Episode Transcript
[00:00:10] Speaker A: Happy Sunday. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7, the capstone. And oh, my goodness, we survived homecoming. Yay.
[00:00:19] Speaker B: We did.
[00:00:20] Speaker A: I feel like there's, like, just so much festivity and activities and tailgating, and then it always blows me away.
And just the things that the individual colleges do or their former students. So I don't know, I just. I get on this, like, school spirit high for all of our.
[00:00:37] Speaker B: I think so, too. Yeah. And, like, we had our tailgate at the rec or. That wasn't at the rec, but it was on the quad just welcoming our alumni back. And it was great to see different faces I hadn't seen in a while. And then, of course, I like to make my rounds. I can't stay in, like, one place at one time. I'm constantly like, all right, let's go check out this place too. But just going around to our different friends around campus and seeing all of that, what's going on? It was great. The food is always great. That's what I love, is the tailgating food. Even though I'm a vegetarian, it's sometimes hard, but I usually find, like, macaroni and cheese.
[00:01:08] Speaker A: Yeah, No, I was gonna say, because I know that, like, ice cream is your ride or die. So, like, dairy is always gonna be part of your life.
[00:01:15] Speaker B: It is.
You know, I have to make a confession to the Tuscaloosa community right now. I haven't had ice cream in a while. I don't know what's happened.
[00:01:22] Speaker A: Really.
[00:01:22] Speaker B: I don't know what's happened to me.
Maybe I'm just not craving it as much, but I. I'm a little worried now.
[00:01:29] Speaker A: You did tell me you were dabbling in the non dairy ice creams. And I know I told you I had to do a little bit about that whenever my son Sam had his allergy. What did you think of the non dairy versions?
[00:01:39] Speaker B: There were some that were really good, I really liked. I mean, they don't compare to, like, full fat ice cream, like, what I love. But no, there was some really good options out there. I. I found one that was a really. It's like, super sweet, though. And I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing. But, like, it was so sweet. I was like, yes, this is my jam. It was like cookie dough cake batter or something. But it was. It was a non dairy, and I think it was made with almond milk. I found I like ice cream made with almond milk better than coconut milk. It's denser I don't know. I just. Coconut milk. Like, I, like, I weigh my pints, right? I take my pints in my hand and I hold my dairy and I'm like, ooh, that's heavy. That's good. I like that. That's some salad saturated fat right there. And then I grabbed my, like, coconut milk, and I'm like, oh, it's a little bit lighter weight.
[00:02:28] Speaker A: I totally understand. There's one brand that I really liked, and they had a couple of variations that used cashew milk. And I felt like that had this, like, nice mouth feel and creaminess that was comparable to dairy ice cream. But, I mean, not. But, like, if you need a fix.
[00:02:45] Speaker B: If you need a fix, I think it's great, and I'm glad that we have those options out there. But no, my days of being vegan lasted about month, and then I went back to just being vegetarian. And I. I love my ice cream now.
[00:02:58] Speaker A: You know, we are moving away from the temperatures that are ice cream appropriate. But I mean, ice cream is ice cream.
[00:03:05] Speaker B: Ice cream is ice cream.
[00:03:06] Speaker A: Yes. Are there any warm desserts that you like? Is there anything that you enjoy?
[00:03:11] Speaker B: Like that ice cream with hot fudge?
[00:03:14] Speaker A: Like, I literally am sitting here thinking,
[00:03:15] Speaker B: I'm like, literally, just pour hot fudge on your ice cream and it makes it warm. No, I mean, I like, honestly, if you don't put bananas in stuff, we're good. I will eat anything aside from bananas. We're good.
[00:03:26] Speaker A: I think that's fair. No, our producer, she's turning around, looking at us like, oh, my gosh, like what direction.
[00:03:32] Speaker B: She loves us, whatever.
[00:03:33] Speaker A: But no, I think there's some strategy to us talking about this, because when we bring our guest on in just a little bit, we are gonna be talking about food and we're gonna be talking about maybe reasons why people might have to use alternate versions of different things. So actually, by default, it's not on purpose. Yeah, we.
We did that. But, you guys, we have a great show this afternoon. We have a great guest on campus. We're going to be talking about food allergies. You know, not something that you constantly think about when you think about nutrition. Unless you are directly affected by food allergies.
