Tag: health

RFK Jr. Announces Obesity Rates in America Are Down for the First Time in Half a Century

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday that the obesity rate in the United States dropped last year for the first time in half a century.

Speaking at an event hosted by America First Policy Institute in Charlotte, Michigan, Kennedy said, “Since President [Donald] Trump came into office, obesity rates in this country have dropped by 2.5 percent. That’s the first drop in 50 years. And that drop alone will have significant impacts on health care costs in this country, because obesity drives about 80 percent of chronic disease.”

Health care costs account for approximately 35 percent of federal expenditures, according to the most recent data from the Treasury Department.

In fiscal year 2024, the federal government spent $1.9 trillion on health care programs, making it the largest category of federal spending.

“Thirty-five percent of American adults are obese,” RFK Jr. said. “When my uncle [John F. Kennedy] was president [in the early 1960s], 3 percent of children were obese. Now, it’s 20 percent.”

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Gonorrhea Rates Are Soaring In NYC: Mamdani Rushes Free Chocolate Condoms To Citizens Of Big Apple!

So what’s the priority of New York City’s Mamdani administration these days?

FrontPage Magazine reported:

Gonorrhea rates in New York City have more than doubled in a decade and syphilis is ‘surging’ statewide. Mamdani’s Department of Health has responded to this crisis by rushing a free supply of lubricant and chocolate flavored condoms.

Beam me up, Scotty.

FPM quoted NYC Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Helen Arteaga as stating,

“Providing high-quality sexual and reproductive healthcare services is a priority for the Mamdani Administration. Making safer sex products more accessible to the most affected and vulnerable communities is a critical public health need.”

Well, it’s good to have priorities. But are chocolate-flavored condoms safer than regular old garden-variety ones? I’m guessing not, but I couldn’t tell you from experience.

FPM again:

Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez, a Mamdani ally, explained that the free chocolate flavored condoms were necessary because “inequities persist among women, low-income households, and Black and Latino New Yorkers.

Women, low-income households, and black and Latino New Yorkers are adversely and disproportionately affected by a relative dearth of chocolate-flavored condoms? Is New York a den of iniquity inequity?

Unfortunately for virtue-signaling do-gooders, the free chocolaty condoms are coming from Karex, a Malaysian company that is apparently the largest manufacturer of condoms on Earth.

Why is this unfortunate?

According to The Telegraph, some Karex workers said they are put up in cramped and undignified conditions, with as many as a dozen housed in damp and unhygienic dormitories.

Workers at one site are allegedly granted just half of a steel bunkbed, with no mattress — and only have access to a filthy, broken toilet. And for these “amenities,” about 12 dollars a month is deducted from their wages. The Telegraph reported that one Karex employee said “sometimes poisonous snakes come in” to the dorms.

Not sure if that’s a blessing or a curse.

“Forget the crime! Forget the fact that the city is broke! Chocolate condoms for everybody!” does not seem like a winning slogan for Mamdani … but what do I know?

Ask not what you can do for the city, ask what Mayor Mamdani can do to — I mean for — you!”

I’m sure someone in the Mamdani administration will tout the mayor’s actions thusly: “These delectable prophylactics will be generously distributed, free of cost, to all genders with a penis … and to all those that love them! Mayor Mamdani is hard at work to make your lives better!”

Considering the shape the city is in, this may be the biggest cover up in the history of the Big Apple.

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Exposing The Great Acid Reflux Scam

•Many commonly prescribed medications are given to patients despite the risks often outweighing the benefits.

•Acid-suppressing drugs are among the worst offenders, with their overuse fueled by a lack of understanding about the crucial role of stomach acid throughout the body or that acid reflux is due to too little stomach acid (as the stomach acid of digestion gives the stomach’s opening a signal to seal and not let any more food in).

•Deficient stomach acid causes many chronic health problems (e.g., macular degeneration, a myriad of autoimmune disorders such as asthma, and less overt forms of reflux that cause many common diseases of the ears, nose, and throat such as allergies, coughs, and sinusitis).

•Acid blocking medications cause a variety of severe side effects, including a 19% increased risk of death and a comparable increase in cardiac events, kidney or liver disease, numerous infections, and bone damage.

•Thankfully, many safe natural treatments can effectively address acid reflux and many of the complications of a chronic stomach acid deficiency.

In the U.S., 66% of adults are estimated to have at least one prescription, and the average person has nine filled annually. As an awake physician, one of the most depressing aspects of my work is seeing patients, especially the elderly, weighed down by numerous prescriptions that frequently do more harm than good.

For example, as I showed here, statins provide a negligible benefit (e.g., at best, taking them for five years extends one’s lifespan by 3-4 days) but create significant side effects such as severe muscle pain and cognitive impairment for 20% of users.

