Play Me…..
I am sure we all have a little quirk or two when it comes to food along with our likes and dislikes. Sometimes they can be a little humorous such as those of us who refuse to eat anything on our plates that has come in contact with anything else on our plate, apparently fearing such a transgression will lead to instant death. I have always been a proponent of ‘segregation’ when it comes to the food on my plate!
But that is of no consequence whatsoever when it comes to my likes and dislikes of a particular type of food, or drink for that matter. And to be specific with regard to myself, that includes any food or drink which contains “sugar”, probably the single most popular carbohydrate on this planet. And that dislike translates even further to include anything with any type of sweet taste.
Granted “sugar” in itself is not a “food” (well it is for some folks), but it is contained in the makeup of gazillions of food dishes and drinks. So, having cleared that up, let us get away from the technical crap and proceed with my dissertation on the dreaded ills of the stuff!
I cannot stand the taste of sugar! It is the most disgusting, distasteful stuff every put on this earth. A few grains of sugar on my tongue will cause me to spit like I have got a mouth full of fire ants. Now granted, I don’t really know what it’s like to have a mouthful of fire ants but I have a gut feeling it’s a lot like having a few granules of sugar in your mouth. And if I am unfortunate enough to get some sugar in my mouth, the taste will hang around in my mouth literally for hours. No matter what I eat or drink, I cannot dissolve the taste.
Why do I not like sugar? Same reason some of you don’t like spinach or liver I suppose. It tastes awful. Many family members have surmised as to the cause of my misfortune. My mother worked fulltime when I was an infant and granny kept me. Mother always assumed it must have been because granny didn’t make me eat anything sweet. Poor granny….she gets blamed for everything. Well, for whatever the reason, it took and I have been a sugar-free for some 60 plus years now.
Let’s briefly put it into perspective for all you sugar lovers. I have never, ever drank a soda pop in my life. I have taken a taste of two or three, but that’s it. I have never eaten a piece of cake or pie in my entire life. Milk is a favorite drink but I hate ice cream! Very few types of bread do I like because I can taste the sugar in most of them. If my taste buds get even the slightest hint of sugar or sweetness in anything, it’s over.
Over the years of course many who have found out about my intense dislike for sugar have commented they wish they had been cursed in a similar manner. Yea…right, and I’ve got some land in Florida you might be interested in. But for me, in all seriousness, it has been a bit of a curse. Nobody should be doomed to a life without sugar but I have been.
Early on in my life I became more and more self-conscious about the fact. If I went over to someone’s house to eat, when I refused the pineapple salad or the pecan pie I got looks which made me feel quite uncomfortable. As I grew older I found I was putting myself in embarrassing situations when going to someone’s house for a meal. In the end I am afraid I began giving untrue excuses for not being able to go to a dinner for fear of embarrassing myself and hurting the host’s feelings. As you well know, when someone invites folks over for dinner they usually work hard to please their company including the making of luscious deserts. And saying thanks, but no thanks just wasn’t socially acceptable in reality. Besides, whose going to believe such a ridiculous excuse?
I suppose there have been pluses to this affliction. I was well into my mid-thirties before having my first cavity but nevertheless, had to deal with gum disease when I was younger. So no matter, you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t!
Sometimes when I am at a restaurant and they have a real seductive dessert display, they look so good and from time to time I find myself wanting so bad to eat one, but that first bite would bring instant repulsion.
Next time any of you sugar lovers are eating your sweets and you back away in fear of over indulging, go ahead and have one more piece, one more bite, one more sip and dedicate it to me. That’s as good an excuse as any! 
Tina Steele Lindsey said,
October 19, 2009 at 1:37 pm
I simply cannot relate! One of the chromosomes in my family’s genetics is one never found before in any other family, and baffles doctors and dentists alike! It it is not X or Y but S’squared.
Betty said,
October 19, 2009 at 3:34 pm
I must admit, I’ve never heard of anyone who hated sugar. I’ve known people who weren’t particularly sweet-lovers, but still ate breads and ice cream. You must be as rare as the dodo, and I am a bit envious. I don’t want to hate sugar, but I wouldn’t mind a little mild dislike. lol
Annie said,
October 19, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Wow, that’s a new one! Fire ants, eh? How about hot chilies, what do they taste like?