A family or, you know, family member or a friend. But we have some great information that we want to be able to share. And this is going to be great, too, as enter into a holiday season where a lot of food is involved.
Even Halloween can play a role in this, too. When we think about candy and being cognizant of those types of things. So I think that we're gonna hook y' all up with some good stuff.
[00:04:31] Speaker B: Fully loaded.
[00:04:32] Speaker A: Yes.
To make sure that you are a good hostess or host for whatever event
[00:04:37] Speaker B: or a good guest, because I never host. I just go eat the food.
[00:04:40] Speaker A: Yeah. And then you want to bring a dish that is gonna be, like, safe for everyone.
Absolutely. Okay, you guys, we will not delay any longer. You guys need to take a break, some ice cream, Maybe throw some hot fudge on it if you're feeling a little chilly. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7 the cast stone.
Welcome back. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7 the Capstone. And if you are just now joining us, you just missed our lovely discussion on ice cream. Dairy free ice cream, which ended up hot fudge. Oh, yes.
[00:05:23] Speaker B: Ice cream in the winter, ice cream in the summer. Ice cream all the time. We could rank them.
[00:05:27] Speaker A: I mean. I mean, we really could. So that will be a separate topic. We'll have a dessert show.
[00:05:32] Speaker B: I'm not kidding. Let's have a dessert show.
[00:05:33] Speaker A: I think we should.
[00:05:34] Speaker B: Let's have a dessert show. It's done. It's finished.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: Yes. We said it, so it has to happen. But, you guys, one of the other things that we talked about before the break is we alluded to the fact that we would be talking about food allergies and accommodations for that. And so we needed to make sure that we brought the best of the best on the show to be able to discuss that. We love her so much. We've actually had her on this show before. And I am talking about the wonderful Holly Groff, registered dietitian who serves as dining services coordinator here at ua. So, Holly, thank you.
[00:06:05] Speaker C: Welcome.
[00:06:06] Speaker B: Thanks for coming here.
[00:06:07] Speaker C: Welcome back. Yeah.
[00:06:08] Speaker A: So, Holly, tell us a little bit about your educational background.
You know, prior to working in this position. If memory serves me right, you are an alum of ua.
[00:06:19] Speaker C: I am. I think we were classmates maybe just a few years ago.
[00:06:23] Speaker A: Yes, yes, yes, yes, exactly. No, I know because I remember there being a course where we had to run a restaurant. And you were the GA for that.
[00:06:31] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:06:31] Speaker A: Holly taught me all of my wonderful knife skills.
[00:06:34] Speaker B: Oh, that's awesome.
[00:06:35] Speaker C: Uh, oh, well, you still have your fingers.
We're gonna count that as good.
[00:06:39] Speaker A: Yes, absolutely. So tell us a little bit about what that education and work background was like before you serving in the position you have now.
[00:06:47] Speaker C: Sure. As you said, registered Dietrich dietitian, nutritionist. Just like yourself, graduate of the University of Alabama and the coordinated program in dietetics here and got a master's in restaurant hospitality management here at the university as well.
I have worked in casual dining, catering, healthcare, including long term care and acute care facilities. So those of you that aren't at healthcare, short term stays like a hospital and long term care facilities like mental health facilities and nursing home type establishments and been here at the university for about six years now, I believe in my current position.
[00:07:27] Speaker A: I can't believe it's been that long.
[00:07:28] Speaker C: Time flies when you're having fun.
[00:07:31] Speaker B: So tell us about your role at UA right now and so. And just. And what you do in our Bama dining services.
[00:07:37] Speaker C: Sure.
Bama dining here on campus is run by a contract food service operator.
And so my department that I work in in dining services under enterprise operations under the finance and operations umbrella is the liaison with the contract food service provider.
So I'm a self work for the university and one of my main responsibilities, among many others is working with students that have food allergies and other special dietary needs and working on accommodations in the dining halls for those students.
[00:08:11] Speaker A: Do you feel like in your time in this role that that need has really grown?
[00:08:17] Speaker C: Absolutely, it has.
Really, in my time in my professional career, it's grown.
I think, Sheena, you would probably agree with this that really it wasn't a focus in our curriculum very heavily as students.
And so some people might say, why is that occurring now?
Or many of the managers that I work with that may have been food service operators for 15, 20, 30 years said, you know, I'm seeing a lot more.
And really we don't have great answers as to why.
