On a business trip — or any trip for that matter — it is no fun to be sick, especially when you are expected to be productive. Over the weekend, before heading to Dubai, I started to get the familiar feeling of queasiness. The last thing I wanted was to get on a plane feeling sick. Luckily it passed, and I realized it was from a dinner at a seafood restaurant, where I had been less diligent than normal about making sure there was no shellfish in my dish.

About three years ago, on a visit on the Aqua Luna in Hong Kong, I had to ask the boat to dock and let me off. I thought I was seasick. I know it seems silly — Hong Kong Harbour can be choppy, but enough to get seasick? Luckily, I went back to the Grand Hyatt and they helped me get my land legs back very quickly.

The funny thing was, as I continued to travel to and from Asia over the years, I often got the feeling of seasickness when I wasn’t even near water. I finally put two and two together and realized the feeling was coming after formal client lunches and dinners, many of them traditional Chinese dinners with the menus prepared before I arrived. The common denominator: I loved to eat what was presented to me, and most of the dishes contained shellfish.

While I didn’t really like every dish served to me, I didn’t want to offend my hosts who ordered these meals. When doing business, cross-culturally especially, every move can make a difference — like not eating the dishes presented to you.

However, allergies are universal, and most people are very understanding. Since my allergy discovery, I politely tell those I’m dining with about my allergy (it’s extra hard when they are chefs, but it must be done). I have successfully avoided shellfish and have had smooth sailing — so to speak — ever since.

— Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher