Maybe it's mabeling, but seasonal allergies have become always on for me, Like I don't even remember when the switch was, but I just know a zerteka day keeps my embarrassing sneezes and my running nose away. Yes, it feels like I am constantly reaching for my inhaler because I have the type of allergies that causes breathing problems and it is the worst. You know what it's like to just be out and being like, ooh, where's my inhaler? I
feel like it's embarrassing. It shouldn't be embarrassing because it's just for my health, but it is. No, I always thought it inhaler was cool. Something about that, you know, like you just taking on that kind of wind. That was cool to me. Oh my gosh. I don't know if I've ever heard that. But I don't know what's going on. You don't know what's going on, So we should really think about talking about this today. I'm t
T and I'm Zakiah, and this is Dope Labs. Welcome to Dope Labs, a weekly podcast that mixes hardcore science with pop culture and a healthy dose of friendship. It feels like, and I'm gonna put you know, underline on fields. Feels like everybody has allergies. Honestly, I don't know a
single person who doesn't. These days, like when it's springtime, everybody's you know, itchy eyes, water running nose, and even in the fall, I feel like lots of people have allergies and they're like, oh, these are my fall allergies. I don't remember it being like this when I was a kid. Now, as a kid, I did have bad allergies. I had to take this little pill and it had these little bitter pebbles inside. They weren't pebbles, they were medicine. But I couldn't swallow pills. And some of my mom
used to put it in apple sauce. That was my allergy medicine, but I only took it certain times of the year. And now I have I know I'm having year long allergies, and we're in the recitation because I want to know why. Yeah, I want to know why I'm having year long allergies. Now, okay, so then what do we know? We know we're seeing some shifting allergies. I know, even if that's just my personal anecdotal evidence
for me m m. Yeah. And we've talked about this during some of our live shows that we've done about how you know there's so much more pollen and it's because of these different these trees that have been planted. But I thought that was debunked. I don't know, see, Okay, So now let's just talk about what we want to know. Is it just the pollen? It can't just be the pollen, because also, doesn't it feel like food allergies are going up? Absolutely?
Absolutely they were at least for a while for a while, and it seems like they're going down because of some changes. But it also feels like there are a lot of people who are gluten intolerant. Wait wait, wait wait wait you said gluten intolerant. That brings up another question. Is intolerance and allergy the same thing? Ry? So see, I use allergy and intolerance the same and so, but it
can't be the same. They're two different words, right, So I need to know the difference between those two because I'm not allergic to lactose, but I am lactose intolerance. Good point. See, And I also t T. I know you've seen this the Direct Consumer tests and they were doing it with genetics and all this stuff before it and now doing it with allergies. Yes, I saw it on TikTok. You know, I'm on TikTok all the time, and I was like, I'm not buying something like this
off the TikTok shop. I don't feel like this is a sound test, But I want to know is there something to say about these at home allergy tests? Should we be doing them? I don't know. I'm pulling my blue light glasses down and looking over the top because I'm like, is that FSA and HSA eligible or are these credible? And once you start introducing user error, I am unsure. Right, every time I had to get myself a COVID test was like a doctor needs to do this, Like I
can't do this to myself. Stick this up my nose. Nah, you're probably swapping the outside of your nostril. Girls, my eyelids COVID negative. This is why we need to have the experts, and we have the perfect expert for this episode. We have allergists and immunologists. Doctor perv Perik.
I practice in New York City and being a private practice called Allergy and Asthma Associates of Murray Hill, but I'm also on faculty at NYU Langone. I'm a clinical assistant professor in both the medicine and pediatrics departments, and then the advocacy is a big passion of mine. So I'm also a spokesperson for a nonprofit called the Allergy Asthma Network, and it's a nonprofit for patients and their families who suffer with allergies, asthma and rare you know, immune system problems.
And that's exactly why we are so glad you are here, because we hear all types of things and we're not sure what's true. Some of it feels like old lives tales, and so having you as the expert is absolutely perfect. We really want to start with the basics, like when someone says I am allergic to something, what does that mean inside of your body? What is happening?
So, you know, a lot of people don't realize, but you know, allergies are basically like an overreaction of your immune system. So a lot of people label themselves as allergic, but really your immune system has to be involved in order for it to be an allergy. So your immune system normally helps you fight off infections and you know, cancer cells and other bad things you don't want happening to you. But when allergies occurs, basically your immune system
has decided to fight something it shouldn't be fighting. So that could be a food like peanut or milk or eggs, or it could also be an environmental trigger like pollen or dust, smites, or animals, and even medications. We even have people develop allergies to medications, so that's essentially an allergy is it's basically an overreaction of your immune system to something.
So why are our bodies being so dramatic? I mean a lot. It's our immune system confusing, right, something that's harmless for something that's harmful.
So there's a lot of different theories as to why
that happens. In this day and age, we've noted that allergies and asthma have increased, and there's one theory behind that called the hygiene hypothesis, and that theory is that you know, we are living like too clean because you know, back in the day, when we were living on farms and touching soil more and eating like real whole foods, there were far less like allergies and asthma, but also other things like there was less autoimmune diseases, less cancers,
and all of this is believed to be linked that as we like are not exposed to like kind of the good bacteria or the good micro organisms that help keep our immune system balanced, a lot of our immune
systems are shifting towards allergies. So areas of the world that are still rural and not as industrialized, you know, as the Western society actually has very low rates of allergies and asthma and even the autoimmune diseases and things like that because their immune systems are processing parasites and they're on farms and being exposed to so many things, and they're not eating like processed foods, which disrupts like your gut microbiome, right, and so all of those things,
believe it or not, help you not become allergic. So that's part of it. It's like modern living, you know. But the immune system is very nimble, it's very adaptive, but sometimes things can go wrong and it can react in a way you don't want it.
To listen, the immune system will embarrass you. But I also feel like this is all part of the same thing we keep discovering this season, which is that these bodies are ancient. Yes, it's nimble and can adapt in short time periods like oh new protein, new thing. Okay, I'm sorry, as I've seen that. But why are these cells dumping histamines and have in my eyes and re like it looks like I have conjunctivitis? So why is the immune system behaving like that? Like it's used to
fighting parasites or words? Back before we have medicine, baby, we have bit adrill. Now I don't need that. So when we talk about having an allergic reaction to certain things, can you run through what those reactions can look like and why those types of reactions occur Because I know, for like seasonal allergies, someone may have like itchy and watery eyes, a running nose, they might have a cough. But then when you have food allergies, it's like, oh,
my throat is going to close up. Why are there differences in the reactions right right?
And that's a great question. So you know, the immune system processes things different ways, and essentially the way that it reacts to a food can release a whole cascade of events called anaphylaxis. And to be honest, any allergen can cause it either mild or severe reaction. That when you ingest something it's you know, entered your digestive trap. Then it enters your bloodstream, and so the reaction is far more dramatic than if let's say you inhale something
you know, or something is absorbed through your skin. It may be a slower moving reaction. Usually like for a airborne allergen like pollen or dust might or mold, you're inhaling it and then it goes into your respiratory track, so it really activates the immune system in your respiratory tract. So that's why you get the itchis the stuff he knows, things like that. But even that can be severe for some people because people don't realize this, but those airborne
allergens can trigger asthma. If it goes low enough into your lungs and into your bronchials, it can actually trigger an asthma attack, and that actually is deadly as well. We actually have eleven deaths a day in this country still from asthma, and the most common cause is allergies, and many people don't know that there's that connection. But then you know, kind of going back to the throat closing, kind of big anaphylactic type of reaction. We think about
a lot of times. We see that with foods, because you know you're ingesting the food, it's going into your body, into your bloodstream. We see that a lot with injectable medications and oral medications as well, for the same reason. It's just kind of the root of entry. But yeah, believe it or not, even those airborne things can be very severe for some people.
Wow. I knew that people could die from asthma attacks, but I didn't think that it would be allergy related. I thought that it would be something else. That's wild, because I'm always so worried about your allergies and as well. Oh my gosh, every time we've traveled together as a kid, it's like, do you have your inhaler? And I'll be like, no, it'll be all right, I promise. And that last time when we went to Brussels, that poor air quality you meet, I was so glad I had it. But I never
thought to link allergies and asthma. That's wild.
Yeah, And that's actually the most common cause. And then a lot of those asthma deaths are largely preventable, So that's why it's really important to make sure if you do have that, that you're on the right treatment regimen, that your asthma's well controlled, because it's those individuals who aren't well controlled that where it turns deadly.
I've also seen things that talk about how climate change also contributes to that. Do you how does that even work?
No, I'm glad you brought that up, but because then it's a big factor. So what happens with climate change is that you know, the Earth is getting warmer, and because of that, pollen seasons are considerably longer. You know, they've increased as much as two weeks now than they normally would be. So when it's warmer and there's a longer pollen season, that means when the plants start producing pollen earlier and it lasts longer. But also with climate change,
there's something called greenhouse gases. So we have increased levels of carbon dioxide in the air, and plants feed off of carbon dioxide the same way we take in oxygen and let out CO two, they take in CO two and let out oxygen. So not only are the seasons longer because it's warmer, but because of those higher carbon dioxide levels of plants are now becoming like super pollinators, so they're producing more pollen and for longer periods of time.
So that's kind of the perfect storm for much worse and more severe allergy season. And that now is going back to what we were talking about before, causing people to have more severe allergy symptoms and even develop asthma for the first time. So every spring and every fall, I see patients come in never had asthma before in their life, now get a diagnosis of asthma and it's
from their seasonal allergies. And they're always surprised when I tell them that, but because there is that link, and unfortunately, the pollen seasons are getting worse.
I did not have asthma, and then I went to college and then all of a sudden developed asthma symptoms. And so I've been using in the hailer ever since. And it really felt like came out of nowhere and I developed a peanut allergy. It just feels like the entire world is turning against me. I'm like, what next am I going to be allergic to? Like all of my favorite foods, the sun, the wind, the rain. I don't know a lot of people are experiencing that.
It's just the things seem to be getting worse, and people are getting more reactive to everything.
As well, exactly. And one of the things that I remember from many years ago is that when folks would have babies, they would say, oh, don't have them around any nuts or anything like that, in order to not expose them to these things that seem like extreme allergens and might cause them some respiratory issues. That's so true, But then the tables turned. I said, I that's actually
causing up to in penut allergies. Can you talk a little bit about what the initial thought was and then kind of the reversal of that recommendation.
Yeah, we actually we've seen food allergies and children increase in general over the last two to three decades. And it's not only because of that reason that we were giving it too late. It's also everything else that we talked about, like the hygiene hypothesis and all of the above. It's like a multifactorial thing. But interestingly enough, about ten to fifteen years ago, some like researchers saw that there's like very low rates peanut allergy in certain areas of
the world, specifically in Israel. And they were like, why is that And they looked and they saw that they were actually feeding their children this snack called bamba, which has peanut allergen in it, like very early on, and so they were like, oh, maybe there's something to this that by introducing the allergens earlier that might prevent the onset.
You know, because when babies are born, their immune systems are still developing, so that's probably the ideal time to you know, introduce something so that they don't develop it, but rather than wait till after their immune systems have
already you know, chosen one path or another. So they did this very large, multi center placebo control randomized study about a decade ago where they gave one group the peanut allergy in early and then the other group place ebo and they found that, yeah, those kids that were introduced earlier did developed the peanut allergy at a much lower rate. And so that became like our new recommendations
and guidelines. So now you know, for the past ten plus years, all of us have been pediatricians allergious family doctors have been encouraging early introduction at four to six months of age actually, and as a result, we just got some news that that has caused a forty three percent drop in peanut allergy in the last decade and
that's amazing. So that's like sixty thousand children they estimate that did not develop peanut allergy that would have and those are lives saved, because we still see people pass away unfortunately, you know, from food allergies. And now the recommendation isn't just for peanuts. We actually recommend it for all of the nine allergiens, the high risk allergians, to introduce the foods early, between four to six months. And the caveat is for most babies that's safe and you
should do it. But if you have already been diagnosed with an egg allergy by that point in time, or you have very severe ezema, then you shouldn't just jump to the early introduction. You should first consultant allergists because those are two like high risk conditions for early introductions. So for the majority of people it's recommended, but if you're in those exception groups, you know, just do so
with the guidance of an allergist. And then, of course I always have to throw this plug in there, but you never want to introduce a four month old like a whole nut. Right, you have to do it in a form that's safe to eat, you know, so I don't choke, you know, like very very thin down like consistency of milk or breast milk type, you know, with the peanut butter.
Absolutely. I think that that segues into my next question really really well, which is like at home remedies for allergies. I see a lot of stuff on TikTok that I don't think is grounded in research or in a medical professional's opinion. There are folks who are doing like allergy cleanses where they cut out whole food groups, or people who because they know that the hygiene hypothesis, they opt for a really what I feel like is unsanitary living
for their children. What misconceptions can you dispel when it comes to things like this?
One thing that I would say when it comes to these myths is that you know everything is good in moderation, you know, so especially you know, it's hard to tell people not to use certain like hand sanitizers and certain chemicals and things. Right when we're coming out of a pandemic, right where we were all trying to stay clean and not passed on germs from place to place. But one way I like to dispel myth is like always, you know,
discuss things with your doctor. If you hear conflicting information, you know, one thing on the internet versus another place, and you're not sure who to believe, it's always best to like sit down talk to your doctor because medicine isn't black and white. There's a lot of nuance and
your situation might be different than another person's situations. So that's why these like shared decision making conversations, especially with your physician, are really important to dispel a lot of these myths.
Yeah, do you think that everyone should have an allergy test? Or do you think that there's a certain criteria that you should meet before you get an allergy test?
So that's a great question. So no, we don't recommend everyone having an allergy test, and the reason for that is with any test, you know, there are false positives that come along as well as false negative So if you're not having any symptoms to anything, then you are definitely not allergic to it, you know. So a lot of people come in and say, oh, I just want to be tested for everything to see if I have any allergies. So I say, okay, well, what's been bothering you?
And then they're like, oh, nothing, I feel fine. So I'm like, I can already tell you have no allergies, because even if that test shows that you're allergic to everything, I'll still tell you that you have no allergies because the energy testing is only helpful in combination with the actual clinical symptoms.
You know.
So if you're not having any symptoms, but you test positive, you know, for a food allergy, and you tell me you're eating that food every day without any issue, you are not allergic to it, you know. So your body's response to something is the more important part of the picture than the test. The test only confirms it basically, you know. So yeah, and that's why it's really important that you are seeing the right credential professional to diagnose you.
And that's not just for allergies and anything in medicine, because we see this a lot that a lot of people are selling like allergy tests online and you know, they're they're doing all these things where you know there
it's like direct to consumer marketing. But that's very dangerous because I've seen patients come in with all of these positive tests and they're not actually allergic to any of the things that they were told they were allergic to it, and they paid, like, you know, hundreds of dollars or
even thousands of dollars for these work ups. So that's why it's really important you see someone who has been trained in that specialty and it's a validated test because there's a lot of allergy tests out there too that aren't evidence based or science based, and so you have to be very careful people being wrongly diagnosed of things, and then it can impact things because then it affects your nutrition, especially in the case of children, if they're
being told they're allergic to things they're not being allergic to. That people are avoiding all of these things that they should be taking but aren't, you know. So it has long term implications as well to label someone with an allergy when they don't really have one, or any medical condition for that matter.
Okay, now we're getting to the good part, because I feel like people are claiming allergy and I don't know if this black and white, like is there a spectrum, because I know that some people say I have sensitivities rather than an allergy, Right, what does that mean in practice, like how do those things manifest? And what should folks be looking out for in order to determine whether or not they have right food intolerance or a sensitivity or an allergy.
Right, Right, that's an important question because often people interchange intolerance and sensitivity and allergy and they're not the same thing. So an allergy is when your immune system is involved, right, And that one is important to diagnose properly because that
can be life threatening or you know, fatal. But in allergies, when your immune system is rejecting a food or hyper reactive to a food or something else whereas an intolerance, I like to cause more of like a side effect of the food, you know, so it's not necessarily dangerous. Sensitivity or intolerance isn't dangerous, but it might happen to a lot of people, but with varying degrees. So some people will come in and say, I think I'm allergic to gluten or wheat because it makes me bloated. Right,
So I'm like, well, that's not really an allergy. What that is is it's a side effect of the food. So to some degree, gluten makes everybody a little bit blown, right, But some people feel it more so than other people. And that's not necessarily a life threatening allergy or something
that will you know, kill you. You know, your immune system has had to have developed antibodies against this particular item, and it's a specific antibody called IgE, like elephant, and that that is what we measure basically, when we're doing allergy testing, we measure IgE antibodies either in your blood or through like the skin tests that many of you
might be familiar with in the allergist office. And so it's very important to distinguish between like an allergy versus an intolerance and a sensitivity, because many people think they're the same, but they're not.
Wow, that was such a great example that you used with gluten, because I feel like when we all became aware of gluten, then all of a sudden, you see all these things that are gluten free because people think it's like a dietary thing, and like, well, no, it's if you have a gluten allergy, then you would want
something that's gluten free, right right. So I'm wondering if we're going to see the same effects that we saw with the peanut allergy and restricting peanuts with gluten because people are restricting gluten when they don't even have an allergy to gluten. They think that it's about health, you know what I mean. So you think, like the way we saw an uptick in kids having peanut allergies, that we could have an uptick in kids having gluten allergies exactly, Like,
is that on the horizon? Is that possible?
