Kyle Dine: FA Musician and Educator

In this inspiring episode, I sit down with a remarkable musician and educator Kyle Dine who has turned his personal challenges with food allergies into a powerful platform for awareness and advocacy. Join us as Kyle shares his journey of living with food allergies, from his own struggles in childhood to becoming a confident advocate.

Kyle delves into how and why music became a unique and effective medium to spread awareness about food allergies. He discusses how his songs entertain and educate listeners on the realities of managing food allergies, fostering empathy and understanding.

Listeners will hear firsthand accounts of how Kyle navigated his own food allergy management, developing strategies to build confidence and ensure safety. He even describes what it feels like to use his epinephrine injector, in hopes of reducing fear and increasing trust in the treatment. By sharing his experiences, he hopes to empower others to live fully and fearlessly despite their allergies.

www.kyledine.com
www.equaleats.com

Mentioned by Kyle in this episode:
www.foodallergy.org (FARE)
foodallergycanada.ca
www.jacionline.org

Plan ahead for August's Book Club episode now by reading Big, Brave Voice by Emily Reed:
bookshop.org/p/books/big-brave-voice-advice-for-children-living-with-food-allergies-emily-a-reed/21215362?ean=9798822915657

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

You can find Dr. Whitehouse at www.DrAmandaWhitehouse.com
or on Facebook (Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist)

Transcript

0:03

Many of the people I work with seek help because they want to stop doing something that isn't working for them. They might want to stop feeling a certain way, thinking about something in a certain way or avoiding a certain thing. But usually the thing that they want to stop doing is the way that they're coping at that point in time. Even if it isn't the healthiest or the ideal way, even if it's not solving the real problem. It's something that they're doing in order to get them through. So the starting point isn't to take away the few or the only coping skills that they have it's to give them new ones first. I want it to follow that same model here on the podcast. And if you know me, my two favorite coping skills are music and books. So I'm happy to let you know that with each season of the podcast, I'm going to try to include a book club episode. In August, we'll be hearing from Emily Reed, author of big brave voice, a beautiful picture book about her son, George and his food allergies. I wanted to let you know ahead of time so you can get the book and read it and look at it with us together. As we talk, when we have Emily on the show. And today we're going to talk about how we can use music to help us through tough things. I'm so excited to have Kyle dine as my very first guest on the show to talk about his work, using music, to educate and empower people with food allergies, with his school assemblies and presentations, Kyle has brought his message to over a million students and he certainly has reached many more with his music. Since childhood Kyle has managed his own allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, seafood, and mustard. Today. We'll talk about his music, his experiences, growing up with food allergies and how he does life. Now as an adult still managing multiple food allergies. Welcome to the Don't Feed the Fear podcast, where we dive into the complex world of food allergy anxiety. I'm your host, Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, food allergy anxiety psychologist and food allergy mom. Whether you're dealing with allergies yourself or supporting someone who is, join us for an empathetic and informative journey toward food allergy calm and confidence. Kyle, thank you so much for taking the time to sit and chat with me and to be here on the show. As I'm getting this new podcast going, I'm so excited to have you. I would love to start by having you explain to us how you became a food allergy music educator, and how this all unfolded for you. Yeah. It's, it's a bit of a random path that I don't think I really. planned on when I was a teenager to get into music. But, uh, essentially, you know, I grew up with multiple food allergies, uh, way back when in the eighties and nineties and, um, always really liked music. And when I started working at a summer camp, it all kind of came together. There was a lot of kids there that had food allergies. And we, we use music as a way just to kind of, uh, let it out and vent and, um, get some tough feelings out. And mostly it was fun little songs about, you know, how much we wanted peanuts off the earth and things like this. But, uh, it started to grow into, into something that was very cathartic for, for all of us. And, uh, one thing led to another, and these songs kind of took an educational aspect. And started to record them, started to go into schools and do workshops that turned into assemblies. And then turned into The Assembly Guy, where I got to educate masses of children about food allergies. In a way that can really help children learn, um, with repetition in music. And also just to relate to. It's not just someone talking at them, but someone getting them engaged. Tapping their foot and making memories for them too. It's no surprise to me that this kind of came about and the way that you described, because I can see you as a camp counselor sitting around and trying to connect with these kids. And this is kind of just unfolding as a natural way to put them at ease and to relate to them and kind of meet them where they were at. Yeah, I, you know, essentially I created what I wish was around when I was a kid. I wish there was someone that would go talk to my buddies and say, you know, Hey, take this seriously. Uh, this, this is what it's all about. And your buddies have food allergies and don't, you know, take it seriously. Be a good friend. Don't share food, wash your hands. There's some pretty simple things that when you have someone else telling them, uh, it comes across in a different way. So essentially it's, it's just growing peer support, understanding and empathy. Empathy is so important. So many of our kids are being picked on. I think the statistics are that about a third of kids with food allergies are bullied. Um, and a lot of parents are people working with kids in schools. Don't. I really know how to address that. What have you seen from spending time in the schools with