Robert F Kennedy Jr has promised to Make America Healthy Again. Is his plan woo-woo or common sense?

Robert F Kennedy Jr has promised to Make America Healthy Again. Today the legislature waved done his assignment arsenic President Donald Trump’s health secretary, meaning helium volition oversee the world’s biggest nationalist health agency. There were immoderate roadblocks on the way: Republicans and Democrats alike expressed interest implicit Kennedy’s past of pushing vaccine conspiracies and flip-flopping connected termination rights, portion much than 15,000 US doctors signed an unfastened missive opposing his nomination. In the end, the ballot fell on enactment lines, with 14 Republicans supporting the information and 13 Democrats opposing it.

Kennedy has promised to “ignite a wellness gyration successful America” and, with the 80,000 staffers and $1.7 trillion fund of the Department of Health and Human Services astatine his disposal, his firepower is huge. He is hard to pigeonhole. Until 2023 helium was a Democrat, similar his uncle John F Kennedy. He past ran arsenic an autarkic successful the 2024 statesmanlike run earlier dropping retired and backing Trump. He had a agelong vocation arsenic an biology lawyer but is much notable nowadays arsenic a conspiracy theorist. Many would spot the ideas helium promotes astir wellness and eating arsenic woo-woo: helium backs “alternative and holistic approaches”, rails against vaccines, and wants to summation entree to weed and psychedelics. Yet galore of his policies look communal sense, from encouraging sustainable, integrated farming to warring firm greed.

As wellness secretary, Kennedy oversees 11 smaller agencies. One of his main interests is successful reforming the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is liable for regulating medicine and ensuring nutrient safety. Just earlier the election, Kennedy wrote connected X that “FDA’s warfare connected nationalist wellness is astir to end”. He believes its ties to the pharmaceutical manufacture are excessively close, prompting the “aggressive suppression” of immoderate of his wellness hacks, including psychedelics, peptides, earthy beverage and hyperbaric therapies.

Scientific studies person recovered a nexus betwixt excessive depletion of ultra-processed food and an accrued hazard of obesity and chronic disease. Two of Kennedy’s favored hates are staple ingredients successful processed foods: precocious fructose maize syrup, a cheaper alternate to cane sugar, and effect oils specified arsenic sunflower and rapeseed oil, which helium has claimed Americans are being “unknowingly poisoned” by. Kennedy prefers carnal fats. On Thanksgiving helium posted a video wherever helium heavy fried a turkey successful a vat of bubbling beef tallow. “This is however we navigator the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) way,” helium said. He believes effect oils summation inflammation, which tin origin wellness issues from diabetes to colon cancer. However, the latest probe suggests determination is nary contented with them.

One of MAHA’s policies is to beforehand regenerative agriculture, which includes improving ungraded wellness and reducing chemic usage. While Trump has had an adversarial narration with the EU, Kennedy wants to instrumentality a leafage retired of its book. “As of 2019, the US allowed 72 pesticides that the European Union bans. We besides let chemicals successful nutrient and skincare that the bloc doesn’t,” helium wrote successful an nonfiction for the Wall Street Journal nonfiction past September, wherever helium promised to reassess US policy.

Like America’s reply to Jamie Oliver, Kennedy wants to region processed foods from schoolhouse lunches and destruct harmful nutrient dyes from children’s cereals. For adults with diabetes oregon obesity, helium proposes holistic solutions. “For fractional the terms of Ozempic, we could acquisition regeneratively raised, integrated nutrient for each American, 3 meals a time and a gym membership, for each obese American,” helium said successful September.

While galore of his policies person an world parent bent to them, others could harm health. Last year, Kennedy promised that “On January 20, the Trump White House volition counsel each US h2o systems to region fluoride from nationalist water.” This didn’t hap — the President was engaged pardoning January 6 rioters — but it has not been ruled out. The US has added fluoride to its h2o proviso since the Forties, arsenic it helps to fortify teeth and forestall decay. But Kennedy claimed the mineral was “associated with arthritis, bony fractures, bony cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid disease”. While excessive doses tin beryllium harmful, studies person shown fluoride is harmless and beneficial successful tiny amounts. Public h2o fluoridation is supported by the World Health Organisation.

Throughout the Covid pandemic and arsenic precocious arsenic November past year, Kennedy promoted the usage of medicine drugs specified arsenic ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine arsenic cures, contempt starring aesculapian organisations uncovering them to beryllium ineffective astatine treating the virus.

During the pandemic Kennedy besides gained notoriety for his vaccine scepticism. A non-profit helium founded called Children’s Health Defense petitioned the FDA to halt the usage of the Covid vaccine, which helium falsely described successful 2021 arsenic “the deadliest vaccine ever made”. Despite this, helium has denied being an anti-vaxxer and claims his six children are vaccinated. He told NPR successful November that vaccines would not beryllium taken away, but helium wanted to marque definite they were “as harmless arsenic possible”.

Trump has offered his afloat enactment of Kennedy’s agenda, but volition they travel to blows? Trump was an advocator for left-of-field Covid treatments, similar injecting bleach, truthful the brace person that successful common. Yet helium has already withdrawn from the Paris Climate Agreement — again — and has called clime alteration a “hoax”. Kennedy was erstwhile named 1 of Time Magazine’s “heroes of the planet” but precocious said helium is trying to trade a clime argumentation that “makes consciousness to sceptics and activists alike”.

Perhaps astir pertinently, the President is simply a celebrated accelerated nutrient enthusiast and is medically obese. He whitethorn bristle erstwhile his wellness caput recommends a gym rank and an integrated diet.