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In this episode of Don’t Feed the Fear, I’m joined by Tal Golan and Stephen Benford of Anjo.ai to explore the intersection of food allergy, wearable technology, artificial intelligence, and real-time physiological monitoring.

Tal Golan is the co-founder and CEO of Anjo.ai, a company developing technology designed to use wearable biosignals and AI to provide continuous monitoring and, ultimately, earlier recognition of allergic reactions.

Stephen Benford brings both a background in life-sciences finance and a deeply personal connection to anaphylaxis through the KeepSmilin4Abbie Foundation, which he co-founded in memory of his daughter Abbie who passed away due to anaphylaxis.

We talk about what wearable technology can tell us about the body, how AI may eventually help identify patterns associated with anaphylaxis, what the current research does and does not tell us, and what earlier detection could mean for families living with food allergy.

But we also go beyond the technology itself.

Food allergy involves an enormous amount of uncertainty. Parents constantly make decisions based on incomplete information, watch for subtle changes, and try to determine when something is simply normal and when it might signal a reaction. What could happen if we had more physiological information available to us in those moments?

AnjoProtect is still in development, and its anaphylaxis-detection capabilities are not currently available as a medical device. But the research raises fascinating questions about where food allergy management may be headed.

This is a conversation about innovation, hope, uncertainty, and the possibility that the future of food allergy management may look very different from what it does today.

At the time of publication on 10/13/26, Anjo Connect is available for pre-order at anjo.ai.

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme!
www.kyledine.com

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
-welcome@dramandawhitehouse.com

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In this season 8 finale of Don't Feed the Fear, Dr. Atul Shah joins me to talk about the medical and psychological sides of food allergy treatment. As the founder of NY Food Allergy & Wellness and creator of the FATE approach to food allergy tolerance enhancement, Dr. Shah has spent more than two decades working with patients and families navigating diagnosis, treatment, desensitization, and the pursuit of greater food freedom.

Together, we explore why building physical tolerance is only part of the story, how fear and past experiences can remain even as treatment progresses, what psychological healing can look like alongside medical treatment, and how clinicians and families can keep quality of life at the center of the conversation.

This episode brings together many of the themes explored throughout the season: treatment options, informed decision-making, fear, hope, agency, tolerance, and what it really means to move toward greater freedom with food allergy.

Follow Dr. Shah:

• YouTube: @NYFoodAllergyWellness
  https://www.youtube.com/@NYFoodAllergyWellness
• Facebook: NYFoodAllergy
  https://www.facebook.com/NYFoodAllergy/
• Instagram: @newyorkfoodallergy
  https://www.instagram.com/newyorkfoodallergy/
• TikTok: @nyfoodallergy
  https://www.tiktok.com/@nyfoodallergy
• https://www.nyfoodallergy.com/
• https://www.nyfoodallergy.com/game (FREE Food Allergy Game)

Dr. Shah's books:

https://a.co/d/00igH6WP

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme!
www.kyledine.com

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
-welcome@dramandawhitehouse.com

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Xiu-Min Li, a physician and researcher uniquely trained in both Western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Dr. Li has spent decades conducting rigorous scientific research exploring how traditional herbal therapies may help treat allergic diseases such as food allergies and eczema.

Her work focuses on developing standardized herbal formulas and studying their effects on the immune system through laboratory and clinical research. This includes the development of Food Allergy Herbal Formula (FAHF) and other therapies being studied for conditions such as severe eczema and topical steroid withdrawal (TSW).

In this conversation, Dr. Li explains the scientific approach behind her work, how TCM concepts translate into modern immunology research, and what the future may hold for integrative treatments for allergic disease.

Contact Dr. Li:
914-257-3754
xiumin_li@nymc.edu
https://www.nymc.edu/gsbms/faculty/li-xiu-min.php

Research: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Li+Xiu-Min+Valhalla
Books:
https://bookshop.org/p/books/tradition-chn-med-west-sci-fight-against-allergic-disease-henry-ehrlich/0b01ff3914cea929?ean=9789814733694&next=t

https://bookshop.org/p/books/treating-eczema-with-traditional-chinese-medicine-henry-ehrlich/cb1efb84d7fdac75?ean=9789811247538&next=t

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme!
www.kyledine.com

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
-welcome@dramandawhitehouse.com

Send us Fan Mail

Food allergy treatment looks very different today than it did 17 years ago.

In this episode, Dr. Elizabeth Hawkins joins me for a deeply personal conversation about navigating food allergy treatment as a parent long before many of today's options were readily available.

Elizabeth is a psychologist, celiac patient, and a celiac and food allergy parent. Her younger daughter has a complex history of multiple severe food allergies alongside asthma, eczema, and environmental allergies, and their family has navigated multiple forms of treatment. We talk about how her experiences shaped what she sees as a psychologist working with food allergy families. We also explore what parents facing immunotherapy decisions today can learn from those who have been navigating these choices for years.