the kids and talking to them? Oh, it's tough. Bullying has just been around for so long and it continues to be prevalent. But I do think, you know, that the root cause of it is ignorance. It's just not knowing. It's knowledge. So it's, it really is giving the opportunity to kids to learn in a way that they, um, that works for them. The way that I come into schools, I really am trying to approach them on a level where I respect where they're coming, coming from with this knowledge, and maybe they have none. And that's okay. I'm there to help find where they're at and bring them to the next level. And usually by the time my assembly is done, which is really interactive, very engaging, I just, you know, what do we know about food allergies? Who knows somebody with an allergy? What are the top allergies and I just get them talking engaged and by the end of the assembly They're there they're in and they're really at that point where they're shouting food allergies rock at the end But it's that process of just assuming that Maybe they don't know anything and maybe their food allergy education has just been through media and movies and Terrible depictions of allergic reactions on TV and here's a chance to really up level them because I think you know They we all know somebody with something and sometimes we just don't know how to deal with it because we just haven't received the proper info So I'm really happy just to provide that opportunity for them. And you do this all over, right? This is available for anybody who wants to have you, you travel all over. It's not just local to where you are. Yeah, geez, I've been doing this since 2008 going on the road every year and it's it's been a long haul I've been over a thousand schools now and I always say geez If you want it to happen at your school, I will make it happen. Um, so I always tour in May and literally, um, it's, it's a different situation for every school. Some it's from the admin down. The principal really values this education in their school. They want a fun, engaging way to do it. Uh, majority of the times it's a very proactive parent from, from our community, that's getting my information from my website, a brochure and proposing it to the PTA or PTO at a school, getting the approvals. And, um, I provide as much info as possible to help facilitate that. And there's resistance sometimes in different spots of that process, whether it's PTO or administration. Um, so I have a lot of testimonials. I have a lot of reassurance on my website that I'm not coming in saying these are the policies you need to put in place, but it's, you know, really reassuring that. Uh, this is about just growing support for whatever policies that you have in place. I will double down on them and make sure that they're understood and, um, appreciated and followed through as much as possible. It's so hard to imagine that anyone would have resistance to you coming in and doing what you do. Is that what it's about? Are they afraid? You're going to come in and say something that makes it hard for the school to follow through on or provide. I know, right? Um, at one point, I had someone wonder if I was, I think the quote was like, are you like the Bob Dylan of food allergy? Are you going to like push all of this advocacy? I just push whatever you want me to push, but there's always a base of understanding and education. Um, so if, if you're trying to get some new policies understood in your school about, you know, it's a no food policy, it's no cupcakes for birthdays, I will reiterate those messages, no problem. Uh, but I'm not coming in and pushing my politics or anything like this. So I think it's resistance because it's so new for a lot of schools. For some, they're just adopting their first food allergy policy, and it's never happened before. And, it's not easy because a lot of policies are from the top down. It's admin directed. My mom was an elementary school principal. And that relationship with PTA and parents, there's some things where, you know, you really need to lay down, this is how it needs to be. And then there's some things where, from a ground up approach, It's really valuable to hear parents out of what is a safe classroom environment to them and what policies can really make their child safer and feel more comfortable. So there's different dynamics there and I appreciate that and I'm just there to have, you know, come in and help out with whatever is settled on in a school and make sure it's, it's helped out. And using music to do this as such a great way to help bring down those defenses, not just with the kids, but with all of those adults involved too, because music calms the nervous system that it, the rhythm and the beat of it. Um, you know, Activates multiple parts of the brain and the body. And it gives us this self-awareness and regulation. It gets us to remember things that we're trying to help people learn without trying or forcing, forcing it upon them. Um, so I think music is just the best way to integrate this and to get everyone's defenses down to build that empathy that you're talking about. Yeah, it's, it's a different approach. That's for sure. I think, you know, there's a lot of alternatives out there. I know, um, you know, health, healthcare nurses will come in and, and, uh, people in our community that are professional speakers, parents will come in, um, school nurse, this is an approach where I try to make it really fun and that at the end of the day, I, I, I always say I trick. Kids into learning about food allergies where they have so much fun. I have puppets, I have music, there's trivia, there's storytelling. And at the end of the day, they're so engaged in the presentation. The content really does get through to them. There's no moment where I feel like kids are drifting off. I've really got it down to a point where it's 40 minutes of just pure action and fun. And at the end, uh, I know what my key learning points are, and they've gotten through, through all of these different. Um, educational tools. So, um, I find it's effective. A lot of kids find it cool. They come up to me afterwards after asking for autographs, which is hilarious. Um, so it's just another approach and I find it's been pretty effective. And you said that's what you wish someone would've done with you and you were a kid, right? Like approach this in a different way. Um, so it makes me curious about what it was like for you when you were younger and you were the kid with food allergies growing