Well, it's possible, but it's less likely for a few reasons. Even though wheat is one of the top nine allergens, luckily it's not as allergenic as things like peanuts or nuts because interestingly, and that's like, foods that are higher in protein tend to cause more of like an immunogenic response or immunologic response. So since wheat or gluten isn't as high in protein as let's say, peanuts or tree
nuts or some of the other high risk allergens. As an adult, if you stop eating gluten, you're pretty unlikely to develop a gluten allergy. But to your point, if you start doing that as a baby, then yes, that could increase your risk of a glute analogy because remember then that first four years of life, their immune systems are really rapidly developing, and we to gluten are one of the ones we encourage the early introduction of along with pnut and treat men and everything else, because it
is one of the top nine allergies. So yes, for kids, restricting it can be a problem and then it can increase the risk of developing an allergy.
You know. I want to talk about these tests in the tech that's associated with it. So t T is an engineer, so I feel like she understands how you create and build these tests. And my background is like selling electro biology, and so I'm like, yes, give younology, give it all to me, But what kind of tech is involved? How are these tests even designed?
There's two types of allergy testing, either a blood test or a skin test for allergies, and they both measure the same thing. Again, they measure that IgE empty body against a specific allergen. So you can look for IgE to pollen, IG to gus mites, IG for peanuts, IG for milk, eggs, so for any food or environmental allergen or even medications too. And so these are the two tests that are validated, meaning that there's scientific evidence that tells us that these tests can be accurate. If the
person has a story that fits with the allergy. You know, they're not accurate if someone has zero symptoms, you know, but we know these tests can accurately diagnose if you have like symptoms and a history that's concerning for it. Now, where we run into trouble is that there's a lot of unvalidated tests out there that are not scientifically based, and many of them measure a different type of antibody.
There's another blood test that measures IgG antibody G like George, And that's why I keep repeating it because it's important to know the difference. So the IgG testing is supposed to be for intolerances, but the problem is it comes up positive on everybody you know. So if you tested my blot for the IgG's, all IgG tells you is that you've been exposed to something in the past. So it's very helpful for when you're trying to see if
you have like immunity against like an infection. For example, we frequently will check IgG to see Okay, if you got a vaccine, do you have immunity and that there it's very helpful, or have you been exposed to some you know, bug in the past, But it's not helpful when you're looking for allergies because so many people have positive IgGs to everything, and it's just telling you exposure.
It's not saying that your immune system likes something or doesn't like something, but the IgE like elephant, that really goes up if you are having an allergy. So that's
why that testing is very helpful. And our skin testing measures the same thing because we scratch the surface of the skin with the different allergens and basically if you're allergic, you get like a hive or a mosquito bite looking thing over those specific allergens, and that's basically like stimulating the IgE and the allergy cells, the Langer hand cells in your skin, you know, to cause that reaction. So those tests are like validated and evidence based, but pretty
much every other allergy test out there is not. There's one where I've heard of where you send in your hair sample and it's like it's always like a lot of crazy things I've heard, you know, and I'm like, you know, there's no scientific evidence behind those type of tests.
So you said that there are two types of tests. What is on the horizon for allergy testing? Like, how do you see the field developing with the technology.
Yeah, So the interesting thing that allergies is that they're like immediate allergic reactions and delayed allergic reactions. And for the most part, we're very good at diagnosing immediate hyper sensitivity or immediate allergic reactions, but we don't have as
good testing for delayed allergic reactions. So I think the future is probably there, you know, because there are certain types of allergies like exzema for example, more like a contact allergy or even poison ivy is a delayed hyper sensitivity reaction, and currently we do have one good test for that, something called patch testing, where we can test for ingredients different products that you use, and you go
home with that test. Actually you keep it on your back for forty eight hours and come back because it is a delayed type of allergy. But there's so many other like delayed allergic reactions even to medications or foods or what have you, that we don't have good tests for. So I think that will be the future of allergy testing, and that will make it a lot easier to diagnose.
And I think.
