Allergy

i'm allergic to the tiny micro-trace of gluten in this soy sauce / but i can nibble this cookie because it's tasty / i'm allergic to bullshit

Since half my friends are allergic* to wheat gluten, I hope they’ll still speak to me after this comic.

*It’s not an allergy, it’s a sensitivity. If it’s an allergy, I’d better see you go into  anaphylactic shock the next time you dig your chopsticks into the Chinese food you said you can’t eat because it has soy sauce. And I say this as someone who has plenty of dietary restrictions of her own.

9 comments to Allergy

  • This made me laugh… and as someone who is trying to avoid wheat byproducts, I have to say, I am ashamed of my fellow celiac members. However… I notice there’s a trend of people claiming allergies instead of sensitivities so chefs would take them more seriously in the restaurants. It’s setting a dangerous precedent for those with deadly allergies because would a waiter or waitress respect your gluten-free request if they see you munching down on the complimentary bread rolls?

  • Xla

    All allergies lead to anaphylactic shock, but not all of them have very low thresholds.

    I am allergic to various proteins contained in fresh fruit. For one of these proteins, just a drop of water mixed with it is enough to send me to the hospilal. For all the other proteins I can eat one or two pieces of fruit that contain them before my throat shuts.

    I have a similar problem to what Souggy suggested: the proteins I’m allergic to they all dissolve if the fruit is cooked long enough. So I can eat a strawberry cheescake as long as I remove the strawberries on top of it. (I can also eat 1 or 2 strawberries before the shock.) Often people tell me “so you are not really allergic to strawberries, you just do not like them, why didn’t you just said that?”. What am I supposed to do? Start a lesson on the way allergenes interact with the human body? I just nod.

    Anyway, yes, people faking allergies are a PITA. But self-appointed /vegans/ (not vegetarians, *vegans*) eating fish are worse.

  • Chriss

    @Xia…vegans don’t eat fish, numb-nuts. Bag of fresh fruit as a first prize wingin’ it’s way to ya. Muppet.

    • Xla

      Dear Chriss, let’s re-read my sentence together: “Anyway, yes, people faking allergies are a PITA. But self-appointed /vegans/ (not vegetarians, *vegans*) eating fish are worse.”

      I said that I do not like people faking allergies. I also do not like people saying they are vegans and then eating fish, i.e. faking being vegans. I know vegans do not eat fish, that is why I hate people that describe themselves as vegans and that are picky about cheese (“Oh gosh, made with milk stolen to little cows”) while they eat fish without any problem at all.

      Next time, please, spare people from having to point out misunderstood sentences. Just read twice before posting. Thank you.

  • For some reason, being only sensitive and not allergic to wheat is referred to as “wheat intolerance”. Go figure.

    Meanwhile, I notice that if I don’t say allergic, people tend write off my body’s needs rather quickly and don’t bother to tell me about the traces of gluten in what I’m about to eat–which I eventually discover. Happens a lot.
    I agree, the word “sensitivity” makes more sense. I’ll say “sensitivity” if y’all agree to take sensitivity seriously!

    Here’s a resource for my fellow gluten-free peeps who are tempted to nibble: livingwithout.com

  • jenningsthecat

    (Long abusive comment removed)

    PS Most soy sauce contains a lot of wheat, so it is strictly off-limits for those with celiac disease.

    • Nina

      No, soy sauce does not contain “a lot of wheat.” Soy sauce, even soy sauce extracted from wheat ingredients, contains no detectable gluten. Some soy sauces begin with wheat ingredients, but fermentation and extraction remove it:
      http://www.soya.be/gluten-free-soy-sauce.php

      Gluten analysis of two popular soy sauces
      We sent a sample of soy sauce of the brands Kikkoman and Lima to an external laboratory to determine gluten levels. In both samples the gluten content was below detection limit of 5ppm (see report). According to a new European legislation, which will only be fully implemented in 2012, gluten-free foodstuffs should contain less than 20 ppm gluten. The FDA also proposes a limit of 20 ppm. This means that our two tested products may be considered as gluten-free soy sauce. link

  • […] expected, some people didn’t like last week’s comic strip about “allergies” to gluten in soy sauce. Guess what I found out since then? Soy sauce, […]

  • Ceyarrecks

    strange how several decades in the past, no-one ever heard of going into shock from eating a cookie,… does anyone notice the change? that what they call food, really is not even edible? one would get more nutrition out of eating tree bark then anything out of a supermarket,…..

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