up. Yeah, I think back then and you know, some things have gotten better and some things never really changed or maybe marginally better. But I think overall the awareness was really low and I think awareness can always be higher, that's for sure. But I think the impact that that has on, on children, especially, you know, I remember when I was young, I just made me want to hide the fact that I had food allergies altogether. Uh, I didn't want to be known for it. I didn't want to be a burden to others. And I think just experience after experience, when you actually put yourself out there, um, and people start, whether it's asking really silly questions or making fun, it makes you just want to hide that fact. So at the end, you know, the end result of that is risk taking, where you start hiding your EpiPen, it's not with you always, you're not disclosing all the times when you should be, and put yourself in more risky situations. So, you know, the impact for me essentially was more reactions that were probably very preventable. And it really came back to a lot of the psychosocial aspect of dealing with allergies, which is unfortunate. Because at the end of the day, I know how to stay safe. I'm pretty good at reading labels and can read. Um, but it's, it's those social situations that are always the toughest. And I think that never changes. But, um, I think there's more support nowadays in owning your food allergies and speaking up for yourself and self advocacy than there would have been back then. So what's your advice then for helping our kids to develop that and, and speak up for themselves and be their own best advocates. For those of us as adults who are. Trying to guide them through that process. What helps to make that easier? Or what do you think helped you to do that? Yeah, it takes time. I wish there was just some online course that, you know, guaranteed better advocate for yourself tomorrow. It is a process. And I really think it comes down to growing your circle of comfort. And that's with all things food allergy, whether it's travel, whether it's self advocacy, speaking up for yourself, uh, you name it, you start somewhere and you grow bit by bit and it's, you know, whether it's speaking up at restaurants, um, and telling friends how you really feel, it really starts at some point and it's a muscle that you need to exercise. So the more that you do it, I find it's, it is empowering that you start to expand that, that circle and your, your border starts to grow. And you get to a point where I think it actually, there's a point of no return where you realize life is actually better when you are speaking up for yourself and being safe for yourself. Because, you know, at the end of the day, we want to avoid reactions. And I think when we are empowered to that point where we're taking all of these positive steps, it's less scary than it was before when we are taking risks and we are living with doubts and we have all these extra thoughts in our heads and worries and anxieties. I think when we start to face them head on, it actually gets easier. And I think about who I was in my early 20s and allergies. And I, it scares me to think about, you know, going back to, to, to that place. I was a bit rogue, uh, with, um, compared to now I feel a lot more confident and I'm really happy that I got to that place. That scares me too. As a mom hearing you talk about doing those things and, and, you know, taking risks and the reasons that you did it all because of wanting to hide that. So I'm glad that we have someone like you, um, setting a good example of, of not doing that. And I also think it's important the way you're talking about it and for kids and, and adults. Who are managing this to realize that. If you do have, you know, a bump in the road or an issue, it doesn't mean that all is failed. It's not a straight line to better. And crossing some imaginary. Uh, line where we reached this place and we've figured it all out. And now we know all the things and there's no more. Uh, Problems ahead for us because there is always going to be new challenges that arise. And things that change over time. So it's just like to reiterate that it's not. All is lost. If we backtrack a little bit, if we, if we circle back to something and need to repeat. A lesson or practices scenario more than once. That's a really great point in that it's okay to backtrack a little bit too. Thank you for saying that. You know, sometimes I always, I think of it as taking two steps forward, one step back at times. And, and that one step back is okay. Because I find if we're always charging ahead and always, you know, it's, we're going to make life better. And I'm adamant about it. Slip ups happen. Um, incidents happen. And I think those step backs are just as important because it helps you reflect on why you're taking a step back and how do we move on from any type of setbacks that we have. If anything, it's a retooling periods of time where it's we keep going forward always but we're we have more armor We have more knowledge. We have more that can help us with the next phase of that road. I think that hearing that is going to be really helpful for a lot of people who are listening, who carry that guilt and that shame that we have about making mistakes and, and really that's rooted in the fear of like, what could have happened. I forgot this, or I didn't know this and. And this could have happened, but we can't know everything all at once. It has to be a gradual learning process and we all make mistakes. I think we need to normalize that. Um, and wondering if you have any in particular that you feel comfortable sharing with us, even though it's probably hard to tell. Yeah, absolutely That's that's why I'm here. So I can definitely think of one that's really recent which I had a reaction. That was pretty severe just About a month ago now. And, um, yeah, I would call it a setback in some ways and, uh, a great retooling of, of myself in other ways where, um, you know, we all have these slip ups. And for me, it's been quite a few years since I had a significant slip up. And, um, I'm really trying not to focus too much on the story because I'm finding that. It's beside the point at this time. It's how I actually have moved on from it. It's really how, what, how I've helped myself. deal with it. But, um, it was a slip up where someone gave me over assurance on food and, um, that type of over assurance where you start to let your guard down in ways where it's, don't worry