Tag: nutrition
Does 'MAHA' Report Mean That Kennedy Will Oppose Corporate Power?

Does 'MAHA' Report Mean That Kennedy Will Oppose Corporate Power?

Last week’s Make American Healthy Again Commission report on childhood health was clearly the product of the left side of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s brain. Other than its vaccine section, it echoed arguments that progressive physician-scientists and public interest groups have been making for decades:

  • Overconsumption of ultra-processed, nutritionally inadequate food exposes kids to harmful additives and contributes mightily to the obesity and diabetes epidemic among children.
  • Kids’ cumulative exposures to environmental toxins are a major cause of the disturbing growth in autism, allergies and other developmental disorders.
  • The lack of physical activity associated with constant use of electronic devices leads to sleep deprivation, stress, hyperactivity and other mental health conditions.
  • The drug industry profits enormously from selling pills to treat the effects (not the causes) of all of these conditions. And,
  • The government agencies charged with protecting kids from dangerous chemicals have been captured by manufacturers, who fund most of the research that goes into determining whether or not their products are safe.

These public health concerns are areas where the left and the MAHA movement led by RFK Jr. happen to be in agreement. The still unanswered question is what will they do about it.


Commission members endorsing the report included nearly every relevant cabinet secretary. But it also included Russell Vought (head of the Office of Management and Budget), Stephen Miller (anti-immigration czar and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy), and Kevin Hassett (Director of the National Economic Council). They promised to offer a plan by mid-August that would “get to the truth of why we are getting sick” while “spurring pro-growth policies and innovations.”

That, too, is something the left has been offering for decades. There is no reason why American corporatized farms have to pursue mono-crop agriculture that relies on heavy doses of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers. Smaller, family-owned farms can earn just as good a living by including more nutritious foods for local use in their crop mix.

For decades, the left has also bemoaned the lack of regulation over the thousands of chemicals used by industry that are being dumped into the air and water without being tested for their potential effects on humans. Progressives have long argued that scientists funded by government or truly independent non-profit research institutes should be the sole determinants of what chemicals can be unleashed on the public.

An agenda for change

If RFK Jr. at the Health and Human Services Department, Martin Makary at the Food and Drug Administration, Jayanta Bhattacharya at the National Institutes of Health, and Lee Zeldin at the Environmental Protection Agency (all signatories to the report) want items for their action agenda, here’s one place they could look. Last January, the 25-member Consortium for Children’s Environmental Health issued a call, published by the New England Journal of Medicine, for a new law governing the regulation of chemicals used by industry.

Here’s some facts drawn from that article:

  • Fewer than 20 percent of the estimated 350,000 chemicals, chemical mixtures, and plastics used by industry, most produced from gas, oil and coal, have been tested for toxicity, “and fewer still for toxic effects in infants and children.
  • “Over the last half century, rhe incidence of childhood cancers has increased by 35 percent.Male reproductive birth defects have doubled in frequency.Neurodevelopmental disorders now affect 1 in 6 children, and autism spectrum disorder is diagnosed in 1 in 36.Pediatric asthma has tripled in prevalence.Pediatric obesity has nearly quadrupled in prevalence and has driven a sharp increase in type 2 diabetes among children and adolescents.
  • “Even brief, low-level exposures to toxic chemicals during early vulnerable periods are linked to increased risk of disease and disability in children that can persist across the life course.
  • “Diseases caused by toxic chemical exposures in childhood can lead to massive economic losses,including health care expenditures and lifelong productivity losses resulting from reduced cognitive function, physical disabilities, and premature death. The chemical industry largely externalizes these costs and imposes them on governments and taxpayers.”

The Toxic Substances Control Act, passed in 1977, failed to give the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to prevent dangerous chemicals from being introduced into the environment or food supply. It assumes all manufactured chemicals are safe and puts the onus on government to prove otherwise.

The EPA was never given the resources to conduct the necessary research. And now, under the Trump regime, the entire research department is being eliminated.

Even before Elon Musk wielded a meat-axe at the EPA and other agencies, most research about potential toxicities from chemicals came from industry-funded scientists. The same held true for the FDA when it looks at studies of food additives, most of which, not surprisingly, claim no harms are caused from their use. I participated in a 2007 study documenting this bias entitled, “Relationship between Funding Source and Conclusion among Nutrition-Related Scientific Articles,” which was cited in the MAHA Commission report.