We do kind of have some rough estimates. There's roughly 32 million Americans with food allergies, about 5.6 million children under 18, and that equates to about 1 in 13 children. So if you think of kind of
[00:09:03] Speaker A: average classroom sizes, yeah, there's going to be that one.
[00:09:06] Speaker C: Yes. One to two children in each classroom is not, not uncommon there at all.
And they have been increasing.
There was a CDC study in 2013 that showed food allergies rose among children approximately 50% between 1997 and 2011.
[00:09:24] Speaker B: So hold up, what's the deal? What's the like, do we know?
[00:09:28] Speaker C: We don't know. There is not a good scientific evidence based reason at this point, but our research indicates that it's a mix of genetic and environmental influences.
[00:09:42] Speaker A: That's interesting. And you know, thinking about your previous experience in environments outside of college like Your different healthcare environments. Was food allergies, like was that even a topic or something that needed to be intentional when it came to food service in those areas in your previous positions?
[00:10:04] Speaker C: Always something that our computer systems were able to deal with, something that existed, but no, in a nursing home, in the other facilities, we would see it, but it wasn't at the rates that we see. So if we look at that like where that increase was between 1997 and 2011 in that study we were just talking about, that's really the population that we're seeing in college and young adults.
[00:10:31] Speaker B: And I was like, those are our students right there.
That, you know, that's wild to me because also when you think about, I feel like in general, not just at the university, but things that you see on social media, on your ads, on tv, it's all hyper focused on, you know, gluten free. And some of that's a little bit marketing, I feel like. But then also peanut allergies and I'm sure, and you guys know this stuff way better than I do, but just all the different allergies that are out there. And I've always known of, of course, like nut allergies. Like, I feel like that's been something that I have seen with the rise. It sounds like these dates that you're talking about, like when I was a kid, no one had a nut allergy. Like I mean, maybe they did. They just weren't my class. I just, I don't ever remember.
Of course I was young, so how would I even know? I'm doing this like outward reflection right now of my life in case anybody's interested. But I don't know. I mean, that's just so strange to me. So we really don't know. I'm sure people are trying to study this.
[00:11:26] Speaker C: Yes, there's lots of good research going on right now.
[00:11:29] Speaker A: A lot of this explains exclusive to the U.S. or are we seeing this as a global trend as well? Because I'm trying to think of just like when we think of food environments, you know, I didn't know if this is like pretty specific to the US in terms of these like increase in numbers or if we're seeing this globally.
[00:11:44] Speaker C: We're seeing this globally. There definitely are some regional cultural things that we see. So for example, in the United states there's over 170 foods that have been reported to cause allergies.
But there are in the United States, like our labeling, for example, focuses on the top eight.
Those top eight allergens account for 90% so if we focus on those now, certainly there's other people that are going to need other focuses.
So if we focus on those things, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat and soy, then we cover the majority of people with food allergies. But certainly there's other than that. But we do have some. For examp.
You may know about this more Sheena, because you have a young one. That introduction of peanuts peanut products changed some of the recommendations recently.
[00:12:39] Speaker A: It has and I've noticed too that there are some different companies that have started because I'll see them in Instagram ads like they're so intentional with that stuff. But these companies that will even make little powders that have exposure to the top eight allergens that you mix in your baby's form formula to say like oh, expose them early to decrease. You know. And it's, you know, part of me is thinking like oh this is convenient. But then part of me is thinking like wow, what a great marketing ploy.
[00:13:07] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:13:08] Speaker A: Just playing on what I call in some ways like some fear mongering that happens with this. And I'm just so it's. It's fun to talk to my other first time mom friends and kind of debunk some like fears related to that. I think it obviously should be taken seriously but at the same time it. I get mad when companies take and
[00:13:28] Speaker B: that peanut products don't even get me started. We can go down the whole rabbit
[00:13:32] Speaker C: hole that peanut product. We can talk about testing for allergies in a minute. Remind me of that one. But if you talk about peanut products that, that study. So there was a study based on some other areas of the region where they didn't see the prevalence of peanut allergies and they found.
I think it was bomba maybe was the. It was a kind of like the puffs sort of that you feed. But it had a peanut product in it. And it led to some things that said why is this area of the world not getting the peanut allergies like others are.
And it led to a long term study and guidelines changed recommending some changes on when to introduce peanut foods to. However, there is not our favorite word of evidence based. Right. It is not evidence based for introducing other foods. So like you said that there may be some fear mongering in recommending that other.
