proven as an allergy. I just get extremely ill if I eat them. If you are worried about it and want to be completely honest, just say you have an intolerance to the foods you hate.

I think it really depends on the situation. My friends and I are at the age now where we start to experiment with alcohol and parties and the like, and some of them are a bit further along in these developments than others, but there are some who aren’t ready to go and get shit faced quite yet. One friend in particular already has many allergies; citrus, wheat, dairy, gluten. She really doesn’t want to start drinking yet. She finds it easier to say she’s allergic to alcohol (which she probably is to half of it anyway, wheat and stuff!) than to say she doesn’t want to drink, so she doesn’t have to put up with the peer pressure and the “ohhh come on just one sip, just try it, you know you want to” because she really doesn’t want to.

I think in a situation like that, it’s ok. But I mean if it’s not going to cause you grief to tell the other person/people that you just really don’t like whatever is then sure, just tell them. Everyone has their dislikes.

I guess it depends on how you define “wrong”.

Why not simply say that it is a food you don’t like? That seems harmless enough. What will lying gain you? Resisting peer pressure will make you stronger and happier in the long run. If someone were at your table and said, “Lovely and delicious meal, but I don’t like lima beans. Could I have some more potatoes, please?”

Listen to Shrubbery:

“But I mean if it’s not going to cause you grief to tell the other person/people that you just really don’t like whatever is then sure, just tell them. Everyone has their dislikes.”

If it was only one or a few foods on only rare occasions, you might be able to get away with this, but if you don’t like a lot of stuff and you resort to this routinely, it probably won’t work.

You don’t say what the situation is. If you are a guest at someone’s home, simply avoid taking that item if it is served. Should someone be rude enough to ask about it, simply smile and say,. “No, thanks, I have plenty of food here.”

If it is a food your friends or family serve regularly, why not bring of dish of something you like to share? If asked about why you never eat the specific thing, I would go with something like, “I’m afraid brussels sprouts (substitute food) just don’t agree with me.” That way you have not fibbed by saying that you are allergic.

Better to tell the truth. Just say that it isn’t one of your favorite foods as opposed to saying you have an allergy. You will have to remember the lie down the road. Not worth the hassle.

Yes, it’s wrong. Just tell them you don’t like what ever the food is. That way you don’t have to keep up your story. For example, I hate green beans but I love green bean caserole. So if I was to tell someone that I’m alergic to green beans but then eat some caserole on my next vist, then they might get their feelings hurt because of a big fat lie. =)

When i used to cook i hated it when people would give the bs excuse they were allergic. Its one thing if you are, i understand because i have food allergies. But dont lie about shit like that, just say you dont like it and call it a day.

I say “I can’t eat that, sorry.” If they ask me why I can’t eat it, I say whatever I want. Here are some examples:

“I can’t eat it because it makes me kinda sick in a way that the doctors haven’t really figured out.” (They haven’t figured it out because I haven’t really asked them and never will.)

“I can’t eat it because it’s unholy to people of my faith.” Most people will not want to get into this. If they do, identify your faith in an aggressive way and dare them to challenge you: “I am an orthodox Anglican! We don’t eat that! You can go to hell for eating that!
Don’t get me started on this! Enough of this persecution! Am I never to have a meal in peace????”

“I can’t eat it because I have compassion for animals/vegetables/table salt.” This will start a pompous discussion among all the people who think they understand Buddhism, and you can soon bow out of it because everyone else will get all full of themselves and forget where it started.

“I can’t eat it because I forgot I was coming over here and ate a huge meal forty minutes ago. But I would enjoy some more of those nice fried potatoes.”

“I can’t eat it because its texture
is the same as the (name bodily fluid) my
(name older relative) used to put into my (name body cavity) when I was (name
an age younger than you).” While saying this in a calm voice, continue to eat one of
the things you want to be eating. Don’t look up.

“I can’t eat that because I’m flying to Tucumcari later tonight and this stuff always
gives me the runs. Darn. ‘Cause I love it.”

By no means tell the truth. It would be wrong to do that. It’s more meritorious to
try to be funny, like me.

@susanc “I can’t eat it because its texture
is the same as the (name bodily fluid) my
(name older relative) used to put into my (name body cavity) when I was (name
an age younger than you).” While saying this in a calm voice, continue to eat one of
the things you want to be eating. Don’t look up.

You crack me up. Thanks!

