DOT ruling protects peanut allergies but not eggs, sesame, or milk

A federal agency recognized food allergy as a disability, then limited boarding protection to one allergen category. Lianne Mandelbaum, a leading advocate for airline safety measures to protect food-allergic passengers, returns to explain how the March 2026 DOT ruling created a hierarchy within a single medical condition, leaving passengers with egg, sesame, milk, shellfish, and wheat allergies without the same pre-boarding rights granted to those with peanut and tree nut allergies. This episode is based on her article "How the new DOT ruling on food allergies threatens air travel safety," published on KevinMD. You will hear about a Southwest captain who removed a passenger for asking to pre-board with a pistachio allergy, an allergen that is covered under the new ruling. You will also hear why a Northwestern survey of 4,704 food-allergic travelers found that 98 percent experience flight anxiety and 70 percent were promised accommodations that never arrived. Hear why the guest says this ruling cements airline inconsistency as federal policy, and what physicians can do to push back.

Tune into our episode "2026 Cholesterol Guidelines: LDL goals, lipoprotein(a), and coronary calcium scoring," brought to you by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

For the first time in eight years, LDL cholesterol goals have changed, and preventive cardiologist Seth Baum says the new guidelines are a long-overdue course correction. He breaks down the new LDL targets for your highest-risk patients, why the LDL hypothesis should be retired in favor of the LDL fact, why lipoprotein(a) screening finally belongs in every patient's workup, what a coronary calcium score over 300 really means for how aggressively you treat, and how to talk to statin-skeptical patients without losing their trust. Listen now at KevinMD.com/cholesterol.

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