Food Allergy "Celebrity Sightings"

Famous People Who Have Food Allergies

Lisa Vultaggio, Hannah Scott on General Hospital	Dairy and wheat

Lionel Ritchie, singer	Dairy intolerance

Myriam Bedard, Biathlete	Unspecified food allergy

Sabine Voelker, speed skater	Beef, pork, chicken

Trace Adkins, country music star	Daughter has multiple food allergies

Caroline, actress on PBS' Zoom, which is an educational show for kids.	*Caroline used to* be allergic to tomatoes (but isn't now).**

Clay Aiken, American Idol (second season) contestant and second place winner/now a recording artist	He has several food allergies. On The Tyra Banks Show he explained that he is allergic to "tree nuts, mushrooms, shellfish, coffee, chocolate, and mint." He can react (with hives) to tree nuts without ingesting them.

Tom Poti, hockey player (Oilers defenseman)	Severe multiple food allergies (including nuts, fish, MSG)

Dale Hurd, Newscaster on 700 Club	Immediate family member allergic to wheat (others?)
Zoe, actress on PBS' Zoom, which is an educational show for kids.	Latex
Joshua Jackson, actor	Peanuts
Billy Bob Thornton	Wheat, dairy and shellfish
Drew Barrymore, actress.	Coffee
Todd Reirden, hockey player (#28 for St. Louis Blues)	Gluten allergy
Tava Smiley, Chloe Morgan on General Hospital	Dairy

Actors who PLAY Characters with Food Allergies

Please note that the below people do not personally
have food allergies -- instead, they play characters on
television that have the mentioned allergies.

Tahj Mowry, TJ on Smart Guy	[Oysters (?) -- unsure]

Nelson (played by Gary Leroi Gray) on Even Stevens, a Disney live-action sitcom, suffers from severe intestinal problems and other symptoms due to his allergies. GREAT! Although most TV shows that mention food allergies tend to use them in one episode as a convenient plot device only to dump the topic entirely in future episodes, Nelson's food allergies are mentioned in multiple episodes, providing some education for viewers. He even does a school science report on them, and wears a medical alert necklace!	Almonds, beef, cashews, chocolate, peanuts, peppers, shellfish, shrimp, etc.

Nelson (played by Gary Leroi Gray) on Even Stevens, a Disney live-action sitcom, suffers from severe intestinal problems and other symptoms due to his allergies. GREAT! Although most TV shows that mention food allergies tend to use them in one episode as a convenient plot device only to dump the topic entirely in future episodes, Nelson's food allergies are mentioned in multiple episodes, providing some education for viewers. He even does a school science report on them, and wears a medical alert necklace!

Almonds, beef, cashews, chocolate, peanuts, peppers, shellfish, shrimp, etc.

Jennifer on Even Stevens gets really bad stomach pains.	Cilantro

Tish on the Disney show Weekenders gets week long rashes.	Guava
Christie Abbott, Samantha (Sam) on Wishbone	Coconut
Lieutenant Malcolm Reed on the Enterprise (played by Dominic Keating). ["Silent Enemy" (episode #1.12), first broadcast January 16, 2002.]	Pineapple (bromelain enzyme)
Ross on the NBC show Friends	Kiwi
Noel Crane (played by Scott Foley), on the television show Felicity	Beets
Morwenna Banks, Claire Feeble on Stressed Eric (adult BBC cartoon)	Multiple food allergies

Notes/Disclaimer: Do you know of any well-known people (actors, writers, etc.) who have food allergies, or play food-allergics on television? If so, please e-mail FAST. You MUST offer verification, such as an official webpage or a magazine article. Note that celebrities often follow trend diets, so I cannot verify that anyone above has legitimately diagnosed food allergies (RAST blood test or skin-prick -- I'm taking the word of the celebrities on whether or not they have allergies). Also, if you find out one of the celebrities listed used having food allergies as "a joke" or "trend diet," I'd appreciate an e-mail! Sometimes celebrities joke about having allergies or use them as an excuse for trying a trendy Hollywood diet.

Sources:
LV - Woman's World, November 9 1999; TP - CNNSI (Thanks to Jeni Cruts); DH - 700 Club, November 2000; LR - Entertainment Tonight, March 19, 2001; TR - Fox Sports, 4/00 (Thanks to Jeni Cruts); DB - Teenmag.com, July 27, 2001 (Thanks to Nicole Melnick.); TS - Woman's World, November 9 1999; TM - TV show Smart Guy character; CA - TV show Wishbone character; CF - TV show Stressed Eric character; R - TV show Friends character from Script 2nd season "Baby on the Bus" (Thanks to Miche for this submission); BBT, The View, January 2002, courtsey Shirley Sippel; MB -- thanks to ygg; SV -- thanks to ygg; JJ -- thanks to Kate; NC -- thanks to Kate; Caroline-July 18, 2003 episode of Zoom; CA-sing365.com -- thanks to ygg; TA -- thanks to Charlynne Welnetz-Gervais

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