Latest news with #MAHA
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Trump's FDA chief reveals the unusual snack he 'overdoes' on daily and challenges to MAHA's war on food dyes
Trump's FDA Director Dr. Marty Makary shared thrilling insights into his crusade as one of the three government musketeers in the 'Make America Healthy Again' or 'MAHA' movement. Makary was confirmed in March to his post with a vote of 56 - 44, and now serves alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former longtime TV doctor turned Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. Makary revealed the daily must haves in his diet, the sound advice he used to share with his patients during his time as a doctor, and what he enjoys about his government service thus far in a stop on Capitol Hill Wednesday. On his diet, Makrary noted that he has ' juice in the morning', then followed by 'coconut-coated cashews' which he often has for lunch. 'Sometimes I'll overdose on those, but I would rather do that than some of the other foods.' He also added that with the demands of his schedule, filled with meetings and conferences, eating healthy is 'always a struggle.' 'In the evening, my wife cooks and she buys her groceries from The Italian Store in Arlington, where they import their pastas. So there are Italian grains, with fiber.' 'We also get food from a place called The Organic Butcher. We had burgers last night that were delicious.' Makary also revealed that during his time as a doctor, some of his most common advice to patients was the simplest. 'Cook, rather than buy pre-processed foods,' and 'whole foods are better.' The Daily Mail caught up with Makary exclusively as he leads the war on food dyes, which is a hallmark of the MAHA platform. A Daily Mail poll conducted earlier this month showed that most Americans are opposed to the use of synthetic food dyes. The survey of more than 1,000 registered voters, conducted July 9 and 10, found that more than half of Americans believe food dyes are dangerous. Nearly half agree that food dyes cause cancer, more than eight in 10 support warning labels for dyes, and over half support banning food dyes entirely. Yet, major producers such as the Mars candy company have been reluctant to make adjustments in line with consumer sentiment. A change to that attitude may be on the horizon. Makary told the Daily Mail Wednesday that a meeting held earlier this week with the mammoth confectioner was a 'good meeting', adding that it was 'productive,' without sharing details out of respect for confidentiality. Asked about concerns raised by consumers in the Daily Mail's polling over the potential cost difference between products with natural dyes as opposed to artificial ones, Makary pointed to international markets as the example. 'In other countries, they sell these products, and you don't see a price delta,' Makary noted. 'So in Canada, parts of Europe, there are cereals and candies made without the same are artificial dyes that we have here in the United States, and you don't see a higher price,' Makary added. During his earlier speech, Makary noted that the FDA under the current administration has been approving natural food dyes - alternatives to problematic petroleum food dyes - at a warp speed. 'We approved four natural food dyes in the last three months. We're about three and a half months into the job, we've been busy,' Makary stated. 'Normally we'd approve a natural food diet once every couple years. We've approved four, and we'll probably approve two more in the next couple months,' he continued, teasing the future moves. The Daily Mail also asked Makary what the true drivers of change in the food system really are, wether it was government intervention, consumer demand, or a mix of the two. In the last few months, major fast food chains have announced changed in their processes and menus. In-N-Out Burger revealed in May that it would stop using synthetic food dyes including Yellow 5 and Red 40. Steak n Shake has made two MAHA friendly announcements in recent months. In January before the Trump Administration formally came into office, the chain announced that they will use beef tallow instead of vegetable oil to cook their fries, chicken tenders, and onion rings. Just last week, the chain announced that it would start selling glass bottled Coca-cola made with real cane sugar starting on August 1st. 'I think there's a movement, and I think they see the value of getting these petroleum based dyes out' Makary noted, commenting on changes already in the works by major corporations. 'I think they've been enthusiastic in ... taking initiative and being a part of this group enthusiastically, sometimes with schedules more aggressive than we've even asked. So I do think that there's a movement around this.' Makary told the Daily Mail that one of the favorite parts of his time in government service thus far was that 'one of the greatest opportunities in government is to convene people', adding that the 'community power can really turn into some good things.'
