About Lisa Gable:  Lisa Gable is the CEO of FARE. 

Lisa Gable has served four U.S. presidents and two governors, counseled Fortune 500 CEOs, and represented global public-private partnerships and nonprofits with an end goal of moving organizations to higher levels of performance.

As the former President of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, Lisa created and led a coalition of food and beverage industry corporations and public health and government agencies resulting in the reduction of 6.4 trillion calories from the American diet.

Lisa was appointed the first female U.S. Commissioner General to the 2005 Aichi World EXPO, holding the personal rank of Ambassador, served as a U.S. Delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and served in the Reagan White House and Defense Department. Her corporate experience included serving as senior vice president of Global Public Policy at PepsiCo and 15 years in Silicon Valley. Among her varied volunteer activities, she has served on several boards including as a National Trustee for the Boys and Girls Club of America, a board member for Girl Scouts of the USA and as a member of the Institute of Medicine Roundtable on Obesity Solutions. A published writer, Gable also had recurring media appearances including four years as a regularly scheduled guest with Lifetime’s national morning program The Balancing Act.

She is a graduate of University of Virginia and holds an MA from Georgetown University.

About FARE:  FARE enhances the lives of individuals with food allergies empowering them to lead safe, productive lives with the respect of others through education and advocacy initiatives and improved awareness around healthcare options and treatment.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• How Lisa became involved in the world of Food Allergies 
• Airline Travel, Allergies and how FARE is supporting making airline travel safer for those with allergies
• The FASTER Act – The Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education & Research (FASTER) Act, H.R. 2117, S. 3451
• The Covid Pandemic & Food Labelling
• Feeding babies new foods including the major allergens early and often & BabiesFirst.org
• OIT & TIP – Oral Immunotherapy and Tolerance Induction Programs and the disparity and barriers for access to these programs
• FARE’s Patient Registry – Why U.S. citizens are encouraged to register and share their journey with allergies!
• The “Contains Courage” campaign and “Living Teal” – both programs which focus on living life with allergies (my tagline!)
• The future of research on biomarkers and precision medicine for food allergies
• Upcoming retreats – Research Retreat and Living Teal Summit – register at foodallergy.org – these will both be virtual events! I

Access the full podcast show notes here!

Welcome to Episode 6 of the Allergy mom podcast an interview with Daniel Zakowski, founder of Ready. Set. Food!

• Clinical research shows we can prevent up to 80% of allergies from developing in the first place through following a protocol of early allergen introduction (Examples of studies that support this include:  The LEAP (Learning Early about Peanut) studyfocused on giving small amounts of peanuts to babies frequently and on an on-going basis; the PETIT (Two-step egg introduction for prevention of egg allergy in high-risk infants with eczema) trial – looking at egg introduction, and the EAT (Enquiry About Tolerance) trial – multiple different allergenic foods (peanut, egg, milk, sesame, fish and wheat) introduced early in a child’s diet to determine possible prevention of food allergies. 
• Challenge is how to feed babies multiple allergens on a regular basis – there was a need to support parents in making this easier to follow the evidence of how to prevent 80% of these food allergies – that’s how Ready. Set. Food! was created and the idea was born to find a bottle-feeding solution to introducing food allergens to infants.
• Early allergen introduction is recommended at 4 months for now – hasn’t been studied for earlier yet so at this point this is the recommended time. 
• According to U.S. guidelines, Pre-screening is recommended if your child has eczema or other diagnosed allergies before introducing allergens. In other countries there is not this recommendation. Even if you have a family history of food allergies, they are still advocating for early introduction of allergens apart from the recommendations for pre-screening above in the U.S. The reason for that being that severe eczema is a warning sign for development of food allergies. 
• Delaying introduction of allergens to infants is the worst thing according to their findings.  This is a complete 180 from the advice I was given when my children were infants! 
• Recent research entitled “Age Differences in Food Reaction Severity During Oral Food Challenges in a Large Pediatric Population” retrieved from: (https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(19)31863-9/fulltext) shares the findings Daniel speaks about in this interview that EVERY MONTH YOU WAIT poses increased risks for more severe reactions and that babies generally have more mild reactions. This research supports his suggestions that the earlier introduction the better for introducing allergens to your child. 
• The Allergy Mom, Ready. Set. Food! and other partners have partnered up to support the launch of PreventAllergies.org – a non-branded website created as a separate resource to support doctors in providing education about food allergy prevention.
• Continued exposure to allergens is key to maintaining the preventative effects of early introduction of food allergens in preventing food allergies and maintaining tolerance throughout a person’s life.

