Don't Feed the Fear: Allergy Anxiety & Trauma

Épisodes

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  #96 Healing More Than Allergies With Dr. Atul Shah 06.10.2026 46min

  Send us Fan Mail In this season 8 finale of Don't Feed the Fear, Dr. Atul Shah joins me to talk about the medical and psychological sides of food allergy treatment. As the founder of NY Food Allergy & Wellness and creator of the FATE approach to food allergy tolerance enhancement, Dr. Shah has spent more than two decades working with patients and families navigating diagnosis, treatment, desensitization, and the pursuit of greater food freedom. Together, we explore why building phys...
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  #95 Traditional Chinese Medicine: Dr. Xiu-Min Li's Groundbreaking Research 29.09.2026 35min

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I speak with Dr. Xiu-Min Li, a physician and researcher uniquely trained in both Western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Dr. Li has spent decades conducting rigorous scientific research exploring how traditional herbal therapies may help treat allergic diseases such as food allergies and eczema. Her work focuses on developing standardized herbal formulas and studying their effects on the immune system through laboratory and clinical research....
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  #94 A Parent & Psychologist’s Perspective on the Emotional Side of Food Allergy Treatment with Dr. Elizabeth Hawkins 22.09.2026 49min

  Send us Fan Mail Food allergy treatment looks very different today than it did 17 years ago. In this episode, Dr. Elizabeth Hawkins joins me for a deeply personal conversation about navigating food allergy treatment as a parent long before many of today's options were readily available. Elizabeth is a psychologist, celiac patient, and a celiac and food allergy parent. Her younger daughter has a complex history of multiple severe food allergies alongside asthma, eczema, and environmental aller...
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  #93 Helping Kids Through OIT: Fear, Coping & Building Confidence with Kelsey Mora 15.09.2026 37min

  Send us Fan Mail What does it really take to support a child through oral immunotherapy? The medical protocol is only part of the experience. For children, OIT can involve fear, uncertainty, frustration, procedures, new sensations, and a lot of big feelings—sometimes without the words or skills to communicate what's happening. In this episode, I talk with Kelsey Mora, a dual-certified Child Life Specialist and Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, about the emotional and developmental sid...
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  #92 Doing What It Takes: Advocating Through Immunotherapy and Kawasaki 08.09.2026 50min

  Send us Fan Mail What does it look like when a family is navigating multiple complicated medical journeys? In this episode of Don't Feed the Fear, I sit down with Natalie Grijalva to talk about her experience with her son's food allergy immunotherapy and her son's additional medical challenges related to Kawasaki disease. Natalie started her Instagram account @createlikeamom as a space to explore and express her artistic pursuits, but motherhood led her in a different direction and she now u...
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  #91 The Reality of Immunotherapy: Progress, Setbacks, and Persistence with Sarah Danna 01.09.2026 32min

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I sit down with Sarah Danna, the creator behind @sarahandspices, to talk about her life with food allergies, her more recent diagnosis with MCAS, and her experience with immunotherapy through the Tolerance Induction Program (TIP) at the Food Allergy Institute. Sarah shares the emotional and practical realities of navigating treatment while also building an online community around allergy-friendly living. We talk about the progress she has experienced through ...
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  #90 Understanding the Tolerance Induction Program (TIP) with Dr. Inderpal Randhawa 25.08.2026 33min

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dr. Inderpal Randhawa, founder of the Tolerance Induction Program (TIP) for allergies, joins the podcast to discuss his program and its approach to food allergy treatment. As part of this season exploring emerging and evolving allergy management options, this conversation aims to provide information directly from the source. TIP has generated both interest and debate within the food allergy community. In this episode, we discuss: • The foundational principles...
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  #89 Is SLIT (Sublingual Immunotherapy) Underrated? With Dr. Nikhila Schroeder 18.08.2026 42min

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode, allergist Dr. Nikhila Schroeder, founder of Allergenity Health, joins the podcast to discuss sublingual immunotherapy as a standalone treatment for food allergies. As the second installment in our SLIT series, this conversation moves beyond introductory discussions and into a broader vision of what SLIT can offer. Dr. Schroeder shares how sublingual immunotherapy may provide meaningful protection, improved quality of life, and a lower intensity pathway for fa...
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  #88 Reflecting on OIT for Three with Sarah Hornung 11.08.2026 48min

  Send us Fan Mail Every family's experience with food allergy treatment is different and hearing those lived experiences can be just as valuable as knowing the research and hearing from the experts. This week's episode welcomes back food allergy Mom and advocate Sarah Hornung, who was first featured in Episode 11. Sarah is back for this season on immunotherapy to share what it was like to guide all three of her children through oral immunotherapy for multiple foods. Our conversation explores t...
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  #87 Dr. Kara Wada on Sjögren’s, ILIT, and Reimagining Immune Care 04.08.2026 51min

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dr. Kara Wada, known online as The Immune Confident MD, joins the podcast to discuss immune complexity from both the physician and patient perspective. Dr. Wada is a board-certified allergist, immunologist, lifestyle medicine physician, food allergy mom, and Sjogren's patient. Living with Sjögren’s disease and dysautonomia herself, Dr. Wada shares how personal experience reshaped her approach to allergy and autoimmune care. We explore the intersection of conv...
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  #86 Biologics in Food Allergy Care: A New Era with Dr. Brian Vickery 28.07.2026 41min

