Ultraprocessed foods, seed oils, pesticides and fluoride: They’re all targets of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, whose chief proponent is US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Now, MAHA Films, a production company dedicated to promoting the movement’s values, has released its first documentary.
“Toxic Nation: From Fluoride to Seed Oils — How We Got Here, Who Profits, and What You Can Do” highlights those four food- and environmental-related issues that Kennedy’s nonprofit MAHA Action, an advocacy partner for the film, says “silently endanger millions of Americans every day.” Released online Tuesday, the film is the first in a planned four-part series.
“If we can love our children more than we hate each other, we can solve the chronic disease epidemic affecting them,” producer and director Jeff Hays said in a news release, quoting Kennedy’s ethos. “‘Toxic Nation’ is our love letter to that vision, a call to create an America where families can finally thrive in true health.”
The documentary’s release follows the May 22 publication of the first MAHA Commission report, which lays the groundwork for an overhaul of federal policy to reduce the burden of chronic disease on American children. Still, Kennedy’s agenda to overhaul food systems, pharmaceuticals and environmental toxins may run into roadblocks due to significant budget and staffing cuts at HHS and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
“The Trump Administration can’t have it both ways,” Scott Faber, senior vice president of government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit environmental health organization, wrote in an email. (Although there is substantial overlap with some issues that have become Kennedy’s focus at HHS, the documentary was not released by the federal government.)
“On the one hand, they’re sounding the alarm about diet-related disease and the illnesses caused by dangerous chemicals,” Faber added. “On the other hand, they’re making it harder for people to build healthy diets and eliminating the safeguards that protect us from toxins like PFAS and pathogens.”
Although some experts have long talked about the effects of what we consume on our risk of disease, when it comes to specifics, there is some controversy around the potential dangers, benefits or neutrality, if any.
Here’s what recent research says about the four targets of “Toxic Nation.”
The claim: The documentary calls out ultraprocessed foods as one of the roots of chronic disease.
The background: Composing up to 70% of the US food supply, ultraprocessed foods are made with industrial techniques and ingredients “never or rarely used in kitchens, or classes of additives whose function is to make the final product palatable or more appealing,” according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Ultraprocessed foods are typically low in fiber; are high in calories, added sugar, refined grains and fats, and sodium; and include additives such as preservatives, flavor enhancers or dyes.
The research: Numerous studies over decades have linked consumption of ultraprocessed foods to diseases or health issues including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, premature death, cancer, depression, cognitive decline, stroke and sleep disorders.
The harms could be partly due to ultraprocessed foods’ effects on metabolism, experts have said — since without fiber, for example, refined carbohydrates can raise triglycerides and spike blood glucose levels.
QUIZ: How much ultraprocessed food are you eating?
What you can do: Limit your intake of ultraprocessed foods by increasing your consumption of whole fruits, veggies, grains, nuts and seeds, and legumes. Read ingredient labels and be aware of how much sodium you’re eating and how certain foods make you feel; ultraprocessed foods can keep you wanting more, whereas whole foods are more satiating.
Read more on ultraprocessed food: Eating more ultraprocessed food ups the risk of premature death, study finds
The claim: The documentary challenges the long-held guidance that for heart health, cooks should replace saturated fats from animal products such as beef tallow, pig lard and butter with seed oils. (Kennedy applauded Steak ‘n Shake’s switchover from seed oils to beef tallow for frying its french fries, calling it a healthier choice.)
The background: Vegetable and seed oils became popular in the mid-20th century, when scientists began looking into animal fat as the culprit behind the uptick in cardiovascular issues and promoted oils as heart-healthy alternatives.
Some experts’ concerns about seed oils are based on their chemistry, the industrial production involving various chemicals and the behavior of seed oils when they’re exposed to heat, air and light. The oils are extracted from the seeds of plants, like canola oil from canola — or rapeseed — plant seeds. The other seed oils of concern are corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, sunflower, safflower and rice bran oils.
Seed oils are primarily polyunsaturated fats, which are less chemically stable than saturated fats, the main lipid in animal fats. Polyunsaturated fats are thus prone to faster peroxidation when exposed to oxygen or cooked, which can produce molecules linked to cellular damage and oxidative stress, Dr. Daisy Zamora, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine, told CNN in March.
The research: Over the past few decades and continuing today, scientists have published copious data showing that diets higher in plant fats result in better health outcomes than diets higher in animal fats, Dr. Alice H. Lichtenstein, the Stanley N. Gershoff Professor of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston, told CNN in March.
