Vegetarian Woman Sickened After Restaurant Replaces Her Black Bean Burger With Beef

A vegetarian woman felt ill after biting into a beef hamburger during a trip to the popular restaurant chain Chili's.

She documented her encounter and shared it with her audience on social media, explaining how the swap came to happen and describing how sick she felt after taking just one bite of the burger.

According to experts, her experience could have caused a lot more than just an upset stomach, which is why it's important to remember that having a vegan burger replaced with beef could have dire consequences for someone with a food allergy.

You can learn more about her experience below, including some of the common signs that you may have a meat allergy.

TikTok user @lovelaurenslife shared a video clip with her followers that featured the moment she bit into what she believed to be a Chili's black bean burger. You can see in the clip how she immediately realizes what she's eating is something other than what she ordered. Lauren's companion can be heard off-screen confirming that the burger was actually a beef patty.

While Lauren quickly spit the food into her napkin and confirmed to the person she was with that she hadn't swallowed any of it, she did write that she suffered from stomach distress after having even the smallest contact with the meat.

"When I tell y’all I felt sick the rest of the night," she wrote, noting that she did eventually get the correct order but that she took it home instead of eating it in the restaurant. 

While this caused Lauren some digestive (and perhaps emotional) distress, several people pointed out that it could've been much worse. 

"OMG... food errors are dangerous. Hope you are ok and they [comped] your bill," one person wrote. Another person pointed out that it's not unusual for something like this to make folks ill. 

"People don't seem to understand that when you've been vegetarian or vegan for a long time, suddenly eating meat can make you feel sick," they wrote.

There are more than ethical and moral reasons to give up meat — sometimes, food allergies make it so your body cannot tolerate red meat at all.

According to VeryWell Health, some estimates say that up to 10 percent of U.S. residents could be allergic to alpha-gal, which causes people to have an allergic reaction to meat.

While symptoms can vary in presentation and timing — with some people having an immediate or severe response while others may not see symptoms start for hours after exposure — common symptoms include:

• Stomach distress, including pain, nausea and vomiting, and/or diarrhea
• Hives or rash
• Swelling, including in the eyes, which may begin to water
• Sinus irritation, including sneezing and a runny nose
• Increased heart rate

Of course, this article is not meant as a substitute for medical advice, and if you're worried that you may be experiencing an allergic reaction to beef or any other food, you should contact your healthcare provider.