Sam to hike, cycle and kayak series of rivers over five years
A WORCESTER man is taking on a grand series of challenges to support the charity which has helped his family.
Sam Perrett's wife Nikki, 37, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic disease that affects the central nervous system, in January 2023.
Since then the MS Society has been 'invaluable' to the couple and their two young daughters so Sam has decided to raise as much money as possible by tackling Source2Sea.
It is a series of five solo adventure challenges over the next five years, starting with 368 kilometres of the River Severn in September going from the source to the sea via a combination of hiking, cycling and kayaking.
Sam, 35, said: 'The diagnosis hit us hard as a family, not really knowing what it meant for the future for Nikki's health and what kind of deterioration we might see over what time period.
'It drove me into a health and fitness kick to make sure I'm as healthy as I possibly can be and I am around for as long as possible for our two young daughters.
'I've always loved the outdoors and I am the adventurous type having hiked a lot of the American south and mid-west.
'Six months ago I started a complete change to my lifestyle with exercise, fitness and diet.
'At this point I needed a goal, something to aim for, to keep me going and so Source2Sea was born.
'It is a series of five solo adventure challenges — planned and routed by me, not existing — over the next five years.
'Each challenge is to complete a journey from the source of a river all the way through to the sea.
'Using a combination of hiking, cycling and kayaking, each of the successive journeys get longer.'
Sam's plans so far involve the Severn mission, starting on September 21 from the Cambrian Mountains in Wales to Portishead, followed by the River Rhône in France and Switzerland covering 825km in September 2026.
He is targeting the River Tagus in Spain and Portugal over around 1,100km in 2027, the River Rhine over about 1,380km from Switzerland to the Netherlands in 2028 and possibly the Mississippi in the USA in year five.
Sam continued: 'This is not only as a goal to myself to keep me on point but also to raise vital awareness and fundraising for the MS Society.
'It is an incredible charity whose resources and support have been invaluable to us during this time. The more money raised the better.
'I also plan to fully document this training and completing the journeys on socials and YouTube.'
More than £1,000 has been raised so far at www.justgiving.com/page/source2sea.
There are more details on Sam's challenge at source2sea.uk and across social media on Facebook and Instagram.
To get in touch email info@source2sea.uk.
The MS Society funds world-leading research, shares the latest information and campaigns for everyone's rights.
There are more details at www.mssociety.org.uk.
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Newsweek
19 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Traveler Says Us Food Is Making Them 'Sick,' Internet Has Strong Opinions
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. An American traveler's viral Reddit post about the stark contrast between food in the United States and Italy has ignited widespread discussion about diet, health and food quality in the U.S. The post, titled "Travel made me realize US food is making me sick," was shared by u/Temporary-Night-275 in the r/Vent subreddit. The post, which details the traveler's experience after returning from a trip to Italy, has amassed 30,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments since it was posted on June 4. The poster, who is in their 20s but did not share their name, told Newsweek that they live in the Midwest and work in health care. "I'm just so mad at the food in the US," the poster wrote. "I left for two weeks to Italy. My mood was better, my awareness was better. I could eat wheat (I'm extremely gluten intolerant and it messes with my autoimmune disease if I eat it among a multitude of other symptoms) with gluten pills with minor bloating. "I had some of the best food, best health feelings—other than muscle soreness from walking so much—I've ever had in my life. It's made me have so much resentment for U.S. food. I mean even my skin cleared up quite a bit overseas." Dr. Sandip Sachar, a New York City dentist with a background in nutrition studies, told Newsweek: "It is quite possible the Reddit poster's experience was accurate and has validity." Sachar explained: "Italy does not add fluoride to its public water supply. Unlike countries such as the United States, where water fluoridation is a public health measure to prevent tooth decay, Italy has never implemented artificial water fluoridation programs. "Despite not adding fluoride to its water supply, Italy does not have significantly higher caries [tooth decay] rates compared to the U.S. within similar socioeconomic populations." She added that diet and culture likely play a role: "Food isn't rushed or eaten on the go." A 2018 study in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine highlighted broader concerns about American dietary habits. The study said "that most chronic diseases that afflict Americans are predominantly lifestyle induced; and the belief is that the vast majority of heart attacks and strokes could be prevented if people were willing to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors." The study noted: "Over the past 50 years, the health of Americans has gotten worse, and now 71 percent of Americans are overweight or obese…today, eating processed foods and fast foods may kill more people prematurely than cigarette smoking." Stock image of a table spread with various American-themed foods, including hot dogs, burgers and potato chips. Stock image of a table spread with various American-themed foods, including hot dogs, burgers and potato chips. Getty The traveler explained in the viral post: "I eat pretty healthy—I love snacking on veggies. It just makes me so mad that having any kind of sugar is just too much here [the U.S.]