Genetic testing will probably be used more too in allergy testing, and I think in everything in medicine, like as we understand more about how our genes play roles and things, and there's a lot of biomarkers now that we're already
using in the treatment of asthma. So now before it used to be thought that asthma was like a one size fits all category, but now we realize that even in allergic asthma, that there are subtypes, and we're able to now better treat our asthmatications because now there's a lot of medications that target those subtypes. So now we can even check certain things in the blood and choose
appropriate medications too for patients. I think there's a lot that's coming down the pipelines, you know, and there's a lot in treatment too. So now we're starting to have medications that lessen the severity of food allergy, which we didn't have ten years ago. So it's very exciting that we might have a world where we're not only decreasing food allergy, but even making it more safe for those who have it and lessening the severity of their allergies.
You know, it really parked up my ears about what you just said. It was the genetic component of it. So I'm not just trying to become a whole geneticis okay, girl, you know me? And so are there any genetic ties with allergies, Like if your mom is allergic to something, are you more likely to have that same allergy?
Yeah, so there are genetic ties. The problem is it's not completely clear yet. I think research will make it more clear. So we're not quite there yet, but hopefully in the next like thirty years or fifty years. But what we do know now is that just having one parent with any type of allergy increases the child's chance
by up to fifty percent five zero. So definitely there is a parental factor, but there's also a very large environmental factor because we're seeing a lot of nuancet food allergies, for example, in children who's neither a parent had a food allergy, you know. And I think it's a combination
of things too. It's not all genetics, but there is a strong environmental component to it, because allergies are one of the few or the only medical condition I can really think of right now off the time I head where it's as much as external problem as it is an internal problem, you know, So the way you know, it's not like diabetes or something where you can take a medicine to control it like this, and for people who are allergic, literally their environment can trigger them at
any time, you know. So it's a very different type of medical issue in which you not only have to control it internally, but also externally too.
So when we are moving through this world and we are using social media, and there's a lot on social media that just is not correct, well, can you talk a little bit about some of the misconceptions and the false information that you see out there in regards to allergies, immunology and how we can safeguard ourselves from falling for some of these, I guess tricks to get our money.
Right, right, Yeah, So there's so much misinformation out there. I don't know where to start, but I'll try my best. I would be wary if you're getting information from anybody online who's trying to sell anything, because I've noticed that that when there's a monetary component to it, that often those are the people that I've noticed to be kind of perpetuating false information or false treatments or false testing. And then I'm sure that they would argue. But yeah,
but every you know, doctor also gets paid. But it's it's very different because this is something that you know, physicians have been trained for where it's very a very regulated profession, right, so we can't just go around saying whatever we want to other and you know, whetherwas we lose our license, you know, we can even get criminal
penalties for that. And always look for credentials online because I've noticed that a lot of people who are perpetuating information, they'll call themselves doctor, but then if you dig deeper, there's actually no like doctorate there, or or it's a doctorate that's not in medical sciences, you know. So of course, like I respect all doctorates, but I and be able to you know, I'm a doctor, but I know nothing about engineering, right like you can't you can't call me
a doctorate an engineer. I can't call myself that, right. So I've noticed that there's a lot of like misrepresentation online. But some of the myths that I hear a lot are about immune boosting because I'm immunologists, so there's no there's no quick, easy fix for immune boosting. So I've seen everything sold from you know, shakes to tablets to powders,
so none of those things can boost your immune system. Unfortunately, the only thing that can give you a healthy immune system is like very boring and it takes a lot of time. But you know, eating well, sleeping well, exercising, you know, cup being yourself active at a healthy weight, all of the things that like seem like common sense but that you know a lot of people don't want to do. Those are things that will actually preserve your
immune system. And ironically, the one thing that can booster your immune system very fast, it has become controversial, I'm not sure why. And that's vaccine. So that means the vaccine is the only way you can boos your immune system in two weeks or less. There's anyone tells you there's any other way. They're lying to you. The rest of the ways the Bouchier immune system comes through, you know,
just consistency in your life. So sleeping, you know, seven to eight hours a night, drinking those you know, ten to twelve glasses of water, whatever the recommended limit is, Eating healthy, you know, avoiding those junk and processed foods and alcohol, all those things we already know are bad for us. You know, maintaining a healthy way all of that does help your immune system, but obviously it doesn't
happen overnight. But it's interesting because the one thing that is proven to boocher immune system, now everybody's against it and it makes no sense. And that's just another example of misinformation. And then kind of in the allergy world, there's so many myths. I think people think still that allergies don't exist, you know, and I think people think
food allergies are not real, which is really dangerous. There's actually been like bullying and deaths where like, you know, kids have been like forced to eat something they're allergic to and then you know, gotten very sick or died. And I think dispelling those myths is really important. There's actually a Super Bowl ad where they actually made light
of someone having a peanut allergy. Yeah, it was an Uber Eats ad with all these celebrities in it, and actually everyone of us in the allergy community got really upset, and when we started speaking out about it in the media, social media, and they pulled that part of the ad out, you know, which is good because but no one would make that joke about heart disease or diabetes, but they make that joke about allergies all the time, which are
just as deadly, you know. So that's a big myth that I really would love to dispel, you know, because it can actually hurt somebody if you don't take it seriously. And then the same thing, I think a lot of people think that even seasonal allergies aren't a big deal, and for a lot of people they aren't. But then, like I said, there are those people where it triggers asthma, and for some people it can be very severe and debilitating.