Depends on who is cooking. If it’s someone I’m close with, like a best friend or something and I’m comfortable around them I’ll just tell them. It’s not that big of a deal. Sometimes I joke around and say shit like “Damn, that was the shittiest thing I’ve ever tasted. Mean, but they’ve done it too and we’re still friends.
If you want to be polite just say that you’re not really a fan of ______. (For me it’s onions and mushrooms.)

Umm is it wrong to say that you like food that you’re allergic to? LOL

I just go with “no, thanks”. Life is simpler if you don’t start in with the lying when it really doesn’t help anything.

Lying is sometimes very acceptable.

I mean, do you REALLY want to tell your Aunt Martha what you think of her hat with the feather in it, that she wears to church every Sunday, along with that dead squirrel around her neck, that is biting its own tail?

I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer to say, “Sorry Aunt Martha, but I just threw up on the carpet, because I have stomach cancer.”

September 3, 2008, 8:50 PM EDT

@Jack. I don’t agree w/ you that lying is acceptable. Sorry!

The hat? If asked, I would say “well it really isn’t my style…..” or whatever. You can tell the truth w/out being rude, blunt or obnoxious if you don’t want to…..sometimes it just takes a bit of finesse.

Absolutely! Unless you’re a child at my house who is being unreasonably picky and we both know that you are lying. In that case, don’t even think about it!

I actually made it through most of my childhood claiming that I was allergic to bamboo shoots. It made life so much nicer (being raised in a Chinese/Mexican/Dutch household, as I was).

I still maintain, regardless what others may think/say, that if you are attempting to spare the feelings of another person, that a lie is sometimes better than the truth.

The late educator, humorist and author Sam Levenson once observed, “When your child of three presents you with a drawing of nothing but scribbles, you tell him that it is ‘good,’ because you don’t want him still sucking his thumb, at age 37.”

September 3, 2008, 9:06 PM EDT

@Jack. I understand what you are saying…..it will have to be agree to disagree about the lying…..

But the child of 3 isn’t a good example. As a mother of toddlers…..it is an accomplishment when they hold the crayon properly and create something. It is “good”. But I get your point, anyway.

Jack, I understand you might not get this because you don’t have kids, but you tell the kid the drawing is good because you think it is when you’re their parent. :^>

Oops, sorry snoopy.

I was taught that you should take a small bite of something even if you don’t like it, then “pick around the rest of it on your plate.” I’ve tried to pass this on to my children as well. But, I do know adults that ask that certain foods not be served at family meals because one person doesn’t like them. In those cases I make a point of making that particular food.

I find that there are people that would rather be lied to than nicely told, “No, thanks” or “That’s just not for me”. They may be of a different generation, when if you weren’t “with ‘em”, you were “ag’in ‘em”. Different cultures extend different courtesies. It will all depend on who the bigger person is, as to who’s culture is honored. If you are among like minds and know it, then by all means, be up front (tactfully).

I have a friend who is Jewish, and when he is served pork products, he finds that it is so much easier (and causes less of a hassle) to claim that, “I am allergic to pork products,” rather than saying, “You have offended me and insulted my religion, before my God! How DARE you!”

September 3, 2008, 9:26 PM EDT

@Jack. I think that there is middle ground between lying and being obnoxious. Why can’t he just say: “I don’t eat pork”? And if someone is brazen enough to ask why respond w/ “It is against my religion”.

I have been out at professional meetings where people make inquiries about the content of the food…..specifically, asking about pork. I presume that it is for religious reasons and I don’t think people are offended by that…..
:)
—I have also seen the same inquiries made by vegans and vegetarians. A simple, I don’t like (blank), I don’t eat (blank), etc. is fine.

Who the hell would get their feelings hurt by hearing that you don’t like a particular food? I don’t know a single human being that doesn’t have some sort of food preference or another. It’s a pretty normal thing, and no one should take it personally.

I am Jewish and I know that there is a middle ground. There is also the issue of allergies; many people want to know the contents of courses or meals because of severe reactions to peanuts, berries, yeast, glutein; and choices (animal protein, etc). Today people (or at least the ones that I know) accommodate each other at table.

Now if I were on a camel safari with the nomads in saharan Mali, I would probably try to be a good guest.

Some people DO “take it personally,” if they have gone to a lot of trouble to prepare something for their guests, only to have one person (or more) “reject” it, for some reason.

