It was my great hope that the current administration in Washington was going to live up to its latest slogan: Make America Healthy Again (MAHA). Not only am I disappointed, I’m fed up with the dissemination of information that not only won’t make America healthy again, it might make more people sick, all under the illusion they are doing the right things for their health.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the man in charge. He is the current secretary of Health and Human Services in the Trump cabinet. He has some well-intended ambitions to take a country that isn’t healthy and make it very healthy. We all agree on that goal and concrete actions toward that goal are long overdue, but to blatantly ignore overwhelming science in the process is negligence at its highest level.
We all have a tendency to look for the “one thing” that is the cause of a problem. However, it’s really never one thing.
We hear of superfoods, such as broccoli and blueberries. “Just eat these and all will be fine” can easily be the thinking. The opposite can also enter the thought process – “Just don’t eat refined carbs, or dairy, or processed meat” and you’ll be fine – but taken alone, this is false information.
Two weeks ago, Kennedy did a televised interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News to talk about healthy eating. He is sitting there eating French fries, which he says are okay to eat because they are deep-fried in beef tallow instead of harmful seed oils. Harmful seed oils? Mr. Kennedy, please cite your research.
I have written before and will now reiterate what I have stated in the past: it is good to stay away from or at least minimize all oils. They are all 100% fat, they cause harm to the endothelial cells in our arteries, they have the highest calorie density on the planet, and the vast majority of oils are a highly processed food. If you already have heart disease, try to eliminate them altogether.
Kennedy picks on seed oils. The theory is that because they are high in omega-6 fatty acids, they cause excessive inflammation in our bodies. Nice theory, but we have many studies out there that don’t say that!
In a recent interview on Chuck Carol’s Exam Room podcast, Dr. Roxie Becker described a meta-analysis showing no difference in health outcomes or weight gain between those who consume seed oils or other oils. There are studies on just about every kind of seed oil.
One can simply access the Pub Med website of the National Institute of Health and see studies on canola, flaxseed, safflower, sunflower, and more types of seed oils. There is nothing there that indicates that they are any more or less inflammatory than other oils.
Mr. Kennedy, if seed oils are the root of our health problems, can you please prove it with some well-conducted studies and science?
On the other hand, coconut oil will increase your LDL cholesterol, as will beef tallow and palm oil. If you want to pick on oils and fats, then point out that use of these oils and animal fats of any type are far more harmful. The converse is also true. A study in the UK clearly showed that replacing saturated fats (the above-mentioned products) with polyunsaturated fats (seed oils) lessened the risk of early mortality.
Kennedy has also focused on food dyes, emulsifiers, and stabilizers. There is no question that these ingredients are harmful. He has used the Froot Loop example again and again. He wants to understand why harmful food dyes are used in the United States while in other countries these same ingredients are outlawed. This is a legitimate point and it needs to be fixed.
Whole foods are better for you
However, the bigger picture should not just be to make ultra-processed foods less harmful but to encourage people to stay away from them as much as possible and to eat real, whole foods, which lead to better health.
ARE WE going to take this unique opportunity and squander it by not following good science? Over the last 20 years, we have accumulated huge amounts of data in terms of the effects of lifestyle on our health, particularly diet. We know more than ever before, including the mistakes we made in advice we gave people in the past.
Since the discovery and the immense amount of research into the gut microbiome, our knowledge has expanded greatly. We now don’t only see correlation between certain dietary habits and better health, but now have a much better understanding of why this is.
Society must be taught how to eat
Education is first. We must teach people how to eat. A society where more than 60% of the food consumed isn’t really food at all and that has an overabundance of animal products isn’t going to witness significant improvement in health status by just changing food dyes and giving false warnings about seed oils.
I still can’t understand those who ignore piles of data, especially from the scientific and medical community in regard to what we need to do to improve health and longevity. Perhaps even more aggravating is that these changes don’t cost more money and with proper guidance are easy to implement. It seems that an administration that is intent on cutting federal spending would welcome this.
So, Mr. Kennedy, let’s change course. Let’s start with encouraging more consumption of fruits and vegetables. Think of this: Someone who consumes five servings of vegetables a day compared to someone who has only two per day, increases the chance of a longer life. That conclusion is a result of a meta-analysis looking at the Nurses’ Health Study and from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
Plain and simple Mr. Health and Human Services secretary: eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day and live longer. In a country where average consumption is two servings a day, this would make a major difference.
In addition, put the same type of warning labels on processed meat that we have on cigarettes. If you want to discourage oils, I’m all in favor, but start with those oils that are the most harmful, such as coconut and palm – and reduce oil intake in general. As Michael Pollan wrote so many years ago: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Yes, it’s that simple – and it will “add hours to your days, days to your years and years to your lives.”
Alan Freishtat is a wellness coach and personal trainer with over 25 years experience, as well as a member of the international Council of the True Health Initiative and of the board of Kosher Plant Based. alan@alanfitness.com www.alanfitness.com