Realize your CAN: New Year Inspiration with Riya Jain

In this inspiring New Year episode, Riya Jain joins us to share how growing up with food allergies fueled The Land of Can book series. She is a young entrepreneur, author, and food allergy advocate who won a major venture prize at Duke her freshman year to develop her business.

Riya also talks about participating in an upcoming documentary about food allergies, what it's like being the daughter of a leading allergy researcher, and forging her own path.

At a time of year when many of us are reflecting on our resolutions, Riya reminds us to embrace what we CAN do. 

https://thelandofcan.com/
https://www.justlikeyoufilms.org/
https://yobeecare.com/

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

Transcript

0:05

Picture. This a middle school student at the nut free table, decided she wasn't going to wait for someone else to explain food allergies in a way that made kids feel seen. That young girl is Riya Jain, who took her idea off to college and won a$30,000 prize in a venture contest at Duke before most college students even pick a major. Riya is the creative force behind the book series the Land of Can A series of stories that empower children to see what they can do instead of what they can't. Let's wrap up our year with a story of creativity, courage, and possibility.

Speaker: 0:40

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..

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 1:01

Thank you for joining me here on the Don't Feed The Fear Podcast. I got to meet you recently in Chicago, and I'm excited to talk to you more and tell my listeners all about you and all the things you're doing.

Riya Jain: 1:10

Oh, thank you. I'm so excited to, to be on and to talk all things. We have a lot to go through.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 1:16

I was gonna say, it's a lot of things, so if we don't get through it all, you can come back sometime, but, let's see what we can squeeze in. Can you start just by telling people a little bit about you and your background and your connection to the food allergy world?

Riya Jain: 1:27

Yeah, totally. So, hi, I'm Riya. I'm currently 19 years old. I'm in college at Duke University. And I'm also the founder of the Land of Can, The Land of can creates, empowering children's books on various health topics. But one of our main focuses is food allergy. And that's because I grew up, grown up my whole life being allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. Used to be allergic to eggs, grew out of that luckily, but still have peanut and Trina and have had to navigate that throughout all aspects of my life as so many people and families do across the world. And so for me, um, my food allergy journey has been, you know. A lot like many others where it comes in waves and, there's some fun moments where I feel like my food allergy has helped me grow as a person. But there's also some, of course, not so fun moments where, people have misunderstood my food allergy dealt with reactions and, and whatnot. And so, my journey with my food allergy has been, a lot of self. Growth and, making things better for the next generation. And so one of the biggest things for me that was tough with my food allergy was, feeling the need to define myself by it and it becoming my whole personality, in elementary school and middle school. And so to ensure that that never happened to any other kid with any health condition. But food allergy specifically, I. Wrote a children's book in seventh grade, which we can get more into. But, that ended up expanding my journey into, the land of can and why I'm here today.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 2:52

Yeah, let's just stick with that while you're mentioning it. Let's talk about what you came up with in seventh grade and then how it grew into what you ended up creating.

Riya Jain: 2:59

Yeah, totally. So in seventh grade I wrote and published the class that canned food allergies. I actually have it here. So this is the class that canned food allergies. It's an educational children's book that's different than the rest because one, it's made by, made by kids like me who actually understand what kids want to know and want to hear, other than, a doctor trying to put a ton of information into a. Into a book, that's not interesting. And it not only empowers those with the food allergy, but also teaches our classmates and our friends what food allergies are and how we, how we actually want to be supported, and understood in a fun and educational way that kids love. And so. that took off in seventh grade, actually sitting at that nut free table, which so many people talk about, it's very isolating, but can also be a fun place'cause you're not super overcrowded. But at that food allergy table, people sat there who didn't have food allergies. They were kids with asthma, diabetes, celiac, tons of different conditions Everyone dealt with the same thing. Everyone was defining themselves by this thing that they couldn't do, or couldn't control. And so that's when my mind really expanded and I realized that this issue doesn't just pertain to those with food allergies, but rather to all health conditions. And beyond that, everyone, period, everyone defines themselves by things that they can't do or aren't good at. so that launched, the, what the land of CAN is today. So we have over a dozen children's books on various health topics ranging from food allergies, asthma, anxiety, sleep and screen time nutrition, germs and sneezing, COVID, OVID. It, it goes on and on, and not only applying to health conditions, but also just empowerment in general. Like I said, this message applies to everyone we reach out to, underserved populations a ton, which has been incredibly meaningful to me. I've been able to speak in some underserved communities, give away the book, and a ton of, tons of different, libraries across Chicago, across all neighborhoods, across the US to public schools, which has been just incredible. But then also too, schools, hospitals, pediatrician offices, allergist offices, and to anyone who wants it. I mean, we're on our website and Amazon. So there's really a lot of avenues for us, which is really exciting. And we're continuously expanding. There's so many, so many health topics that we wanna cover, that people keep telling us, you need, you need to make a book on Celiac or, A DHD. And we're like, there's so much to do. And so that gives me a lot of promise that what we're doing is right and people want more.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 5:24