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dr. Brian Vickery of Emory University joins the podcast to discuss biologics in food allergy treatment. As research advances, biologics are emerging as both standalone therapies and adjuncts to other treatments such as oral immunotherapy. Dr. Vickery explains how these medications work, what they are designed to target within the immune system, and how they may shift the risk-benefit landscape for certain patients. We also briefly discuss PEACH, a quality of ...
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  #85 How Sublingual Immunotherapy Can Increase Safety and Freedom, With Dr. Allison Freeman 21.07.2026 36min

  Send us Fan Mail All allergy families are familiar with strict avoidance and emergency preparedness, and some have heard of oral immunotherapy (OIT). But fewer know about sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) and how it may fit into a long term treatment plan. In this episode, I sit down with allergist Dr. Allison Freeman to explore what SLIT is, how it works, and when it may be a good option for both environmental and food allergies. Dr. Freeman is a board certified allergist and immunologist prac...
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  #84 Demystifying EoE with Dr. Christopher Parrish 14.07.2026 45min

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Christopher Parrish, a triple board-certified allergist and immunologist who leads Latitude Food Allergy Care’s Orange County clinic and has been involved in groundbreaking clinical research in both food allergy and EoE. Dr. Parrish previously served as faculty at UT Southwestern Medical Center and helped lead a multidisciplinary program dedicated to eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases. His work has contributed to clinical trials that ult...
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  #83 Could Research Shift the Way You Feel About Food Allergy Treatments? 07.07.2026 38min

  Send us Fan Mail Food allergy research is constantly evolving, but what do these studies actually mean for families making treatment decisions? In this episode of Don't Feed the Fear, I welcome Dr. Lianne Soller Allergy Research Manager at BC Children's Hospital in Canada to help us make sense of the evidence behind food allergy immunotherapy and where the field is headed. Together, we explore some of Dr. Soller and her team's most important research findings, including what we've learned abo...
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  #82 When "Not Right Now" is Right For Now with Ina Chung 30.06.2026 45min

  Send us Fan Mail Every family approaches food allergy treatment differently, and that's exactly as it should be. In this episode, psychologist and food allergy mom I sit down with Ina Chung, creator of @TheAsianAllergyMom to discuss one of the most overlooked aspects of treatment decisions: giving yourself permission to choose the path that aligns with your family's goals, values, and season of life. Together we discuss: Why more treatment options can sometimes create more pressure&nbsp...
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  #81 Mindset and Mental Health in OIT with Prof. Adam Fox 23.06.2026 50min

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode, UK allergist Prof. Adam Fox joins us to explore the emotional and psychosocial layers of oral immunotherapy. Dr. Fox shares how he approaches difficult conversations with honesty and compassion, including addressing guilt about management decisions and understanding risk and side effects during treatment. Dr. Fox gives us important insights and emotional validation regarding the connection between stress and allergic reactions, including how the brain, ...
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  BONUS EPISODE: Magic Wand Exercise for Teens and Adults 18.06.2026 8min

  Send us Fan Mail Beneath our wishes, we often discover important clues about our values, needs, fears, hopes, griefs, and the parts of ourselves that may not receive enough attention in everyday life. When was the last time you used your imagination, not to solve a problem or make a plan, but to better understand yourself? This guided Magic Wand Exercise invites you to set aside what is practical, realistic, or possible for a moment and explore a simple question: If you had a magic wand, wha...
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  BONUS EPISODE: Magic Wand Meditation for Kids 17.06.2026 7min

  Send us Fan Mail What would your child change if they had a magic wand? What would they wish for? What would they want the adults in their life to understand? The Magic Wand Exercise is one of my favorite tools for helping children express thoughts, feelings, worries, hopes, and needs that can sometimes be difficult to put into words directly. This gentle, guided exercise invites children to use their imaginations to explore a wish, giving adults valuable information about their needs and emo...
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  #80 Fear, Hope, & Self-Compassion: Guest Host Dr. Elizabeth Hawkins Interviews Me About My New Book 16.06.2026 34min

  Send us Fan Mail This month, the tables are turned. In this special episode, psychologist, food allergy mom, and friend Dr. Elizabeth Hawkins joins the podcast as guest host to interview me about my new book, From Fear to Freedom: A Workbook for Navigating Allergy Immunotherapy. We discuss the personal and professional experiences that inspired the book, the challenges families face when considering treatment options, and why food allergy treatment decisions are about so much more than medici...
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  #79 Misconceptions, Myths & More: What Dr. Tom Chacko Wants You to Know About OIT 09.06.2026 43min

  Send us Fan Mail We covered what OIT is last week. This week? We’re talking about what it’s not. Dr. Tom Chacko joins me to bust common myths about oral immunotherapy and answer the questions families ask in his clinic and on social media every day. Dr. Chacko gives us his honest and direct perspective on: -When not pursuing OIT could be a missed opportunity or even a disservice to a patient -How other treatment options compare to OIT -Why we should be mindful of where messages come fr...