With respect to bread, for most folks starch starts converting to sugar in their mouths, so even if there is no added sugar in bread, you may find it tasting like fire ants. Maybe if you ate it really quickly…
Wow.
Nick said,
October 19, 2009 at 6:19 pm
You are one weird guy, Al G. No further proof is needed. But you’ve kept the secret pretty well hidden. I never suspected that you were a closet sugar hater.
Virginia said,
October 20, 2009 at 8:43 am
Wow, I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to avoid sugar in food while eating in the modern world. What do you eat instead? I could suggest a good brand of New Mexico green chile if you like spicy.
Alan G said,
October 20, 2009 at 9:16 am
Annie…
Nope, no hot chilies either. In fact, hot chilies might taste more like fire ants. I did taste a candied grasshopper once though. I easily got passed the grasshopper, it was the sugar that did me in!
Virginia…
Your not the first one to ask me what I eat instead. It goes without saying that much is eliminated from my chosen diet, given the abundance of “sweetness” in so many foods. I am not big on spicy foods either, but would surely die an instant death if there were no longer ’salt’ in this world.
You know how someone who has just cooked something will say, “Taste that before putting any salt on it because I salted it pretty good.” No one, from my perspective, ever uses too much salt! Perhaps ’salt’ is to me as ’sugar’ is to everyone else?
Rain said,
October 20, 2009 at 11:14 am
How do you manage with fruit then like say bananas or oranges which are very sweet?
Alan G said,
October 20, 2009 at 11:56 am
Hey Rain….
Well, believe it or not, I have never eaten an orange or banana in my life. I have tasted them of course, but that’s it. And you are especially right about oranges. In fact, they are to me even worse than straight sugar when it comes to the sweetness taste!
We hear so much about nutrition these days and have always been told to eat lots of vegetables and fruit, many of which can be sweet to a degree depending on how someone prepares or cooks them, that I have seriously often wondered if I was in for some health problems at some point. Obviously having attained the age of sixty-eight and still relatively healthy, I can only surmise that the body finds a way or else we really are carnivorous creatures.
Oh…. I guess I should add that I am a prolific rice eater, eating rice at almost every meal. If my understanding that rice turns to sugar during the digestive process is correct, then I may actually intake as much sugar as someone who uses sugar. Just a supposition of course!
mid'l sis said,
October 20, 2009 at 10:47 pm
You may classify yourself as strange my dear brother, but we are used to your little quirks but we are comfortable with them and love you anyway
Joy said,
October 20, 2009 at 11:43 pm
Alan…YOU SIMPLY ARE NOT OF THIS PLANET! I just can’t imagine not eating any sugar. I’m so far removed from this situation. Let’s put it this way….I’m at the total other end of the spectrum. I LOVE SUGAR…unfortunately. I’d like to hate it a little bit more, but it just doesn’t work like that. I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone who doesn’t like sugar….YOU may be the one and only one I ever will know. You are a rare species Alan….but probably better off for it.
joared said,
October 22, 2009 at 4:08 am
My husband’s best friend (musician) always kept his food items quite separate from one another on his plate and ate them one by one. Not sure if he has continued to do so or not since miles separate us and it has been many years since I’ve seen him eat.
I have never known of anyone repelled by sugar, but frankly, not much of anything surprises me when it comes to the differences in people. I long ago concluded that when I considered the complex nature of the human brain, neurological connections, chemical components that as much as we’re all the same we’re also quite different, anything is possible.
Am sure eating food other than what you’ve prepared yourself must be a challenge. I know you’re writing of a sensory difference, but am reminded that a few years ago a family member had some potentially life-threatening body reactions he’d never experienced throughout his earlier thirty plus years. Drs. finally determined he had developed an allergy to corn. We never knew how much corn and corn products (corn fructose) was used in so many foods. The ingredients frequency must be slightly similar, though possibly less frequent, than your encountering sugar.
kenju said,
October 22, 2009 at 9:09 am
WOW. I’ve never known anyone who had a repulsion to sugar.
Tana said,
November 1, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Well, Alan, I don’t know whether to envy you or feel sorry for you on this one……