You're in school full-time at Duke., What's your plan at this point? I mean, you've got the business going already, but what else are you working on?

Riya Jain: 5:31

Yeah. So, I'm a public policy major at Duke with an innovation entrepreneurship, minor, and that sort of comes from my. Dual passions of, creating, social good through policy, but then also through entrepreneurship. And so really looking at that as, how it intersects is sort of what the land of can is and is. What I'd want to focus on in the future are companies that are doing social good and social impact, and entrepreneurship that, that achieves that as well, but. I'm looking at to do in the future is possibly law school or, some sort of job in, in politics. I'm just really passionate about, making things better for future generations. And there's different avenues to do that. And so I'm still exploring which avenue is, is best, but you know, I still have time and so we're still figuring it out every day.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 6:22

Lots of time and lots of directions that you could still go in. So you entered, an entrepreneurship contest at Duke that you won a prize for the land of Can?

Riya Jain: 6:30

Yeah, so that was the most, like, probably peak moment in my entire life. I, applied for the Duke Startup Showcase. So every college kind of has a pitch competition where, they give away tons of money and resources and grant funding that's non-dilutive. And I just wanted to get my name out there as a freshman, I wanted to just apply. See, I knew I wasn't gonna get it. I was like, this is not gonna happen. I'm just gonna. Put my name out there so they know who I am. And I submitted the application like literally at 11:59 PM right when it was due the night before. And.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 7:03

Okay.

Riya Jain: 7:03

I got a email back that I was invited for round two, so I had to do a live pitch on Zoom, and after like six or seven rounds, I finally was invited to the live showcase, I knew I was going to get a prize, but still had no idea. And so my mom flew out, everyone came. It was so exciting, so unexpected, and I pitched the land of Cannes and ended up winning. The entire startup showcase. So I got the grand Board chart prize of$30,000, for the land of Can and non-dilutive funding, and then tons of mentors and resources. Since then, tons of trips they've flown me out to, to, we just went to Boston and we're gonna go to New York soon, So just get more exposure and better networking. And so it's just been absolutely incredible and validated what I'm doing so much.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 7:51

That's amazing. Congratulations.

Riya Jain: 7:54

Thank you. I appreciate it.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 7:55

well, you mentioned that it's great that they have this mentor, structure around it so they can help you with the development and, but you already have a pretty good mentor in your life. You mentioned that your mom flew out, and I don't know if listeners will know or connect you, but can you tell us about your mom?

Riya Jain: 8:09

Yeah, 100%. My, my mom is like my biggest fan. She's like one of my best friends. She's Dr. Ruchi Gupta. And so. I know that that carries a lot of weight with, her influence on the food allergy community. I mean, she got into food allergies before I was even born, so it ended up just becoming a part of her everyday life, which is why I think that makes her such a great, a great doctor. A great. Researcher scientist because she understands the day-to-day struggles that are actually faced in the food allergy community. But she's been so supportive of me, of course, and, loves entrepreneurship. She has her own company that she's working on, Yobee and so entrepreneurship, runs in the family, writing books, runs in the family. She has her own book and yeah, she, she could be more supportive. Encourages me to speak, um, whenever she does and gives me those opportunities, which I'm super grateful for. And, um, I don't take them for granted.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 9:04

And you're involved with Ybi as well, right?

