3 ms·

> I don't understand how allergy hazards are being created for you My guess: cry wolf syndrome. Waiters, chefs, etc. only have so much energy and attention th

by wyager 9y ago

> I don't understand how allergy hazards are being created for you My guess: cry wolf syndrome. Waiters, chefs, etc. only have so much energy and attention they can dedicate to minding food allergies. If people with fake gluten intolerance constantly barrage food workers with (usually clearly nonsense) requests to modify food items or dumb questions that anyone with a real food allergy would already know the answer to, it’s going to sap the ability of food workers to help real allergy patients.

code_duck 9y ago
The gluten-free trend is helpful and non-helpful. Restaurants having vaguely or probably gluten-free items doesn't help me at all, because I can only eat strictly gluten free, as in certified gluten free by a lab, or whole foods such as raw chicken cooked in strictly untainted setting at home and handled at every step of the way using items that have never been used for gluten. Very few restaurants have that level of facilities or staff education. It's like having a peanut allergy where one speck will cause doom, but it's a delayed reaction that can build up over months, too. After I was diagnosed I tried eating at restaurants and believing they could be careful enough, and it did not work out. The problem is often contamination of their ingredients - even if something has no gluten ingredients on the label, and even claims to be gluten free, it doesn't mean it's safe for celiacs. Even dried herbs and spices are commonly tainted. So you'd have to find a restaurant that has certified gluten free whole food ingredients for everything, and a complete duplicate kitchen where nothing has ever touched gluten. You could take a gluten testing kit with you, but that's expensive, inconvenient, impractical, and you still might end up sitting at the table with nothing to eat.

3 ms·

> I don't understand how allergy hazards are being created for you My guess: cry wolf syndrome. Waiters, chefs, etc. only have so much energy and attention th

by wyager 9y ago

code_duck 9y ago
The gluten-free trend is helpful and non-helpful. Restaurants having vaguely or probably gluten-free items doesn't help me at all, because I can only eat strictly gluten free, as in certified gluten free by a lab, or whole foods such as raw chicken cooked in strictly untainted setting at home and handled at every step of the way using items that have never been used for gluten. Very few restaurants have that level of facilities or staff education. It's like having a peanut allergy where one speck will cause doom, but it's a delayed reaction that can build up over months, too. After I was diagnosed I tried eating at restaurants and believing they could be careful enough, and it did not work out. The problem is often contamination of their ingredients - even if something has no gluten ingredients on the label, and even claims to be gluten free, it doesn't mean it's safe for celiacs. Even dried herbs and spices are commonly tainted. So you'd have to find a restaurant that has certified gluten free whole food ingredients for everything, and a complete duplicate kitchen where nothing has ever touched gluten. You could take a gluten testing kit with you, but that's expensive, inconvenient, impractical, and you still might end up sitting at the table with nothing to eat.