. Sugar and wheat and whatever else is just so much harder on my body here than Italy." The poster told of how was initially "too nervous" to try gluten while abroad, after not having had it in 10 years. However, when they did, the reaction was mild. The poster told Newsweek: "I didn't wake up the next day feeling like I got hit by a bus. I didn't have the skin irritation. I didn't have massive weight gain, just bloating and cramping. "When I took my gluten enzymes, it basically resolved the effects in a couple hours. And this was after eating pizza, bread and pasta. Everything I ate just tasted not only better, but just better quality. It's really hard to explain. I just could tell it was cleaner." Reflecting on life back in the U.S., the poster said: "Overall, since [my travels], I have adopted some foods from overseas and try to buy organic and imported [foods]. I have continued to feel better, but there's only so much I can do when organic costs more…all I can say there is definitely a difference in quality, taste and overall feeling from the foods I had [abroad]." Food in Italy vs. the US Sachar told Newsweek: "Italy's traditional Mediterranean diet is low in added sugars. It is high in fiber, healthy fats, like olive oil, and antioxidants. Generally speaking Italian food is based on more real, minimally processed food." She added: "In the U.S., high sugar and salt is found in everything from cereals to sauces. Sugar is fuel for Streptococcus mutans, the bacteria most responsible for tooth decay. Sugary foods also cause rapid glucose spikes, triggering a strong insulin response. "Over time, this can contribute to insulin resistance, fat storage, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity and increased inflammation. Excess sugar also disrupts the gut microbiome." Comparing breads, Sachar said: "Italian bread is usually made with just three to four ingredients—flour, water, salt, and yeast." In contrast, much of American bread contains dough conditioners (e.g. azodicarbonamide), emulsifiers, added sugars or high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives to extend shelf life and synthetic vitamins (fortified), she said. Sachar noted that traditional Italian and European breads often undergo long fermentation (12 to 48 hours), making them easier to digest and reducing the glycemic index. "Most commercial breads in the U.S. do not go through this long fermentation process because speed is prioritized." Cultural attitudes toward food also differ significantly. "Meals in Italy are slower, social, and often cooked at home. Food isn't rushed or eaten on the go. Lunch breaks are usually one to two hours long. Children grow up learning better eating habits. Portions are smaller too. In the U.S., convenience and speed is considered a priority. Processed foods and takeout are therefore widespread," Sachar said. 'The Quality of Our Food Is Garbage' Reddit users responding to the viral post shared their own experiences of struggling with American food. "When I first moved to the U.S. I gained 60 whole ass pounds," wrote u/Ok_Profile_9278. "My habits didn't actually change much, but everyone I know who's come here from a different country has a similar story to tell." U/Platypus_31415 echoed this: "I spent three weeks in the U.S. and it took me three to four months to recover. It's the land of the free: free to sell crap to the customers." Another commenter, u/SureAd5625, pointed to a deeper problem: "The issue isn't even the type of food. It's what's in our food. Other countries have diets that are extremely carb heavy and you'll still see people that are skinny…and relatively healthier. The quality of our food is gaaaaarbage." Another noted that lifestyle plays a role. "It's also our very sedentary and car-dependent lifestyles," said u/Corguita. "When you walk and move more to get to places naturally, there's a whole lot of things that come with that. When you just drive from one place to another, you don't burn as many calories, you don't digest as well." Do you have a travel-related video or story to share? Let us know via life@ and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
Eater
an hour ago
- Eater
‘No Seed Oil' Restaurants Seize the Moment
