It does not sound like an allergy if a couple of sneezes are the only symptoms you get.

It is more likely to be something similar to the Photic sneeze reflex when sunlight on the face causes sneezing. No one really knows why this happens. This blog has some more details of the science.

It is probably just the particular stimulating flavour of the high percentage cocoa stimulating the nerves in your face. Apparently some other foods like peppermint, alcohol and sudden changes in air temperature can also trigger this in some people. Seems like a pretty harmless physiological reaction, a bit like hiccuping.

To me, it's a questionable food to be considered paleo. Most populations probably did not eat chocolate or any form of cacao. Plus chocolate requires some kind of sweetner. And cacao is a seed and it contains tannins and phytic acid. Probably lectins too. Many people are allergic to chocolate. -Eva

I have a really bad reaction to dark chocolate and coffee (even decaf), even tea makes me feel as if I have allergies. I stayed up late three nights in a row to do some googling and I ended up with some interesting info on tannins. I seem to have a bad reaction to anything high in tannins (chocolate). A lot of people say that all these have antioxidants and are good for you but its just not the case for me. I'm also rebounding from a raw vegan clusterfudge and I'm having trouble gaining weight and I've found that cutting out chocolate, coffee, wine, and tea is helping. It's only been two weeks but hopefully I keep gaining weight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannin http://www.widomaker.com/~jnavia/tannins/tannlist.htm http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/toxicagents/tannin.html

Ha! A question I know a real answer to, and not just my useless opinion. ::glee::

23andMe, the personal genetics company, asks this question in its "Research Snippets" (to people who've submitted spit kits to them): "Does eating dark chocolate typically cause you to sneeze?" So far, 1% of respondents has said Yes.

Now, these are questions submitted by users, and vetted by the company, but they all go into the database and eventually -- maybe, possibly -- some researcher will someday identify an SNP or region or something that all you choco-sneezers have in common.

So you're not the only one, and maybe someday you'll know if some piece of your genetic code gives you the chocohonks.

The Research Snippets also include a question about sneezing in response to red wine. Nothing yet about chewing gum. The "photic sneeze" is part of their regular research, and they tell you whether you're likely to have that trait or not in your results (I'm not).

Another person here who sneezes just a couple times right when starting to eat chocolate. It confuses me as well since I can't link it to any thing within the kind of chocolate. I have been fighting massive eczema and found out I am both skin allergic and delayed allergic to milk casein whey. It's interesting and I also am 99.9% sure milk has caused me headackes and dry eyes all these years because they stop now that I stopped consuming milk. However cocoa showed up negative on my allergy tests so I think it's the milk in the chocolate that is at least my problem.

Yes. I often sneeze when I eat (very) dark chocolate, drink high-alcohol beer and when bright sunlight hits my face. Don't know why. I just do.

yup, it's the same for me. but not just sneezing, but also quite often a weird gut feeling and a bit of lethargy (probably an allergic reaction). i'm currently thinking about stopping dark chocolate for these reasons for a while.

The SAME thing happens to me when I chew Gum.

I sometimes sneeze with chocolate, but I also get other, more obviously allergic symptoms, such as eczema and even migraine on occasion. Since this is my experience, I would definitely tend to avoid any other food that made me sneeze. Side note:I have similar reactions to wine as well, a blessing and a curse...

I have that reaction, too! We joke that when I sneeze it's a sign of good chocolate, because only the potent stuff makes me sneeze. I have no idea what causes it, but I also sometimes have emotional reactions to chocolate, about 6 hours after eating it. And I may have celiac cross-reactivity to chocolate.

I've looked around online and found that this is a common situation. I also predictably sneeze after initially eating dark chocolate. It's funny because it's only initially. I'll sneeze a couple of times but if I keep eating the dark chocolate I won't continue to sneeze. I have no other discernible reactions. I also have a similiar reaction when initially eating grapefruit. It is peculiar.

Same thing happens to me (and I thought I was the only one!). I sneeze whenever there's even a small concentration of pure cocoa in what I eat - the higher the concentration, the faster and harder I sneeze. Now I'm the family taste-tester. =)

Glad to know that I'm not the only one with this trait. =D It feels so natural that I'm surprised the majority of people don't do it.

On another note, I wonder how much people would pay for a professional chocolate taste-tester...

Sounds like an allergy, possibly triggered by the higher levels of Theobromine in the dark chocolate or cross-contamination in the manufacturing process. Do you notice this with any specific product / brand or all dark chocolate? If the sneezing is more frequent or intense as the percentage of cacao increases that's a likely indicator of an allergic response - itchiness is another one. Just stay away from it or if you really need to have some eat the milk chocolate if it doesn't make you sneeze.

Glad I found this post although no definitive answer is a shame, happens to me too, darker the coco, quicker the reaction... Happens with mint too. Occasionally red wine. I suffered seasonal allergies badly until going paleo, this year I was perfect until a glass of red, bamm: itchy eyes runny nose and all the rest of the misery. After a few days abstenance from the red I was back to super fit primal anti allergy. Thinking tannins maybe....