Forbes
19 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Members-Only Event: How To Make Your Food Business—And Kitchen—Healthy Again
Join us July 30th at 12PM EST as Forbes staff writer Chloe Sorvino and Kettle & Fire chairman Justin Mares unpack what it takes to build a better-for-you food business in 2025, how Make America Healthy Again is changing the game for the food and beverage industries and the glaring gaps that still exist. They will discuss synthetic additives and food dyes, seed oils, Glyphosate residue and much more. We'll discuss: Insider strategies on how to formulate better-for-you food and beverages for mass consumption Advice on the top ingredients to cut from your kitchen to stay ahead of the curve Tips on labeling and the certifications that actually resonate with consumers and meet them where they are How to scale a brand built for the MAHA era Chloe Sorvino Forbes Chloe Sorvino is a staff writer who leads coverage of food, drink and agriculture. Chloe is also the creator and author of the weekly newsletter Fresh Take. Her book Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed and the Fight for the Future of Meat published on Dec. 6th, 2022 with Simon & Schuster's Atria Books. Since joining Forbes in 2015, Sorvino has reported at In-N-Out Burger's secret test kitchen, drought-ridden farms in California's Central Valley, burnt-out national forests logged by a timber billionaire, a 100-year slaughterhouse business in Omaha, and even a chocolate croissant factory designed like a medieval castle in Northern France. Sorvino graduated with a journalism degree from George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs. Justin Mares Forbes Justin Mares is a serial entrepreneur and investor at the forefront of health, wellness, and direct-to-consumer (DTC) innovation. He has founded several successful companies, including Kettle & Fire (a leading bone broth brand), Perfect Keto and Surely (non-alcoholic wines). Mares is also the co-founder of TrueMed, revolutionizing HSA/FSA fund usage for everyday health purchases. As a venture partner at Long Journey Ventures and an angel investor, he actively supports and mentors startups. Mares shares valuable insights on DTC brands and entrepreneurship through his newsletter, "The Next Brand," and is involved in cutting-edge research on pathogen inactivation using microwave technology.
Gizmodo
a day ago
- Health
- Gizmodo
FDA's New Drug Approval AI Is Generating Fake Studies: Report
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, has made a big push to get agencies like the Food and Drug Administration to use generative artificial intelligence tools. In fact, Kennedy recently told Tucker Carlson that AI will soon be used to approve new drugs 'very, very quickly.' But a new report from CNN confirms all our worst fears. Elsa, the FDA's AI tool, is spitting out fake studies. CNN spoke with six current and former employees at the FDA, three of whom have used Elsa for work that they described as helpful, like creating meeting notes and summaries. But three of those FDA employees told CNN that Elsa just makes up nonexistent studies, something commonly referred to in AI as 'hallucinating.' The AI will also misrepresent research, according to these employees. 'Anything that you don't have time to double-check is unreliable. It hallucinates confidently,' one unnamed FDA employee told CNN. And that's the big problem with all AI chatbots. They need to be double-checked for accuracy, often creating even more work for the human behind the computer if they care about the quality of their output at all. People who insist that AI actually saves them time are often fooling themselves, with one recent study of programmers showing that tasks took 20% longer with AI, even among people who were convinced they were more efficient. Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) commission issued a report back in May that was later found to be filled with citations for fake studies. An analysis from the nonprofit news outlet NOTUS found that at least seven studies cited didn't even exist, with many more misrepresenting what was actually said in a given study. We still don't know if the commission used Elsa to generate that report. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary initially deployed Elsa across the agency on June 2, and an internal slide leaked to Gizmodo bragged that the system was 'cost-effective,' only costing $12,000 in its first week. Makary said that Elsa was 'ahead of schedule and under budget' when he first announced the AI rollout. But it seems like you get what you pay for. If you don't care about the accuracy of your work, Elsa sounds like a great tool for allowing you to get slop out the door faster, generating garbage studies that could potentially have real consequences for public health in the U.S. CNN notes that if an FDA employee asks Elsa to generate a one-paragraph summary of a 20-page paper on a new drug, there's no simple way to know if that summary is accurate. And even if the summary is more or less accurate, what if there's something within that 20-page report that would be a big red flag for any human with expertise? The only way to know for sure if something was missed or if the summary is accurate is to actually read the report. The FDA employees who spoke with CNN said they tested Elsa by asking basic questions like how many drugs of a certain class have been approved for children. Elsa confidently gave wrong answers, and while it apparently apologized when it was corrected, a robot being 'sorry' doesn't really fix anything. We still don't know the workflow being deployed when Kennedy says AI will allow the FDA to approve new drugs, but he testified in June to a House subcommittee that it's already being used to 'increase the speed of drug approvals.' The secretary, whose extremist anti-vaccine beliefs didn't keep him from becoming a public health leader, seems intent on injecting unproven technologies into mainstream science. Kennedy also testified to Congress that he wants every American to be strapped with a wearable health device within the next four years. As it happens, President Trump's pick for Surgeon General, Casey Means, owns a wearables company called Levels that monitors glucose levels in people who aren't diabetic. There's absolutely no reason that people without diabetes need to constantly monitor their glucose levels, according to experts. Means, a close ally of Kennedy, has not yet been confirmed by the Senate. The FDA didn't respond to questions emailed on Wednesday about what the agency is doing to address Elsa's fake study problem. Makary acknowledged to CNN that Elsa could 'potentially hallucinate,' but that's 'no different' from other large language models and generative AI. And he's not wrong on that. The problem is that AI is not fit for purpose when it's consistently just making things up. But that won't stop folks from continuing to believe that AI is somehow magic.
Newsweek
a day ago
- Health
- Newsweek
Trump Admin Touts Cane Sugar Coke as MAHA Win: Live Updates
Coca-Cola announced that it will begin distributing a version of its signature soft drink, made with cane sugar, in the U.S., sparking debate over health benefits and potential political influence. The move comes after President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. credited the decision to the "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) initiative. What to Know: Coca-Cola will offer a cane sugar–sweetened version alongside its current formula, which contains high-fructose corn syrup. President Trump and Secretary Kennedy claim credit for the shift, linking it to their MAHA campaign. Health experts say cane sugar and corn syrup have nearly identical metabolic effects and pose similar health risks. Critics argue that the change is merely political theater, distracting from broader public health rollbacks, including cuts to food safety and pollution protections. Stay with Newsweek for the latest updates.
LeMonde
a day ago
- Health
- LeMonde
Trump urges Coca-Cola to use cane sugar, sparking backlash from Midwestern corn producers
Would you rather have corn syrup or cane sugar? That question has been on Americans' minds since Coca-Cola confirmed on Tuesday, July 22, that it would now produce a portion of its sweetened beverage using cane sugar in the US market. Donald Trump, a well-known fan of Diet Coke – which substitutes regular sugar with aspartame – spilled the beans on July 16, praising the shift by the Atlanta-based company. "I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so. I'd like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola," the president said in a message posted on his Truth Social platform. "This will be a very good move by them – You'll see. It's just better!" High-fructose corn syrup has come under fire from Trump and his health secretary, Robert Kennedy Jr., who has made the fight against junk food his top priority. "MAHA wins," Kennedy posted on X on July 19, referencing the acronym MAHA – modeled after Trump's MAGA ("Make America Great Again") – which stands for "Make America Healthy Again." But is that really true? Kennedy declared in April: "Sugar is poison." No one disputes this in a country plagued by endemic obesity, and all experts agree that it's necessary to reduce sugar consumption. "What makes soda unhealthy is that it's liquid sugar, providing empty calories with no nutritional benefits. Swapping one type of sugar for another does nothing to make soda healthier," Eva Greenthal, a researcher at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told CNN.
