SoS 278: Using a biocultural approach to understand food allergies, consumption patterns, and guidelines with Erin Maxwell (Hosein)

In this episode, Mecca chats with Erin Maxwell (Hosein) about her research on food allergen consumption patterns in the U.S. using NHANES data, gaps in current research, and the value of anthropological approaches for contributing to a more holistic understanding and informing policy/guidelines. They also discuss the evolutionary dual-allergen exposure hypothesis and new, exciting methods for testing the theory. Erin Maxwell (Hosein) is a registered dietitian and human-biology PhD student in Anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill whose work centers on the rising prevalence of food allergies in the United States. Drawing on training in nutrition, food studies, and evolutionary perspectives on health, she studies how early-life feeding practices may shape the development of allergic disease. Her research focuses on maternal and infant nutrition and the early-life origins of allergic conditions using biosocial and nutritional epidemiology approaches. More broadly, she examines how food policy and shifting public health recommendations influence not only nutritional status but also everyday food practices, customs, and beliefs. Contact Erin at [email protected], https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinhoseinnutrition/ ------------------------------ Find the papers discussed in this episode: Hosein, E. A., Virkud, Y. V., Kim, E. H., Hoke, M. K., Thompson, A. L., & Keet, C. A. (2025). Temporal, Age, and Racial and Ethnic Trends in Allergen Consumption from 2-Day 24-Hour Recalls, NHANES 2003-2023. The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice, 13(10), 2795–2805. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2025.07.028 Comment on Stanislaw J. Gabryszewski, Jesse Dudley, Jennifer A. Faerber, Robert W. Grundmeier, Alexander G. Fiks, Jonathan M. Spergel, David A. Hill; Guidelines for Early Food Introduction and Patterns of Food Allergy. Pediatrics November 2025; 156 (5): e2024070516. 10.1542/peds.2024-070516 ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org Mecca E. Howe, Host, E-mail: [email protected], LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mecca-howe/