If you’re one of the one in ten adults who has a food allergy, I feel your pain. You become a whizz at reading ingredient labels at light speed, but you can never enjoy a meal out without confirming multiple times that there won’t be allergens in your dish or cross contamination happening in the kitchen. You always have to pack a separate meal or bring an “allergy-free” option, and you’ll typically be left out when colleagues bring baked goods from home.

But what do you think is worse: developing a food allergy later in life or realizing that your life-threatening allergy was a lie all along? Below, you’ll find a story that a woman recently shared on Reddit, detailing how her parents’ love for Ferrero Rocher got way out of hand, as well as a conversation between her and Bored Panda.

About 10% of the population has a food allergy

Image credits: Thula Na / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

But this woman recently found out that she’s been avoiding nuts her entire life for no reason

Image credits: Raspopova Marina / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Later, she shared an update answering a few of the most common questions readers asked

Image credits: LightFieldStudios / Envato Elements (not the actual photo)

Image credits: HospitalNew3619

Image credits: Marcos Paulo Prado / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

“I avoided nuts by all means, because I genuinely thought I would stop breathing if I ate anything with nuts”

We reached out to the woman who shared this story online, Reddit user HospitalNew3619, and she was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and provide even more information on the situation. 

“I shared my story on Reddit because I believe it is a healthy way to vent without me or my family facing the consequences of it,” the OP said. “Being anonymous brings a lot of comfort to me, especially because I’m protecting my parents’ privacy as well. When I first found out, I needed to talk to someone, and Reddit did not disappoint me.”

We were also curious how serious this fake nut allergy was supposed to be. “The imaginary nut allergy was DEADLY,” HospitalNew1619 shared. “I avoided nuts by all means, because I genuinely thought I would stop breathing if I ate anything with nuts. I avoided absolutely everything, including products that warned about the possibility of nut contamination.”

“Since I avoided them my whole life (but needed to identify them), I became very good at identifying nuts by their smell,” the OP added. “If I (or anyone else) didn’t know exactly what I was about to eat, I had to actively shove my nose in and pray that I got it right.”

Image credits: Vidal Balielo Jr. / Pexels (not the actual photo)

“Parents are humans and often make mistakes”

We also asked HospitalNew3619 what she feels like she’s missed out on, due to this fake allergy. “For some reason, I feel like it made me an outsider in a few moments,” she told Bored Panda. “When the whole family was sharing a dessert that had nuts (and I couldn’t share that moment with them), I would get really upset.”

“But culinarily speaking, I believe that most of what I missed out on were processed foods,” the OP continued. “Kinder Bueno, Nutella, peanut butter, Reese’s Cups, and Snickers are all on the bucket list, but what I’m the most excited to try is paçoca! Paçoca is a very traditional Brazilian candy that basically consists of peanuts and sugar. The smell of it is absolutely amazing, and I am counting the minutes until I can go to the shop and get a can of it.”

As far as what she thought of the replies to her post, HospitalNew3619 says she was shocked by how hard people were being on her parents. “I know my parents and trust them blindly,” she shared. “It was a silly mistake (that they admit to), but I believe no one is taking into consideration the fact that parents are humans, and often make mistakes.”

“I have been receiving a lot of messages that paint my parents as abusive psychopaths. My parents were young, first-time, poor parents,” she explained. “We grew up together, they taught me everything and learned just as much with my development.”

Image credits: nebojsa_ki / Envato Elements (not the actual photo)

“What could have been traumatic became a lovely opportunity to joke about a chocolate brand for the rest of our lives”

“Some replies are really sweet, sharing similar stories and making funny little jokes about the situation,” the OP added. “These are my absolute favorites to read! Gives me hope that there are still kind and understanding people out here,” she said with a smile.

HospitalNew3619 says she’s also excited to get back at her parents. “I decided that this situation was an opportunity to create new family traditions, such as yearly ‘attacks’ by brussels sprouts disguised as Ferrero Rocher.”

But thankfully, she noted that she will not be holding a grudge against her parents. “Life is too short for us to resent small things!” she shared. “I forgive my parents and absolutely love them, but I won’t let them forget this episode. Apart from the brussels sprouts plan, I just ordered a Ferrero Rocher jumper for my mom: the biggest fan that has ever lived. I plan to gift it to her on our next family occasion.”

Finally, the OP wanted to add that forgiveness and being a good sport about things is always worth it. “What could have been traumatic became a lovely opportunity to joke about a chocolate brand for the rest of our lives,” HospitalNew3619 says. “Forgive and love your parents. Of course, I was upset when I first wrote the post. I was fuming. But after reflecting on it for a while, I realized that my parents have sacrificed so much for me. They deserve to make mistakes and to be forgiven for them.”

Readers shared support for the woman in the comments and recommended sweets for her to try

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