Among the effects of unclean tick bites, "Alpha-gal allergy" is among the most widely feared: That's the condition where you can't eat most meats without becoming significantly ill.

One woman claims to have been stricken with that unfortunate condition but with one bizarre caveat: She can still eat...Big Macs.

I had been bitten by a tick and developed what is now known as a mammalian meat allergy, which saw me develop the potentially life-threatening condition anaphylaxis, which means I have to carry an epi-pen.

Now at the age of 25 I haven't had a bite of beef, lamb or pork for years.

But there's one food that I've managed to keep down without breaking out into full-body hives - McDonald's cheeseburgers.

Well, I guess you might could say that being able to eat a McDonald's cheeseburger is better than eating no cheeseburgers at all.

But, I mean...is it? McDonald's cheeseburgers are not really all that good. They lack the flame-broiled gimmick of a Whopper. They're missing the sheer brazen mass of the Hardee's Thickburger. They're not a nice, reliable all-American burger like those served by Wendy's.

Ahh, who am I kidding. I'll take three, no pickles.