Riya Jain: 9:06

Yes, yes. So Ybi is an all natural skincare haircare brand. Born out of love, with the nature of science and. I've been working on their social media and their outreach. We're really trying to get it to, as many people as possible. People suffering specifically from, eczema, psoriasis, dandruff, cradle cap. It was actually, I was the inspiration of Yobee because when I was born, um, I had terrible cradle cap and there were no solutions. It was like all steroids, oils, chemicals, and my, both my parents as. Two incredible doctors and scientists knew there have to be some sort of better way, natural way. And so Yobee was born all natural ingredients. Honey, turmeric, vitamin B12 and my cradle cap went away and never came back. Fast forward tons of years, they decided to make it into a full fledged company after my mom was giving it out in clinic over and over. They were like, what are you, what are you giving to your patients? And so now it's super exciting and I'm glad to be a part of it.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 10:04

Yeah. Yeah, we've tried it in my house and it's, it's lovely. I'll put links, you know, and all of these things, obviously.

Riya Jain: 10:11

right. I have it right here. Yeah. My Yobee cream,

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 10:13

so what you're talking about made me think of something that is really important that you touched on earlier and what you were trying to accomplish with the Land of Can books. But I bet especially when your mom is Dr. Ruchi Gupta, and then you end up having food allergies and You must have been just immersed in this world of allergy, even more so than other kids, to where, like you said, it becomes to this point where your whole identity seems to be, created around it. And, obviously you're working on it. Can you tell us what the before felt like for, for young people who are listening or parents who have kids, talk to us about What it's like to be kind of wrapped up where that's the only thing that seems to define you or your identity.

Riya Jain: 10:47

Yeah, 100%. I mean, I think that is a complicated thing because it's, it's a combination of what you think of yourself. Of course that should be everything. That should be solely what identity is, is who you think you are and who you know you are. But I think at a young age, obviously, when we're still trying to form our identities and sense of self, it becomes really complex. Because we base our identity off of what other people think we are, until we've gained a sense of self. And so at a young age, when you're told there's something that you can't do where no one really understands that no kid, it's like a very unique thing to you. It's very easy to, for other people to sort of identify that as your thing. I remember being called, the nut allergy girl like. that, that was who I was. It was the weird kids' table. It was the nut allergy table, which it obviously wasn't. And then, but as a kid, that's so hard to grapple with and so hard to understand. And so what do you do? You kind of lean into it and make that your, your thing when in reality for me it was soccer and magic and. Math, I loved math. It's all these other things where the other kids are known as that. It's like, oh, that's the athletic boy, or, oh, that's the really smart girl, you know? Oh, and that's the food allergy girl. So one of those things is not like the other. One of those things is something that you can't control and you can't do. And if we walked around defining ourselves by those things all day and things that we aren't, no one will know who we are. And so that's why I start off all my talks. Um, anytime I give a pitch or a talk, me and my co-founder jj, start off with a little, a little bit where we were like, hi, my name is Na, you know, Ashley or Kelsey? I'm not five years old. I can't do a back flip. I'm not from New York, I'm not from Durham, and I can't eat nuts. So I just told you a ton of things, but you know nothing about me. And it's all the, it's all the same with with food allergies or whatever health condition it is. And that can be really, really tough for a kid. But. I think if parents can understand what that feels like and teach that to their kids at a young age, I mean that's what we're trying to do with the land of can with the class, like canned food allergies, is that you are who you are, not who you're not. And if we can get that message to kids at an early age, then hopefully it can be become a little better for them.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 13:01

Is there a good section to read? A few pages of,

Riya Jain: 13:03

Wait. Yeah, totally. Yeah, this is a little quick, preview of The Class That Can: Food Allergies. Everyone has things they can't do. No one should ignore these things. We should accept them and understand them because they're very important, but we should not let them define us, and we certainly shouldn't be embarrassed by them or let them make us sad. I learned a lot today about allergies and about friendship, and I'm ready to do my part. I'm ready to exclaim Nia as the class nodded with a big smile, Mrs. Can immediately jumped from her seat. We all jumped too. We knew what she was going to do. Every kid in Mrs. Can's class of cans, kids can a good friend. And yeah, that's, the end. So that's a little preview of the spoiler of the ending of the class that canned food allergies.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 13:49

I love, and even on the back, there's a spot I am and then a blank.

