Rfk Jr. Makes Food Sound Like A Miracle Drug. Researchers Say He Often Overstates The Science

In nan Trump administration’s run to beforehand patient eating, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has not stopped astatine his motto urging group to “eat existent food” to forestall disease.

In caller speeches and podcast appearances, nan nation’s wellness caput besides has claimed that fare tin “cure” schizophrenia and glucosuria and let group to free themselves of bipolar upset diagnoses. Researchers opportunity nan comments overstate existent grounds astir nan existent and promising domiciled that nutrient tin play successful managing illness.

“Food is medicine, and you tin heal yourself pinch a bully diet,” Kennedy said connected comedian Theo Von’s “This Past Weekend” podcast successful February.

The talking constituent aligns pinch an thought from Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” friends that has gotten immoderate bipartisan support: The domiciled of nutrient successful wellness deserves much attention.

Scientists work together that fare tin lend to immoderate diseases and besides tin beryllium valuable successful treating them. But nationalist wellness advocates opportunity Kennedy’s exaggerations are portion of a shape successful which he cherry-picks and misrepresents technological research, a inclination that he has regularly applied to vaccine science, enraging doctors.

It is nan latest illustration of Kennedy being “incredibly sloppy and irresponsible” successful talking astir wellness issues, said Kayla Hancock, head of a nationalist wellness task astatine nan defense group Protect Our Care.

Dr. Theresa Miskimen Rivera, president of nan American Psychiatric Association, fears nan connection could thrust patients to self-medicate pinch nutrient alone.

“The interest ever is that group tin person dream and they mightiness construe that as, ‘Well, I don’t request medication. I do not request treatment. I conscionable request to travel nan diet,’” Rivera said.

Kennedy oversteps nan grounds connected fare and psychiatric disorders

In an early February reside astatine nan Tennessee Capitol, Kennedy cited nan activity of Dr. Christopher Palmer, a Harvard Medical School interrogator who successful 2019 wrote astir 2 patients pinch schizophrenia who knowledgeable remission of their symptoms pursuing a high-fat, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet.

Kennedy said that Palmer had “cured schizophrenia utilizing keto diets.”

Palmer has called that inaccurate. He told The Associated Press that “as overmuch arsenic I wish we had cures for intelligence unwellness aliases different chronic diseases, it is important that we usage much precise language.” Palmer prefers nan connection “remission.”

During nan aforesaid speech, and later connected Joe Rogan's podcast, Kennedy referred to studies “where group suffer their bipolar test by changing their diet.” He said “there’s a large insubstantial astir to travel out" showing results.

Kennedy spokesperson Andrew Nixon said those comments referred to a “growing assemblage of research” connected nan issue, including a University of California, Los Angeles, study investigating nan effect of a keto fare connected teenagers pinch bipolar disorder.

That study is still recruiting patients and will not beryllium completed until March 2027, according to a posting connected a national website. Any publication would travel months aft that.

Rivera, of nan American Psychiatric Association, said Kennedy’s claims exaggerate nan evidence. Studies testing nan domiciled of nan ketogenic fare connected intelligence wellness conditions person been small, anecdotal aliases aviator studies, she said. Many did not see a power group of patients pursuing a regular diet.

“At this point, it’s premature. We cannot tie definitive conclusions,” Rivera said. “There is not capable grounds to urge a circumstantial fare aliases arsenic a standalone, without medicine specified arsenic antipsychotics aliases temper stabilizers.”

It is existent that investigation into nan effects of ketogenic and different diets connected psychiatric disorders is accelerating, Palmer said. He said 20 controlled objective tests utilizing nan keto fare for terrible intelligence unwellness are underway, pinch results of 2 tests group for publication wrong nan adjacent year.

Palmer said he is “very enthusiastic” astir fare arsenic a promising therapy for superior psychiatric disorders, but that patients pinch intelligence unwellness should still talk pinch their doctors.

“I want to implore patients: Please do not extremity your medications connected your own,” he said. “Please do not moreover effort a ketogenic fare connected your ain arsenic a curen for schizophrenia aliases bipolar disorder.”

Diabetes experts are divided connected nan effect of Kennedy's words

Kennedy’s comments connected Von’s podcast that “most glucosuria tin beryllium cured done diet” besides person been scrutinized. Some experts opportunity nan wellness caput overstated nan domiciled of diet.

Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disorder, cannot beryllium cured by fare alone, said Dr. Willa Hsueh, an Ohio State University endocrinologist and researcher. A patient fare and workout are keys to managing Type 2 diabetes, but it tin beryllium difficult to usage those devices unsocial to reverse nan disorder, she said.

“The caput is not incorrect that it tin work," Hsueh said. "But it’s not communal for group to cure themselves ... by fare alone.”

Others defended Kennedy’s claims astir nan illness that affects 40 cardinal group successful nan United States.

Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and head of nan Food is Medicine Institute astatine Tufts University, said a patient fare could thief “most individuals” pinch Type 2 glucosuria little their humor sweetener levels, reverse symptoms and let them to extremity taking medications for nan condition.

“Whether you see that a cure aliases remission, that’s aesculapian speak, right?” Mozaffarian said.

He acknowledged that Kennedy is not “always perfectly precise successful nan terminology and location could beryllium risks to that.” But he welcomed nan high-level attraction connected nan domiciled of fare successful improving chronic disease.

“I’d alternatively exaggerate and get immoderate attraction and action than support doing what we’re doing, which is person millions of Americans suffering from diet-related diseases,” Mozaffarian said.

MAHA supporters want to spot much attraction connected nutrient

Mark Gorton, president of nan Kennedy-aligned MAHA Institute, said he was not acquainted pinch nan studies Kennedy referenced, but that nutrition has been “an incredibly overlooked area successful our aesculapian strategy for decades.”

“I deliberation to nan grade that it is possible, we should beryllium prioritizing focusing connected fare and getting backmost to surviving patient alternatively than taking sick group and medicating them forever, which is nan existent measurement our strategy works,” Gorton said.

Kody Green, a intelligence wellness advocator pinch schizophrenia, said that he supports patient eating, but that he needed psychiatric medications. He worries that Kennedy's comments could deter schizophrenia patients from trying narcotics that are already stigmatized.

“For immoderate people, possibly nutrient tin thief pinch nan issues they have, but schizophrenia is simply a very superior intelligence illness,” Green said. "Until further investigation is done, making claims for illustration that tin beryllium really vulnerable to group successful my community.”

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from nan Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and nan Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for each content.