Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), also known as red meat allergy, is a condition that results in an allergic reaction to some animal products after a tick bite. Lone star ticks are the species most associated with AGS in the United States. A bite from one of these ticks may cause a person to develop an allergic reaction to galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose, a sugar molecule found in the meat of some mammals. Those mammals include cows, pigs, and lambs, or what we commonly think of as red meat. The name alpha-gal comes from the name of the sugar that causes the allergic reaction. Alpha-gal syndrome is becoming increasingly more common. As it does, we continue to see that it causes different symptoms and severities in people.