When Peter Phillips was brainstorming with his business partner for Massi's, their new sandwich shop in Astoria, Queens, he wanted something with a 'homemade feel,' in both aesthetics and production. The bread would be made fresh every day, the fries cut in-house. And everything would be fried in beef tallow. It 'just felt like a natural extension of what we were creating, with this focus on things that were pretty natural,' says Phillips. So when it came time to market the restaurant, centering that homespun framing just made sense — on Massi's Instagram, they note the sourdough is fresh, reassure everything is fried in beef tallow, and finally, affirm that there are 'no seed oils.' If you asked me last year 'what's a seed oil,' I wouldn't have known. I was familiar, of course, with the family of oils to which the umbrella term refers — canola oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, and other versions of cooking oils derived from plant seeds and kernels. These were the 'neutral' oils called for in so many recipes. They're the workhorse oils that could be whipped into a mayonnaise or heated to fry a chicken without adding any pesky, distinct flavor of their own. And while it is possible to get, for instance, sunflower oil mechanically cold-pressed from sunflower seeds, most seed oils in the grocery store are extracted with heat and chemical solvents. But like the '90s 'nonfat' craze or the great carb scare of 2003, seed oils have become the dietary concern du jour. Sites like Seed Oil Scout and Local Fats allow users to search for restaurants that are seed oil free, while Louisiana considers a new seed oil labeling law. More restaurants are noting that they're seed oil-free because more people are asking. The concern over seed oils is rooted in their higher levels of omega-6 fatty acids, which can cause inflammation. Omega-6 fatty acids have become a larger part of the American diet over the course of the 20th century, specifically with massive increases in ingestion of soybean and canola oil since the 1980s. And there's the issue that most commercially available seed oils are highly processed foods, produced with chemical solvents like hexane. The EU limits how much residual hexane can be in seed oils, while the FDA does not monitor hexane residue at all. Phillips says that aside from it feeling 'natural,' the choice to use beef tallow at Massi's is about taste, not health. 'Eating large amounts of beef tallow every day is probably not great for your health either,' he says. Instead, Phillips hoped putting 'no seed oils' on social media and on the menu communicates that they're not using cheap, industrial ingredients, while also highlighting an ingredient choice that might differ from what people assume when they order a chicken Parm and a plate of fries. But in our broader political moment, 'no seed oils' has also become shorthand that signals a wider wellness ethos, though diners and restaurants may not agree on the same meanings. For some, seeing 'seed oil-free' may signal what Phillips intends, or a shared understanding of the risks of an omega-6 rich diet. Or perhaps they see a kindred spirit in a Make America Healthy Again agenda, and assume an adherence to a host of other ideas about 'health.' Though sources like the American Heart Association and Harvard Medical School say omega-6s pose no real risks, for some restaurateurs, omitting seed oils connects deeply to their own health journeys. Olga Estrella, founder of Cafe Largesse in Austin, Texas, says she had been struggling with PCOS, with doctors unable to prescribe her anything that helped. 'I don't know what blog I read, but it said seed oil may have something to do with the inflammation,' she says. So she cut it out of her diet. 'Obviously, there were many different components, but seed oil was one of the first things that I did. It wasn't overnight, but I noticed a huge reduction in my inflammation and brain fog.' She and husband Frank Rog figured that if they cooked this way at home, it's how they should cook at the restaurant. They use avocado oil, olive oil, and butter, and though the whole menu isn't seed oil-free, as some ingredients from vendors still use them, they make it clear they cater to a seed oil-free diet. And according to Rog, it's becoming easier by the day to find vendors who make their supplies without seed oils. Chef Deborah Williamson of James Provisions in Hurst, Texas, similarly sought answers after a health scare in 2016, back when she was operating her restaurant's first iteration, James, in Brooklyn. 'It really started me on this path of trying to figure out, What is health? ' she says. She notes she's long been in 'wellness spaces,' and after learning about seed oils and omitting them from her diet, she's felt a massive change in her energy levels. Cooking without seed oils can be an ordeal. Williamson says James was known for its fries, but she took the fryer out of the kitchen at James Provisions, and instead serves roasted potatoes with compound miso butter alongside her burgers. 'I'm trying to replicate that mouthfeel and the satiation of a deep-fried french fry, but without using a fryer,' she says. Chef Chris Dumesnil of Aydea in San Francisco notes the increased cost of this commitment, explaining it's more expensive to use beef tallow, avocado oil, and chicken fat rendered from their chicken dishes. But customers haven't complained, and for him, it's worth it. 'Everybody in the restaurant that comes and becomes our guests, I don't want to have them become sick,' he says. 