Allergies and immunology

Anushree Vashist & David R. Stukus, MD

Food allergies are not preferences. Let’s start treating them that way.

July 14, 2023Jul 14, 2023

We’re in a rapidly growing food allergy epidemic. 1 in 13 American children have food allergies—a number that’s only growing. Private insurance claims of anaphylactic food reactions, which are severe and potentially life-threatening, rose 377 percent from 2007 to 2016. Yet despite their increased prevalence in recent years, one thing hasn’t changed: Undermining the very real risks and anxieties associated with living with food allergies.

Beyond the risk of …

Is inflammation too much of a good thing?

July 7, 2023Jul 7, 2023

Inflammation is currently a popular topic, and I must admit that I've fallen into the trap of vilifying this natural physiological phenomenon. Simply put, inflammation is our body's response to infection, injury, or insult. Heat, redness, swelling, pain, and pus…

Inflammation is currently a popular topic, and I must admit that I’ve fallen into the trap of vilifying this natural physiological phenomenon. Simply put, inflammation is our body’s response to infection, injury, or insult. Heat, redness, swelling, pain, and pus signal that you are injured or sick and provide the necessary feedback to seek treatment or avoid further injury.

Human nature often leads us to categorize things as either good or …

Real physician voices, twice a week

Free, and one click to unsubscribe.

Unveiling the healing power of compassion [PODCAST]

July 5, 2023Jul 5, 2023

Join us for an insightful podcast episode with guest Kara Wada, a board-certified academic adult and pediatric allergy, immunology, and lifestyle medicine physician. Together, we explore the profound impact of disconnection in our modern existence, particularly within the physician-patient relationship.…

Listen on Apple Podcasts · Spotify

Listen and followApple Podcasts Spotify YouTubeMore apps · Browse all episodes

How modern lifestyle changes are disrupting our immune systems

June 9, 2023Jun 9, 2023

In addition to a steep increase in prevalence, in recent decades, we have seen an evolution in the ways our immune system misbehaves: eosinophilic esophagitis, mast cell disorders, and early onset colon cancer, among many others. This data alone should remind us that we are an ever-evolving species. With our rapidly changing lifestyle over the last century, it shouldn’t be surprising that we are seeing some sort of physiologic hangover. …

Empathy and awareness: Unveiling the hidden dangers of food allergies [PODCAST]

June 8, 2023Jun 8, 2023

Join us for an insightful podcast episode as we discuss the critical issue of food allergies and the recent incidents of food-induced anaphylaxis deaths that have deeply impacted the food allergy community. Our guest, Lianne Mandelbaum, is the founder of…

Listen on Apple Podcasts · Spotify

Listen and followApple Podcasts Spotify YouTubeMore apps · Browse all episodes

Physician voices

Unconventional health care, flawed studies, and biases: Navigating the complexities for optimal well-being

June 1, 2023Jun 1, 2023

When I speak with my less "crunchy" peers, I encounter a considerable amount of resistance to ideas that have initially gained traction in naturopathic or integrative spaces: food as medicine, making "non-toxic" swaps, meditation, or reiki, to name a few.…

When I speak with my less “crunchy” peers, I encounter a considerable amount of resistance to ideas that have initially gained traction in naturopathic or integrative spaces: food as medicine, making “non-toxic” swaps, meditation, or reiki, to name a few.

As humans, we certainly love a good us vs. them mentality, tribalism and all.

But the reality is, many of us have witnessed harm inflicted on patients who sought care in less …

Nose-brain connection: The surprising link between allergies and mental health revealed

May 25, 2023May 25, 2023

Artificially separating the body from the mind has been one of the biggest missteps of modern medicine. Over the last few years, we have increasingly read studies confirming the mind-body connection, the gut-brain axis, and now we are learning more…

Given the direct proximity between our nose and our brain, this connection shouldn’t be much of a surprise. The olfactory nerve, cranial nerve 1, wires directly to …

Food allergy tragedies: the reality that haunts us

Lianne Mandelbaum, PT

February 16, 2023Feb 16, 2023

Food should not kill, but in the last three weeks alone, the food allergy community has grappled with three food-induced anaphylaxis deaths. All were young adults in the prime of their lives; one in middle school, another going to a…

No one is perfect in how they conduct themselves daily, but for those with food allergies, falling short of …

Protecting children from bad medical care

Martin C. Young, MD

November 24, 2022Nov 24, 2022

Unfortunately, at least from where I sit, suboptimal medical care seems to abound. And every encounter of my family members with the health care behemoth is an opportunity for them to become a recipient of it. When it comes to…

When it comes to shielding them, I have had some failures in the past — it took a minor stroke in my father, who lived in England, for me to realize that he had never …