about it. It's all good. I a hundred times checked it. And it makes you get into a spot where you just want to be normal. And not have to triple check for once and just believe someone. And I just let my guard down in that type of moment where I knew better, but I also that psychosocial aspect of just like, Oh, just be normal. Everything should be fine. If all the boxes are checked here, even though my gut feeling says, don't do it, don't do it, don't do it. I didn't trust my gut. And, uh, yeah, it's, it was, um, an anaphylactic reaction right away that started with, uh, just throat closing over. I could just feel it, uh, instantly, which was quite scary. And, um, what I'm most proud about the reaction was just how I treated it and how I handled it where absolutely I had about 10 seconds of that, um, sense of doom feeling and world is crashing down and, Oh, awful, awful feeling and was able to shake it and get my head on straight and then act. And it was literally just command center in my brain of, okay, I have a plan. I have an emergency plan. And to me, looking back, it's really fascinating. Of the psychological what is happening in our brains during reaction compared to this black and white emergency plan that we're all told to do We all know these best practices and it was actually focusing in on okay. I have a plan And now it's time and it was okay get get my epinephrine used it right away told my friend, you know, get the kids out of here Um, they don't need to see any of this. My other friend called 9 1 1. Let's get the ambulance coming and Even there, um, we're wondering, are you sure? You know, is it? Do I, should I call 911? You know, we don't call 911 every day. I'm like, yes, call 911 immediately. And it was just that type of certainty that I'm really proud of that it just all happened. Got outside, waited for ambulance. All right, do you want to stand over here? Like, no, I need to sit down because my blood pressure. Uh, in the ambulance, they, uh, told me we're going to give you antihistamine now and I said, no, I feel the reaction actually coming back. It's, it's starting to close over again. I need more epinephrine. So it was that certainty of overriding a professional paramedic where I just was, had that presence in my plan. I just know enough. I've done enough research. I know my body that at the end of the day, It rocked me to the core. I was quite emotional afterwards, but I'm now really proud that I can say I rocked my reaction. And I think that's the story that I really enjoy telling now is that reactions do happen and they will happen, unfortunately, but we will be okay. And I think that's a message that more people need to hear versus how scary reactions can be, but how confidently we can manage them and be okay I'm going to steal that phrase. I rocked my reaction. I love it. I think that's so important to look back and think, what did I do? Right. Look at all these things that I knew. Yeah, and it's easy to beat ourselves up. It's really easy. I can, I can focus on the negatives there all day long and I did, I, I got through that the next day and I was really sad and I was really upset with myself and now, you know, that, that only serves me so much. It only helps me so much and I felt like a day was enough to, to wallow. And to punch myself around a bit and to learn my lessons and then I've got it those lessons are there And then I don't need to keep reiterating you're idiot, you know better that doesn't help me i've switched the punches to The pat on the backs and I think that for me moving forward in a positive way Where i've learned something but i'm better for it now And i'm still on my track ahead of being confident and normal. You mentioned your gut, knowing something was wrong, just knowing deep inside that something was off. And I think that's part of, one of the most important parts of this. Is it. Being able to listen to that and understand that voice inside of you and trust it over all of the worries and the what if thoughts and all of those fearful, anxious things that can come up in our heads. I, I, I think this is probably the biggest difference between younger Kyle and, and modern day Kyle vintage Kyle and, and today's Kyle, is that, uh, the, the ability to be aware of, of what's going on and accepting it. And I think that acceptance is, is a hard, hard thing to develop because the opposite of that is denial. And I think for, for a lot of us, it's very easy to fall back on, is this real? Do we really need to press the panic button? Is this, are you really feeling these symptoms and to ask yourself these questions or your child, because, you know, it's going to enact a whole process and, and totally ruin your, whatever plans you had for the night. That's for sure. Um, and that's a hard thing to swallow. And I think to actually just embrace the fact that you're feeling it and there's nothing wrong with that. There's not, we don't need to, uh, feel bad about it. Cause I think we often start to get into, Oh my goodness. I, I'm going to take the blame for this or my mom's going to feel awful about this and we start to have all these other crazy thoughts go through our minds that are not focused on treatment and safety, just on how is this going to make me look, do I have the insurance, all of these things where it's, there's a lot of thoughts that can go through your head and I think just to be aware your throat's closing and that's scary and there is a treatment called epinephrine That will actually stop all of that in its tracks if you use it quickly. And I think when we live in with denial and second thoughts, this is where we hear of, of, of tragic stories. And this is where I think reactions get a lot more scary than they actually need to be just because we wait and we see. So, um, yeah, awareness, not only of your body and your symptoms is key. Um, being aware of your plan of how to enact a treatment on that. But it's not easy. And I think just hopefully just hearing from somebody else helps, but also just reminding ourselves that there's no shame in an allergic reaction. There's no blame. And even when I did make a public post about this last reaction, I really just said in black and white, I'm like, I'm not going to go into the details. What happened? And nobody asked me to go into the details. And that really was, um, was nice for me that no one's prying about, you know, give us the gossip whose fault. What happened, really? Nobody asked me that. And I think that's just comforting to