'In my mind, it's like taking care of my family.' For many restaurateurs, avoiding seed oil is in line with a larger organic mission. Aydea also advertises that it uses organic, raw sugars and honeys, grass-fed and organic milk, and pasture-raised eggs. James Provisions also promotes that it's 'seasonal' and uses 'thoughtful sourcing.' Phillips says that even though his other concepts — Chip City and Somedays Bakery — don't advertise as being seed oil-free, 'premium products have always been something central to my thinking'; there, cookies and pastries are made with high-fat European butter. If quality is the point, this is one more way to signal it. 'Seed oils are one of the most unhealthy ingredients that we have in foods,' posted now-Secretary of Health and Human Services RFK Jr. in October 2024. 'We need to Make Frying Oil Tallow Again.' Kennedy's ascendance to office turbo-charged the anti-seed oil movement; he's threatened to ban seed oils and called for fast food restaurants to begin using beef tallow again to fry their food (which some have). Also, Casey Means, RFK Jr.'s new pick for Surgeon General, has been publicly outspoken about seed oils. And so the wariness around seed oils comes with a host of other beliefs common under the general umbrella of the MAHA movement. RFK Jr. has been outspokenly critical of vaccination, most recently saying there are 'problems' with the measles vaccine as unvaccinated children die of the disease for the first time in decades. He has supported debunked theories that childhood vaccines cause autism, and has promoted the falsehood that AIDS is caused by drug use and 'compulsive homosexual behavior.' Meanwhile, Means also frequently criticizes vaccines in her wellness newsletter, called birth control a 'disrespect of life,' and believes gluten causes mental illness. And as I wrote this, I received a press release for a four-part series from production company MAHA Films called Toxic Nation: From Fluoride to Seed Oils, How We Got Here, Who Profits, And What You Can Do , explicitly putting the rejection of seed oils within the purview of other health conspiracies. Should it matter what other people believe if you've found that cooking a certain way makes you feel better, or if you'd rather spend your money on local, organic olive oil than Crisco and Mazola? Ideally, no. Most restaurateurs I spoke to were adamant that their support of the anti-seed oil movement had nothing to do with politics; it was simply an extension of their beliefs regarding its health benefits. In the FAQ section of James Provisions' website, Williamson writes a fact followed by an opinion: 'Seed oils are highly processed, chemically treated, bleached, and deodorized. They don't belong on your plate or in your body.' But it's not so easy to separate one choice from the political movement that advocates it — especially as the political discourse fuels a growing diner interest. Graham Honig, co-founder of Talo Organic Grill in Venice, California, says about 90 percent of his customers come specifically because they advertise using beef tallow instead of seed oil. The restaurant also advertises other 'Talo difference(s)' on its website, like 'no cooking in plastic or non-stick pans,' 'no gums,' and 'no plastic cutting boards,' but it's the seed oils point that makes up much of its branding. Honig tells me he's trademarked the phrase 'seed oils suck,' which appears on the brand's T-shirts. Honig also says he's adamantly apolitical. 'I would say people should pay attention to what we say and what we actually promote, and come to their own conclusions,' he says. 'My only focus is creating a healthier world and healthier options for people.' (Talo has received investment from Calley Means, Casey Means's brother and co-author of their book Good Energy, and has posted using the hashtag #maha) Increasingly, restaurant owners say, customers are coming to them precisely because they don't use seed oils. 'There's a demand there,' says Rog. 'When it is brought up and they realize that that's what we offer, it's a great thing for them. They know what we're talking about.' Honig tells Fitt/Insider it's 'fortuitous timing' that there's a larger cultural movement around seed oils. And Dumesnil says he noticed that after RFK Jr. went on the Joe Rogan podcast, some customers became more curious about seed oils, which allowed him to explain the restaurant's positioning. 'Whether it's someone famous, a political person or an actual dietician that says don't use seed oils, we say it's something that we do, but not for the politics — but because of the nutritional value that it brings towards our family.' I sense myself veering into a defense of seed oils as I watch the larger MAHA movement gain popularity, which feels like defending the Coca-Cola Company, or fossil fuels. The naming and shaming of seed oils is an attempt to correct a very real problem in American foodways: that so much of our diet consists of ultra-processed food made by corporations that prioritize profit over quality. Most U.S. residents' omega-6 intake is due to an increased reliance on fast food and pre-packaged food like bread, frozen meals, and sweetened breakfast cereal that use hydrogenated seed oils to remain shelf-stable. So of course there's a draw to restaurants that advertise organic, nutrient-rich ingredients and reject things like mass-produced canola oil. It's also telling that so many restaurateurs came to reject seed oils after finding few answers for their ailments within the U.S. medical establishment. Christy Harrison, author of The Wellness Trap , noted in an interview with The Cut that conditions like chronic fatigue, and those that disproportionately affect women like endometriosis and PCOS, 'have been historically contested and therefore under-funded' by the conventional healthcare system. This disconnect between the medical establishment and many patients makes the wellness space ripe for promoting individual solutions to collective problems. 