Riya Jain: 13:53

100%. I am. I can. This is, we also have this in hospital waiting rooms. Just little cards. I think I have mine in my phone actually. show you. So this is our little card. It's super tiny size, smaller than my hand, but these are all our 14 words of can, so 14 words. We worked with experts that they say your child needs to know, and then on the back it has the same, I am Ria and then I can, I was little, not creative, but I said, do anything

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 14:20

It's optimistic though. It's confident, so even

Riya Jain: 14:23

It is confident.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 14:24

Yeah, I love that. You mentioned a lot about what's different about your book and all your books, but one of the things that jumps out at me too is a lot of books about food allergies are for the kids with food allergies, but this is for everyone

Riya Jain: 14:35

Yeah.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 14:36

help them understand. Right. Can you talk about why that's so important?

Riya Jain: 14:39

Yeah, 100%. I think too often resources are that I've seen about food allergies and read books. As a kid who has food allergies, I don't necessarily need to learn all the nitty gritty of how to use an EpiPen and, what an action plan is and which cross contact is. Right? Like we all know that parents who are listening to this, your kids know that. They know, they know all this stuff. And so it's not helpful. It's, it's really not. What's, what's helpful is the empowerment aspect. And so, of course, there needs to be both, right? Like you need to be able to share this with your friends and classmates because a huge thing for the Land of Can is when you feel understood, you feel empowered, right? So when your friends understand your health condition and know how to support you, you're therefore feel empowered. But empowerment comes in many forms. And so this book and all our books do a great job at tackling both ends of that spectrum. Not just the kids who don't have the health condition, but the actual kid themselves.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 15:34

Yeah, that's so important. That's such an important side of it. The parents that I work with or the people listening have kids who are younger kids in school ages and just what you said, it's not that they want their own child, they want the community that their child is a part of to understand. So this is a great book, teachers to read to the class or everyone to understand. Right.

Riya Jain: 15:51

Yeah. I mean, I remember being, in that, in my classroom in probably fourth or fifth grade, and the nurse comes in and gave this like. embarrassing talk on food allergies and it just puts you in such an awkward position. That's not how you want your classmates to learn about food allergies. And clearly it's not very effective if they're still calling you, the nut allergy girl or still bullying kids who have food allergies. It's not an effective talk. And so I would much prefer the nurse just come in and doesn't have to be the nurse. It could be a teacher, it could be me reading the physical book itself instead of, a medical talk.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 16:26

Expanding upon that. As the kid in the class who's, quote, the food allergy kid. How else do you want adults to be handling this and modeling it for kids so that it doesn't feel that way, so that you feel understood so that you can be empowered without feeling singled out or defined by it.

Riya Jain: 16:42

Yeah. It's a difficult combination of things, but it doesn't have to be difficult. I mean, I think that adults can do their part, teachers, parents by of course, explaining what it is and how they can keep their friends safe, but also that it's just one tiny part of their identity. I've done exercises where you make like an identity tree, like all the things that encapsulate who you are. Yes, of course, my food allergy is a part of who I am. That'll be on the tree, but there's like. 50 other branches. There's so many other things that I care so much more about and that actually make me, me, my food allergy doesn't make me who I am. And so I think as long as kids understand that know that whatever this is is just a small part of them, the same way that another kid's, ADHD is a small part of them, another kid's anxiety and other kids. Insomnia or whatever it is. It's just a, it's just a small part of them. It's not who they are. Then I think we can develop some more empathy, for each other.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 17:36

I think that's a really beautiful message and so important, For so many topics, like you're saying, it applies so widely, not just specifically to this idea.

Riya Jain: 17:44

Yeah, a hundred percent.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 17:46

From such a young age you were kind of building this business and taking this idea and running with it. As an entrepreneur, what's that been like?

