RFK Jr to urge Americans to eat more saturated fats, alarming health experts
Source: The Guardian
Sat 25 Oct 2025 08.00 EDT
Last modified on Sat 25 Oct 2025 14.39 EDT
Robert F Kennedy Jr, the health and human services (HHS) secretary, is planning to issue guidance encouraging Americans to eat more saturated fats, contradicting decades of dietary recommendations and alarming experts.
My response and sort of counsel to myself was to stay calm, and lets see what happens, because there was no indication given as to how, why, when this potential shift would occur, said Cheryl Anderson, an American Heart Association board member and professor at the University of California, San Diegos school of public health and human longevity science.  The recommendation around saturated fat has been one of the most consistent recommendations since the first edition of the dietary guidelines.
While Ronald Krauss, a professor of pediatrics and medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, who has researched saturated fats extensively, found that saturated fats may be less harmful than previously thought, he believes if [Kennedy] is actually going to go out and say we should be eating more saturated fat, I think thats really the wrong message.
Kennedy has indicated that new dietary guidelines will stress the need to eat saturated fats of dairy, of good meat, of fresh meat and vegetables 
 When we release those, it will give everybody the rationale for driving it into our schools, according to recent reporting in the Hill.  Krausss research shows that saturated fat is relatively neutral compared with what scientists have believed in the past.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/25/rfk-jr-saturated-fats     
Head of the U.S. Death Panel.
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				Midnight Writer
(24,914 posts)Irish_Dem
(76,852 posts)mpcamb
(3,152 posts)Jack Valentino
(3,758 posts)Born Free
(1,648 posts)Many people with type 2 diabetes have seen their HA1C levels drop after  they increase fat intake and reduce carbohydrates. The best way to test it is to keep a diary of what you eat at a meal, and test the blood glucose levels at 1 and 2 hours later. It is easy to see what foods have the biggest effects. Many doing the high fat low carbohydrate diets  have higher cholesterol at first but that seems to go down as the body adjusts. Crazy as it may seem, cheeseburgers are OK for type 2 diabetes, it is the bun that that raises the blood glucose level.  
In theory anyone can test it with a cheap glucose meter and a few tests strips, eat a banana as recommended by nurses for a mid morning snack and check the blood glucose at 1 and 2 hours, than try eating meat and test the same way and see which gives you a lower glucose level reading.  
keroro gunsou
(2,294 posts)eol.
Irish_Dem
(76,852 posts)Zambero
(9,890 posts)If the critter ain't saturated, just go for it anyway!
Irish_Dem
(76,852 posts)BumRushDaShow
(162,336 posts) 
 Initech
(106,685 posts) 
 Irish_Dem
(76,852 posts)Initech
(106,685 posts)Go ahead, swim in that shit! YOLO!  
 
womanofthehills
(10,537 posts)Look at how slim everyone was in the 50s.  I prefer organic grass fed beef tallow to chemically processed seed oils. Eggs fried in beef tallow are amazingly delicious. Now we are learning beef tallow from grass fed cows is rich in Vit A, D, E and K2. 
Its more stable for high heat frying as it doesnt break down into harmful compounds   So less processed than seed oils and no chemicals used in production. 
Remember when we were told not to eat too many eggs??
Initech
(106,685 posts)But it also has a high smoke point and can damage your fryer or cause burns if you don't know what you are doing. It's also more expensive too. Most restaurants use vegetable oil because it's cheap and easily disposable.  
 
womanofthehills
(10,537 posts)But when I fry on the stove top,
I use Ghee or Beef Tallow. 
hlthe2b
(111,891 posts)If only that brain cyst, or his chronic mercury poisoning, or his history of heroin abuse, or all his anabolic steroid use, or his insane desire to kill young and old, just to make some ridiculous point, would combine to bring him his long-delayed Karma.
Irish_Dem
(76,852 posts)Initech
(106,685 posts)I'm convinced there's no corporation on earth that hates its' customers more than News Corporation. Of which there are many former employees of that organization employed in this horrible administration.  
 
thought crime
(922 posts)bucolic_frolic
(52,969 posts)There's tradeoffs to everything. Dairy, beef, trans fats do one thing, seed oils do another, Keto does something else.
bucolic_frolic
(52,969 posts)no_hypocrisy
(53,575 posts)IronLionZion
(50,180 posts)heart disease?  
   
