Meet Vana: Your 24/7 AI Allergy Assistant for Navigating Food Reactivity

Finding blood in your baby's diaper at 2 AM. Staring at an ingredient label in the grocery aisle, unsure whether "natural flavors" contains your child's trigger. Wrestling with the overwhelming anxiety that comes with every feeding decision when your infant shows signs of food reactivity. These moments capture the daily reality for millions of families navigating food allergies and sensitivities, often feeling isolated in their journey toward answers and healing.

The challenge is real and growing. Food allergy prevalence has increased dramatically across developed countries, with studies showing that food allergies now affect approximately 7-10% of children globally [1]. Non-IgE mediated reactions, which primarily impact infants and young children through symptoms like bloody stools, excessive mucus, and chronic digestive distress, often go unrecognized for months [2]. Parents frequently report feeling dismissed by healthcare providers who lack expertise in food reactivity, leaving families to navigate complex elimination diets and reintroduction protocols without adequate support.

This is where Vana, Free to Feed's Virtual Allergy Navigation Assistant, steps in to transform how families experience food reactivity support.

Beyond Google Searches: Evidence-Informed Guidance When You Need It Most

Vana represents more than another health app. Built specifically for families managing food reactivity and allergies, Vana provides 24/7 AI-powered support that combines scientific rigor with the practical, empathetic guidance parents desperately need during their most vulnerable moments.

What makes Vana different? While countless health apps offer generic advice, Vana was created from the ground up using:

• IRB-approved research conducted with Stanford University's Data Science for Social Good program

• Multi-year clinical insights from Free to Feed's one-on-one consultations since 2020

• Peer-reviewed literature and Free to Feed's comprehensive educational library and resources

• Lived experience navigating food allergies within the founder's own family

  
  

This foundation ensures that every interaction with Vana draws from both cutting-edge research and real-world family experiences, not generic algorithms trained on broad health data.

Built on Ema: The AI Allergy Assistant Designed for How Parents Care

Free to Feed partnered with Ema, the first AI allergy assistant platform specifically built for women's health, to power Vana's sophisticated capabilities. As Dr. Trillitye Paullin, molecular biologist and co-founder of Free to Feed, explains: "Partnering with Ema has been transformative for Free to Feed. Ema's cutting-edge AI capabilities have enabled us to deepen our understanding and enhance our approach towards managing infant allergies effectively" [3].

Why Ema matters for families: Ema's proprietary AI understands the real language, symptoms, and care experiences of women across life stages. Because when a child struggles with food allergies, research consistently shows that mothers carry the invisible load of tracking symptoms, managing anxiety, navigating medical dismissals, and advocating for answers [4]. Ema meets parents where they are, adapting to the emotional, cognitive, and logistical realities families face during food reactivity journeys.

Amanda Ducach, CEO of Ema, notes: "This collaboration represents what pediatric care can look like when we build around families' real experiences, starting with how they talk, worry, and decide."

Smart Features That Address Real Parent Needs

Vana offers comprehensive support through features designed around actual family challenges:

Instant, Evidence-Informed Answers, 24/7 No more waiting until business hours or scrolling through conflicting online advice. Vana provides immediate, science-backed responses to urgent questions about symptoms, feeding decisions, and next steps.

Personalized Trigger Insights Based on your detailed symptom survey, Vana helps identify patterns and potential triggers specific to your child's presentation, moving beyond generic elimination protocols.

Smart Label Decoder Upload photos of ingredient labels, and Vana flags hidden or ambiguous ingredients that might contain your child's triggers, including complex additives like lecithins, refined oils, and natural flavors.

Practical Feeding Support Whether you're breastfeeding, pumping, using formula, or starting solids, Vana provides tailored guidance for each feeding method and transition.

Seamless Expert Connection When situations require human expertise, Vana facilitates smooth handoffs to Free to Feed's network of IBCLCs, pediatric registered dietitians, and nurses for personalized consultation.

Real Scenarios, Real Solutions

Midnight Symptom Triage

Your 4-month-old has blood in their stool at 2 AM. Instead of panicking or rushing to the emergency room unnecessarily, Vana helps you assess severity, provides immediate next steps, and connects you with appropriate care levels based on your baby's specific presentation.

Grocery Aisle Guidance

Standing in the cereal aisle, you scan a label that lists "natural flavors" as an ingredient. Vana explains that natural flavors can contain milk proteins, suggests questions to ask the manufacturer, and offers alternative products based on your elimination needs.

Structured Reintroduction Support

After six months of successful elimination of your little one's triggers, Vana guides you through evidence-based reintroduction protocols, helping you understand appropriate timing, amounts, and symptom monitoring for safe food trials.

Coordination During Transitions

When both maternal diet changes and baby's solid food introduction overlap, Vana helps coordinate timing and provides clear tracking methods to identify which changes correlate with symptom improvements.

The Growing Need for Accessible Food Allergy Support

The statistics paint a clear picture of families' struggles. Recent research demonstrates that food allergies significantly reduce children's quality of life, with caregivers facing substantial burdens including constant concerns over accidental exposure, limitations in social activities, financial strain, and increased work absences [5]. Studies show that caring for children with food allergies costs U.S. families approximately $33 billion annually in inflation-adjusted dollars [6].