The Consortium for Children’s Environmental Health action agenda included these items:

  • The U.S. should pass a new law that no new or existing chemical or chemical-based product be allowed to enter or remain on the market if their manufacturer hasn’t proved through independent testing that they are not toxic.
  • All toxicity testing must be undertaken in laboratories that are free from financial conflicts of interest. Manufacturers should be required to bear the cost of independent testing, but not be allowed to conduct it themselves.
  • Chemical manufacturers must conduct postmarketing surveillance to determine long-term adverse effects, especially in pediatric populations.
  • The U.S. should join in international efforts to create a treaty aimed at protecting children here and around the world from the proliferation of toxic chemicals in foods, products and the environment. An international panel of independent physicians and scientists should adopt regulations that all treaty signatories adhere to, which will create a level playing field for industry.

“Pollution by synthetic chemicals and plastics is a major planetary challenge that is worsening rapidly, “ the Consortium’s authors concluded. “Continued, unchecked increases in production of fossil-carbon–based chemicals endangers the world’s children and threatens humanity’s capacity for reproduction… Inaction on chemicals is no longer an option.”

Had the MAHA report eschewed vaccine skepticism, it might have been greeted with less skepticism in the media. Will they take actions this summer that actually limit the ability of Trump’s corporate campaign contributors to spew toxics into the air and water and adulterate the food supply?

Yesterday, RFK Jr. announced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is withdrawing its recommendation that pregnant women and children get vaccinated for COVID. That suggests his priorities lie elsewhere.

Reprinted with permission from Gooz News.

Bobby's MAHA Mania: Die Now, Eat Healthier Later

Bobby's MAHA Mania: Die Now, Eat Healthier Later

On Tuesday Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited Indiana, where GOP Gov. Steve Braun, a former Senator and business owner, unveiled nine executive orders that underscored all the contradictions in the Make America Healthy Again movement.

The positive aspects of his program included:

  • Preventing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s low-income beneficiaries from using food stamps to buy sugar-sweetened soda or candy;
  • Annual physical fitness testing in the state’s schools;
  • Subsidies for Indiana farms to grow more nutritious foods; and
  • A study of dyes and chemical additives in the food supply.

On the downside, he ordered:

  • Work requirements for SNAP beneficiaries; and
  • A campaign to root out “improper spending” from “eligibility errors” in the Medicaid program, which he claimed accounts for 28% of all Medicaid spending in the state.

To sum up, then, Indiana, like most GOP-run states, is taking minor steps to improve diets and physical fitness, which will take years to show results in the form of better health and reduced health care spending. Meanwhile, the state, whose businesses spend more on their health insurance than any other state, will be moving quickly to eliminate thousands of people from receiving SNAP benefits or government-funded health insurance. Both moves rely on setting up bureaucratic roadblocks to beneficiaries affirming their eligibility status.

Taken together, the SNAP and Medicaid cutbacks will increase food insecurity among the very poor while forcing many to postpone care for their chronic diseases, which will be treated later, more expensively and with poorer outcomes, including a higher level of mortality. Allowing Medicaid to cover more people “improved health outcomes, including lower mortality rates from cancer, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, and maternal mortality,” a Kaiser Family Foundation issue brief noted in December.

Blue states are doing more to protect health

As with much of his tour to promote MAHA, which kicked off last week in Utah with Kennedy praising its governor for removing fluoride from drinking water, the HHS secretary’s visit to Indiana ignored states that are doing far more to promote the positive aspects of his agenda. Yesterday, in next door Illinois, the state senate passed a bill that would prevent foods containing four harmful additives from being sold starting in 2028. Democratic Gov. Jay Pritzker supports for the bill, which should easily pass the Democratically-controlled House.

The banned additives included brominated vegetable oil (BVO), potassium bromate and propylparaben, which having been linked to cancer or toxic effects on the heart, reproductive, and endocrine systems. Each has been banned in the European Union. The Illinois law also bans use of Red Dye #3, whose elimination starting in 2027 the Biden administration’s Food and Drug Administration finally ruled last December. The FDA concluded more than three decades ago the dye was carcinogenic.