So I'm glad these kinds conversations are happening and people are talking about allergies, because even as as soon as five or ten years ago, you know, it was not really talked about and people didn't take it seriously. So those are probably the most common mix I see.
I blame the media, you know, and it sounds wild, but I feel like back in the nineties when I was growing up, every single sitcom cartoon it was always a really nerdy kid that had asthma or had allergies, and it was like, oh my gosh, because you know, they had the glasses and they always had clean eggs, and they had their asthma inhaler, and so it made having allergies like a not cool thing and stuff for like nerdy outcasts, and I'm just like, I don't think
I'm a nerdy outcast. Do you think that makes me strange because I wanted both the inhaler and glasses. Yes, you are strange, but I do feel like food allergies seemed like this weird thing to me, And I didn't know anybody with food allergies, Like you weren't really like you weren't really allowed to have food allergies, like it
wasn't a thing. But also I knew somebody at my after school program that had a latex allergy, and I was like, we don't want to kill her, Like I didn't know what would happened, but I was like, we don't want to kill her. We have to use these they use these different gloves to serve the food and stuff. And I took that really serious. But why didn't we take like pena allergies a SI Exactly. It's like there's
this hierarchy, there's a respectability politics with allergies, like allergy types. Yeah, we're seeing the same thing when people talk about gluten allergies now, like they're making it like, oh, you're just being difficult or particular, and it's like No, this could really be messing somebody up.
You're completely right. It has a stigma to it and that's unfortunate. And you're right, it's propagated even by like the movie industry, because I've seen it in movies even recently, way after the nineties, Like I know, there was like a Peter Rabbit movie where they were making fun of food allergies and things. So that's the problem because people kids see that and adult that and they think that's they normalize that. So I completely agree with you, and yeah, it's definitely a problem.
I think this episode is so so important because the science communication that you're doing in order to shift perspectives on allergies is really crucial because people are dying and we have to take it more seriously. It should not be the butt of a joke in right, in any ad or in any movie. We should really be taking it as serious as it's supposed to be.
Right. No, absolutely, And I want to thank you also for doing a whole podcast episode on this because these conversations, I think are how we will help kind of change that narrative. So thank you, you know, for bringing attention to it.
Thank you so much. That was so informative to T because I understand the immune system, but I don't think I was really appreciating the allergies the way I should. Honestly, Yes, And I think that that seems to be a common theme with a lot of our labs this semester. It's about reframing how we look at people, how we look at pain, how we look at fear, how we look at allergies, and really putting some respect on everybody's name, you know what I mean. Where it's just like our
lives are so complex. Everybody's got a lot of things going on, and we just have to have like a level of respect for folks and whatever they bring to the table. You know that's right. If you see me out here sneezing, just know that three hundred million years ago, I would have survived a parasitic a tech because I
have a very active immune system. You damn right. You can find us on X and Instagram at Dope Labs podcast ct is on X and Instagram at dr Underscore t SHL and you can find I'm zakiya at Ze said so. Dope Labs is a production of Lemonada Media. Our supervising producer is Keegan Zimma and our producer is Issara Acevez. Dope Labs is sound designed, edited and mixed by James Farber. Limanada Media's Vice President of Partnerships and
Production is Jackie dan Singer. Executive producer from iHeart Podcast is Katrina Norvil. Marketing lead is Alison Canter. Original music composed and produced by Taka Yasuzawa and Alex sugi Ura, with additional music by Elijah Harvey. Dope Labs is executive produced by us T T Show Dia and Zakiah WATTLEI