smsl100

I have the same problem! My doctor called it Oral Allergy Syndrome. I'm allergic to 16 types of pollen (that I know of) and as a result, I have trouble eating all raw fruits and vegetables. I also have a ton of true food allergies (some weird, some not so weird) so that's fun.

It's not that it sticks to the skin of the fruit, but that the pollen cross reacts with the actual cells in the fruit (not sure about the chemistry behind this). So washing the fruit won't help but breaking down the cells by cooking will.

People definitely think I'm making it up. I generally tell them "I don't like such and such fruit/vegetable" because I'd rather been seen as picky than as the person who cries wolf. I save the allergy line for things that would possibly kill me.