There was a story published in an Ann Landers column several years ago, as a kind of warning to others. It mentioned this little girl, who was reared to be polite and to obey adults, no matter what.

She attended a birthday party where peanuts were being served, and she politely noted to the hostess that she was allergic to peanuts. The hostess (a moron-in-the-making) told her, “It’s impolite not to at least sample something, when it is presented to you.”

The kid ate ONE PEANUT to be polite, and died before the EMS folks could arrive. True story.

A similar story, which I could find, if pressed, concerns a girl whose boyfriend had peanut butter RESIDUE on his lips, when she kissed him.

She’s dead now, also.

September 3, 2008, 9:44 PM EDT

Heres that story, now updated, about the Canadian girl who kissed her boyfriend and died:

Teen didn’t die from peanut-butter kiss (Posted 3/6/2006 3:46 PM)

By Phil Couvrette, Associated Press Writer

MONTREAL — A teenager with a peanut allergy did not die from kissing her boyfriend following his peanut-butter snack. Rather, lack of oxygen to her brain likely played a role in her death, a Quebec coroner said Monday.

Coroner Michel Miron would not disclose the cause of death because he has yet to submit his final report to the provincial coroner’s office. But he told The Associated Press he hoped to end the “phobia” provoked by the case, which drew global media coverage.

Christina Desforges, 15, died in a Quebec hospital in November. Officials at the time had said that doctors were unable to treat her allergic reaction to a peanut-laced kiss from her boyfriend the previous weekend.

Allergists at the time had described the case as being rare and worrisome.

“Elements of the investigation tell us peanut butter was not responsible,” Miron told the AP. Miron said clinical indicators have eliminated peanut as the cause for her death and said it appeared the girl suffered from “cerebral anoxia,” or lack of oxygen to the brain, which caused serious damage.

When asked to comment on reports that the girl also suffered from asthma and believed she was suffering from an asthma attack before she collapsed, Miron said this was part of the investigation that he could not discuss.

Symptoms of peanut allergies can include hives, plunging blood pressure and swelling of the face and throat, which can block breathing.

Miron said he felt compelled to speak out to counter incorrect claims that peanut butter was responsible for Christina’s death, or that injections used to treat allergic reactions were ineffective.

“People thought the girl had not used her Epi-pen (Adrenalin shot) properly and families were panicking because they thought it wouldn’t always work,” he said, insisting that the drug’s effectiveness was never in doubt.

Scientific journals also had contacted him, questioning the use of the Adrenalin shot and how it is injected.

“It was necessary to set things straight,” Miron said. “The drug wasn’t used at all because nobody knew she was allergic,” he said, noting the first hospital she was sent to did not have her records.

Miron said the girl and her boyfriend kissed, but many hours after he ate the peanut-butter snack. By then he had ingested other foods such as popcorn and beer. The saliva generated in the process would also have cleansed his mouth before the kiss, Miron said.
————————————————————————————————————————
©2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

September 3, 2008, 9:49 PM EDT

I agree with Uber just say you don’t like it rather then lying about it.

I take to go orders at a restaurant and am SO sick of hearing about people’s allergies. I know some of them, like peanuts and seafood, are real and very scary. But some others are just ridiculous and likely based on preference. If you’re that picky, make your own food. End rant.

@ljs: I know how annoying picky customers can be. I call the restaurant beforehand and ask about my preferences (fresh, organic, veggie.) Then I don’t have to badger the waitperson. One solution for me has been to order several different kinds of salad and unbuttered veggies as side dishes.

My boss doesn’t like certain foods. He feels ill if he smells them and gets sick if he eats them. He’s not allergic, he’s been tested. I have no idea what’s up with those issues but I gleefully and guilt free tell people he’s allergic because they will remember it better and it sounds less picky than “he doesn’t like that” when the food issue is actually kind of important. It’s a white lie, but an acceptable one I think.

If your boss feels ill or actually gets sick from eating certain things, then he probably has a strong psychological aversion to certain foods, possibily based on memories associated with them, that he has long since suppressed into his subconscious.

I’m not a professional psychologist (although I have a degree in it), but it still seems like good explanation, regarding his food preferences.

Jack, makes sense to me but saying he has food aversion doesn’t give the same punch. I’m sure it’s a food aversion but those are notoriously difficult to battle psychologically.

Agreed, but favorable results have been achieved, with intense therapy. It is up the afflicted, to request that.