'American individualism and capitalism fit right in with wellness culture,' says Harrison. 'Our health care system makes so many people feel dismissed and unheard, and they feel the need to take things into their own hands.' Indeed, one of the key components of the MAHA movement is the idea that health is an individual responsibility. It's what's behind RFK Jr. saying that 'only very sick kids should die from measles' while questioning the proven efficacy of the measles vaccine, or TV personality and current administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Dr. Oz saying on Fox News that 'it is your patriotic duty to be as healthy as you can.' Ultimately, it's nobody's business if you stock your pantry with organic avocado oil instead of corn oil, or if you choose to only frequent restaurants that don't use seed oils. The restaurateurs I spoke to nearly all said they wanted to be one more option in the seed oil-free community, a place where people at any stage of fighting the same health concerns as them, or people just wanting a meal made with high-quality ingredients, could eat and enjoy themselves. Now that 'seed oil' as a phrase has broken containment within MAHA circles, it's more likely that restaurants will use the label to stand out among competitors, and diners will see it as a trendy buzzword, like 'farm to table' or 'artisanal,' without any other associations. After all, it is not a problem to use olive oil in your aioli, or to cook things in beef tallow (unless you're vegetarian). Those choices don't solve these wider problems of access and health. But that's never been the point of a restaurant. See More:
Atlantic
an hour ago
- Atlantic
Get Ready to Hear a Lot More About Your Mitochondria
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s warning about mitochondria slipped in between the anti-vaccine junk science and the excoriation of pharmaceutical drugs as 'the No. 3 killer in our country.' He was speaking in 2023 to Joe Rogan, elaborating on the dangers of Wi-Fi—which no high-quality scientific evidence has shown to harm anyone's health—and arguing that it causes disease by somehow opening the blood-brain barrier, and by degrading victims' mitochondria. The mention of mitochondria—the tiny structures that generate energy within our cells—was brief. Two years later, mitochondrial health is poised to become a pillar of the MAHA movement, already showing up in marketing for supplements and on podcasts across the 'manosphere.' Casey Means, President Donald Trump's newest nominee for surgeon general, has singled out the organelle as the main casualty of the modern American health crisis. According to Means (who has an M.D. but no active medical license), most of America's chronic ailments can be traced to mitochondrial dysfunction. Should she be confirmed to the post of surgeon general, the American public can expect to hear a lot more about mitochondria. Among scientists, interest and investment in mitochondria have risen notably in the past five years, Kay Macleod, a University of Chicago researcher who studies mitochondria's role in cancer, told me. Mitochondria, after all, perform a variety of crucial functions in the human body. Beyond powering cells, they can affect gene expression, help certain enzymes function, and modulate cell death, Macleod said. When mitochondria are defective, people do indeed suffer. Vamsi Mootha, a mitochondrial biologist based at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Broad Institute, told me that rare genetic defects (appearing in about one in 4,300 people) can cause the organelles to malfunction, leading to muscle weakness, heart abnormalities, cognitive disability, and liver and kidney problems. Evidence also suggests that defects in mitochondria directly contribute to symptoms of Parkinson's disease, and could be both a cause and an effect of type 2 diabetes. Other conditions' links to mitochondria are blurrier. Researchers see aberrant mitochondria in postmortem biopsies of patients with illnesses such as Alzheimer's, cancer, and fatty-liver disease, Mootha said; whether those damaged mitochondria cause or result from such conditions is not yet clear. But according to Good Energy, the book Means published last year with a top MAHA adviser—her brother, Calley—mitochondrial dysfunction is a veritable plague upon the United States, responsible for both serious illness and everyday malaise. In their view, modern Western diets and lifestyles wreck countless Americans' metabolic health: Every time you drink unfiltered water or a soda, or feel the stress of mounting phone notifications, you hurt your mitochondria, they say, triggering an immune response that in turn triggers inflammation. (Damaged mitochondria really can cause inflammation, Macleod said.) This chain of events, the Meanses claim, can be blamed for virtually every common chronic health condition: