diet

Is America’s addiction to ultra processed food contributing to a crisis of Divine dimension?

According to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., United States’ maverick Secretary of Health and Human Services, it’s a major contributing factor.

Since assuming office in early 2025, Secretary Kennedy has worked to reshape and reimagine the federal health care agency on numerous fronts. From recasting and inverting the “Food Pyramid” to banning artificial dyes from food to revising vaccine guidelines and cutting red tape and waste, it’s been anything but business as usual at HHS.

Appearing on the Joe Rogan podcast last week, Secretary Kennedy spent considerable time lamenting the many health woes plaguing Americans, especially children.

“When I was a kid, the typical pediatrician would see one case of juvenile diabetes over a 40- or 50-year career,” he told the popular podcaster. “Today, 38% of teens are diabetic or pre-diabetic.”

He added:

“The obesity rates have gone from five percent in kids when I was a kid, now close to 20 percent … 70 percent of adults are obese or overweight. That was not true when we were kids. And it’s not because Americans got indolent or lazy or hungry, it’s because they were being mass poisoned.”

It’s the use of that type of language that some don’t like, suggesting Secretary Kennedy is speaking in hyperbole. When most people think of being “poisoned” they think of food laced with cyanide not children eating Cheetos and Chex Mix.

But the “Make American Healthy Again Movement” has been sweeping in its scope, aiming to rid certain foods of toxic chemicals — and encouraging Americans to eat more whole and natural food.

So, what’s the connection to junk food and Jesus?

Talking with Joe Rogan, Secretary Kennedy suggested “Americans have forgotten how to cook.” Instead of spending hours in the kitchen together, and then more time around the table talking and visiting and bonding, they’re heating up frozen meals in the microwave or grabbing dinner via the McDonald’s drive-thru.

“Cooking is really important because it’s important for family cohesion, for a sense of community,” observed Secretary Kennedy. “It’s a daily, almost sacred ritual. Taking that away from our lives has amplified the spiritual malaise that we’re in.”

Merriam-Webster defines a malaise as “a vague sense of mental or moral ill-being.”

A “spiritual malaise” can be marked by several measures, including a loss of moral absolutes, declining prayer and devotion, a rising secularism and an emphasis on material prosperity. 

Although Secretary Kennedy didn’t elaborate, he’s suggesting that many of our current problems can be eased or outright eliminated if families would spend wholesome, productive and consistent time together in the kitchen and around the family table.

Studies have repeatedly confirmed that children generally thrive in families where meals are shared together on a regular basis. And while the research may not break down distinctions between what type of food is consumed during those meals — it’s common sense that time is a critical ingredient in the equation. And because homemade food takes more time to prepare, it goes to show that the greater the duration together, the more durable the family unit will become.

Those studies have shown that children in families that sit down together between five and seven times a week are less likely to be substance abusers, have fewer emotional and behavioral problems and enjoy better communication as a family.

Joe Rogan is just speculating, but he reflected, “We should all be united on at least this. If people were a little healthier and they were a little more fit, they’d probably have a lot less anxiety, probably a lot less conflict when it comes to political disagreements. Things could probably work out more amicably, especially among friends.”

Scripture may be silent when it comes to specifics of food and exercise, but it’s clear that we’re to treat our bodies as a “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 6:19). That’s suggestive that we shouldn’t, if at all possible, be deliberately consuming chemicals but rather a diet of real food.  

Likewise, the Bible isn’t prescriptive when it comes to the specifics of how families should gather to eat, but we do read that “everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man” (Ecc. 3:13). Luke also writes in Acts that believers were “breaking bread in their homes” and in doing so “received their food with glad and generous hearts” (2:46).

Taken together, families would be well served to eat good food together — a formula that will help reduce the risk of both a spiritual and physical malaise. 

For most families, candy may seem like a harmless treat. But what if you learned arsenic was detected in the sweets your children eat? 

Earlier this year, Florida’s Department of Health released findings that many parents might never have expected to see connected to the food their children eat — detectable levels of arsenic in popular candy.

The department is raising awareness to ensure parents have all the facts.

As part of the Healthy Florida First Initiative, Florida’s Department of Health tested 46 candy products. The results, which are published on exposingfoodtoxins.com, showed arsenic was detected in 28 of the products they tested.

The candies with arsenic included gummy bears, Laffy Taffy, Nerds, SweeTarts, Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers, Jolly Rancher Hard Candies, Twizzlers, KitKats, Snickers, Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, Tootsie Rolls and more. 

The full candy list and arsenic levels can be found here.

State officials say the initiative’s goal is transparency — to give families access to information about contaminants that may be in everyday food.

In addition to testing candy, the Department of Health also tested baby formula and bread.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis believes this is one way Florida is partnering with the “Make America Healthy Again” mission to protect consumers, ensure food safety and offer transparency.

Allie Beth Stuckey had Florida’s First Lady, Casey DeSantis, on her podcast to discuss the findings. Stuckey opened the show saying, “People have the right to not be poisoned.”

When asked why Florida conducted the tests, Florida’s first lady responded, “First of all, it’s the right thing to do.” She said it started as a “trust, but verify” effort, and they were concerned with the results.

Florida officials say the report and findings are intended to raise awareness among families whose children may have unknowingly been exposed.

According to the Healthy Florida First Initiative, the “goal of this initiative is to identify and evaluate chemical contaminants that may be present in products commonly consumed by the general population. Testing focuses on substances and contaminants that may pose potential health risks, particularly for children.”

The release of data has not been without controversy. Critics have leveled several accusations against Florida’s testing.

Critics contend that the report didn’t include detailed information about sample sizes or batch variability, making it difficult to know whether the findings were isolated or typical.

They also criticized the data for not distinguishing between organic and inorganic forms of arsenic, as inorganic arsenic is generally considered more harmful.

The National Confectioners Association said Florida’s results are inaccurate because they used the “wrong test.” According to this industry group, “Florida’s false conclusions about arsenic in candy are based on a testing method that is known to produce inaccurate results in food products. Using the wrong test leads to incorrect results, unnecessary alarms, and widespread confusion….”

Other criticism focused on context. Arsenic is present in many foods, including rice, fruit and vegetables because it naturally occurs in the environment. According to these folks, detecting arsenic does not necessarily indicate a serious health risk. Risk depends on long-term exposure dosage and frequency.

Supporters of Florida’s initiative argue that the testing is primarily about raising awareness, not making a final conclusion about the safety of certain foods.

Florida’s Department of Health sees the report as another way to provide families with information about environmental toxins they might not otherwise know about.

Supporters also emphasize that transparency is vital for consumers. Making test results public allows consumers to consider the data and decide for themselves whether they wish to change their consumption of certain foods.

For some families, Florida’s report may not change anything beyond reinforcing moderation in the family’s eating schedule.

For other families, the findings may warrant a more serious investigation into environmental toxins in their family’s diet.

To see the full list of detectable toxins in baby formula and bread, click here.