[00:14:22] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:14:23] Speaker B: Conspiracy.
[00:14:25] Speaker C: Just kidding.
[00:14:26] Speaker A: I mean me and Whitney like some conspiracy.
[00:14:28] Speaker B: We do, we do. We could go all day long on that. So we will not at the moment. We will take a short little break. So you guys grab Your ice cream. Since that's our topic sort of today. Grab you something to drink. We're gonna take a quick break. You're listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7 the Capstone.
And we're back. You're listening to fit to be Thai with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7 the Capstone. We were talking about food allergies.
So if you have a food allergy, listen to us. Maybe we have some cool information. If you don't. I mean, I may have a food allergy and I don't know, this conversation freaks me out a little bit because, like, I'm worried that like you said, how many food allergies are out there?
[00:15:19] Speaker C: You know, there are a number of. It's increasing. But really you're gonna. You've got some reason or some experience of symptoms.
[00:15:29] Speaker A: Yeah, we'll talk to you, Dan. We'll talk to all the things.
[00:15:31] Speaker B: Okay, good. Because, you know, I get a little bit. Allergies. I don't like being.
[00:15:34] Speaker C: Don't. As typically develop in adults, they generally present more in childhood. That can change throughout the life cycle. So, you know, sometimes children will be allergic to something and later in life that allergy is not present anymore.
[00:15:49] Speaker A: Remember I told you Sam grew out of his cow's milk protein allergies.
[00:15:52] Speaker B: Okay, I feel better, I feel better.
So like allergy testing, let's segue into that. Like, how do we test for allergies? Do we like. I don't know, maybe I should go.
[00:16:01] Speaker A: Is there a more appropriate way? Because you know, again, when it comes to the marketing and the fear mongering, there are so many flipping companies out there that are making ways for people to test themselves at home in some capacity. Are these.
[00:16:17] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:16:18] Speaker A: I mean, is this something people should do or should they see a healthcare provider for this? Break it down for us, Holly.
[00:16:24] Speaker C: Definitely this is something you want to see a healthcare provider for. You want to be working with a board certified allergist.
[00:16:31] Speaker A: Do you need to pay my $99 to get that test at home and then send it off?
[00:16:36] Speaker C: You could just take your $99, put it in the trash can and that would.
And of course, my social media feeds are full of it. My search history, because, you know, I'm getting the ads, particularly with the field that I work in, getting ads popping up all the time.
But those tests, really what you want to do if you think you may have a food allergy or have experienced some type of adverse reaction is you want to be working with the Board certified allergist.
They're going to take a careful history of your experience, your suspected foods physical examination likely going to progress to skin prick testing.
They may be looking at allergen specific IgE blood testing.
However, that test sometimes can have some false positives there.
So for example, your body may say you have this, you have a reaction to that, but really when you eat it, you don't. So the gold standard in testing is an oral food challenge. Of course that's very.
That can cause some anxiety for individuals, for parents, etc. But it's possible. So if you really want to have the least restrictive diet.
I had a student in my office one time who was like we said, things can change throughout the life cycle. She was doing some oral food challenges based on some testing and she said, you know what, it's well worth it to go through it for me because if I can discover that I can eat this, then that makes my life much simpler. So for her it was worth it. Now others are certainly not going to fault anybody if that's not the right thing for them. But no.
Many of the male away tests though are IgG. So I said IGE before and that's what we're looking at in the physician's office there. And that's what we're working on.
But the IGG tests, instead of testing for the IGE antibodies, they're testing for igg, and that's a memory type antibody.
So actually when you get a indication of that antibody, it actually means you've probably consumed that type of food before.
[00:18:51] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:18:53] Speaker C: So in fact, you ever get a friend that says they've tested for this and it's their favorite food.
Coincidence? Probably not there because they always call
[00:19:02] Speaker A: me freaking out, saying like sheena, but I'm so in love with X, Y or Z and it's on the list and I'm like, okay, man. Holly, you have enlightened me as a fellow rd. Goodness gracious.
[00:19:14] Speaker C: So due to the lack of evidence on this, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, all the academy, all recommended against test.
Yes, they've recommended against using IGG testing to diagnose food allergies or sensitivities and tolerances. But sensitivities and tolerances are a little bit different.