That is Episode 6! Thanks for listening! Check out Ready. Set. Food’s website as well as PreventAllergies.org – which I have been happy to partner with to share the important research being done about preventing allergies in children. 

Welcome to Episode 5 of the Allergy mom podcast – the second in a special series of Covid-related episodes to support families managing chronic health conditions such as severe allergies and anaphylaxis during a pandemic.  

In this episode I speak with Jon Terry of the Allergy Advocacy Association, a not for profit out of New York that strives to provide education and awareness to the public at large and at-risk individuals about allergies and anaphylaxis.  

I reached out to Jon after seeing posts he was sharing about his involvement in advocating for safe food labelling during the pandemic.   

Jon is passionately advocating due to his grave concerns in light of the Food & Drug Administration’s new “relaxed” food allergen labeling regulations- which allowed for manufacturers to substitute up to 2% of ingredients -without changing their product labels!  

While substitutions cannot include top allergens, you can imagine that this is still highly concerning to families dealing with food allergies and dietary restrictions.  When dealing with a severe food allergy, NOTHING is more important that knowing exactly what is in the food you are eating and seems like such a basic right to me that I’m always baffled by these types of issues when they arise.  

I hope you enjoy the conversation with Jon as much as I did – it’s always a pleasure to speak with a like-minded individual who advocates on behalf of our allergy community.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• Jon lost his sister due to an anaphylactic reaction to bees and founded Allergy Advocacy Association in her memory
• Jon stresses that while deaths due to anaphylaxis are relatively low, the prevalence of this disease and the risks to people is increasing
• Jon discusses how ingredients such as sesame are becoming more and more pervasive as allergens and that there is a need for food labelling that indicates accurately all ingredients in a food product
• Jon shares his efforts along with those sharing in his mission such as FARE and the AAFA amongst others to advocate for people with allergies through consulting the FDA in regards to their relaxed food labelling guidelines during the pandemic which put those with allergies at risk

Key Takeaways:

1. We need to speak out and advocate to food manufacturers and policy makers to ensure that our food labels are accurate and representative of allergens that may pose a risk to those with food allergies
2. During a pandemic, food manufacturers may be using alternative ingredients and not labelling their products accordingly due to relaxed guidelines by the FDA – if in doubt you must contact the manufacturer to ensure that your favourite products are STILL SAFE
3. You can support individuals with severe allergy by reaching out to the FDA, advocacy groups and key stakeholders in food labelling (manufacturers and policy makers) and letting them know how serious of a concern this is for people with serious allergies and dietary restrictions. 

That is Episode 5! Thanks for listening! Check out Jon’s website for articles such as this one:  Pandemic Jolts Federal Policy for Food Labeling to keep abreast of this issue.

There are many serious issues that are arising for those with allergies, asthma, anaphylaxis and serious, chronic health conditions during this global pandemic. One of them is the internal debate whether to go to the hospital (Emerg) in the event of a medical emergency. The fear of Covid is causing people not to seek emergency medical care or making them very nervous to do so. It is SO IMPORTANT to get prompt medical care in the event of anaphylaxis or a severe allergic or asthmatic episode. 

In this episode, I chat with That Allergic Girl , Kasia Kalinowska, a young person living in New York during the pandemic who experienced a severe allergic reaction and did not go to Emerg. out of fear of the Coronavirus. She wrote about her experience in an article entitled: Gambling on an Allergic Reaction in a Pandemic and shared via social media which is how I came across her story. I speak to her in this episode to discuss the thought process behind that decision and what she has learned from the experience…and most importantly what she would do if (heaven forbid) it happened again in the future – spoiler alert: SHE WOULD GO!

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• Kasia’s experience with a severe allergic reaction from eating a contaminated sushi roll and her decision NOT to seek emergency medical care
• Her multiple food allergies and how those have affected her throughout her life
• FARE‘s newly released Protocol for Acute At Home Management of Anaphylaxis During the Covid-19 Pandemic
• The importance of administering epinephrine and seeking emergency medical care immediately when experiencing a reaction
• The reality of the panic of the moment and that you should mentally prepare yourself beforehand with a plan of the best course of action so that you can ensure you react accordingly in the heat of the moment during a reaction
• What allergy life is like for tweens, teens and young adults – a frightening stage for allergy moms as children in those age groups tend to engage in more risky behaviour – Kasia speaks to her experiences through these ages and stages and how she survived!

Key Takeaways:

1. The importance of administering epinephrine right away if you’re having a reaction and going to EMERGENCY – EVEN IN A PANDEMIC! “Patients should be empowered to activate emergency medical services (EMS) if they feel concerns or feel urgent care is needed after epinephrine use” Source: (Acute At Home Management of Anaphylaxis During the Covid-19 Pandemic – Protocol)
2. Eating out with food allergies – knowing that cross-contamination is real and possible and does happen.
3. The benefit of creating an anaphylaxis emergency plan and using it in the panic of the moment of a reaction.

