Autism, fluoride, and french fries are first up on the RFK agenda.
It’s safe to say that Americans have been jerked hither and yon when it comes to health issues. Many remember the now-defunct food pyramid of decades ago, when fluoride conquered tooth decay, and consuming one to three alcoholic drinks a week helped you live longer. Once upon a time, these edicts were taken as gospel, but new studies reveal that some recommendations should be revisited. Now that the Department of Health and Human Services is being led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a new era of questioning the norm is underway in the United States. Suffice it to say the American health landscape is changing.
RFK will tell you that the reason we must go back to the drawing board is because people in the United States are getting more chronically ill, not less – and this includes our children. As well, there is a high incidence of certain conditions, such as the astronomical rise in autism. Decades ago, researchers theorized that the increasing rate could be due to the number of vaccinations infants and small children receive. Others speculated that autism was always there, but it wasn’t properly diagnosed. Both theories fell out of favor for a while in the medical mainstream, but now the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is giving the inoculation rate a second look.
In a public statement last week, America’s national health watchdog wrote, “CDC will leave no stone unturned in its mission to figure out what exactly is happening.” For many parents of children on the spectrum, the response is, “It’s about time.” Thus far, researchers have investigated vaccinations, genetics, taking over-the-counter pain relievers during pregnancy, birth complications, and more as possible causes for autism. But none of these studies appears to be the magic bullet. Still, the preservative components in vaccines, such as formaldehyde and thimerosal, have persisted as potential culprits for those on the spectrum and are likely the reason for the new CDC research.
What About Health and Fluoride?
Nothing could illustrate the changing health landscape in America more than the debate over fluoride. According to a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study, “Water fluoridation was once heralded as one of the best public health achievements in the twentieth century.” But then something happened on the way to the dentist: “Lately, major concerns about excessive fluoride intake and related toxicity were raised worldwide, leading several countries to ban fluoridation. Health-care professionals and the public need guidance regarding the debate around fluoridation,” according to NIH.
Guidance is putting it mildly. Taking a jittery public into account, the NIH study ultimately concluded, “[R]ecent opposition has been growing worldwide against fluoridation, emphasizing the potential and serious risk of toxicity. Since the fluoride benefit is mainly topical, perhaps it is better to deliver fluoride directly to the tooth instead of ingesting it.” As of Monday (March 10), Utah is set to become the first US state to outlaw fluoride treatment in public water systems. Expectations are that the Beehive State will set off alarm bells in other municipalities and that a reduction in public water fluoridation will follow. Already, this move is afoot in Tennessee, North Dakota, and New Hampshire, with several other states considering less drastic regulations instead of an outright ban. Any way you cut it — fluoride is on its way out.
I’ll Have Fries With That
Long ago, most American fast-food french fries were cooked in beef tallow (also known as suet), which is nothing more than rendered fat from a cow. But it got a bad name because saturated animal fats were considered a heart health hazard. Seed oils, along with several other additives, were substituted for its use in frying foods, but now there is concern that the switch is even worse for the consumer than the tallow. Kennedy wrote on Instagram, “Fast Food is a part of American culture. But that doesn’t mean it has to be unhealthy and that we can’t make better choices. Did you know that McDonald’s used to use beef tallow to make their fries from 1940 until phasing it out in favor of seed oils in 1990?” He followed up with, “People who enjoy a burger with fries on a night out aren’t to blame, and Americans should have every right to eat out at a restaurant without being unknowingly poisoned by heavily subsidized seed oils. It’s time to Make Frying Oil Tallow Again.”
According to dietitian Kristen White, who was recently quoted in Newsweek, the issue with seed oils is that they are “high in omega-6 fats, which may promote inflammation if consumed in excess, and they can become unstable at high heat, forming harmful byproducts.” Already, some burger chains are changing their frying methods to beef tallow.
“Making America Healthy Again” appears to be a tricky business. But the good news is that a ton of research is likely to commence on these and many other health issues. Studying a topic doesn’t always lead to immediate answers, so Americans will have to be patient as new information becomes available. Still, it reminds us that settled science isn’t always so settled, and the hope is that better answers free from outside merchant influence will promote healthier people.
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