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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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This 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.com

Find Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia):

Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmia

Website: allergieswithmia.com

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This 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/2359772

Find Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia):

Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmia

Website: allergieswithmia.com