A food allergy is actually the body's immune response generally to a protein in food. So basically kind of like your body attacks a Cold or a flu virus.
What happens with a food allergy is you ingest that food and your body mistakes it for something harmful, so it basically starts trying to attack it there.
[00:20:02] Speaker B: So that's like peanut allergy.
I don't have a peanut allergy, but if I had a peanut allergy and I ate peanuts, then I'm gonna go into different types of shock, like I'm gonna get caught.
[00:20:12] Speaker C: It could cause a number of reactions. It could cause some things that you may think are more digestive, like some upset stomach, some diarrhea, vomiting, things like that. But yes, it can cause more life threatening. Like we hear about anaphylaxis. So it can be a life threatening reaction. That's wild. And there aren't cures for food allergy, certainly with the cost of EpiPens. We hear that in the news, we hear a lot about that. But even that's a treatment for those symptoms. It's not a cure.
[00:20:42] Speaker A: Now, when it comes to intolerances, is there a foolproof way of saying someone has an intolerance or does it tend to be more anecdot based on someone just feeling like they've had an adverse experience with a food, but not necessarily on the ige indicating a true allergy? So then they kind of get lumped into, oh, well, you probably just have an intolerance to it or I didn't know if there's like separate testing, so to speak, where somebody could label themselves as being intolerant to something.
[00:21:12] Speaker C: There are some separate testing now, folks with celiac that would be different and specialized testing for that.
And that's a specific condition. But intolerances, that would be still working with your health care provider, going ahead and going through that testing, ruling it out, working with a registered dietitian.
That would be the experts in helping you keep a food record, look through that record, identifying those patterns and what may cause it, and working through some elimination diets that can be very challenging.
[00:21:46] Speaker A: Oh yes.
[00:21:48] Speaker C: FODMAP diet is a diet that's grown in prevalence. What is it?
[00:21:53] Speaker B: Fodmap, I'd never heard of it.
[00:21:55] Speaker A: And fodmap, it's basically an acronym for. It represents the type of, would we say sugars essentially, that are in what I would call relatively healthy food. So there's gonna be a lot of
[00:22:06] Speaker C: different fermentable carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables, beans.
[00:22:09] Speaker A: And people are having to temporarily eliminate these so that we can figure out what may be the digestive culprit, for lack of better words, because some of these High fodmap containing foods can irritate your tummy by pulling in a lot more fluid into the GI tract. A lot more gas is released in the GI tract, and then you have some tummy issues there. Main thing that I always tell patients is I don't want them to think that it's a forever diet, it's an elimination diet in the sense that it's temporary for us to figure out what the problem is.
[00:22:40] Speaker C: Absolutely, yeah.
[00:22:41] Speaker A: Goodness.
So much to take into consideration. And I feel like, you know, oftentimes we have students that are really just, you know, they get frustrated because they're trying to figure out what is making them feel bad. And when there's like multiple culprits or suspected foods, it can be tough. And, Holly, I'm sure that you hear those frustrations from students all the time of them trying to figure out, like, well, how do I know, like, what's making my stomach hurt? And then I feel like I can't eat in the dining hall or whatever else. And I know. A little bit later, probably after our next break, we'll talk more about the accommodation process at ua, because I'm sure our listeners want to hear about that. But before we go to the next break, are there any kind of other myths or perceptions that you think are often lumped into the concept of food allergies?
[00:23:32] Speaker C: I think there's a lot around it, like we just said, the testing, the diagnosis itself. What is a food allergy?
And not, not belittling an intolerance or a sensitivity, because certainly you don't want to consume that food if it makes you ill. It's very, you know, it may not be life threatening, but it's not very comfortable. Some of the things we've described there, but definitely what a food allergy is that it's, it's that immune response there, the seriousness of a food allergy, that an intolerance, perhaps a really small amount may not bother you as much if you have an intolerance. If you have a food allergy, cross contact is a concern. So if I touch a peanut butter cookie with tongs, and then the next person behind me that has a peanut allergy gets their sugar cookie, that could be enough for a person that has an allergy. So really that's a difference there in that food allergy and in that intolerance.
[00:24:31] Speaker A: And I love that you put such a connection with that just as far as something so simple could have such a big impact. And I know we're going to talk a little bit More about this after the break. So y' all hold tight, grab something to drink, maybe wash down that ice cream and that hot fudge. But you are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheen and Winnie on 90.7 the Capstan.