migraines, depression, infertility, heart disease, obesity, cancer, and more. (Casey Means did not respond to requests for comment; reached by email, Calley did not respond to my questions about mitochondria, but noted, 'There is significant scientific evidence that healthy food, exercise and sleep have a significant impact on reversing chronic disease.') Good Energy follows a typical wellness playbook: using a mixture of valid and dubious research to pin a slew of common health problems on one overlooked element of health—and advertising a cure. Among the culprits for our mitochondrial ravaging, according to the Meanses, are poor sleep, medications, ultraprocessed foods, seed oils, too many calories, and too few vitamins, as well as chronically staying in comfortable ambient temperatures. The Means siblings therefore recommend eschewing refined sugar in favor of leafy greens, avoiding nicotine and alcohol, frequenting saunas and cold plunges, getting seven to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep a night, and cleansing your life of environmental toxins. Some studies indeed suggest that mitochondrial function is linked with sleep and temperature, but they've all been conducted on cell cultures, organoids, or mice. According to Macleod, evidence suggests that diet, too, is likely important. But only one lifestyle intervention— exercise —has been definitively shown to improve mitochondrial health in humans. The Meanses are riding a wave of interest in mitochondrial health in the wellness world. Earlier this year, the longevity influencer Bryan Johnson and the ivermectin enthusiast Mel Gibson both endorsed the dye methylene blue for its power to improve mitochondrial respiration; Kennedy was filmed slipping something that looks a lot like methylene blue into his drink. (Kennedy did not respond to a request for comment; the FDA has approved methylene blue, but only as a treatment for the blood disease methemoglobinemia.) AG1, formerly known as Athletic Greens, formulates its drinkable vitamins for mitochondrial health. Even one laser-light skin treatment promises to 'recharge failing mitochondria.' The enzyme CoQ10 is popular right now as a supplement for mitochondrial function, as is NAD, a molecule involved in mitochondria's production of energy. NAD IV drips are especially beloved by celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Kendall Jenner, and the Biebers. These supplements are generally thought to be safe, and some preliminary research shows that NAD supplementation could help patients with Parkinson's or other neurodegenerative diseases, and that CoQ10 could benefit people with mitochondrial disorders. Patients whose symptoms are clearly caused or made worse by deficiencies in a specific vitamin, such as thiamine, can benefit from supplementing those vitamins, Mootha said. But little research explores how these supplements might affect healthy adults. In Good Energy, as well as on her website and in podcast appearances, Casey Means promotes a number of supplements for mitochondrial health. She also recommends that people wear continuous glucose monitors—available from her company, Levels Health, for $184 a month—to help prevent overwhelming their mitochondria with too much glucose. (According to Macleod, glucose levels are only 'a very indirect measure' of mitochondrial activity.) As with so many problems that wellness influencers harp on, the supposed solution to this one involves buying products from those exact same people. At best, all of this attention to mitochondria could lead Americans to healthier habits. Much of the advice in Good Energy echoes health recommendations we've all heard for decades; getting regular exercise and plenty of fiber is good guidance, regardless of anyone's reasons for doing so. Switching out unhealthy habits for healthy ones will likely even improve your mitochondrial health, Jaya Ganesh, a mitochondrial-disease expert at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, told me. After all, 'if you consistently beat your body up with unhealthy habits, everything is going to fall sick,' Ganesh said. But the mitochondrial approach to wellness carries risks, too. For patients with genetically caused mitochondrial disease, lifestyle changes might marginally improve some symptoms, Ganesh said, but attempting to cure such conditions with supplements and a healthy diet alone could be dangerous. Means also calls out medications—including antibiotics, chemotherapy, antiretrovirals, statins, and high-blood-pressure drugs—for interfering with mitochondria. Macleod told me that statins really do affect mitochondria, as do some antibiotics. (The latter makes sense: Mitochondria are thought to have evolved from bacteria more than a billion years ago.) That's no reason, though, to avoid any of these medications if a doctor has determined that you need them. And yet, a whole chapter of Good Energy is dedicated to the idea that readers should mistrust the motives of their doctors, who the authors say profit by keeping Americans sick. The book is less critical of the ways the wellness industry preys on people's fears. Zooming in on mitochondria might offer a reassuringly specific and seemingly scientific explanation of the many real ills of the U.S. population, but ultimately, Means and MAHA are only helping obscure the big picture.