Riya Jain: 17:52

Yeah, I mean, it's definitely been, a journey. It's like my roles in the company have changed tremendously. I mean, I've had such a great support system,, with my co-founder, so, JJ Vulopas, he's been absolutely incredible. We've been co-founder since the very beginning. So we've, we've written and published all our books together. He's older than me. When I was in seventh grade, he was in college at Wharton. At UPenn. And so he was, obviously handling much more of the logistical aspects, financial aspects, legal aspects, publishing, navigating all of that. And I guess for me, in seventh grade it was more of a creative side of things, actually writing the book, talking to the illustrator,, putting my perspective of what, what I would want in this book for myself. But as I've grown up, and. More recently in college and later in high school, I wanted to take over some, a lot of those roles. And so I've more recently been playing a larger part in the legal system of the Land of Can, because that's one of my current interests of career and financial aspects. I'm wanting to be more involved on that side of things and so. Obviously you can't do it all and you have to pick certain things that you want to be, um, your, your part of, of a company when you have a team. But it has developed and I'm so grateful to have had that experience of leadership at a young age because it makes me value the way I look at the world so much more. I mean, everything I see, I'm, I look at it differently. I'm like, so much work has gone into creating that logo, right? Like probably looked at. different types of fonts for this bag of sun trips that's sitting over here, right? Everything is a company and there's so much effort into things that we, we don't really think about. And so I think even watching ads, all of it, it's like you really pay a lot more attention to things. And if you look greater, gratitude for, for those things.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 19:42

You mentioned, obviously this emphasis on not focusing on what we can't do because of food allergies, but I'm thinking of all of the things you can do because of your food allergies, and as you mentioned earlier, the strengths that have contributed to all you've accomplished.

Riya Jain: 19:55

Yeah, 100%. I mean, I think food allergies has, while it's not who I am, has contributed to a huge part of, how I've become who I've become. I mean, I feel the number one thing for me is empathy. I feel that I have such a strong, sense of. Empathy and understanding what other people are going through. Because of my food allergy, I often think, you know, no one understands me. Um, no one knows what it's like to go to a party and eat nothing because, and even though it looks so delicious, because the chef said it may have nuts in it, even though he's not sure, So. I think I have such a greater empathy for people who have conditions that I don't have, for people who are suffering through things that I don't understand, because I know what it feels like to not be understood. And so I think empathy is the number one thing. Another thing is, definitely like self-advocacy. I mean, from a young age, you're talking to the waiter, you're talking to the servers, you're telling them about your allergy, you're advocating for yourself, talking to your teachers, you're calling your friends. At a super young age where most people's parents are ordering for them or holding their hand through all of it. It's scary to talk to adults, but that's something that kids with food allergies have to do and they don't have a choice. so those are two of the ways that food allergies have. Have made me who I am. Also, self-restraint is another huge thing. I think I'm a very simple person because of my food allergy. I don't need a lot because, we, we were able to, go to the ice cream store with our sports team and not get anything and we're fine with that because that's what we're used to. We're someone who maybe isn't used to that, that would be like a big thing for them possibly. So self restraint is another, another thing that I've been able to, I think carry from food allergies. Putting things into perspective and becoming, becoming happy with the little things.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 21:43

yeah. Well, on that note, all of those things that you're carrying now into college and planning for your future, can you talk a little bit about, for you what life is like at college with food allergies?

Riya Jain: 21:53

It's definitely something that, you should research before. Applying to colleges because again, food is, this is the first time you're away from your family. Parents are terrified, to send their food allergic kid off to, to college, boarding school, whatever it is, because then they're fully advocating for themselves. You know, you're not there to, to hold their hand or tell, remind them to tell the waiter anymore. And so it is something to, to look for, but I am super grateful for, for Duke and what they've done with my food allergy. Duke is an entirely nut free campus, so I have never felt more safe here than like my entire anywhere else like. This has just been such an incredible opportunity for me. I've gotten to try so many different foods I've never tried before. Like I get Asian food all the time at the dining hall, which I've never had. I, I find I get to eat Indian food out that's not homemade because it's completely nut free. they also have the first standalone, top 14 allergen free restaurant on campus. called, It's Time and it's actually delicious. It's like Mediterranean, like kava. And no one even knew that it was, I didn't even know it was. Known as top 14 allergen free. I thought it was just a good place to eat, but it's top 14 allergen free. And they made it delicious. Not, not how one would expect a top 14 place to, to taste like. And so. Honestly, when I go home for breaks, I sometimes forget to tell the waiters or, my friends that, oh my God, I have a food allergy. Because at college it's been so easy to navigate. But it is, and it's obviously not the case at all colleges. I've just been lucky with the circumstances of this one. But it is something to look out for because it immensely changed my quality of life coming to a place like this. Whereas a place where you're in a rush getting food from dining hall constantly and having to mention your allergy within all of that and manage your classes, I feel like it'd be quite stressful. And so doing some research, is definitely important.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 23:46

Have there been any surprises, anything that you didn't anticipate?

