The Food Allergy Brain

Send us Fan MailThis episode is sponsored by Abe's Muffins! Shop at abesmuffins.comThis week on The Food Allergy Brain, Mia sits down with Thomas Silvera, co-founder of the Elijah-Alavi Foundation, a public health advocate and certified surgical technologist whose life changed forever on November 3rd, 2017, when his son Elijah died from a preventable allergic reaction at a New York City daycare center. What followed was not silence, but action, and Thomas describes it as grief with a direction.Thomas shares who Elijah was as a little boy: joyful, independent, always running, always smiling, and known for saying "make a hand, make a hug, make a kiss" whenever he needed comfort. He opens up about navigating the grief while immediately stepping into advocacy, explaining that the inaction felt unbearable. The conversation explores post-traumatic growth, the emotional toll of retelling Elijah's story in legislative rooms, and how Thomas balances running a nonprofit with being a doctoral student and a father to Elijah's older brother, Sebastian.Thomas walks through the legislative journey behind Elijah's Law, now passed in six states and two cities, including what it took to get it signed in California after the governor initially rejected it, and why Maryland moved it in just a matter of weeks. He also speaks candidly about health equity, why Black and brown communities face disproportionately severe reactions and fewer resources, and what it would truly look like for food allergy advocacy to center equity.Thomas Silvera's handles:Instagram, TikTok & X: @elijahsechoWebsite: elijahalavifoundation.orgFind Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia):Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmiaWebsite: allergieswithmia.com

Send us Fan MailThis week on The Food Allergy Brain, Mia goes solo for a highly requested Q&A episode, answering your most burning questions about what it's really like to live with over 50 food allergies through the lens of mental health, relationships, and everyday life.Mia opens up about her therapy journey and how CBT, radical acceptance, and a consistent self-care routine have helped her build stability, especially in the aftermath of anaphylaxis. She gets candid about what makes anaphylaxis so traumatizing, how she distinguishes an anxious response from an actual reaction, and why finding a food allergy-specialized psychologist in high school changed everything for her. The conversation also covers friendships, dating, allyship, traveling with allergies, and the emotional rollercoaster of food challenges.The episode closes with Mia reflecting on the defining moments that shaped her mindset, including the allergist who told her she'd likely never outgrow her allergies, and the TikTok she posted in response that started it all.Find Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia): Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmia Website: allergieswithmia.com

Send us Fan MailThis week on The Food Allergy Brain, Mia sits down with Jenna Gestetner, known online as Jenna X Health, a 23-year-old content creator and patient advocate living with MCAS (mast cell activation syndrome) and several other chronic conditions. What makes Jenna's story so striking is that she currently eats just eight foods yet maintains such a positive outlook on life.Jenna breaks down what MCAS actually is and why it's so often misunderstood, including the common misconception that if a reaction isn't anaphylactic, it must just be an intolerance. She shares her diagnostic journey, the grief that comes with losing safe foods, and why finding a specialist who truly validates you changes everything. The conversation also covers the anxiety and OCD she's found to be directly tied to her MCAS symptoms, her manifestation practice using a shelf of foods she hopes to one day eat, nervous system regulation, and her experience with EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) as a tool for rewiring fear responses.The episode closes with Jenna's vision for an ideal support system, one where healthcare is woven into daily life rather than something patients have to step outside of their lives to access.Jenna Gestetner's handles: Instagram, TikTok & YouTube: @jennaxhealthWebsite: jennaxhealth.comJenna's Coloring Book: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Food-Allergies-allergy-coloring/dp/B0G6772H6PFind Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia): Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmia Website: allergieswithmia.com

Send us Fan MailThis week on The Food Allergy Brain, Mia sits down with Congressman Maxwell Frost, who represents Orlando, Florida, and is the youngest member of Congress and its first Gen Z representative. What many people don't know is that Congressman Frost is a lifelong food allergy kid with severe peanut and tree nut allergies.He shares his personal journey, including a terrifying near-fatal anaphylactic reaction at a potluck, the panic disorder and eating disorder that followed, and the coping strategies that helped him recover. The conversation explores what it's actually like navigating Washington, DC, with severe food allergies, from the House cloakroom that used to stock bags of peanuts, to unmarked meals in the Capitol, to flying twice a week, and how he turned those everyday frustrations into real institutional change.They also discuss the Epinephrine Pharma Inflated Price Ends Now Act, his bill to cap the cost of epinephrine auto-injectors at $60 for a pack of two, why these devices are so expensive in the US, and what listeners can do to help get it passed. The episode closes with his vision for the ideal food allergy support system, centered on community, organizing, and accessible mental health resources.Congressman Maxwell Frost's Instagram: Personal: @maxwellfrostfl Official: @repmaxwellfrostFind Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia): Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmia Website: allergieswithmia.com

