Cybele Pascal
With her acclaimed food allergy-friendly cookbooks and loyal following, Cybele Pascal has been a leader in the food allergy community for years. Now she’s joining together with FAAN as a Celebrity Ambassador Who Cares.
Pascal, award-winning author of The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook and The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook, is the mother of 8-year-old Lennon, who is allergic to tree nuts, shellfish, and other foods. Her younger son Monte, husband Adam, and Cybele herself all have a food allergy, so they are well-versed in the challenges of food allergies. Cybele was diagnosed as an adult with allergies to tree nuts, shellfish, fish, and other foods.
Pascal has made it her mission to help individuals with food allergies live as normal a life as possible. “I would say that my role in the food allergy community is to be a ‘normalizer,’ I try to look at the situation with optimism,” Pascal said. “In ways, our food allergies contract our lives, because there are things we can’t eat, and we have to ask more questions than most, but in ways, our food allergies have expanded our lives, at least from a culinary perspective.”
“Despite the rise in the number of people with food allergies, there is still a lack of awareness. People don’t believe it’s really an issue – they think you’re making it up, that you’re overstating, that you’re an hysteric,” she said. “And there is so much confusion about food allergies vs. food intolerances. People do not get that there is a difference.”
Pascal encounters that lack of awareness on a regular basis, such as when other parents give her son foods that are not safe because they don’t think about the ingredients.
“I’ve been trying to help educate as best I can, to raise awareness, and hopefully that will inspire more funding and more research.”
Pascal recommends getting involved by proactively fighting for a cure, finding a food allergy support group, and participating in a FAAN Walk for Food Allergy event near you.
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