On Saturday, September 17, 2011, the Anaphylaxis and Food Allergy Association of Minnesota (AFAA) had its annual medical conference. As an AFAA board member, I had the privilege of dining with our keynote speaker Dr. Xiu-Min Li, Professor, Pediatric Allergy & Immunology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. It was truly a pleasure to get to know this gifted woman who has brought so much promise to the food allergy community.

For those unfamiliar with Dr. Li, she has developed the Food Allergy Herbal Formula-2 (FAHF-2), which is derived from a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formula for the treatment of food allergies.

Initially, a clinical trial was done on mice where FAHF-2 showed it could block allergic reactions to food lasting as much as six months.

Phase I of the human trial showed FAHF-2 was safe and well tolerated in people with multiple food allergies. This Phase II trial will determine the effectiveness of FAHF-2 when used as a treatment for food allergy.

As Dr. Li stated, “While this research brings with it so much promise, continued research is important to make some of these herbal remedies progress from dietary supplement to prescription drugs.”

Thank you so much Dr. Li for your dedication to the lives of the food allergic.

For more information on this study as well as Dr. Li, Click Here.

Other great presentations were given by:
Allan Stillerman MD, “The Importance of Well-Done Scientific Clinical Research: It Affects You!”
Katja Rowell MD, “Food Allergies & the Feeding Relationship: Reassurance on “Failure to Thrive”
Kristin Beltaos, MA, “Tame the Chipmunk on the Double Espresso”
Andrea Dorn, “Navigating the Gluten Free World”
Anna Kerr, “Easy Exercises to Reduce Everyday Stress”

Special thank you to Nona Narvaez and Jeff Schaefer, the founders of AFAA. Their tireless work is so appreciated!

Posted on 09/22/11 by Kristin in Blog > Child Food Allergies

Remember All of the Days

As I drove my son to his first day of Kindergarten…I thought to myself, where did all of our time go? It seemed like yesterday that we were excited new parents, bringing him home from the hospital.

I started to mentally reminisce about my life…all the miles I have walked. How those miles have made me into the person that I am today, living the dream of being surrounded by two beautiful boys, a wonderful family, dear friends and a passion for what I do. Then I thought about my Kindergarten son and all the miles he has already walked in his very short life, right along side me.

Things happened so fast…school doesn’t give you much time to grieve as you bring him in, you are encouraged to leave just as quick.

While driving away from school, I thought about the wonderful memories I have of my big, little boy who is now in Kindergarten. I wondered if I paid attention to all the moments and kept myself present. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted on 09/09/11 by Kristin in Blog > Life Coaching