For decades, food industry lobbying has largely paralyzed action by the scientists in the FDA’s food division, which failed to police not just food additives, but excess sugar and salt and other harmful ingredients in processed foods. The Trump administration’s massive cutbacks in personnel at the agency, and the fear that has instilled in those who remain, makes it highly unlikely the FDA will be making regulatory changes at the federal level anytime soon.

Kennedy’s heightened attention to the issue has given states political room to act. Illinois followed in the footsteps of California, which passed a similar law in 2023. Lawmakers in at least 20 states have introduced similar bills. Several, including deep Red West Virginia, are GOP-run.

Proponents are making the same argument everywhere: There are safer, less costly alternatives. After protests in Canada, Kellogg’s changed the dyes used in its Fruit Loops and Apple Jack cereals to concentrated carrot juice, watermelon juice and blueberry juice.

Major food companies, whose CEOs met recently with Kennedy, worry that there will be a patchwork quilt of state regulations that will make it difficult to market products nationally. “What’s happening in the states like Indiana is going to drive change,” he said today.

Actually, Indiana, whose farmers are leery of challenging their major customers in the food processing industry, is only going to “study” the issue. It is mostly the Democratically-run states that are taking the lead and actually doing something about it.

Merrill Goozner, the former editor of Modern Healthcare, writes about health and politics at GoozNews.substack.com, where this column first appeared. Please consider subscribing to support his work.

Reprinted with permission from Gooz News.


What You Need To Know About New Dietary Guidelines

What You Need To Know About New Dietary Guidelines

By Andrea Weigl, The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) (TNS)

Now that the smoke, debate and confusion has cleared over the latest update to the federal dietary guidelines, here is what you need to know.

Big picture focus: This year’s update stresses “a healthy eating pattern” over the course of your life as opposed to focusing on individual nutrients or foods. “It’s not one food. It’s a whole eating pattern,” said Barry Popkin, a food science researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of The World is Fat.

Elisabetta Politi, nutrition director at the Duke Diet & Fitness Center, cheered the change: “I’d like to commend them for that.” The previous focus to limit certain foods or nutrients created confusion for many people trying to watch what they ate. “I see this every day with many clients,” Politi said. “They feel guilty about eating eggs and butter.” (It’s worth noting that the new guidelines do mention limiting three nutrients, which we’ll explain more below, but the overall focus has changed.)

So what does a healthy eating pattern include? The usual suspects: a variety of fruits and vegetables, grains (especially whole grains), fat-free or low-fat dairy, a variety of proteins (seafood, lean meats, eggs, beans and peas, nuts, seeds and soy products) and oils.

How can you do this? The key is to take small steps, not efforts at large-scale change, explained Nancy Fey-Yensan, a registered dietitian and dean of the college of health and human services at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She suggests keeping track of what you eat for a few days and then looking at what healthier substitutions you can make. “Mindfully identify places where you can swap out for things that you like,” Fey-Yensan said.

A few ideas: Bring home a new-to-you fruit or vegetable every week, whether that’s papaya or kohlrabi. Instead of white rice, make brown rice half the time. Instead of white bread, try some whole grain bread. Instead of whole milk, try 2 percent milk, then graduate later to 1 percent or skim. Expand your protein choices: Try a new fish or seafood, go meatless one night a week, make a big pot of beans or field peas once a month.

What does a healthy eating pattern limit? Sugar, salt and saturated fat. We should consume less than 10 percent of calories per day from added sugar. The same goes for saturated fat. Sodium should be limited to 2,300 milligrams a day.

What’s the math for sugar and saturated fat? Determining what is 10 percent of your daily calories depends upon how many calories you eat in a day. For women, that’s 1,600-2,000 calories. For men, it is 2,400-3,000. Therefore, 10 percent equals 160 to 300 calories. One 20-ounce bottle of Coca-Cola contains 240 calories from sugar. Three Oreo cookies contain about 54 calories from sugar. A McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese and a large fries contains 148 calories of saturated fat. A Subway 12-inch meatball sub has 126 calories from saturated fat. It’s easy to see how quickly it adds up.

Let’s break down the math for salt: A teaspoon of salt is equal to 2,300 milligrams. This is not only the salt you sprinkle on food; this number also reflects the salt already in the processed foods we eat. In one day, you would reach that limit by lunchtime by eating three slices of bacon, two fried eggs, a 1-ounce snack-size bag of Doritos, two slices of ham and one slice of American cheese on two slices of white bread and a 12-ounce Diet Coke.

