By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH
More and more Americans are developing alpha-gal syndrome after a tick bite. Steve Gruber asked Dr. McCullough on DayBreak about this emerging meat allergy and what is behind the epidemic.
🎙️ Dr. Peter McCullough on Alpha-Gal Syndrome — Steve Gruber Show Summary
The Interview
Dr. Peter McCullough, Chief Scientific Officer at The Wellness Company, joined Steve Gruber on Real America’s Voice to discuss a new study from the McCullough Foundation and Wellness Company team examining risk factors behind the dramatic rise of alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) — an acquired meat allergy that can produce delayed anaphylaxis, urticaria, and angioedema hours after eating mammalian products.
🔬 The Hulscher et al. Paper
McCullough referenced the newly released paper:
Nicolas Hulscher, MPH, James A. Thorp, MD, Drew Pinsky, MD, Peter Gillooly, MSc, Harvey Risch, MD, PhD, Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH, & Kelly Victory, MD. (2026). Risk Factors, Pathogenesis, and Management of Alpha-Gal Syndrome. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22003548
The paper advances two non-exclusive hypotheses about how vaccine-derived alpha-gal — present in mammalian gelatin used as a stabilizer — could contribute to AGS:
Direct induction: Repeated parenteral exposure to alpha-gal-bearing gelatin with aluminum adjuvant directly drives IgE class switching
Prime-boost: Gelatin-containing vaccines expand the alpha-gal-specific memory B-cell pool, after which a tick bite delivers a potent adjuvant signal that boosts the response to clinically relevant IgE titers
McCullough emphasized that the average tick bite victim is about 35 years old, has taken many childhood vaccines like most Americans, and then gets a tick bite that triggers the allergy. The paper notes that alpha-gal IgE is now detectable in 24% of adults in high-burden states, with suspected cases rising roughly 100-fold over the past decade.
💊 Two TWC Products Mentioned
Histacalm — A botanical combination (quercetin, luteolin, apigenin, pine bark extract, and butterbur) that stabilizes mast cells and basophils from releasing histamine. McCullough described it as calming the allergic response so that meat can be gradually reintroduced — a desensitization approach — allowing patients to “go on with their lives after this tick bite.” The paper details how these five constituents target distinct nodes of the effector cascade: degranulation, Th2 cytokine production, leukotriene synthesis, H1 signaling, and oxidative amplification.
Bug Defense — A safe botanical insect repellent. McCullough’s practical advice was straightforward: “No tick bite, no alpha-gal syndrome.” He recommended wearing long sleeves and pants in the woods (particularly applicable to Gruber’s Michigan audience) and using Bug Defense as a preventative. The ticks don’t like it, and prevention remains the single most impactful measure available.
🦠 Broader Context
McCullough and Gruber also touched on:
Vaccine hesitancy being driven by Anthony Fauci’s legacy, not by voices like RFK Jr. or McCullough — with the rate of unvaccinated children rising from ~2.5% several years ago to ~4.2%
Gain-of-function research on ticks and mosquitoes, with McCullough calling for the entire industry to be shut down, noting the line of thinking that Lyme disease may have originated from a research lab in Lyme, Connecticut
The conflict of interest inherent in government-funded vaccine research, given the government’s co-ownership of the Moderna patent
The need for independent research through organizations like the McCullough Foundation and Wellness Company, free from the constraints of government RFAs and industry bias
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Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH
Chief Scientific Officer, The Wellness Company