This tragic situation is best demonstrated by a 2007 study which showed that simply discontinuing the least necessary prescriptions resulted in a 23% reduction in the death rate and an 18.2% decrease in hospital referrals. Sadly, since the trend in medicine is always to have people on more drugs, data like this has had no effect on the practice of the overprescription of medications.

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Evidence Links Microplastics to Chronic Disease

You’re absorbing plastic through the air, food and water daily. These microscopic plastic particles are being detected inside living tissue — lodged deep within organs, absorbed through your gut and circulating through your bloodstream.

Emerging research has uncovered strong connections between this plastic exposure and conditions like high blood pressure, stroke, and metabolic dysfunction. Studies now link even low-level, everyday exposure to a higher risk of cardiovascular events. This is no longer just about reducing waste. It’s about protecting your heart, your brain and your long-term health.

Microplastics Rank Among Top Predictors of Chronic Disease

Research presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session evaluated the concentration of microplastics in seafloor sediment across 555 U.S. coastal and lakeside census tracts between 2015 and 2019.1 The goal was to compare plastic exposure levels with disease rates in those same communities.

Using data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers examined the prevalence of high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, and cancer and used machine learning to assess how microplastic pollution stacked up against 154 other environmental and socioeconomic factors.

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Neanderthal ancestry may lower defenses against common DNA viruses in people today

Researchers have found surprising links that show that Neanderthal ancestry influences our immune system today in ways more nuanced than previously recognized. Their work is published in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution.

Viruses account for an estimated 10–20% of the global disease burden. Many DNA viruses can persist in the body for a lifetime, and virus load varies greatly even among people without symptoms. Throughout human history, they have posed persistent and rapidly evolving threats, placing strong adaptive pressure on our immune system.

Previous research has shown that many genetic variants involved in immunity bear the marks of these evolutionary battles—including signatures of natural selection and contributions from interbreeding with archaic humans.

While Neanderthal ancestry has previously been associated with beneficial effects in RNA virus defense, the new study highlights a contrasting trend for DNA viruses.

Because of past admixture with archaic humans, around 2% of the genome of present-day non-Africans is composed of Neanderthal DNA and an additional 2–4% of people in Oceania of Denisovan ancestry. These introgressed sequences have shaped many biological traits, including immunity. But their role in defenses against DNA viruses has remained largely unexplored.

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Toxic Plastics Causing ‘Silent Epidemic Of Kids With Lower IQs,’ Pediatrician Tells RFK Jr.

Dr. Leo Trasande, one of the nation’s leading experts on environmental health and toxic exposures, warned this week that plastics pose “a multidimensional and urgent threat to human health,” with children facing some of the greatest risks.

Speaking on “The Secretary Kennedy Podcast,” Trasande — a pediatrician, professor at New York University and director of the NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s Division of Environmental Pediatrics — described mounting evidence linking chemicals in plastics to developmental, hormonal, metabolic, reproductive and neurological harm.

“The impacts run from cradle to grave and womb to tomb,” he said.

The discussion comes as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launches STOMP — Systematic Targeting Of MicroPlastics. The $144 million initiative aims to measure, study and eventually remove microplastics and nanoplastics from the human body.

The program will develop standardized testing methods, map how plastics accumulate in organs, rank plastics by biological harm and pursue future removal technologies.

Trasande said the growing concern extends beyond visible plastic waste to microscopic and chemical exposures embedded throughout modern life.

“We know that there are 16,000 chemicals — synthetic chemicals — that are in plastic,” Trasande said. “We don’t know anything about 10,000 of them.”

Among the chemicals with the strongest evidence of harm are bisphenols used in plastics, phthalates found in food packaging and personal care products, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — also known as “forever chemicals” — used in nonstick and stain-resistant products.

Trasande said the evidence is “extremely strong” that many of these chemicals disrupt hormones, which in turn regulate metabolism, reproduction, growth and brain development.

‘A silent epidemic of kids with lower IQs in the U.S.’

As a pediatrician, Trasande repeatedly emphasized that children are uniquely vulnerable.

“Pound for pound, they eat more food, drink more water, breathe more air, so they’re uniquely susceptible,” he said. “Their organ systems are also just being primed. And so if you disrupt that, there are lifelong and permanent consequences.”

He pointed to evidence linking phthalate exposure during pregnancy to roughly 50,000 premature births in the U.S. each year, along with impaired brain development and poorer educational outcomes.

Trasande warned that some of the most damaging effects may be subtle and population-wide, rather than immediately obvious in individual children. Even small disruptions to thyroid hormones during pregnancy are associated with cognitive deficits, autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), he said.

“What you see is a silent epidemic of kids with lower IQs in the U.S.,” Trasande said. “Just to put this in context for the audience, a kid loses an IQ point, mom doesn’t notice, pediatrician doesn’t notice.”

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. compared the issue to the impact of lead exposure on the national average IQ before leaded gasoline was phased out in the 1980s.