Send us Fan MailThis week on The Food Allergy Brain, Mia sits down with Jenna Tso, a licensed clinical social worker based in California who specializes in food allergies, chronic illness, and anxiety. Jenna brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her practice, having grown up with anaphylactic food allergies herself.They discuss Jenna's personal journey from experiencing a severe allergic reaction in college to becoming a food allergy-informed therapist. Jenna shares her experience navigating adolescence and young adulthood with food allergies, including the challenges of self-advocacy, the isolation of college dining halls, and the mental health toll of constantly minimizing her needs to fit in. She also opens up about outgrowing some of her allergies in recent years and what that shift has meant for her relationship with food and freedom.The conversation explores Jenna's therapeutic approach, including CBT, fear ladders, and exposure-based techniques like allergen proximity challenges. Jenna also introduces brainspotting, a powerful somatic therapy for processing food allergy-related trauma and PTSD. She shares how she runs virtual support groups for food allergy teens, young adults, and parents, and why peer connection is so essential for healing. The episode closes with Jenna's vision for a truly integrated, trauma-informed support system that addresses mind, body, and spirit in food allergy care.Where to Find Jenna Tso:Instagram: @thefoodallergytherapist TikTik: @foodallergytherapist Website: www.jennatso.comFind Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia):Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmiaWebsite: allergieswithmia.com

Send us Fan MailThis week on The Food Allergy Brain, Mia sits down with Dr. Linda Herbert, Director of Psychology Research and Clinical Services in the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Children's National Hospital and NIH-funded researcher. Dr. Herbert has spent over a decade building evidence-based psychological interventions for food allergy families, and in this conversation, she shares what she's learned.They discuss how the field of food allergy psychology has shifted from simply documenting anxiety to actively creating solutions, including the surprising and often dangerous realities of food allergy-related bullying, the stress of mealtime dynamics for parents of young children, and the emerging questions around food allergies and disordered eating. Dr. Herbert also breaks down her work with exposure-based approaches like allergen proximity challenges, the role of telehealth in making care more accessible and equitable, and how parental anxiety shifts across a child's developmental stages. The episode closes with Dr. Herbert's vision for what a truly integrated medical and psychological support system for food allergy families could and should look like.Whether you're a food allergy parent, a young adult navigating allergies on your own, or someone working in the allergy space, this episode is packed with insight, research, and hope.Find Dr. Linda Herbert, PhD:Website: https://appointments.childrensnational.org/provider/linda-jones-herbert/2359772Find Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia):Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmiaWebsite: allergieswithmia.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of The Food Allergy Brain, host Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia) sits down with Dr. Elizabeth Hawkins, a psychologist specializing in food allergy-related anxiety and trauma, to explore the emotional realities of living with life-threatening allergies.Dr. Hawkins shares her journey from being trained as a child and adolescent psychologist to becoming a food allergy psychologist after her daughter was diagnosed with multiple severe allergies. Drawing from both clinical expertise and lived experience as an allergy mom, she discusses how food allergies reshape the way families understand safety, risk, and control.Together, they unpack the difference between everyday anxiety and anxiety disorders, what happens emotionally after anaphylaxis, and why trying to eliminate anxiety altogether may not be the goal. Dr. Hawkins introduces acceptance-based approaches like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Internal Family Systems (IFS), explaining how building psychological flexibility and self-trust can help individuals and families live fully — even when risk is part of the picture.They also explore grief, trauma, burnout, social isolation, misinformation in the allergy space, and the urgent need for integrated mental health support within allergy care. The episode concludes with a hopeful discussion about resilience, emerging treatments, and what a truly supportive emotional and medical system for food allergy families could look like.Find Dr. Elizabeth Hawkins, PhD:Website: www.dr-elizabeth.comFood Allergy Hive: www.fahive.comInstagram: @foodallergypsychologistFind Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia):Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmiaWebsite: allergieswithmia.com

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of The Food Allergy Brain, host Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia) sits down with Zachary Rubin, a double board-certified pediatrician and allergist-immunologist with a large and influential social media platform, to explore what it truly means to live with and care for food allergies today.Dr. Rubin shares his journey from growing up with severe eczema to becoming a trusted voice in allergy education, both in the clinic and online. Together, they explore the emotional impact of a food allergy diagnosis, including parental guilt, anxiety, bullying, and the constant mental load of risk assessment.They also discuss medical misinformation, the responsibility physicians carry in the public eye, and why compassionate, multidisciplinary care, including mental health and dietary support, is just as essential as medical treatment. The episode concludes with a hopeful look at emerging allergy therapies and what better support systems for patients and families could look like in the future. Find Dr. Zachary Rubin, MD:Instagram & TikTok: @rubin_allergySubstack: https://drrubin.substack.com/Pre-order Dr. Rubin's book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790561/all-about-allergies-by-zachary-rubin-md/Find Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia):Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmiaWebsite: allergieswithmia.com

Send us Fan MailIn the first episode of The Food Allergy Brain, host Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia) speaks with Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, PhD, psychologist and food allergy mom, about how food allergies affect the nervous system, mental health, and everyday life.They explore anxiety versus appropriate caution, how food allergies impact children and families across developmental stages, and why regulation and nervous-system support are just as important as medical care. Dr. Whitehouse also shares practical, trauma-informed strategies to help individuals and families feel safer, more empowered, and less alone.Find Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, PhD:Website: thefoodallergypsychologist.comInstagram: @thefoodallergypsychologistFind Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia):Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmiaWebsite: allergieswithmia.com