Do you have allergies? What about gluten free oatmeal etc.?

It seemed about three years ago all these people I know ( or know of) suddenly announced they were on gluten free diets,  (a number of these people were already vegetarian and trending toward Vegan as a matter of fact, too).

AS I have remarked before, I have no food allergies that I know of...my sister, a strict vegetarian, said to this" you probably have allergies but you don't realize it."

Great--what am I supposed to do about that?

When I was a kid, none of the other kids around me had food allergies exception the usual aversion to certain vegetables ( are people who dislike broccoli "allergic" to it? Or okra? Or spinach... ( that reminds me of the classic New Yorker cartoon from the 1920's, when "progressive parenting" instead of take-them-to-the-woodshed Victorian methods were being tried...this rather elegant looking mother is saying to her petulant looking little girl, " Eat your greens, dear!" To which the little girl responds, " I say it's spinach and I say the hell with it!") 

Let's just take a short look on what the internet has to say about food allergies--well, here is one interesting segment among many


One of the most common food allergies is a sensitivity to peanuts, a member of the bean family. Peanut allergies may be severe, but children with peanut allergies sometimes outgrow them.^[8] Tree nuts, including pecans, pistachios, pine nuts, coconuts, and walnuts, are also common allergens. Sufferers may be sensitive to one particular tree nut or to many different tree nuts.^[9] Also seeds, including sesame seeds and poppy seeds, contain oils where protein is present, which may elicit an allergic reaction.^[9]
Egg allergies affect about one in fifty children but are frequently outgrown by children when they reach age five.^[10] Typically the sensitivity is to proteins in the white, rather than the yolk.^[9]
Milk, from cows, goats or sheep, is another common food allergen, and many sufferers are also unable to tolerate dairy products such as cheese. A very small portion of children with a milk allergy, roughly ten percent, will have a reaction to beef. Beef contains a small amount of protein that is present in cow's milk.^[11]
Other foods containing allergenic proteins include soy, wheat, fish, shellfish, fruits, vegetables, maize, spices, synthetic and natural colors, and chemical additives.
Although sensitivity levels vary by country, the most common food allergies are allergies to milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, seafood, shellfish, soy and wheat.^{[12][clarification needed]} These are often referred to as "the big eight."^[13] Allergies to seeds — especially sesame — seem to be increasing in many countries.^[14] An example of allergies more common to a particular region is the surfeit of rice allergies in East Asia where rice forms a large part of the diet.^[15]

Cross reactivity

Some children who are allergic to cow's milk protein also show a cross sensitivity to soy-based products.^[16] There are infant formulas in which the milk and soy proteins are degraded so when taken by an infant, their immune system does not recognize the allergen and they can safely consume the product. Hypoallergenic infant formulas can be based on hydrolyzed proteins, which are proteins partially predigested in a less antigenic form. Other formulas, based on free amino acids, are the least antigenic and provide complete nutrition support in severe forms of milk allergy.
People with latex allergy often also develop allergies to bananas, kiwi, avocados, and some other foods.^[17]

I am sure having a  terrible peanut allergy is not in the least bit funny to people who have it (and people like this had better avoid watching shows like "The Simpsons," which zings everyone sooner or later, left and right, regardless of religion or color too...

I suppose I could try going gluten free and completely Vegan...but doesn't that mean I would have to give up favorite foods like Greek yogurt? Well, I say that is spinach and I say the hell with it.