I can think of three friends who are fashionably on an allergen-free/restricted diet. One is a "celiac" who eschewed gluten-free pancakes I made at a brunch in favour of farinaceous ones. Another is "lactose intolerant" but ordered a grilled cheese the last time we went out for lunch. The third is "vegetarian", but ate steak at my wedding despite being offered the vegetarian meal of her choice. This kind of ridiculous posing undermines the perceived legitimacy of real allergies.
Actually, those are not allergies. Celiacs cheat all the time - they get sick but it would take quite awhile to die. Unlike an allergy, where my sons would have about 15 minutes. We have a friend who is celiac (my husband is a celiac but he doesn't cheat) , we can tell when he has cheated - he gets big rashes... Lactose intolerants cheat too - they don't die (well eventually they could but it'd take a lONG while). They get sick. I don't think they take away anything from those with allergies. They are a completely different medical group with a completely different issue.
