i can't eat that!

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Let's face it, some of us just can't eat the kind of stuff we want to for fear of what will happen. Whether it be gluten, lactose, nuts, that weird vitamin in green vegetables that no one remembers the name of, sometimes it's endless. What are you allergic to, and what do you do compensate?

Nuts. I have to scour the label of everything I eat. Oh, and avoid France entirely.

Bell peppers. Make me really sick

The worst thing about being lactose-intolerant is when you're also a chocoholic. It always makes me want to cry to find the one brand of dairy-free milk chocolate or pay out exorbitant amounts for dark chocolate just because I have cravings.

I'm not actually sure that it's an allergy or an intolerance, since I get sick rather than get itchy/hives/watery eyes/etc. But something in melon fruits always makes me sick. I have to avoid anything that is even naturally flavored with melon. I used to think that maybe it was all in my head, but then I found out my friend Cassie has the exact same problem - and her parents thought it was all in her head too until they found out about me!

Also, I'm not strictly allergic to poppy seeds, but I'm allergic to opiate-based painkillers, so I avoid poppy seeds just in case.

Incomparable and technically not 100% related, but eating any apples but Fiji makes me nauseous but I can handle apple juice though I don't actually like apple juice. And ripe bananas also make me nauseous so they have to be a little green for me to eat 'em.

For allergies I usually just say pineapple and kiwi fruit. From recollection both make my mouth and throat tingle (which most people find) but they also make my throat swell up. And since we use pineapple at work I've also found that pineapple when it touches my skin gives me hive-like rashes that are really painful. We keep antihistamines behind the bar just in case a glove breaks. And pineapple is in a lot of surprising things. Like that one time I found it in licorice. Why you gotta do this to me/

Intolerances on the other hand... goats cheese/milk is basically the worst thing since sliced bread. It's one of those things I've always been unable to eat so imagine my body's surprise when I accidentally ingested some at a Jaime Oliver pop up stand! I was sick as a dog within ten minutes and then in a lot of pain and very unwell for three days. Soy I found out about because I'm obsessed with Asian food and when I was trying to be good and wean myself of dairy when I was a teenager I found that I had a lot of the same symptoms I was having with dairy. SOYA IS IN EVERYTHING BY THE WAY! And both of these are basically in every vegetarian dish ever. Reading the labels on everything is so heartbreaking.

Lactose though- I'm going to get this one checked because it's been getting so much worse and I'm not sure if it's compromising my immune system or if it's just coincidence. I'm not going to divulge the full set of symptoms but let's just say the gastric distress I suffered on Christmas day was unbearable because of cauliflower cheese. Cheese and I are currently on a break and this has been in my head for days. I miss you already, bae.

Headache, nausea, bloating, diarrhea. Life is pretty shit when it comes to food. I also find that I avoid high acidic foods like tomatoes and oranges because they give me wicked acid reflux.

And then I also have this weird thing about textures which isn't an allergy or intolerance but there are certain things I can't eat because of their textures. Meats of all kind, most fishes, mangoes, tomatoes (also fall under this), overripe fruits basically.

I feel like I'm allergic to everything. I'm allergic to Apples and Oranges to the point where I break out in hives, my face goes numb and I start to swell up. I'm allergic to various other fruits in the sense that they make me itchy and uncomfortable but I don't get the swelling. I'm also allergic to nuts, they make me really itchy too and my throat feels tight.

I also have to be careful with things that I put on my skin. I have Eczema and a lot of things can irritate my skin so I have to be careful with washing powders and soaps.