 
BumRushDaShow
(162,336 posts)Soylent Green!
thought crime
(922 posts)FakeNoose
(39,157 posts)There, fixed it. 

mpcamb
(3,152 posts)FakeNoose
(39,157 posts) 
      
 Beartracks
(14,176 posts)It's so confusing.
================
Dave Bowman
(6,112 posts)Ocelot II
(127,974 posts)Or road-killed raccoon.
flor-de-jasmim
(2,250 posts)And... he lost his seat in the H of Reps. for saying it.
markodochartaigh
(4,504 posts)Evolve Dammit
(21,308 posts)Polybius
(21,046 posts)Buddyzbuddy
(1,754 posts) 
 JoseBalow
(8,835 posts) 
 Irish_Dem
(76,852 posts)Cha Ching for Trump.
thought crime
(922 posts)Irish_Dem
(76,852 posts)Then his spawn are doing land deals with foreign powers.
PSPS
(15,059 posts)Everything he says is "alarming health experts." Bob, himself, is "alarming health experts." Yet the republican senate actually confirmed him.
wolfie001
(6,360 posts)He looks like the Crypt Keeper.  
 
Aussie105
(7,333 posts)Clog those arteries, get heart problems by the age of 35!
If you are lucky, you might just get diabetes only.
Oh wait . . . check your health cover first, those few who actually have that. 
Self inflicted medical problems may not be covered! 
Ritabert
(1,754 posts)Dave Bowman
(6,112 posts)Ritabert
(1,754 posts)CTyankee
(67,440 posts)about something and start yelling at each other. I was a scared kid listening to that...
LoisB
(11,919 posts)fresh meat and vegetables". We'll be eating dandelion soup and trying to catch fish from polluted rivers.
Demobrat
(10,233 posts)Dairy farmers? Cholesterol drug manufacturers? Heart surgeons?
Oeditpus Rex
(43,094 posts)WASHINGTON (Not the Onion; just me) -- Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. today encouraged Americans to smoke at least two packs of unfiltered cigarettes per day.
The controversial Secretary said smokung "strengthens the body's autoimmune system" against the common cold virus and various types of cancer, including lung cancer.
Kennedy added that people over 40 who've never smoked "have some catching up to do" and should smoke  at least three packs per day. There are 20 cigarettes in a pack. 
"We all need to toughen up our iimmune system, for obvious reasons," Kennedy said. "Look at me. I did a lot of heroin, cocaine, pills in my 20s, and now I'm a fucking Cabinet. I'm 10th in line to the supreme leader. Top that, pig fuckers!"
JoseBalow
(8,835 posts)thought crime
(922 posts)Oeditpus Rex
(43,094 posts)that's a lot like "Idiocracy," except this future isn't filled with right-wingers. If JFKJr.'s seen it, he probably will. (I imagine Allen's one of his heroes.)
Dr. Orva: "Here, smoke this. And be sure you get the smoke deep down into your lungs."
Miles Monroe (Allen, dude from 200 years in the past): "I don't smoke."
Dr. Orva: "It's tobacco! It's one of the healthiest things for your body!"
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070707/quotes?item=qt3979090
MLWR
(636 posts)for anyone who takes his/her medical advice from RFK Jr. anyhow.
twodogsbarking
(16,396 posts)stage left
(3,154 posts)the answer is NO.
Deep State Witch
(12,377 posts)A lot of people in the keto-verse are into animal fats. Okay, I'll admit that butter is better for you than margarine. And bacon grease is great to cook some things with. But I draw the line at beef tallow. Ick. 
They are correct about seed oils, especially canola oil, causing inflammation. I've switched to cooking with olive or avocado oil. However, they have put tariffs on Mexican avocados and olive oil from Europe. If you're going to encourage people to eat healthier, they need to lower the price to make the good stuff competitive with the bad stuff. 
Bernardo de La Paz
(59,837 posts)I fry and roast with avocado oil and put olive oil on everything else.  Those are the only two I use.
Here avocado and EV olive oil are about the same price, since olive oil rose due to climate disturbances. I don't know about the US.
womanofthehills
(10,537 posts)My friends said best  eggs they ever had. Of course, the eggs were from my organically fed chickens. I also make home made organic tortillas with beef tallow as they taste more like old fashioned Mexican tortillas. Also, beef tallow is a great facial moisturizer - slather on on your face before going to bed. 
Mostly Carnivore diet is big now among body builders and people wanting to lose weight. Lots of eggs, meat, bacon, butter, yogurt, a few veggies esp fatty ones like avocado - but no grains or sugar.  Many Carnivore body builders say they take one teaspoon of honey a day for their sugar receptors. I would gross out with so few vegetables but tens of thousands on online forums are on Carnivore diets - many saying their health has improved- who really knows?
GMO free grass fed butter from Ireland is very popular right now & super delicious and definitely healthier than margarine or seed oils which are highly processed with chemicals. Even Walmart carries this Irish butter along with beef tallow. 
The times they are a changin with lots of nutritionists recommending this diet. 
Personally- I avoid processed foods, eat lots of protein, make my own sourdough bread and grow mini tomatoes & greens in my south windows. Being I have chickens, I eat lots of eggs every way you can - raw, hard boiled, omelet, over easy etc. 
Being I live in ranch land, I can get grass fed/grass finished beef. In fact, when Ive left my gate open,  Ive had neighboring cattle wander around my place. 
NickB79
(20,135 posts)For every study that found a link, another one found none.
There is no scientific consensus.
womanofthehills
(10,537 posts)You can buy more expensive olive oil thats cold-pressed or expeller- pressed in a dark bottle to help preserve it. No chemicals used 
However, cheaper oils often use the solvent hexane for extraction, plus sodium hydroxide, citric acid, plus bleaching and deodorizing agents. These chemicals can degrade any vitamins in these oils. 
Pressed olive oil contains vit K & E and polyphenols  ( polyphenols are anti-inflammatory.). Best to buy small bottles of olive oil thats you use up within a month & keep in a dark place to get max nutrients. 
kimbutgar
(26,336 posts)DEI Didnt earn it only by having the family name is where he is today. Hes be a drunk homeless bum if he wasnt a member of the Kennedy family
Bayard
(27,535 posts)I'd also like to see the qualifications of physicians that give him advice/guidance.
Grammy23
(6,063 posts)U.S. anything to do about our health.  There are changing guidelines about a lot of traditional dietary advice.  And millions of people around the world have made significant changes to their nutrition without sacrificing their health.  But if anyone thinks RFK,Jr is the guy to help us understand any of it, they need to get better acquainted with that madman.   He has no credentials or education to explain how to turn on a stove, much less what kind of food we should consume.   
Wonder Why
(6,301 posts)Warpy
(114,105 posts)There are naturally occurrint saturated fats like lard, butter, and other animal fats.  Then there's the artificially produced trans fats that are stable at room temperature for weeks or months but whiich are a good idea to avoid since they tend to plaster themselves on the insides of your arteries.  If he's talking about naturally occurring saturated fat versus laboratory created trans fats, he's got a point, the naturally occurring stuff is less damaging.
However, he's so fucking stupid that who knows?
struggle4progress
(125,073 posts)Jack Valentino
(3,758 posts)I can support that......     
 
