No envy for those with dietary needs

No envy for those with dietary needs
                        

I do not envy those who have special dietary needs, not because of the restrictions, but because of the hassle. It’s often a matter of eating at home or eating at home. Maybe option three is eating at a restaurant, explaining a lot to the server and leaving with an empty tummy anyway.

When many of us leave someplace feeling unsatisfied, it’s a simple matter of grabbing some chicken nuggets at a drive-thru on the way home. But if you’re a vegetarian, vegan, have an aversion to gluten or dairy, or have a peanut or shellfish allergy, it ain’t that simple.

Your options are eat at home or eat at home after eating somewhere else. And that somewhere else can be a restaurant or aunt Karen’s.

If you know you have the potential to have an allergic reaction to certain foods, for instance, having dinner in a scenario outside your control may be a deadly gambit. Shellfish and nut allergies, according to the Mayo Clinic, can result in swelling of the lips and tongue, hives and itching, wheezing and difficulty breathing, vomiting, dizziness or fainting. And that’s just the appetizer.

“My doctor says I’m sensitive to gluten,” my friend said.

We were on a business trip to another city and had stopped by an industrial-themed bar for a quick thirst quencher before meeting a few others for dinner. We’d been walking for hours and had just come from our hotel before walking the final few blocks to the meeting spot.

“It turns out gluten is in just about everything,” he said, scanning the menu of craft beers. “Anything with wheat, really. So I shouldn’t have beer.”

He motioned to the waiter that we were ready to order. We each asked for a beer, allergies be darned.

I commiserated cluelessly. I had no idea what gluten sensitivity or allergies meant. How could one be allergic to bread? It was the main staple of human diets from prehistory. Surely modern, cellphone-tethered humans could handle a slice of Wonder Bread or a pint of ale. We have adapted to adult dairy, haven’t we?

Well, not entirely. Among all the countless mammals who are nourished on milk after birth, humans alone can keep drinking it after infancy, which means we are effectively never really weaned.

It is thought to come from the invading Mongol Hordes who subsisted on milk from their horses on the fly, passing their one-off evolutionary ability to do so to their offspring. About 40 percent of us can digest dairy. The rest are lactose intolerant, unable to digest lactose past about age 5.

Some of us have green eyes or are left-handed. Others can do ice cream without a nasty bellyache.

Imagine scanning every menu for the “can’t.” Cheeseburger — can’t. Dairy and wheat — can’t. Salad with ranch, nope. Pancakes, giant no.

If you don’t eat meat, you may not find much understanding, and unless a key chef in a restaurant kitchen is vegetarian or vegan, a basic grasp of the concepts behind such diets is unlikely.

Vegetarians don’t eat food originating in the flesh of animals but may eat animal products like eggs or cheese. A vegan diet allows for nothing at all associated with animal protein. Nothing on the plate of a vegan can have touched butter, eggs, animal fats or bone broth.

We’re learning to respect the special dietary requirements of a large percentage of the population, but we still have a long way to go. I can’t imagine the diet of someone who eats no fish, nuts, milk, wheat, meat or eggs. Being willing and able to eat anything is much simpler, and those who can should be more grateful.


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