This conversation is about more than choosing a treatment. It's about living with uncertainty, knowing your child, making decisions within the reality of your family's circumstances, and finding a way to move forward without letting fear make every decision for you.

Follow Dr. Hawkins on IG @foodallergypsychologist and dr-elizabeth.com

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme!
www.kyledine.com

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
-welcome@dramandawhitehouse.com

Send us Fan Mail

What does it really take to support a child through oral immunotherapy?

The medical protocol is only part of the experience. For children, OIT can involve fear, uncertainty, frustration, procedures, new sensations, and a lot of big feelings—sometimes without the words or skills to communicate what's happening.

In this episode, I talk with Kelsey Mora, a dual-certified Child Life Specialist and Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, about the emotional and developmental side of supporting kids through food allergy treatment.

Kelsey brings nearly a decade of hospital-based child life experience together with her training as a therapist, giving her a unique perspective on helping children and families navigate medical experiences. She's also the creator of The Method Workbooks, including The Y Method, an interactive workbook designed to help children understand food allergies and immunotherapy while building communication and coping skills.

We talk about preparing children for OIT, helping kids understand what's happening in their bodies, coping with anxiety during treatment, giving children appropriate choices and control, and supporting the whole family through the process.

Follow Kelsey:
@childlifetherapist
childlifetherapist.com
The Y Method: https://a.co/d/0cYsEAPW

Find my book, From Fear to Freedom:
On Amazon - https://a.co/d/0iiOwy04
On bookshop.org -
https://bookshop.org/p/books/from-fear-to-freedom-a-workbook-for-navigating-allergy-immunotherapy-amanda-r-desio-whitehouse/62f4d096796ed48c?ean=9798995147404&bkshp-astro=t

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Honest conversations about mental health, relationships, purpose, and being human.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme!
www.kyledine.com

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
-welcome@dramandawhitehouse.com

Send us Fan Mail

What does it look like when a family is navigating multiple complicated medical journeys?

In this episode of Don't Feed the Fear, I sit down with Natalie Grijalva to talk about her experience with her son's food allergy immunotherapy and her son's additional medical challenges related to Kawasaki disease.

Natalie started her Instagram account @createlikeamom as a space to explore and express her artistic pursuits, but motherhood led her in a different direction and she now uses the account to raise awareness about food allergies and Kawasaki.

We discuss what it takes to make treatment possible for a child when life is already complicated. We discuss the emotional and practical realities of navigating multiple medical concerns. We also talk about Kawasaki disease awareness and the importance of learning from other chronic illness communities—even when our diagnoses and experiences look different.

Many families within the food allergy community find themselves navigating their own unique combination of medical concerns. This conversation is ultimately about hope, persistence, and finding meaningful connection even though none of our stories are exactly the same.

Follow Natalie @createlikeamom and her artwork @dragonflycanvasco

Order From Food to Freedom
on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0bT0HjQi
or on bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/from-fear-to-freedom-a-workbook-for-navigating-allergy-immunotherapy-amanda-r-desio-whitehouse/62f4d096796ed48c?ean=9798995147404&bkshp-astro=t

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Honest conversations about mental health, relationships, purpose, and being human.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme!
www.kyledine.com

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
-welcome@dramandawhitehouse.com

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, I sit down with Sarah Danna, the creator behind @sarahandspices, to talk about her life with food allergies, her more recent diagnosis with MCAS, and her experience with immunotherapy through the Tolerance Induction Program (TIP) at the Food Allergy Institute.

Sarah shares the emotional and practical realities of navigating treatment while also building an online community around allergy-friendly living. We talk about the progress she has experienced through the program, some of the challenges and setbacks along the way, and how her care team is adapting treatment in the context of mast cell activation syndrome.

We also discuss what it’s like to share your health journey publicly as a content creator and how community support has shaped Sarah’s advocacy.

Thank you Sarah for sharing your honest patient perspective on navigating complex allergic disease and treatment.

Find Sarah @sarahandspices and www.sarahandspices.com

From Fear to Freedom: A Workbook for Navigating Allergy Immunotherapy: https://a.co/d/03L4ZM8g

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme!
www.kyledine.com

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
-welcome@dramandawhitehouse.com

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, Dr. Inderpal Randhawa, founder of the Tolerance Induction Program (TIP) for allergies, joins the podcast to discuss his program and its approach to food allergy treatment.

As part of this season exploring emerging and evolving allergy management options, this conversation aims to provide information directly from the source. TIP has generated both interest and debate within the food allergy community.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The foundational principles of TIP
• How the program is structured
• Patient selection and goals
• How TIP fits into the broader treatment landscape
• Areas of ongoing discussion within the field

This episode does not serve as an endorsement of any specific treatment. The intention is to offer balanced access to information so families and clinicians can make informed decisions in partnership with their own medical teams.

As always, we also consider the mental health dimensions of navigating complex medical choices.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme!
www.kyledine.com

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
-welcome@dramandawhitehouse.com