Man Grew Up Believing He’d Die From Flour, Then Learned His Parents Made It All Up

Growing up with strict dietary rules can feel normal when you don’t know any different. For many kids, restrictions come with explanations about health, safety, or necessity, and questioning them never really crosses your mind.

That’s exactly how this Redditor describes his childhood until one unsettling moment made him start asking questions. A seemingly harmless family gathering triggered a chain of events that led him to uncover a truth he never expected. What he believed was a lifelong medical condition turned out to be something else entirely.

Now, he’s struggling to process years of fear, control, and trust that may have been misplaced. Scroll down to read what he discovered, how his parents responded, and why he decided to take a drastic step.

A teen goes no contact after learning his parents lied about his allergies

Learning that something you believed about your body and health for nearly two decades was fabricated doesn’t just hurt, it shakes the foundation of trust between a child and their parents.

For most people, food allergies are a serious, life-impacting condition that shape daily routines, social life, and even emotional comfort. Being told you’re allergic to dairy, gluten, and legumes, only to find out as a young adult that none of those allergies actually exist, is deeply destabilizing.

The OP isn’t upset over a misunderstanding, they’re confronting a lifetime of fear, restriction, and safety precautions that were unnecessary and imposed without their consent.

At the core of this story is a loss of autonomy. Autonomy over one’s body and health decisions is a basic psychological need. When parents repeatedly lie about a child’s health status, it undermines the child’s ability to build trust in their own bodily experiences and in the adults who cared for them.

Research on parental lying shows that while many parents admit to lying to their children about benign topics like Santa Claus or small behaviors, these deceptions can still negatively impact how children view truth, trust, and relationships with caregivers.

Some studies suggest that parental deception is associated with weakened parent–child trust and, in some cases, increased likelihood of children adopting deceptive behaviors themselves later in life.

There’s also a recognized category in psychology called paternalistic deception, where lies are told under the pretext of protecting the other person’s well-being. These lies, even if intended to shield someone, interfere with autonomy by denying access to accurate information and limiting informed decision-making.

In the OP’s case, the consequence of that deception was years of unnecessary fear and restriction, not just about food choices but about their entire relationship with their body.

This dynamic can have long-term psychological effects. Parental psychological control, especially when it intrudes upon a child’s autonomy and decision-making, has been linked to increased stress, anxiety, and emotional insecurity.

Such control disrupts healthy development of self-trust and emotional regulation, particularly when a child is repeatedly told that their own lived experiences are false or dangerous.

Understanding the OP’s reaction requires empathy for the emotional weight of that betrayal. This wasn’t a simple parenting choice or a well-meaning exaggeration. It was a sustained pattern of deception that controlled a major aspect of the OP’s daily life without their informed consent.

Going no-contact is not about being ungrateful, it’s about reclaiming psychological safety and autonomy that were eroded by years of falsehoods.

Realizing your entire relationship with food, health, and trust was built on a lie is a profound emotional shock, and the OP’s response reflects a need to protect their emotional well-being while processing that loss.

Here’s how people reacted to the post:

These commenters agreed the lie was manipulative and destroyed trust unnecessarily

These commenters stressed accountability and lasting damage from long-term deception

These commenters raised concerns about disordered behavior or serious mental health issues

These commenters argued healthy diets never require fear or dishonesty

This commenter highlighted the real medical danger of fake allergy emergencies

This commenter compared the behavior to extreme, unethical lifestyle control

These commenters lightened the tone, encouraging food freedom and humor

Do you think going no-contact was the right move, or is there a path back after something this severe? And where should the line be drawn between parental influence and outright manipulation? Share your thoughts below.