The Food Allergy Brain

Mia Silverman
  • 5.0 (9)
  • Mental Health

The Food Allergy Brain is a podcast hosted by Mia Silverman, the food allergy advocate behind Allergies with Mia. The show explores the intersection of food allergies, psychology, and human resilience. Through thoughtful conversations with leading psychologists, researchers, clinicians, and advocates, Mia brings emerging science, expert insight, and lived experience together in one space. The mission of The Food Allergy Brain is to offer grounded, accessible education for individuals and families navigating life with food allergies, while addressing the emotional, cognitive, and social realities that often go unseen. By centering both research and real-world experience, the podcast aims to empower listeners, reduce stigma, and deepen public understanding of the mental and emotional dimensions of the food allergy journey.

  1. 6d ago

    The Food Allergy Brain Episode 13: Dr. Douglas Jones, MD

    Send us Fan Mail This week on The Food Allergy Brain, Mia sits down with Dr. Douglas Jones, a board-certified allergist, co-founder of the Food Allergy Support Team, and one of the first physicians in the country to bring oral immunotherapy (OIT) into private practice. Dr. Jones has spent nearly two decades reshaping what food allergy treatment can look like, and he traces it all back to one pivotal moment: a mother sitting in his office, newly handed a long list of her daughter's allergies, who looked at him and asked, "What do I feed her?" He didn't have a good answer that day, and it changed the entire course of his career. In this conversation he walks Mia through the "food allergy treatment menu", why there's no one-size-fits-all approach, and how he matches each patient to their own goals and stage of life instead of forcing them into a box. The two also go deep on the mental health side of living with food allergies, why the nervous system often takes longer to heal than the immune system, the guilt so many parents (especially moms) carry, and the misinformation he gently debunks every day, from numbers equaling severity to unvalidated tests preying on vulnerable families. Dr. Jones shares one of the most moving descriptions you'll hear of watching a patient's true personality re-emerge as the weight of fear finally lifts. Mia opens up about her own lifelong food allergy anxiety too. This is a hopeful, grounding conversation about treating the whole person, not just the immune system, and if you've ever felt buried under the burden of managing allergies, this episode is a reminder that better answers, and real hope, exist. Find Dr. Douglas Jones: Instagram, Facebook & TikTok: @drdougjones Podcast: The Immune Edit (YouTube, Apple Podcasts & Spotify) Find Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia):  Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmia  Website: allergieswithmia.com

    45 min

  2. Jun 8

    The Food Allergy Brain Episode 12: Dr. Kaitlin Proctor, PhD

    Send us Fan Mail This week on The Food Allergy Brain, Mia sits down with Dr. Kaitlin Proctor, a licensed pediatric psychologist, program manager at the Multidisciplinary Feeding Program at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Proctor works at the intersection of food allergies and ARFID (avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder), and she co-launched a pediatric psychology allergy program to bring mental health support directly into the allergy space. Dr. Proctor breaks down what makes allergy management so emotionally heavy, the tightrope parents and kids walk between safety and freedom, and why a parent's anxiety (and their resilience) can both pass to a child. She also gives one of the clearest explanations you'll hear of what ARFID actually is, why having a food allergy can raise the risk of developing it, and the signs clinicians and parents so often miss. Mia opens up about her own lifelong food allergy anxiety, and the two get honest about the mental health crisis in the allergy community and where to find real support when it feels out of reach. Find Dr. Kaitlin Proctor, PhD: Google Scholar & LinkedIn (Search up "Dr. Kaitlin Proctor, PhD" Find Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia):  Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmia  Website: allergieswithmia.com

    46 min

  3. May 25

    The Food Allergy Brain Episode 11: Lex Decker

    Send us Fan Mail Content warning: this episode contains discussion of eating disorders.  This week on The Food Allergy Brain, Mia sits down with Lex Decker, the creator behind NYC But Gluten Free, one of the most vibrant and trusted gluten-free communities on the internet. Lex has been living with celiac disease for 17 years, diagnosed at just 10 years old, and she does not hold back in this one. She opens up about what it was really like growing up with celiac before gluten-free options existed, the social isolation of always being the one who couldn't eat what everyone else was eating, and why she actually kept eating gluten in high school and college just to feel normal. She also gets into the very real fear that comes with dining out when your health is on the line, how she handles restaurants that get it wrong, and the accountability she holds herself to as a creator with a platform. Lex opens up about her eating disorder journey and how celiac disease played a role in it. This is one of the most honest conversations The Food Allergy Brain has ever had, and Mia shares something personal too. If you have ever felt like you were doing this alone, this episode is going to remind you that you are not. Lex Decker's handle:  Instagram & TikTok: @nycbutglutenfree Find Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia):  Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmia  Website: allergieswithmia.com

    48 min

  4. May 15

    The Food Allergy Brain Episode 10: Dr. Manisha Relan, MD

    Send us Fan Mail This week on The Food Allergy Brain, Mia sits down with Dr. Manisha Relan, a pediatric allergist and immunologist who sees patients of all ages and has been one of the OG allergy voices on social media since 2019. Dr. Relan shares how she approaches the emotional weight of food allergies with her patients every day, the proximity challenges she uses to help kids build real confidence, and what her dream care team for allergy families actually looks like (including support for the sibling, which often gets overlooked). She also breaks down the latest on early allergen introduction, OIT, SLIT, and Xolair, and gets candid about fighting misinformation online and knowing when to step away. Dr. Manisha Relan's handle:  Instagram: @pedsallergymd Find Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia):  Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmia  Website: allergieswithmia.com

    48 min

  5. May 1

    The Food Allergy Brain Episode 9: Thomas Silvera

    Send us Fan Mail This episode is sponsored by Abe's Muffins! Shop at abesmuffins.com This 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: @elijahsecho Website: elijahalavifoundation.org Find Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia): Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmia Website: allergieswithmia.com

    1 hr

  6. Apr 20

    The Food Allergy Brain Episode 8: Q&A with Mia

    Send us Fan Mail This 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

    53 min

  7. Apr 13

    The Food Allergy Brain Episode 7: Jenna Gestetner

    Send us Fan Mail This 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: @jennaxhealth Website: jennaxhealth.com Jenna's Coloring Book: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Food-Allergies-allergy-coloring/dp/B0G6772H6P Find Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia):  Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmia  Website: allergieswithmia.com

    44 min

  8. Apr 3

    The Food Allergy Brain Episode 6: Congressman Maxwell Frost

    Send us Fan Mail This 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: @repmaxwellfrost Find Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia):  Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmia  Website: allergieswithmia.com

    35 min
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5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

The Food Allergy Brain is a podcast hosted by Mia Silverman, the food allergy advocate behind Allergies with Mia. The show explores the intersection of food allergies, psychology, and human resilience. Through thoughtful conversations with leading psychologists, researchers, clinicians, and advocates, Mia brings emerging science, expert insight, and lived experience together in one space. The mission of The Food Allergy Brain is to offer grounded, accessible education for individuals and families navigating life with food allergies, while addressing the emotional, cognitive, and social realities that often go unseen. By centering both research and real-world experience, the podcast aims to empower listeners, reduce stigma, and deepen public understanding of the mental and emotional dimensions of the food allergy journey.

Information

  • Creator
    Mia Silverman
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Food Allergy Brain
  • Show Website
    The Food Allergy Brain

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