Welcome back. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheen and Whitney on 90.7 the Capstone. And we have had the wonderful Holly Groff join us this afternoon as we talk about food allergies, food intolerances.
Holly just led a great discussion talking about how we get tested for those like what are your do's and don'ts when it comes to, you know, making sure that you're getting that testing done. And we alluded to a little bit about this before the break, Holly. But tell us a little bit about what the accommodation process looks like at ua because I can say from personal experience that families have told me they've ended up choosing us because they've been so blown away at what a fabulous job you and your team do in terms of accommodating a student student with food allergens.
[00:25:47] Speaker C: That's definitely what we want to hear.
But our accommodation process starts with letting us know. So we've there's an online form now taking it to very simple. So incoming student, current student just needs to go to the food allergies tab on the Bama dining website, submit that form with their medical documentation from there. I'll take a look at that. And the accommodation process is individual, individualized.
But we've got of course some, some things that we often start with. Sometimes it's just giving some more information like for example, here at the University of Alabama, we don't use peanut or tree nut products in the dining hall except for we have peanut butter and Nutella in a self service sandwich station area. It's never going to be an ingredient. It's never going to be in an Asian sauce or dressing. It's never going to be in a baked good.
We have honey nut Cheerios in stock which of course are in a dispenser in the dining halls. And we have almond milk that's in a dispenser in the dining halls.
So things that we're able to kind of mitigate some cross contact concerns there. So sometimes it's communicating information like that we stock some specialty products, for example, students that need gluten free diets.
We currently are stocking gluten free pizza crust, gluten free pasta, gluten free breads and wraps, gluten free cereals, a variety of products, muffins and baked goods and things like that. So it may be getting students in contact with the managers to ask for that.
Text ahead. Ordering is one of our very common accommodations.
So for example, where we talked about the cross contact with the peanut butter cookie earlier, that could be, let's say you had a dairy allergy. That could be a concern that your hamburger may not be able to be cooked on the grill with the cheeseburgers, it would be a different spatula.
So using specialized equipment, using things once that get wash rinsed and then sanitized and saved for the next use, those are steps that managers or key employees would take with Texas to head ordering. So we use that as an accommodation. We've also changed some of our facilities in my six years since I've been here. We remodeled Lakeside Dining hall since I've been here and we actually put in a room that has access for students that we can load on their action card when they submit that special diet accommodation with their medical documentation.
One side of that room is for made without gluten items and so it has a self service deli station, a gluten free toaster. Most gluten free breads are refrigerated or frozen and they just don't taste stellar, sometimes at room temperature. So there's a toaster and a microwave in there that students that have that accommodation can access all of that desserts, gluten free frozen waffles to use in that gluten free toaster. The other side of that room carries mostly individually packaged items. So for example cookies without eggs, cookies without dairy, things like that that students might need and that is somewhat individualized based on the particular set of students that we have that particular semester year and what they might need. So we've got plenty of space in there, dry storage, refrigeration and freezer space.
[00:29:16] Speaker A: Well, you know, when we think about the students that transition to UA with multiple food allergies, do you feel like most of them have a good handle on managing it themselves or do you find that we are in a generation of students who have had their parents handle a lot of the accommodations at home for so long that they didn't necessarily get the level of independence and education for managing it outside of their guardian's home?
[00:29:44] Speaker C: I think I see all ends of the spectrum. There are students that are amazing self advocates that make sure to tell every person that's serving them, every manager, you know, and it can be very simple and short. I have a dairy allergy.
There's students that are great at that Students that know how to read labels themselves.
And there's students whose parents do take care of really everything for them and students that really don't know how to read labels themselves and recognize ingredients that. That can be. That can have their allergen.
[00:30:19] Speaker A: Because, Holly, I think one time we actually had this conversation before and I think you said there was a student who just did not have the general awareness about an Alfredo sauce having flour in it. Yes.
[00:30:32] Speaker C: And you know, this is a student.
[00:30:34] Speaker B: You wouldn't really think of that if you've never cooked before.
[00:30:36] Speaker C: No, exactly. A student that has great skills in other areas of life, academically, very, very talented student. But no, not a culinarian. Didn't think about that. You start an Alfredo sauce with a roux, which is flour and fat, some flour and butter or something like that.
[00:30:51] Speaker B: I just thought it came from a jar.