know that people are really just happy that you're okay. And sometimes we just need to remind ourselves that's really all that matters. We do see that often what you're describing, where someone mentioned something, there's a story. That circulates within the community and people panic. And there's this sense of fear and immediacy of knowing the details and understanding what went wrong. I think it's our protective mechanism trying to step in and prevent that thing from ever happening to us. But it's not at all supportive to the person who's going through the experience. I think it's such a good representation of how we feel. The sense of responsibility all the time, carrying all the weight of managing this and doing everything right in order to stay safe. Yeah, it's unfortunate for a community, but I think, you know, there's a lot of this self blame that we put on ourselves. Even just, you know, The fact that your child got food allergies, you know, we have these different things that are available now in terms of early introduction. And, you know, it's just, it's easy to beat ourselves up for things that we really essentially cannot control. Maybe we have a tiny bit of influence, but, um, this is the hand that we're dealt and we just need to own it. What does owning it mean to you? Or what does that look like for you in your life? When we have to both. Take responsibility for it. We do have to be the ones to keep ourselves safe. And yet there's so much that we can't control. Yeah, it's, it's a balance. Um, the, the, the what ifs, you know, there's always a healthy amount of fear, right? And to actually respect that it's, it's a serious life threatening condition. Um, and I think for me, it's, I find it, crippling to, to always be living with those what ifs. I know I'm, I'm no dummy. I know exactly how serious anaphylaxis is and I've had reactions that just scare me. Um, and that, that lives with me, but I also know that that doesn't serve me on a day to day basis. Um, I want to live a full life capable life where I get to achieve all my dreams. And, um, it's, it's, I find for me really diving into research helps. Knowing the real risks, knowing what anaphylaxis really is, knowing that, you know, what epinephrine really does in a reaction when it's used quickly, knowing the real risks on airlines, knowing the real risks, um, all around me. I find it's all right there with research. And I find in today's society it's so Facebook and get our information from, from other people who probably share a lot of the same concerns and anxieties that we have. which is FAIR. It's a great place for support at times, but I find websites like FAIR, Food Allergy Canada, uh, Jackie, the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, not probably bookmarked by many, but oh my goodness, it's all there in terms of, you know, what is the real risk of peanut dust circulating on an airline to the point where it can elicit an allergic reaction? It's all been documented, but we, for many of us, we don't go down those roads. But for me, it's all I need to just keep those anxieties in check, to know what's the real risk, and then I can judge accordingly. Whether I want to engage in that situation, what preventions I need to stay safe, but I'd rather get my info from sources like that. Um, and then I'd love to get information from our community on, you know, where, where did you have a good experience dining out? What, where did you get treated fairly and where did they take you seriously? I'd love to get that info from the source, but I do like to get a lot of credible information from, from different sources For those listening who find that intimidating, what Kyle's talking about, going straight to the source. I just want to make sure people know, reading a journal article doesn't mean you have to be a researcher or understand all these medical terms. You can find what's called the abstract of any journal article. And that just means that it's a summary and you don't have to know what all of the terminology means, but you can usually get a great, like two or three sentence. Uh, summary at the end of that, or a statistic like Kyle is saying to help you use then to challenge, we call it cognitive challenging. That worry that's in your head of, am I going to react to this? Well, The facts that I know are that this it's this unlikely because of what I read here and here, and they did this study and it really does take the edge and take the intensity and power away from the worried that. Absolutely. And yeah, I'm not an advocate for everyone going to subscribe to medical journals to stay up on research. That's next level. But I do think the non profit groups are wonderful at bringing current research into lay terminology, into ways that we can understand it. And, um, those groups, they're not, they're not influencers on Instagram. They're solid, credible informations that, uh, or organizations that really work with allergists and, and researchers and, and decipher what's really going on right now, whether it's early introduction, whether it's immunotherapy, any of these current things that are circling around. They're the ones that can give you a lot of that source information in a way that's really understand it, understandable. So, um, they might not have the biggest followings, but geez, through content is fantastic. And I advise to check out the research section of their websites. That's a great point. And I think that having information is so powerful to us, and I think there's some information that we really need to hear. Like you said, from our communities from others firsthand. And one of those. I believe is about using our epinephrin. We can read a study about it. We can look at the statistics on how quickly it helps her and what percentages of cases it's effective. But to actually think of using our epinephrin injectors. I think hearing a firsthand account is something that's more powerful. Um, Then reading research. And I was hoping you'd be willing to talk about that since obviously you're someone who has experience using and doing that. And try to help people to flip their fears about the needle and about the epidemic. I think it's probably the thing that our community hesitates the most on, you know, it's, we have that initial reaction of wanting to just deny that is this real, can we actually accept that this is a rat reaction and, and part of the That denial is influenced by the fact that we're about to use a needle that, um, we have, it's