Blue Owl
(57,731 posts)Sneederbunk
(16,913 posts)mercuryblues
(15,945 posts)Only the MAGots will completely follow this advice and they'll die off sooner rather than later.
It's what they voted for.
Wolf Frankula
(3,791 posts)you should smoke or inject heroin, which you should buy from him and his friends.
BigmanPigman
(54,199 posts)That means more $$$$ for MAGA!
I told you his agenda is to bankrupt then kill Americans as he destroys the USA in our faces every fucking day!!!!!
rustysgurl
(1,086 posts)Trump takes this one to heart and doubles down.
We can but hope.
70sEraVet
(5,045 posts)Initech
(106,685 posts) 
 Response to BumRushDaShow (Original post)
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travelingthrulife
(3,643 posts)Martin68
(26,565 posts)Pinback
(13,421 posts)Dave Bowman
(6,112 posts)ShazzieB
(21,871 posts)I've become convinced that there is literally no bottom to his bat shittery.
Frontline on PBS recebtly ran a 2 hour documentary called The Rise of RFK Jr. I watched it last night and came away even more convinced of how deranged he is. It wasn't a fun watch, but it was a very informative one. It's available on YouTube if anyone is interested.
Turbineguy
(39,555 posts)when you wear your "I Fuck on the First Date" T-shirt.
























 
 