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Father of ‘Missing’ GOP Congressman Says He Is Under Doctor’s Care, Remains Vague About His Return

Further details are emerging about the disappearance of New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean Jr. from Congress for over two months.

In an interview with CNN, former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean Sr. said his son is receiving medical treatment and is expected to make a full recovery.

“He’s hopefully coming back soon, and he’s under the care of a doctor,” Kean Sr. said, adding that his son had been evaluated by multiple physicians.

“They all agree he’s going to be fine. He’s under a doctor’s care.”

“It took a real illness to knock him out,” he added.

“This won’t linger. It’s not some kind of disease that’s going to incapacitate him in the future. The consensus is that he will be 100% OK.”

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Ozempic Face? Try Ozempic Pancreatitis: Inside the GLP-1 Profit Model

If you thought “Ozempic face” was bad, wait till you hear what it’s doing inside the body.

A massive study involving 16 million people found GLP-1 users had a 9.09 times greater risk of pancreatitis, 4.22 times greater risk of bowel obstruction, and a 3.67 times greater risk of stomach paralysis.

And if you’ve ever had pancreatitis, it is “quite a painful experience.”

What you’re hearing on the news about Ozempic is still too little, too late.

Here’s the story you’re not getting about Ozempic, the business model behind it, and why a growing number of researchers believe another pharmaceutical disaster is already unfolding in real time.

In early 2023, JP Morgan hosted its annual healthcare conference—a private, invitation-only event it describes as “the industry’s biggest gathering.”

The keynote speakers included the chairman of JPMorgan Chase, the CEO of Eli Lilly, and several managing directors of major healthcare venture capital firms.

The fourth keynote was Dr. Robert Califf.

His day job at the time: Commissioner of Food and Drugs for the United States Food and Drug Administration.

Hmm…

This wasn’t a public health symposium. It wasn’t an academic conference.

It was specifically designed for large investors, and its explicit purpose was to set the pharmaceutical industry’s financial priorities for the year ahead.

A pharmaceutical safety advocate named Kim Witczak obtained what she could from the conference’s public-facing website.

But what was being said behind closed doors?

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Widely Used ‘Chemical Cocktails’ Tied to Gut Damage, Inflammation

Herbicide mixtures widely used on industrial farms may damage the gut, disrupt healthy bacteria and trigger inflammation at exposure levels regulators currently consider safe, according to a new peer-reviewed study.

The research, published in April in Archives of Toxicology, examined glyphosate — the active ingredient in Roundup weedkiller — alongside two other common herbicides, dicamba and 2,4-D. Rats exposed to the chemical combinations developed intestinal inflammation, tissue damage, oxidative stress and signs of “leaky gut.”

The findings raise concerns about how the safety of agrochemicals is typically evaluated — because regulators generally assess chemicals one at a time rather than in the combinations people and wildlife are actually exposed to in the environment.

“This study comprises the most comprehensive investigation of the impact of glyphosate on gut structure and function,” the authors wrote. The study is also the first to examine the combined effects of glyphosate with dicamba and 2,4-D at “regulatory relevant” doses deemed to be safe, the authors said.

“The findings show that the levels of these herbicides, when ingested as a mixture, have adverse effects and are not safe at all – and that regulatory assurances of safety are false,” according to GMWatch, which reported on the study.

The study, led by glyphosate expert Michael Antoniou, Ph.D., comes amid escalating concerns about chronic exposure to agricultural chemicals, particularly in communities near large-scale farming operations.

Glyphosate, the key active ingredient in Roundup, has long been controversial because it may cause cancer.

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Two House Members Remain MIA with Unexplained Health Issues, Missing Dozens of Votes

Concern is mounting in Congress about the status of two lawmakers absent from Washington because of mysterious health issues as both a Democrat and Republican have missed weeks of votes.

Reps. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) and Frederica Wilson (D-FL) have been missing in action — and not voted — in more than a month.

Kean, 57, has not cast a vote since March 5 because of what his campaign called a “personal medical issue” without further elaboration, the Hill reported.

Wilson, 83, has not voted since April 17, though she is expected to return to the Capitol next week.

“The absences come as leaders in both parties are encouraging full participation from their members, given the razor-thin margins in the House,” according to the outlet.

Kean’s absence could impact his reelection campaign, which, if unsuccessful, could alter the balance of power in Congress next year. He represents a swing district.

A statement issued April 27 said the New Jersey lawmaker is expected to “return to a full schedule and be at 100 percent” in the “near future,” but Kean was still absent as the House returned this week.

Meanwhile, his website has been highlighting various community projects, including  announcing on May 11 the winners from his district of a Congressional art competition.

Wilson’s four-week absence went unnoticed until reporter Jamie Dupree noted it in a post on X this week, leading reporters to question House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) about it.

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