What odd reactions do you get from food?
Post categories: strange food
| 11:52 UK time, Friday, 15 April 2011
We all know that food provides core such as providing nutrients to power and constantly rebuild your body, but that鈥檚 all way too complex and involved for a 300-word blog piece. So let鈥檚 stick to low-hanging fruit: the weird and wonderful effects of various ingredients. I鈥檝e been asking people about their weird food reactions for years, and here are a few to get you to open up and share yours.
鈥楢pples make my legs itch.鈥
Sounds weird, but apples can, indeed cause allergic reactions, although it鈥檚 usually , rather than anything leggy.听
Dreams 鈥 or at least the ability to remember your dreams - are often associated with disrupted sleep. There may be many causes, but one amino acid protein known to stimulate the brain and so potentially cause that disrupted sleep is , created in the body from tyramine in foods. It鈥檚 in alcohol, chocolate, cheese, and , potatoes.听
鈥楢sparagus makes my wee smell awful鈥
The asparagus effect is pretty widespread 鈥 around half of the 500 or so people I鈥檝e asked have experienced the same. There鈥檚 been a bit of , but it鈥檚 likely to be mercaptan, a sulphur-containing compound. Interestingly, it seems that asparagus affects everyone鈥檚 urine, but not everyone can smell its effects. Oh, and while many people think the smell is grim, Proust claimed that it 鈥溾ransforms my chamber-pot into a flask of perfume.鈥 I think I agree.
听
Assorted others:
鈥楥ashews make me sneeze鈥
鈥楪olden syrup makes me cough鈥
鈥楥urry gives me smelly sweat鈥
Personally, cheese seems to make me dream, chillies give me hiccups, asparagus makes my wee smell, Jerusalem artichokes make me pump like that cheeky Icelandic volcano, and butter substitutes make me sad. What about you?
Stefan Gates is a 大象传媒 presenter and food writer.
Comment number 1.
At 16th Apr 2011, elizabeth wrote:Soups in chinese restaurants make my head feel like there's internal pressure. Wears off very quickly, usually before end of the meal. I have read that this is one symptom of the widely debunked "chinese restaurant syndrome", due to high dose of MSG.
Jerusalem artichokes? me too!
Complain about this comment (Comment number 1)
Comment number 2.
At 18th Apr 2011, Ramona Andrews 大象传媒 Food host wrote:It seems that plenty of our readers have strange reactions to food that you shared on the 大象传媒 Food messageboard over the weekend. You also pointed out the difference between sensitivities and allergies. Here are some of the highlights:
coffee4you: Sunflower seeds make my throat itch... Pineapple gives me sores in the corners of my mouth (that is when I eat too much)... Onions make my eyes weep...
Joanbunting: Very timely - we have been discussing the asparagus "problem" already today and Jerusalem fartychokes a few days ago! Apart from these two, flour makes me sneeze as I did this morning while making scones. So much so M thinks I should wear a mask; now how silly would that look? MSG makes me wheeze quite badly so I have to be careful in Chinese restaurants. My daughter always says that raw tomatoes make the soles of her feet itch.
lusciouslush: MSG gives me massive heart palpitations and I can tell within half an hour whether the food I am eating contains it.
bellehelene: Popcorn, fresh coffee and sugar puffs make my wee wee smell funny. Cold roast potatoes give hiccups. Hot curry with extra chilli makes me very, very happy.
Rosie: There are true allergies which can be life-threatening, and there are food sensitivities. I am extremely sensitive to strawberries and turmeric, both of which cause my skin to turn crimson and itch like mad, but they are only sensitivities and not allergies. True allergies, which cause life-threatening angioedema attacks and anaphylaxis, must be avoided as they can, and do, kill. Skin turning crimson and itching, things making a person cough, sneeze, cause unpleasant smelling urine/perspiration are just sensitivities. They might be unpleasant/uncomfortable but that's all. Being truly allergic to certain foodstuffs is far more than unpleasant and uncomfortable. It is deadly.
HarrisPilton: Peppermint tea gives me terrible nightmares.
cooksalot: I am fortunate in that I can eat most things (I think!) without ill-effect. I did once work with a woman who couldn't eat kiwi fruit - even a small piece made her palms and the soles of her feet itch.
Stokey Sue: Raw courgettes make my mouth pucker up - really nasty, I hate the fad for putting them in salads. I don't think that's even an intolerance really - just the texture of the very fine hairs on the skin.
Pampy: Some reactions (eg smelly wee after eating asparagus) are due to chemical reactions between the components of the food and the body. Harold Gee's book on the science of food is very illuminating on topics like this.
GillthePainter: Too much red wine gives me eye ulcers. Thank goodness for beer.
David_W: Alcohol-free beer makes me wake up screaming. Not drinking it, just the thought of it. Very hot chilli con carne... when I eat it, I want more... and more... and MORE!
Evita: Peppers give me indigestion, and ginger nut biscuits. Although I can eat as much fresh ginger as I please, so it must be something in the commercial biccie-making process that causes it.
Denadar: Too much food makes me fat and too much red wine can give me a headache, as can white or pink. Seriously I find dried fruit in things like hot cross buns make for bloating, and as Joan has said (f)artichokes are best left alone.
globetrotter: I'm lucky in that I don't have any food allergies/intolerances, but I've a friend whose eyebrows twitch whenever she eats onions - true, I've witnessed it, even when the onions are 'hidden' in a dish and not declared!
Complain about this comment (Comment number 2)
Comment number 3.
At 20th Apr 2011, Jen wrote:Sensitive or allergic (haven't yet been tested) to vinegar. Instant closing of nasal passages, and I'm gasping for breath and doing that annoying mouth-breathing while eating a salad with a vinaigrette dressing, or even eating sushi--there's a little sprinkle of rice vinegar on the rice before rolling.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 3)
Comment number 4.
At 20th Apr 2011, An wrote:Sauerkraut makes my mouth itchy. Peanuts makes me cough. And most canned food, specialy tomato soup I think should be made illegal. Expect for beans and sour beetroot.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 4)
Comment number 5.
At 20th Apr 2011, An wrote:And yes I can't eat shrimps, prawns, lobster, crab etc. I am allergic and that is not fair.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 5)
Comment number 6.
At 21st Apr 2011, Janet wrote:My hubby often gets the hiccups when he eats home made marmalade or anything really sweet - I keep telling him he's allergic to sugar but he won't have it .
Complain about this comment (Comment number 6)
Comment number 7.
At 21st Apr 2011, Chocahol wrote:After eating olives or food cooked with olive oil I often get spots on the face which turn into hard bumps and last for a month. Most inconvenient for dining with friends because people are incredulous; olive oil is supposed to be healthy.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 7)
Comment number 8.
At 25th Apr 2011, elmsyrup wrote:I'm a bit of a delicate flower, it seems. Alcohol (wine especially) makes my wrists and shoulders ache almost instantly. I wonder whether it's a gout type reaction? Potatoes used to give me terrible stomach aches but I rarely eat them now. When I do, I limit my intake, but they still make me feel bloated and sore. Also hummus SOMETIMES makes my tongue sting and swell up, and sometimes it doesn't. This suggests a sensitivity, but I keep eating it because I like it so much. Oh and finally- beer and soya both make my periods heavier. Apparently they both have the ability to mimic oestrogen.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 8)
Comment number 9.
At 5th May 2011, PaulaMJ wrote:I have reactions to black pepper, garlic and a few others, it's causes hives and really itchy feet and hands. The doctors recommend I stay away from these foods but it is difficult.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 9)