That is Episode 4! Thanks for listening! I will be sharing more Covid-related podcast episodes as we go through this pandemic. Be on the look out for the next one where I interview Jon Terry of The Allergy Advocacy Association and how his organization and others, including FARE are working fervently to address food labelling safety during the pandemic. 

The Allergy Mom interviews Amanda Orlando, creator of the blog EverydayAllergenFree, and the author of two amazing cookbooks – Everyone’s Welcome and Allergen-Free Desserts.   You may have seen  or heard about Amanda and her cookbooks on the Global National Morning Show, CBC Radio, or the Globe & Mail. In this episode, she shares her experiences and knowledge of life with allergies at the teen and young adult ages and stages.   Amanda deals with allergies first hand as she is allergic to peanuts, nuts (excluding coconut), dairy, soy protein, and legumes (peas, chick peas, beans, lentils) and all  of her allergies are in fact anaphylactic. She’s lived with this autoimmune disease since birth and has  a wealth of experience to share on living a life with allergies.  

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• Amanda’s allergies and her most traumatic, emotionally impactful reaction experience
• Eating out at restaurants with food allergies/anaphylaxis – Amanda shares why she finds it MORE CHALLENGING TODAY than it used to be eating out in public with food allergies.
• Amanda’s cookbooks and blog – sharing recipes free from major allergens
• Amanda’s new YouTube Channel
• Amanda’s experiences as a teen -the high school years w/allergies
• Accepting a life with allergies vs. hope for overcoming them

Key Takeaways:

1. The importance of administering epinephrine right away if you’re having a reaction!
2. Eating out with food allergies – debating whether it’s worth the risk or not. 
3. There are recipes available that are delicious and amazing that are free from your allergens! 
4. Shopping with food allergies – it’s not easy but you can do it! How to shop, how to read ingredient labels and how to live a “normal” life with food allergies.
5. You can live a full and “normal” life with food allergies and there are silver linings to this diagnosis 
6. 
   

That sums up Episode 3! Thanks for listening! Be sure to subscribe to the podcast – there are some amazing interviews and topics coming out in the next few weeks that I don’t want you to miss including:

• Daniel Kelly from May-contain.com
• Daniel Zakowski, CEO and Co-founder of Ready Set Food and his experience on Shark Tank and creating a system to PREVENT food allergies in babies!
• A special episode on Covid-19 – Important considerations for allergy-sufferers during the Pandemic.

The Allergy Mom shares the story of her daughter Kate's most serious allergic reaction to food - an anaphylactic reaction to tree nuts. Do you worry that you or a loved one may have a food allergy?  Would you know what to do in case of an anaphylactic allergic reaction? The Allergy Mom gives you the low-down on IGE allergies. She also shares her best tips for alleviating seasonal allergy symptoms and her latest partnership with Platejoy to provide a meal-planning service that gives you great allergy-safe dinner ideas and will even help you get the groceries!

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

• Food Allergies 101:   Get the facts on food allergies so that you can determine whether you or a loved one may in fact have a food allergy and what to do about it if you do!
• Seasonal Allergy Question:  The Allergy Mom provides her best tips for dealing with pollen, grass and other environmental allergens at this time of year.
• Platejoy Meal Planning Service:  The Allergy Mom has partnered with Platejoy - Your Personal Meal Planning Assistant!  Weekly custom meal plans and grocery lists to make life easier which is something we can all use when trying to plan meals that are healthy and/or free from allergens and certain ingredients!  Get 10% off a subscription with the code:  ALLERGYMOM10
• A shout out to Red Output - a new band on iTunes!  At only 16 years of age, I couldn't be more proud of Ryan O'Donnell and the rest of the group for releasing their first single!

Click here for the Website Page for this Episode with more information and links!

Meet Melissa Scheichl (B.A. (Psych.), B.Ed., M.Ed., MSW)  aka "The Allergy Mom", founder of TheAllergyMom.com website and a passionate advocate, educator, author, blogger, counsellor and therapist, supporting families dealing with life threatening food allergies, allergy, asthma, eczema and related health issues.  This podcast will deal not only with the physical issues associated with these diseases but also the emotional and psychological well-being of patients and their care-givers.  Melissa provides daily life hacks, advice and product and service recommendations to make your life easier while making life safe for those with serious allergy.

You can find all the info and links about this episode at : https://theallergymom.com/podcast-episode-1-meet-the-allergy-mom/