Riya Jain: 23:48

I think something that could be surprising is that people in college are definitely much more mature than, people in high school or middle school, obviously. But I think people here see it as something very normal. I've never been, taunted necessarily or anything like that because of my food allergy. People are just much more mature and have hopefully gained a broader sense of self and sense of empathy, at this point in their lives. I know that's not. Stagnant for all people in college. But I think as an overarching thing to make yourself feel better about yourself. Like when I go to dinner with my friends outside of Duke where I do have to tell the waiter about my food allergy, I don't feel embarrassed to to mention it. They remind me too, actually. And so I think because they're such a broad range of people here, I was able to find very kind friends who, who support me in all aspects of my life.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 24:36

Was it not like that as much when you were younger? The stigma is one thing, but bullying and intentionally picking on is different.

Riya Jain: 24:42

Yeah, I mean, I didn't fully experience, I, I wouldn't say complete bullying because of my free allergy. They did call it the weird kids table. Like there were little jabs like that or you know, you're natural selection, like free allergy's, natural selection or things that people think are jokes that aren't, or, oh my God, I could give this to you and you would die. Like, I should put this in your food, like. Taunts like that. I guess one could call bullying, but for me it was so normal that I wasn't like I'm being bullied. Um, but I do know of people, like, I know of friends who were chased around with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, like physically chased, across a field like across recess, which could be so harmful, and is so harmful. It's not funny. I told my friends like, don't send me those things. It's like, I'm not gonna laugh. It's, it's just not funny. Pick any other joke. And so I wouldn't say, I experienced complete bullying, but I've definitely seen it happen and experienced a microdose of it.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 25:37

I, I get what you're saying, that you just accepted that that was kinda the way it is, but to even be taunted or teased that someone would do that to you, to something that literally could be life-threatening to you is so, that's so different from like, oh, your hair looks bad today.

Riya Jain: 25:48

Yeah, one thing that I honestly continue as an adult that we can all practice, that I learned as a kid was if someone can't fix something in 30 seconds or less, like, don't mention it. So if they, if it's your food allergy, right? Like we can't fix that in 30 seconds or less, so don't make fun of it. But if someone has a little smudge of food on their cheek and be like, oh, you have. You have food on your cheek'cause they can fix that. But anything else, like, your hair looks terrible today. Like, I can't go back and restyle my hair. Right. So

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 26:18

Right.

Riya Jain: 26:19

I think that's something that we can continue to practice.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 26:21

I love that one. That's one of my favorites. Yeah, and it's that kind of thing, like if you're saying it, because that's the difference between saying it to be helpful to someone. I don't want you to be embarrassed or let me help you fix this real quick, versus I am just insulting the way that you are or exist in this world, or your physical appearance. Right.

Riya Jain: 26:36

100%.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 26:37

That's a good one. I wanted to touch on another big thing that you're involved in, which this is making me think of is the, the film, they're calling it a docudrama, that you're gonna be a part of? And I think all of these messages we're talking about sound like that's what this is going to be touching on, right?

Riya Jain: 26:53

Yes, 100%. I'm a part of the,, Just Like You film on, on food allergy that's coming out very soon. We've been, they've been working on it for years now. We filmed this I think about three years ago, which is incredible to think about, but. I'm super excited for, for people to, to finally get to watch it, it's going to be incredible. It's a combination of, real life accounts. So myself talking about my food allergy, many other people talking about it in a very deep vulnerable sense. So that's the docu and then the drama part. We have incredible actors and actresses. I know Augie and Ava from Girl Meets Worlds are in it, and I got to work with them. They were incredible people. And they're gonna be acting out, sort of a. A real life food allergic scene, which was incredibly compelling. Parents first, like real, like real life accounts of reactions and, how to navigate that. It'll be an incredible resource, I think in the duality of, people who do have food allergies. I would love to watch, I loved watching it. Um, people would love to watch this, but then also people who don't or have no correlation to it, would find it incredibly interesting and hopefully learn something from it.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 27:56

Yeah, so if I, I'll put the links in the show notes, if they follow Just Like You Films, That's probably the best way to get the updates on the film.

