ExclusiveCombatting the American epidemic of chronic illness starts at the dinner table | The Epoch Insights

Welcome to Epoch Insights with Tiffany. My name is Tiffany Brannan. On September 5th, the Wall Street Journal published an article by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. entitled Trump Can Make America Healthy Again. There's an opinion piece in the latest issue of the Epoch Times that talks about this article. It's very interesting to read this author's opinions on what he proposed. The article includes a quick summary of the main points and his idea to combat the chronic disease epidemic which our country now faces. He suggests reforming the Prescription Drug User Fee Act to reduce pharmaceutical industry influence on the Food and Drug Administration, prohibit the U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrition panel members from profiting from food or drug companies, review and possibly limit direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising, prevent National Institutes of Health funds from going to researchers with conflicts of interest, cap drug prices to align U.S. costs with international standards, restrict Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, benefits from being used to buy unhealthy foods such as soda, revisit U.S. pesticide and chemical standards to align with stricter global regulations, require nutrition education and functional medicine in medical schools, reform crop subsidies to promote healthier food production, reinstate presidential fitness test standards for Americans' physical health, allocate more NIH research funds to preventative and health approaches, and expand health savings accounts to give Americans more control over their health care choices. Since that article came out, RFK Jr. has started an entire PAC, which is a political action committee, called Make America Healthy Again. There already is merchandise available online with M-A-H-A on it. Unfortunately, because of the brilliance behind a lot of the American business systems, a few companies used it to make and market hyper-palatable foods, which can hardly even be called foods. It's interesting how this article, beyond talking about RFK Jr.'s ideas, suggests some other ideas which could be used to help the American society and culture get on a better path with our health. The first idea is to declare a national emergency for health. It suggests recreating the food pyramid, so to prioritize real whole foods, just focus on simplicity. Because I would say a lot of the food pyramid has been based on minimizing protein, but as a result, people will eat more of things which don't have the nutrition they need. Tax incentives for healthy living. Encouraging Americans to have a healthier lifestyle by offering tax breaks or credits for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, with ideas such as deductions for gym memberships, healthy food purchases, and participation in community physical activities. Another idea is corporate wellness mandates. With more than 100 employees, companies would offer wellness programs including fitness classes, nutritional counseling, and mental health services. School reform, of course, that's very important. Physical activity and healthy nutrition to cut out all the excess sugars and the artificial dyes and replace the food in schools with fresh nutritious options. As you'll see in Europe, they offer much more simple but very wholesome old-fashioned type of food. Other ideas are educational reform for health literacy, to give true health education throughout the school system. Urban planning and urban agriculture for health, to develop new urban areas with more green spaces and encourage more pedestrian-friendly areas, as well as places to grow food. The regulation of food industry marketing, and this would include stricter regulations on the marketings of unhealthy food, especially during television shows geared to children. A national sugar tax, this is suggesting similar to what was done with smoking, to put a tax on overly processed sugar-sweetened beverages and high sugar foods, and this would make people less likely to want to buy them, as well as healthcare provider incentives for preventative care. End political and corporate conflicts of interest, insurance coverage for preventative services, it's so much easier to get insurance to cover over-the-counter drugs and medical treatment than things which will keep you well. Transitioning monocrop subsidies to make it easier for American farmers to grow organic food and more sustainable farming, instead of just these monocrops like corn, wheat, and soy, which tend to be genetically modified, and leadership for a future health policy. In shaping the future of the national health policy, we need leaders who stand outside the influence of big pharma and big food, and who genuinely care about the well-being of our children. I think that the important message that can be taken from all of this is, a lot of these ideas, yes, it would be great if the government would make it much easier and more affordable to buy healthy food, but the battle of the American chronic illness epidemic is one which is being fought on the front lines of the American dinner table. And each individual or family can make choices, regardless of what any politician or the government does, to have a healthier lifestyle. In the home section of the Epoch Times, there's an article called Better Together, and it talks about five food pairings you should always eat together for the best flavor and the best nutritional bang for your buck. These combinations are butter and vegetables, tomatoes and olive oil, prosciutto and melon, citrus and greens, yogurt and honey. And in this article, there are three recipes which give ideas for how to pair these things. They're tomato gratin, garlicky greens with lemon, and yogurt panna cotta with honey roasted strawberries. All three of these are delicious, and they would go well together. You could pair it with some kind of fish or meat, and especially when you're using local foods which are in season, and it can be delicious as well as a great way to have nutrition. And if you have a family and you're the person who chooses what meals you eat, you can help instill a love for healthy, wholesome food in your children so that they will want to eat that way throughout their lives. Some of the delicious food possible is very nutritious, and you can eat to nourish your body as well as enjoy it. Also in this section is an article called Miso Magic. It talks about a Japanese staple, miso, and how it's a delicious umami flavor which can be used in many different dishes. It's a complete source of protein, and it's rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, while its fermentation process promotes the growth of probiotics. Like yogurt, anything that's fermented in food is really good for your digestive system, and it helps you to build up those good probiotics and prebiotics in your stomach. There's a little recipe here on miso glazed halibut. There's another Japanese staple based on soybean. It's called natto, and this is a type of fermented soybean that's still in the bean form, and it has so many different health benefits. It's really a superfood, and it's been very popular in Japan for centuries, really. It has many health benefits, including preventing arteriosclerosis, cerebral infarction, myocardial infarction. It has anti-aging effects. It improves your memory. It can prevent osteoporosis. It's been shown to prevent cancer, enhance skin health, protect against colds and food poisoning, support your digestive health, and offer weight loss options. It has these strings to it because of the proteins that form when it's fermented, and Japanese have been eating it for more than a thousand years. The production method is similar to Chinese fermented soybeans, and they're also known for their health benefits. They're fermented by being wrapped in straw, and this allows them to maintain a specific temperature and certain healthy bacteria to develop. This is just a couple of examples of foods which are very traditional and simple, really, but they offer so many health benefits. You don't have to take some kind of drug, and by incorporating these things and pairing foods wisely, seeing this ancient wisdom as in that other article, and it's a great way to have a grassroots movement to make America healthy again, which is a great idea, and I would add to that list of ideas to make people be healthier to legalize raw milk in every state because, again, talking about healthy bacteria, raw milk is full of that, as are other raw dairy products, but in most states, it's practically a criminal offense to buy it for human consumption or sell it. To move the focus away from pharmaceuticals and hospitals and medicine and back to simple nutrition and eating real whole foods, not being afraid of bacteria or germs because, as we've killed all the bacteria and germs and, in a good way, eradicated many of these dangerous infectious diseases, we've also killed the bacteria we need, and we've killed the nutrition and the substance from our food. Thank you for spending this time with me. I hope you enjoyed this discussion of how each one of us can take some simple steps to prioritize our own health through making sure that we're getting the nutrition we need through real food and traditional ideas about cuisine. If you enjoyed this video, I hope you'll subscribe to the channel, like it, share it with your friends, and leave a comment letting me know what your favorite healthy foods are. Thank you for watching!