easy to have needle phobia to, to know that once we use that, it's absolutely real. There's no going back at that point. We need to call 9 1 1. We need to get to the hospital. Um, what's really helped me, and I think it took a really severe reaction for me to realize is that A, it doesn't hurt. It's the tiniest little pinprick that you can even imagine. It's really nothing. Um, and B, the feeling that you get immediately after is wonderful. It's like getting, it's really hard to make an analogy, but think of having a terrible pain somewhere in your body, and then someone puts their hands and starts massaging you. It's just like, why wouldn't you want that? It feels better. And I think that's what people don't realize is that it's medicine that's really going to stop is happening on this really negative spiral, uh, in its, in its course. So I found for me, it really did take me using it in a reaction to realize, whoa, this is good stuff. This is, this helped me out. Um, and I think, you know, for others, it's just trust, trust in medicine. And that process when, if it's your first time, know that it's a great experience to go through your plan and your process and see, see that it works firsthand. And there's really, research shows there's no negative consequence of using epinephrine unless you have a heart condition. But adrenaline is a very safe, natural thing. It's part of our treatment plan. Your allergist gave you some, we spend hundreds of dollars on them every year. So let's get, get our money's worth, right? Yeah. Um, but essentially it's, it's just something that's going to help. And I think more that we embrace that fact, it's a help and not something to be afraid of. Um, the more that you can really use it when you really need it. It sounds like you had to learn some of this the hard way, unfortunately, through your own. Tough experiences. And this learning curve that you went through on your own from trying to hide it. To developing a stronger awareness and then not just to that awareness, but then this person who travels the world, it just sounds like such a shift in a huge growth process throughout your life. That's really shaped you. Yeah. Well, I think it was a sign of the times, one in terms of awareness was low and I really didn't know anybody with food allergies growing up, but I didn't know anybody until I was about 17, 18 years old. And it just felt like, I was on a deserted island and then someone else was on another island right next to mine all of a sudden, like, uh, it was really, really neat to meet somebody. Um, so I think, you know, just knowing that we're, um, we're not alone is really important now. I think, I feel like we have power in numbers now, where when I was younger, it was really isolating. So when you did speak up for yourself, you know, it was very common to get met with eye rolls, to get met with eye rolls. You're overblowing it. It can't be that serious. It was a constant dismissal. And I think when you're dismissed on anything about something vulnerable about yourself, it makes you just want to hide it. It makes you want to avoid it. The conversation. Uh, and inevitably take a lot of risks. So, you know, for younger me, it was a lot of risk taking. It was not always speaking up for myself. It was not disclosing it was reactions. And then really the reaction, every reaction I can think of was every single one of them was very preventable. And it was mostly because I just didn't do, um, enough of, of, of a job staying safe. So, yeah, uh, a lot of reactions, uh, but the one that really shifted my axis was one that was just incredibly, um, significant, um, anaphylactic reaction when I was about 21. And that was the one that really just woke me up to, to how severe this condition really is. And I just remember in the days following just needing to reevaluate how I managed, how I interacted with this health condition, which I did not take as seriously as I should. And I really realized that at that moment that A, I can never have that happen again, ever. It was enough. And B, I would like to help other people to not experience that either, it really just shifted me altogether. I was a different person the next day and, um, different priorities, different outlook, I just felt lucky. You know, I'm really lucky that I got through it. So, um, kind of that borrowed time syndrome where I just, you know, what, what am I going to do now, now that that's over? And I just really felt this need to help and help the community and live my best life. So, uh, you know, I graduated with a business degree and chose not to do anything in business. I wanted to do music. I wanted to just do my own thing. So I started this allergy music. Um, path and enjoyed it so much touring and music and really loved it. And it actually then led me to traveling. And the more I traveled, the more I kept pushing those boundaries and going further. And then once I got to a point where I realized there's some real challenges traveling, especially with languages and different cultures, um, it spawned the idea of equal eats. And started a business that could really help people communicate their allergies all over the world. And, and that's really led me to my current, current day where, um, I'm operating a business that's growing. It's a lot of fun. It's helping our community. And still getting to do music on the side and still tour. So, um, it's all just really stemmed from one really bad reaction where I just wanted to not let it slow me down at all in my life, but also help others. Will you tell us more about equally. Yeah, um, of course, I always have a card around my desk, that's for sure. But we specialize in allergy translation cards, where on one side you'll have English, on the other side a language of your choice of the country that you're traveling to. And essentially, it just helps you put it in writing, um, what your allergies are, so they'll be not only taken seriously. We've invested in these professional credit card printers to make sure that it's nice and durable, life lasting plastic cards. Um, but also that they'll be noted. If you have a long list of allergies, it can be really helpful. Um, but also understood. And that's the main difference with, with the company that, that I created. I want it to be really accurate. And our process is really crazy in terms of using professional translators as step one, we use expert, um, proofreaders as step two on every language we have. And then we use as a third step, native