[00:30:52] Speaker C: Right, right. Mom always bought gluten free Alfredo sauce. She thought I can have that.
Also in commercial food service, sometimes things are different than you do at home.
So it's one of my pet peeves because it can also be a nutritional issue that, for example, things, things might be labeled a little different. Like a casual dining chain that I worked for used to have roasted potatoes on the menu. Well, those were preferred in the deep fryer, actually. They were roasted and then they were finished in the deep fryer right before service. Taste really good. They taste terrific. You think you're making a better non fried choice.
So I personally am an advocate for establishments properly identifying cooking techniques there. But also fryers can be a source of cross contact.
[00:31:37] Speaker A: Oh, sure.
[00:31:38] Speaker B: I feel like anything in your kitchen can be a source.
And the fact that you guys, your apron, gloves, anything. But it sounds like you guys are so diligent and you're very careful with. You have a strategy for how you do everything because you're trying.
[00:31:50] Speaker C: That's the goal.
[00:31:51] Speaker B: Because cross contamination, yes, it can happen. But the way you guys have it set up with, you know, your cookies, you're not going to put any peanut butter or Nutella in those. I mean, I love those things, but honestly, if that means somebody else isn't going, I can go somewhere else. If I need to go get a peanut butter cookie. If that helps the greater community and somebody not get sick, I'm all for it.
[00:32:10] Speaker C: Yeah. So we want to have variety, but we need to minimize. And then other people want and need. So for example, let's say you aren't currently vegan, but if you were, that almond milk might be a preferred substitute there. Or folks with A dairy allergy that may prefer that almond milk because there's different needs, trying to balance those needs with the largest concerns and take care of everyone the best that we're able to there.
[00:32:39] Speaker B: Do you have any advice for any students? We talked a little bit about your resources but say also you're newly diagnosed with a food allergy.
What kind of advice do you have for them?
[00:32:49] Speaker C: Educating themselves, working with a registered dietitian.
I sound like a broken record, don't I?
[00:32:56] Speaker A: You've referred so many students to me and I've been especially, especially those newly
[00:32:59] Speaker C: diagnosed students because that can be a big challenge if it's a change in life or you talked about some of your challenges with Sam with that and you are a dietitian and still going through that or working with a loved one that has some special dietary concerns. For me as a dietitian, challenging myself to eat particular ways for a few days to see what it's like. But it can be very challenging.
But definitely working with a registered dietitian is excellent. Excellent. Food Allergy Research and Education Fair is an organization that I believe has been very helpful. I actually use some of their training materials, evidence based recommendations on there that they have some great things. So there's a plethora of information out there. Like we said with the testing, it can be challenging but that's an excellent source for evidence based.
[00:33:52] Speaker A: Oh, that's good to know. That's definitely good to know.
[00:33:54] Speaker B: Well and I think for those of you listening to us, every time we have a guest on our show, that's a resource. And so I think it was Dr. Christiansen when we were talking about like going to the doctor and making sure you take care of yourself. Like you just have to learn these things.
And the great thing about being at UA is we do have all the different resources that you can go to and hopefully people are listening to us
[00:34:14] Speaker C: out there and whether it's a medical need or that's for our accommodation process. But if you have a lifestyle preference such as you are a vegetarian, happy to talk with students to guide them towards those vegetarian options. So you know where you're getting your plant based protein.
[00:34:29] Speaker B: I think that's awesome. We are going to take a break on that note because I'm getting a little hungry. I may need a snack, a little plant based snack. We will be back after the break. You're listening to Fit to Be Tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7 the Capstone.
Welcome back. You're listening to Fit to Be Tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7 the capstone this lovely Sunday afternoon after homecoming. And we have been talking about food, which is usually one of my favorite things to talk about.
But most importantly, we've had a great show with Holly Groff from dining services. She's our dining services coordinator with Bama Dining. And just talking about all the food allergies that people have and the accommodations that are so great with you guys. And I think one thing we're talking about during the break is the feeling of. And I'll speak from just my experience of being a vegetarian. Every time I tell somebody I'm a vegetarian, I feel like I get an eye roll. Like, really? You know, and it's.
You have to be very careful with where you go out to eat and just kind of researching places and being very open with that. But we're talking about just like kind of feeling like you're putting someone out when you have a food allergy. And I don't even have a food allergy. I just, I've made a choice to be a vegetarian, you know, and you had a story too about.