Riya Jain: 28:04

Yes.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 28:06

tell people how they can find your books and the Land of Can, everything that goes along with land of can.

Riya Jain: 28:11

100%. So you can find our books on the land of can.com. Um, all of our books are. Currently on there, you can follow us on Instagram and TikTok at the Land of Can. Um, no spaces or anything. And yeah, that's, that's how you can follow along. You can contact me at Ria at the land of can.com. If you wanna chat or have any questions about anything, I'm, I'd love, I would love to talk

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 28:39

And tell people how they can utilize your books. Like for people who are working in schools or who might wanna talk to you about collaborating in their work environments and professional environments, what, what ideas do you have and what people might wanna reach out to you about?

Riya Jain: 28:50

Yeah, so I mean, obviously if you're interested in purchasing a specific book or a few books, that's, on our website, the land of can.com. But if you're, you know, a nurse or work in a school or a doctor or a pediatrician or allergist, we sell all of our books, um, B2B, so. Most of our work happens to be B2B, where we sell packages to pediatrician offices, schools, all offices, all of that. For your waiting rooms. We have QR codes with eBooks. We have an app, the Can Health app, where your patients can get customized, you know,, promo codes. They can access all of our resources online. So there's a lot of avenues that we work through that, and that is something that you should definitely contact me about, on my email. Or, DM the Instagram account. Find our information on the website because we'd love to chat with you more specifically on how we can directly collaborate with your needs.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 29:42

What's your biggest hope for the future,

Riya Jain: 29:44

i hope that, kids with food allergies are able to hopefully, obviously one day find some sort of relief, hopefully some sort of cure or, incredible treatment. I know they're all on their, on their way. But I think more than that it's just to, have a better sense of self of you. You are who you are, not who you're not. Your food allergy isn't. Isn't you? But I think also again, a deeper appreciation for the things that your food allergy has given you. Whether it's empathy, leadership, resilience, grit, you've gained so much from your food allergy and, for my future hopes of the land of can, I hope that the land of can gets to, breakthrough the food allergy community, as much as possible where every kid who has a food allergy, can say that they've read the book and hopefully gain something from it.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 30:31

Thank you so much for creating it. It's such a great resource and it fill such a needed gap in the resources that are out there about food allergies. So I really appreciate you creating it and continuing to expand on it and all of these, different topics that you're covering, so that we have this perspective that's very much needed.

Riya Jain: 30:46

Yeah, 100%. Thank you for having me. I.

Amanda Whitehouse, PhD: 30:49

Of course. I appreciate you being here and hopefully we'll have you back someday in the future.'cause I have a feeling you're onto more big things, as you decide where, where the future's gonna lead you.

Riya Jain: 30:58

Thank you.

30:59

Thank you so much, to Riya, for sharing her story and her vision, and thank you for listening. Before we go, here are three ways that you can carry this inspiration forward. Number one, check out the land of can.com and explore the website and learn more about the book series. Number two, explore or share one of the books in the land of CAN series. Perhaps the Class That Can food allergies will speak to you as a tool for younger readers and families or classrooms dealing with allergy stigma and safety. Or there might be another one that jumps out at you that you wanna purchase for someone as a gift or for something else that you're managing In your own home or classroom. And number three, take a moment to reflect on your own can mindset. The new year is coming And maybe instead of a resolution, what you need is a focus on what you can do, what you're choosing for the coming year ahead. As always, I appreciate you listening, and thank you so much to those of you who have been leaving reviews and ratings on the show, sharing it on your social media or with people that you know. I'm so appreciative as the year wraps up, I can't believe how much the show continues to grow, and I am so glad that you're finding it useful and worth your time to listen. So on that note. I hope you have a safe and healthy New Year celebration, I have really, really big things planned for 2026 that I'm so excited to share with you, so I hope you'll be back with me next year so that you don't miss any of it. the content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only, and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any questions about your own medical experience or mental health needs, please consult a professional. I'm Dr. Amanda Whitehouse. Thanks for joining me. And until we chat again, remember don't feed the fear.