Bite might be what makes vegetarianism tick

File this one under the strange but true category: Researchers think a bite from a tick may be spreading vegetarianism.

Weird, isn't it?

Apparently, according to a “Good Morning America” report, the saliva from the tick bite triggers an allergic reaction to meat that is so traumatic, victims give up meat. Symptoms have ranged from hives to anaphylactic shock.

The tick, which is native to the central and southern regions of the U.S., is called a lone star tick.

Researchers aren't 100 percent positive the tick is the culprit, but experiments are under way to prove the link.

It does make me wonder if there are similar situations that we just haven't discovered yet. Several friends, for example, have been recently diagnosed with a gluten allergy, when previously, gluten foods were OK. Could it be something as simple as a reaction from an unnoticed critter bite that sparked the change? It's an interesting theory to think on.