What about coffee? The guidelines gave a boost to those who need their daily caffeine fix. The guidelines’ scientific report cited research that shows the amount of caffeine in three to five cups of coffee can reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in adults and may even protect against Parkinson’s disease.

And eggs? The guidelines also seemed to clear eggs, with their high levels of dietary cholesterol, as a culprit for the artery-clogging plaques that cause heart disease. The guidelines removed the limit of 300 milligrams of dietary cholesterol a day. Experts caution that this is not a green light to eat a lot more of cholesterol-laden foods, including eggs, butter, bacon, sausages, red meat, cheese and pastries.

SOME HEALTHY MEAL RESOURCES

Right now, we’re reaching for three books:

Bon Appetit: The Food Lover’s Cleanse by Sarah Dickerman (William Morrow, 2015). Usually, I despise any cookbook with the word “cleanse” in the title. But this isn’t a cleanse book; it’s a collection of good-tasting, seasonal dishes that happen to be healthy from Seattle-based food writer Sara Dickerman.

The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by Nancy Harmon Jenkins (Bantam, 2009). This update of Jenkins’ classic 1994 cookbook is worth your time and money.

Mediterranean Harvest: Vegetarian Recipes from the World’s Healthiest Cuisine by Martha Rose Shulman (Rodale, 2007). Shulman wrote the Recipes for Health column in The New York Times. Her recipes are dependable and delicious.

©2016 The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Photo: Organic vegetables are shown at a Whole Foods Market  in LaJolla , California  May 13, 2008 as the company is set to release second quarter earnings today. REUTERS/Mike Blake  

 

Check The Facts Before Detoxing Or Adding Supplements To Your Dietary Intake

Check The Facts Before Detoxing Or Adding Supplements To Your Dietary Intake

By Barbara Quinn, The Monterey County Herald (TNS)

Let’s just say it feels very good to get back on track when the holidays are over. Why else would I be checking out the detox tea in my daughter’s cabinet on New Year’s Day?

“Detox” generally refers to the process of removing toxins (poisons and other harmful substances) from the body. And need I mention that we humans have a pretty powerful detoxifying system in place, even without detox tea? The liver is the body’s most dynamic detox unit; it removes harmful substances from our blood and zaps and neutralizes chemicals and other substances (such as alcohol) that would otherwise cause damage. Also partnering with the liver to detoxify our bodies are the kidneys and intestinal (digestive) tract. Keep these organs healthy and they work overtime to protect us from dangerous toxins.

Just for fun though, let’s see what’s in this detox tea that might be good for my holiday overloaded body:

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum). Sure enough, ground up seeds from this plant might help protect the liver from toxic chemicals and drugs. There is conflicting evidence, however, whether or not milk thistle can actually help heal a liver damaged by excessive alcohol.

Peppermint oil (Mentha piperita). According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), peppermint oil may ease the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). And herbal combinations of peppermint with milk thistle have been found to relieve heartburn (acid reflux) according to the US National Library of Medicine (NLM).

Dandelion (Taraxacum) Yep, the same plant we dig out of lawns in the summer has been used for hundreds of years to treat upset stomachs and a variety of other health problems. Unfortunately, there is not enough scientific evidence to determine if dandelion is an effective detoxifier.

Sweet Fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare) Fennel seed oil has been shown to be effective in reducing colic symptoms in breast fed babies. Not a lot of evidence for its detoxifying effects, however.

Parsley leaf is an edible green that is high in vitamins A, C and K. It’s also a good source of antioxidant substances that reduce inflammation in the body. Parsley is also high in potassium and phosphorous — nutrients to avoid in excess for some people with kidney disease.

Due diligence is always in order before ingesting any dietary supplement that claims to have a medical benefit. I like to check the evidence from trustworthy sites such as Medline Plus from the National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health (nlm.nih.gov) or the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements (ods.od.nih.gov).

(Barbara Quinn is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. She is the author of “Quinn-Essential Nutrition” (Westbow Press, 2015). Email her at barbaraquinn88@yahoo.com.)

©2016 The Monterey County Herald. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Photo: Judit Klein via Flickr

 

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