speakers to actually check to make sure it really talks the talk. So, uh, effective and really accurate to make sure our community, when they do use a card, they can feel confident. That it's going to be taken seriously and understood, which I think is what we deserve. And personally makes me feel better when I'm traveling the world. I want to be understood hugely. In addition to using an equal eats translation card. What other advice would you give people who wants to travel and. See more of the world. I would say number one, make it fun. Travel's got to be fun. And if it's not fun, then what are we doing this for? So start small and look for the quick wins. And maybe it's a different city for a weekend or a different state or province. Go just bit by bit. And, and don't overdo it to the point where it's stressful because, you know, it can easily get to that point where it's overwhelming and I hear that all the time. Like, I don't even know if I want to go on this trip. It's all so much. Don't start there. Start on the little wins and then get, get the kids on board. They love travel. You've found your rhythms, you can do this. And then keep growing it to the point where maybe it's Europe or Asia or farther, um, can actually be a possibility, but you've worked up to it and it's not so overwhelming and daunting at the start. So have fun and also just reframe travel. Um, for a lot of us, I think for people with kids with allergies, travel was probably about food in a large part at one point in time and shifting our focus. Where it's not so much about food, but the wonderful things of culture, geography, history, art, and travel can be so, so much more than food. And for me, that's why I love traveling so much. Food is, is really the bottom rung on my travel equation. It's for so many other reasons. So, um, focus on the positives and then you're a lot less likely to be let down when it's not about food. Ellie. It doesn't have to be about food all the time. Like people sometimes tend to see the world. Not missing out on something completely, just because you can't eat the food. And with our kids, what we do is we just have them pointed out. And if there's something that looks really good and they're feeling bad that they can't try it, we take pictures, we look it up and we make it at home and it extends the experience that we were having. To bring it into our home and connect over, making that food in a way that's safe. I think that gives them some power and a sense of control. And another thing that does the same thing I want to point out is using your cars. Not just for traveling internationally, but to communicate in English, when kids are learning to take over the job of communicating their allergies, these cards can help them to make sure that they list their full list of allergens. If it's a long list or that they express fully, what might be difficult for them to remember, to put into words when they're on the spot, if they're feeling nervous or they're feeling shy in front of their friends, To make sure that they get all the information across about what they need to eat somewhere safely. Absolutely. I agree. It's, it's, it's great that you're empowering your, your young ones on, on all things with their allergies. Cause I think that's exactly it. It's, it's that transitioning over time, slowly, gradually of responsibilities where they're starting to take over their own advocacy, their own health condition, because that's really what it's all about with kids and raising kids is. Once they're 18, they're ready. And, um, and that's, that can be a scary thought, but that's when you know that you've done your job when off they go. And you're confident that they're going to stay safe and manage their allergies exactly the way you hoped they would. So it's, it's not all at once. Good luck. Here's everything you need to know. Get out of here. Good luck. But you know, by it's gradual every age and stage that they're taking ownership. What do you want all of us parents to know about how to do that process gradually? General advice. It's they start young, empowering very young to get them, you know, reading, reading it lists and pushing them to really do the work to help them. themselves, um, to looking at grocery store ingredients and helping being part of that selection process, to asking questions at restaurants and being right there beside them and supporting them really young ages to, to help guide them. So it's natural and it's, it's in their gut. So when they are older, they just know, I know my red flags and I know where they come from. It's from being taught and being guided on what's right and what's wrong with these, with these allergies. I'd also say, you know, not only just empowering your child, but empowering your partner is really important to me. Where, unfortunately for our community, this is a predominantly mom driven, uh, area, mom driven space. And I think about, you know, it's, why is that? Why aren't more dads stepping up? Why aren't more men taking complete ownership? Uh, over, over their child's health condition. And I think it's something that I would love for more men to, to be involved in and, and take, take that responsibility. It's, you know, I think with, um, with parents, it's easy for one partner just to take the brunt of it all. And at one sign of a partner not showing that they're stepping up, dismissing to the point where, Okay, you obviously can't handle this. I've got it. And then that just rolls and then that person's out, you know, for me, it's really important, even just knowing my child's sizes that I can buy shirts and pants, I want to be equally involved in all of these things. And I think that needs to be the same with food allergies is that even if your partner messes up, hopefully on a small scale, um, that it's not over that you keep learning from that and empowering because it starts to make divides. And it starts to just lay all of that burden on one person when that's just not fair. And I think the more that we're as a community, a unified front, male, female, mom's dads, that's a different voice. All of a sudden that's advocating and making things better. And our kids see that. So that's my, my one piece of advice is that it is a shared responsibility and don't let yourself off the hook and don't let your partner off the hook. You got to keep at it. I love that you're talking about this because I think it's so important. To show our kids this as a United front. In terms of how do