The research on seed oils has picked up over the past decade , including Zamora’s clinical trials that found limiting seed oils improved participants’ chronic pain. Other studies have linked seed oil intake with atherosclerosis or biomarkers of fat buildup in arteries.
The risk of harmful degradation products may not come into play unless the oils are cooked too hot, used repeatedly or kept for too long, and it’s possible that some food companies, restaurants and individuals may be doing those things, Dr. Eric Decker, a professor of food science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, told CNN in a previous story.
What you can do: If you’re concerned about seed oils, you can try substituting extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil, experts said. Experts also recommend that any fat you consume should be in moderation.
Read more on seed oils: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says beef tallow is healthier than seed oils. Is he right?
The claim: The film raises concerns about the herbicide glyphosate, citing previously documented links to cancer. Sources also said glyphosate may cause endocrine disruption and damaged gut microbiomes, with the latter potentially increasing risk for irritable bowel diseases and celiac disease.
The background: Glyphosate is commonly used for killing weeds in human and animal food crops, forestry and gardens.
The research: Research on the effects of glyphosate on the human gut microbiome is in the early stages, although harm in rats has been found. A 2019 analysis of studies on thousands of people and animals found that exposure to glyphosate was associated with a 41% higher risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system.
The US Food and Drug Administration’s role is to ensure that pesticide or herbicide residues on or in domestic and imported foods don’t exceed limits set by the EPA, at levels the EPA determines to “provide a reasonable certainty of no harm,” according to the FDA.
The EPA has said that glyphosate isn’t likely to be carcinogenic for humans and that it continues to find “no risks to public health when glyphosate is used in accordance with its current label.”
The EPA’s conclusion contradicts the World Health Organization’s stance, although the latter has been controversial among both industry and some health experts. The decision was followed by thousands of lawsuits — against the leading producer of glyphosate-based weed killers — claiming that glyphosate exposure caused plaintiffs’ cancer. Some have been successful to varying degrees, including a high-profile case partly argued by Kennedy when he was an environmental lawyer.
What you can do: You can limit your consumption of herbicides (as well as pesticides) by eating mostly or only organic foods. Since that’s not feasible for many people, you can still make an impact by reducing your intake of the foods on the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” list and increasing your intake of its “Clean Fifteen” foods. The lists refer to conventionally grown fruits and vegetables with the most or least amount of pesticide residues, respectively.
Still, the EWG also says the health benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables outweigh the risks of pesticide exposure, so don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good.
Read more on pesticides: Many breakfast cereals still contaminated by weed killer, environmental group says
The claim: Documentary sources claimed that the type of fluoride predominantly used in drinking water for most of the US population differs from dental sodium fluoride. That’s a problem, they say, because it’s hydrofluorosilicic acid, a chemical byproduct of the phosphate fertilizer industry, and contains heavy metals such as arsenic.
It’s true that hydrofluorosilicic acid is the fluoridation agent of choice for many municipalities . That hydrofluorosilicic acid also contains more arsenic than sodium fluoride is also true, according to the EPA, which has also said it limits the amount of arsenic allowed in water.
“Toxic Nation” sources added that fluoride can block thyroid receptors and cause dental fluorosis. This is a cosmetic change in children’s tooth enamel caused by ingesting excessive fluoride while their permanent teeth are still forming underneath their gums, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The background: Medical organizations or institutions such as the American Dental Association and the CDC continue to support water fluoridation and use of fluoride toothpaste. Most of the documentary sources acknowledged that sodium fluoride can strengthen enamel.
The research: Studies prove that “water fluoridation continues to be effective in reducing dental decay by at least 25% in children and adults, even in the of era widespread availability of fluoride from other sources, such as fluoride toothpaste,” according to the American Dental Association.
A new study published in the journal JAMA affirms this. It estimated that eliminating fluoride from public water systems would be associated with a 7.5% increase in tooth decay, according to data on 8,484 children with an average age of 9.
But a few studies, including a federal review published in August, have supported concerns about higher levels of fluoride in water affecting children’s intellectual development. Some have also found only slight dental benefits of fluoridating water. But the federal review noted that associations between normal levels of fluoride and children’s IQ are less consistent. And research on adults is scarce.
What you can do: If you want to avoid fluoride intake, you can buy water filters that filter out fluoride. They should be independently certified, such as by the National Sanitation Foundation or another official lab. Also ensure your kids don’t swallow toothpaste that contains fluoride.
To help prevent cavities, brush and floss your teeth daily and nightly, and limit your intake of sugary foods and beverages, the American Dental Association recommends. If you do eat them, do so at mealtimes. You should also visit your dentist regularly.
Read more on fluoride: What to know about fluoride in drinking water