[00:35:52] Speaker A: I know, and I know I was mentioning mentioning this during one of our breaks, but I actually had a patient earlier this week who has issues with gluten. And she said, I just, she said, I feel like I'm inconveniencing the server. I'm inconveniencing my friends. And so, you know, she's like, I ended up eating the pizza and I was just in so much pain. And I'm like, you know, you were the only person paying for that because you were trying to avoid this eye roll. It's like, who cares? You gotta self advocate. You have to advocate for your self care in all of this. And that'd probably just be my big like, hey, if you're gonna take anything
[00:36:26] Speaker B: away from this or the bigger question is, who are your friends that are not gonna like, order? I can eat a gluten free pizza. It's not gonna be that different. You know what I mean? Like, come on.
[00:36:35] Speaker A: Really? Oh, yeah, for sure.
[00:36:37] Speaker C: Or as a food service provider, I definitely want to know. To be able to take care of you the best. I want to know that you are a vegetarian. If you are coming over to my house, if I am making dinner for
[00:36:47] Speaker B: you, because then you're not out the money of buying steaks. I'm not going to eat a steak. You know what I mean?
[00:36:51] Speaker C: And if I could potentially kill you with a food allergy, I definitely want to know as a provider, as A hostess, then I absolutely want to know that.
[00:37:01] Speaker A: Yeah. So, okay, so going with that, like, as we go into this holiday season and people are getting together for different food gatherings, as a good host or hostess, start asking your guests like, hey, do you have any.
Any food allergies or accommodations I need to be aware of? I think that that's just, that's just going to be good practice.
[00:37:20] Speaker B: I think that's just the new wave.
[00:37:22] Speaker C: And know your ingredients of what you put into something so that you can answer those questions. Even better. Go ahead and write them out and label them.
[00:37:28] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:37:29] Speaker B: So funny story, I'll tell you all this. So my grandmother, she's wonderful lady, she kind of marches to the beat of her own drum, does what she wants to do a lot of times. Well, she had made me some vegetarian soup and promised me that there was no meat in it. And I was like, oh, this is so exciting. Like, use like veggie broth. Cause I try to steer clear from any like animal product broth. I'll eat it sometimes, whatever. And I get home and I'm like, ah, Grandma's soup. What was in it? Meat. Little floating pieces of meat.
And I text my mom and I was like, well, I've been lied to.
And it was just that thought of like, she didn't think it would really matter because it was like small pieces of meat. And I thought, it's meat. Like, I don't eat it.
[00:38:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:38:08] Speaker B: So like, I don't understand, but I felt it. It was kind of funny. I let it roll off and I was like, well, I'm not eating this. Who needs soup with meat?
[00:38:16] Speaker C: You know, that's a great example too because for you, you let it roll off your back.
But certainly could be offensive to certain other. Certain with religious dietary preferences. That could be more than, you know, more than. It's not a joke. It could be very offensive. Yeah. And then that's a good distinction of what we talked about. What is an intolerance and what is a food allergy? That if you have a food allergy that could actually be life threatening. So, you know, making sure that when you are with somebody that they understand.
And just for the general population to know how important a food allergy.
[00:38:51] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:38:51] Speaker A: And I think too, you know, it just, it shouldn't even matter the reason. I think sometimes we have in our head, like, oh, she. Whitney's just being a vegetarian by choice. It's not like she's allergic. So then minimize that. And that's so disrespectful. Let's just not. Be a good community member. Human in general.
[00:39:08] Speaker B: Be good humans, people.
[00:39:09] Speaker A: Yeah, that's right.
[00:39:10] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:39:11] Speaker A: So that's.
[00:39:11] Speaker C: It all boils down to the same thing.
[00:39:13] Speaker B: Just be a good human. Be kind.
[00:39:15] Speaker A: Yes. Be kind.
I like that. Okay, you guys, be kind this week, especially as we go into this holiday season and being a good host or hostess and being mindful of your colleagues, potential food allergies, preferences, intolerances or whatnot. But we have had, again, a fabulous show. Holly, thank you again for being here.
[00:39:33] Speaker C: Thank you for having me.
[00:39:34] Speaker A: Yes. Well, y' all enjoy the rest of your Sunday. You have been listening to Fit to Be tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7. The capstone.
[00:39:41] Speaker B: It.
[00:40:07] Speaker A: Sa.