Geographic and healthcare access disparities compound these challenges. Many families live hours from pediatric allergists or specialized care, while others face months-long wait times for consultations. Even when care is accessible, research shows concerning gaps in provider knowledge about non-IgE mediated reactions, leading to delayed diagnoses and prolonged family suffering [7].

Artificial intelligence in healthcare shows tremendous promise for addressing these access barriers. Recent studies highlight AI's potential to enhance diagnostic accuracy, improve patient monitoring, and expand access to care, particularly for underserved communities [8]. For maternal and child health specifically, AI technologies are demonstrating significant benefits in predictive analytics, personalized care planning, and remote monitoring [9].

Safety, Privacy, and Responsible AI Implementation

Vana operates within clear safety parameters designed to protect families while providing valuable support:

Medical & Safety Disclaimer Vana serves as an information platform and does not diagnose, prescribe, or replace qualified healthcare professional care. All content, including symptom questions, ingredient guidance, and elimination-diet suggestions, is provided for educational purposes only. Before starting, stopping, or changing any diet for yourself or your child, consult a licensed healthcare provider who can evaluate your individual medical needs and ensure adequate nutrition. For suspected severe allergic reactions or medical emergencies, call 911 immediately.

AI Output Disclaimer

Information may be incomplete or inaccurate. Always verify recommendations before implementing dietary changes and consult healthcare providers for personalized medical advice.

Privacy Protection Vana adheres to strict privacy standards. For complete information about data handling and protection, see our Privacy Policy.

Accessing Vana: Simple, Affordable, Supportive

Getting Started Subscribe at freetofeed.com/vana for $12 per month with the flexibility to cancel anytime. After subscribing, access Vana directly at freetofeed.com/vana-app for immediate support.

Special Offer Families who book a 1:1 consultation with Free to Feed's allergy experts receive one month of Vana completely free, allowing you to experience personalized provider guidance alongside AI support.

Expert Connection Always Available While Vana provides comprehensive daily support, Free to Feed's network of specialized providers remains available for complex cases, emotional support, and situations requiring human clinical judgment. Book consultations at freetofeed.com/consults.

The Future of Food Allergy Support Is Here

Food reactivity doesn't follow business hours, and neither should expert-level support. Vana represents a fundamental shift from reactive healthcare toward proactive, accessible, evidence-informed guidance that meets families exactly where they are in their food allergy journey.

This is more than convenience—it's about equity. Whether you live in a major metropolitan area with multiple pediatric allergists or in a rural community hours from specialized care, Vana ensures that every family has access to the same high-quality, science-backed support for navigating food reactivity.

As healthcare increasingly embraces AI solutions to address access barriers and improve patient outcomes, Vana stands at the forefront of this transformation, specifically designed for the unique challenges families face during food allergy journeys.

Your family deserves support that understands the 3 AM diaper changes, the grocery store uncertainty, and the overwhelming nature of elimination diets. Vana is here to provide that support, backed by science, powered by empathy, and available whenever you need it most.

Ready to experience food reactivity support that actually fits your family's reality?

Subscribe at freetofeed.com/vana and discover how AI-powered guidance can transform your food allergy journey from confusion to confidence. Once you are subscribed, you can log in to your account on any device and access Vana at freetofeed.com/vana-app

Need personalized consultation first? Book a session at freetofeed.com/consults and receive one month of Vana free.

References

[1] Warren, Christopher M., et al. "Epidemiology and the Growing Epidemic of Food Allergy in Children and Adults Across the Globe." Current Allergy and Asthma Reports 24.3 (2024): 95-106.

[2] Herman, Keiry, and Kirsi M. Järvinen. "Approach to the spectrum of infant non-IgE-mediated food allergy manifestations and physiologic infant behaviors." Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care 55.1 (2025): 101730.

[3] "Free to Feed launches AI-powered allergy ally with Ema." FemTech World, July 2025. femtechworld.co.uk/news/diagnosis/free-to-feed-launches-ai-powered-allergy-ally-with-ema-sma25/

[4] Mapari, Smruti A., et al. "Revolutionizing Maternal Health: The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Enhancing Care and Accessibility." Cureus 16.9 (2024): e69555.

[5] García-Fernández, Laura, et al. "Impact of Childhood Food Allergy on Quality of Life: A Systematic Review." Applied Sciences 14.23 (2024): 10989.

[6] "Facts and Statistics." Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), 2024. foodallergy.org/resources/facts-and-statistics

[7] Wong, Gary W.K. "Food allergies around the world." Frontiers in Nutrition 11 (2024): 1373110.

[8] Javaid, Mohd, et al. "Artificial intelligence in healthcare: transforming the practice of medicine." Future Healthcare Journal 8.2 (2021): e188-e194.

[9] "Harnessing AI to bridge gaps in women's health care." National Science Foundation, November 4, 2024. nsf.gov/science-matters/harnessing-ai-bridge-gaps-womens-health-care