we handle it and how seriously do we have to take it? I work a lot with people who are struggling with what you're describing in their homes and in their families. And what I, um, kind of frame it as for them is how we have these tendencies to cope differently. And when we frame it as coping skills, not who's right, or who's wrong, or who made a mistake and who got it right. Is that. Some of us tend to be more, um, In the fight or flight reaction to some of us tend to be more fight. I'm going to fight back against this thing that we're up against. And can I get all the information I'm going to take charge? I'm going to ask these hard questions. I'm going to advocate and speak up. And then some people tend to have more of a flight reaction, which sounds like it's not that big of a deal. We don't have to make a big deal out of it. Let's not. Um, you know, overreact, we can't worry about it all the time. We need to live a normal life and both of those things are true and both of those things are helpful. Coping skills. If we team up and we balance each other out, instead of always being one way all the time, then that gives the kids a wider range of examples and a more balanced approach to how. Absolutely. So my last question is, tell us something great about having food allergies. Oh, wow. Uh, well, I did write the song Food Allergies Rock. Let me just recite the lyrics. Right? Uh, but no, that's what it's all about. You know, we're dealt with these cards and how do we play them? And I think for me, it's realizing the positives that, um, you know, for starters, I see food very differently than most people. And I think that's a superpower in its own right. I get to be very conscious of what goes into my body. Food Allergy I'm very aware. And I think in this day and age where, um, that that can be an actual good thing to just in terms of our own health and body of being healthy and nutritious, um, being very creative in the kitchen. I think nothing that's presented to me, you know, a cake recipe or any of this is ever an obstacle. It's just, okay, how do we go around that? And I think that spawns creativity in a lot of different ways of like. You don't just accept the way that things are. You can find ways to make it work for you. And I think that's kind of a hidden superpower of, of having food allergies. I think empathy for each other's differences is a huge one. You know, we are dealing with something that is heavy on the mind. And knowing that other people have different conditions and, uh, issues. I think this is also a huge thing to understand where people are coming from because we've got something that we're dealing with every day. Uh, and we're like, we can read the biggest or the, sorry, the smallest fine print in the world, right? With those ingredient labels, we've got just x rays, give me a legal document. I will read all the small print. No problem. So, you know, there's a lot of benefits, but I think at the end of the day, it's embracing those two. Um, and not just the negatives of what was me, but you know, it is what it is. We might have this for the long run. How do we make the most? I've loved having you here. Thank you so much for all of your time and your generosity with me and your patience with the learning curve of me, figuring out how to do a podcast. Um, I, you have so much, that's valuable to share both in your work that you do and just who you are as a person and what you share. So I really appreciate you sharing that with all of us. This is really great. Yeah. It's been really fun. And, uh, I look forward to hearing it and I look forward to following it to all the other guests that you have. I think this is a really cool, um, yeah, angle Looking for someone to save the day looking for someone with super strength, and if I eat something, I should man in a flying. Epiman doesn't Everybody will say the same. A giant, thank you to Kyle dine. What an amazing person. It was great to chat. That was a taste of his song. Epi man, stay tuned, follow the podcast, subscribe to my newsletter on my website so that you won't miss what's coming up next, which is what I'm very cheesily going to call the next episode, where we explore our epinephrin injectors, all of our thoughts and feelings and fears we have about using epi confusion about when and how. How to use it and how to flip the script and make it something that we view as. Uh, superhero, like Kyle says something to protect us and help us out. So that will be coming up soon. In the meantime. Here are three things you can do now, as you wrap up this episode today to take some steps, to feeling better and more confident about food allergies, number one, check out Kyle's music. I just played a little bit of epi man for you. His song, the doghouse as my intro. Thanks to him, generously sharing that with me and allowing me to use it. His music is so much fun. Share it with the kids in your life, not just the ones that have food allergies, share it with all of them, because it's the information that we want everybody to know, and it gets it across in a really fun and memorable way. You can listen to Kyle's music, wherever you stream your music. Number two, you can also find out more information about Kyle on his website. Kyle dine.com, K Y L E D I N e.com. The link will be in the show notes along with some of the other resources that Kyle shared with you. During the episode. Go to his website and find out more about the resources that he has. He has some great things to go along with his music, some things that you can purchase. That's where you can connect with him. And request that he come to your community and share his presentation and your child's school when he's out on tour and educate the kids and the adults in your community. It's a really great way to approach this topic from a different angle and you won't regret it. And number three is to go to Kyle's business website that he told you about equal eats.com. And that's where you can order the food and dining cards that he was talking about. Both the English version and the translation cards to help you with travel, to help you with dining out, just to take a little bit of a weight off of your shoulders and put it into the hands of the experts that Kyle has worked with to develop that product. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It's not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. I'm Dr. Amanda White house. Thanks for joining me. And until we chat again, remember don't feed the fear.