Food allergies are not a joke [PODCAST]

Food allergies are not a joke [PODCAST]

October 20, 2022Oct 20, 2022

"I was truly gutted when watching the recent Saturday Night Live that joked about nut allergies. My son Joshua, who is 16 years old, has an anaphylactic peanut allergy. I found the segment to be insensitive to the millions of…

Listen on Apple Podcasts · Spotify

Listen and followApple Podcasts Spotify YouTubeMore apps · Browse all episodes

“I was truly gutted when watching the recent Saturday Night Live that joked about nut allergies. My son Joshua, who is 16 years old, has an anaphylactic peanut allergy. I found the segment to be insensitive to the millions of people globally who live each day …

Read more…

A nut allergy nightmare at 35,000 feet [PODCAST]

September 13, 2022Sep 13, 2022

"People developing anaphylaxis will not always have five extra minutes to spare. I do appreciate that auto-injectors are expensive, but it is not at all expensive to have an ampule or vial of epinephrine on board, which can be drawn…

Listen on Apple Podcasts · Spotify

Listen and followApple Podcasts Spotify YouTubeMore apps · Browse all episodes

“People developing anaphylaxis will not always have five extra minutes to spare. I do appreciate that auto-injectors are expensive, but it is not at all expensive to have an ampule or vial of epinephrine on board, which can be drawn up in five seconds. Those also come in a much friendlier …

5 things this allergist-immunologist will never do [PODCAST]

September 7, 2022Sep 7, 2022

"Jumping on the recent TikTok trend of medical professionals sharing the things they would never do given their knowledge and expertise, I am sharing the five things I would never do as a board-certified allergist-immunologist." Kara Wada is an allergist-immunologist.…

Listen on Apple Podcasts · Spotify

Listen and followApple Podcasts Spotify YouTubeMore apps · Browse all episodes

“Jumping on the recent TikTok trend of medical professionals sharing the things they would never do given their knowledge and expertise, I am sharing the five things I would never do as a board-certified allergist-immunologist.”

Kara Wada is an allergist-immunologist.

She shares her story and discusses her …

5 things I would never do as an allergy and immune system expert

August 11, 2022Aug 11, 20222

Jumping on the recent TikTok trend of medical professionals sharing the things they would never do given their knowledge and expertise, I am sharing the five things I would never do as a board-certified allergist-immunologist. 1. I would never rely…

1. I would never rely on a Primatene mist inhaler to treat my asthma or breathing symptoms alone. Primatene mist is a controversial over-the-counter epinephrine inhaler that can be used for mild intermittent asthma. This inhaler …

A nut allergy nightmare at 35,000 feet

A nut allergy nightmare at 35,000 feet

Samara Friedman, MD

July 30, 2022Jul 30, 2022

A hungry college student was on a plane flying to Italy. She was alone, as her parents had bought her a ticket to join them on the trip, but their own flight had been sold out. About an hour after…

A hungry college student was on a plane flying to Italy. She was alone, as her parents had bought her a ticket to join them on the trip, but their own flight had been sold out. About an hour after take-off, the flight attendants came down the aisle with their carts to serve dinner. She chose the chicken and quickly ate the entire meal. It was Indian-style cuisine, an odd …

Read more…

3 misperceptions and myths about food allergies

May 20, 2022May 20, 2022

Recently, singer and musician Halsey shared her recent allergy testing results on TikTok along with the news of her recent diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and Sjogren’s Disease. Pictured were the telltale red welts we inflict day in and day out in allergy clinic with our scratch tests and a long list of foods to which she was possibly allergic.

Halsey has a history of being …

Food allergies are a growing public health concern, not a joke

Lianne Mandelbaum, PT

March 25, 2022Mar 25, 2022

I was truly gutted when watching the recent Saturday Night Live that joked about nut allergies. My son Joshua, who is 16 years old, has an anaphylactic peanut allergy. I found the segment to be insensitive to the millions of…

How do I explain to my son that it is OK to make …

5 science-backed strategies an allergist-mom is using to protect her family’s health

January 25, 2022Jan 25, 2022

Like most parents, my children are my world. I would do anything to protect them and keep them healthy. It is Darwinian. Instinctual. Most of us get by with a combination of sage advice from generations past interspersed with a…

Like most parents, my children are my world. I would do anything to protect them and keep them healthy. It is Darwinian. Instinctual.

Most of us get by with a combination of sage advice from generations past interspersed with a “know better do better” approach. Personally and professionally, I encountered this duality pretty quickly. In March 2016, my husband and I hopped on a plane to Los Angeles with our 4-month-old …

When celebrities attack children with food allergies [PODCAST]