Historically, some of the wilder rumours around Robert F.Kennedy Jr., like depositing an animal carcass in Central Park and claiming a worm ate part of his brain, have overshadowed his political aspirations. But, he’s now seized the mantle of what Business of Fashion referred to as “America’s Wellness-Influencer-in-Chief.”
As Donald Trump’s choice for leader of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Kennedy has emerged as the surprise torchbearer for Republican health policy. And, he seems to be giving it a Goop rebrand. From his passion for raw milk and vitamins to his suspicion of tapwater, RFK Jr. could be any questionable TikToker running a 20,000-follower Instagram account.
Given the American Public Health Agency’s $1.7 trillion budget, RFK Jr. is set to become one of the world’s biggest health influencers. Just as Trump gave credence to obscure conspiracy theories, he is likely to further inflame the murky world of “social media healthcare.”
Even if Australia has a different government and more stringent regulatory standards as the old saying goes, “When America sneezes, the world catches a cold.”
So, we’re looking at some of Kennedy’s wellness beliefs that we may see more of on TikTok in 2025.
Robert F Kennedy Jr. Wants To Make America Healthy Again
This year, Kennedy hosted the American Wellness Summit, accompanied by other manosphere-flavoured health experts. His Trump-inspired tagline, “Make America Healthy Again”, attracted a large number of female supporters who described themselves as “MAHA Moms“,” social-media-savvy alternative-healthcare dedicated “moms” attracted by Kennedy’s promises of reforming the American food system and challenging vaccinations. When he dropped his own presidential run and joined Trump, his “MAHA moms” followed him. Indeed, some have speculated that this movement drew white women into the Trump fold when Kennedy ditched his presidential campaign. So, what’s his health manifesto?
What Are Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s Health Policies?
FDA’s war on public health is about to end. This includes its aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapies, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, clean foods, sunshine, exercise, nutraceuticals and anything…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) October 25, 2024
RFK Jr. has made negative statements about vaccines, thinks fluoride in water should be banned, and praised narcotics for helping him through university (remember, America has been in the grips of an opioid epidemic for some time).
In October, when he posted his plans on X, he admonished the FDA for its “war on public health,” he included a long list of his health interests. These include everything from nutraceuticals to raw milk and hyperbaric oxygen chambers found in luxury spas and gyms (and, of course, Covid-19 vaccine “alternatives” like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine).
The confusing thing about RFK Jr. is that some of his plans for American public health aren’t objectively bad. He wants to tackle food crisis, particularly focusing on the heavily processed foods served in school cafeterias. “We’re betraying our children by letting [food] industries poison them,” the BBC reported him saying at a rally in November. This is one of the policies that’s attracted young mothers to him this year.
And, he’s pro-psychedelic therapy, an area of healthcare that has shown promise for people with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
He just tends to throw the baby, or all other mainstream medications, out with the bathwater. RFK Jr. has suggested mainstream medications like serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) be investigated for causing school shootings and viral Adderall, which is commonly prescribed for the treatment of ADHD.
Like all good TikTok pseudoscience, Kennedy’s arguments contain kernels of plausibility, so we’re looking at a few of them below.
Unpacking Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s Health Beliefs:
UV Skepticism:
While RFK Jr has not explicitly said he’s anti-sunscreen, a “war on sunshine” was on his list of grievances with the FDA. Anti-sunscreen sentiment has grown on TikTok in recent years, with users making unsubstantiated claims that ingredients in chemical sunscreens are unsafe. As a result, we’ve seen influencers with millions of followers, like Nara Smith making their own sunscreens (don’t), Nara Smith suggesting making their sunscreen (don’t), and the tag Anti Sunscreen Movement appearing on 103.2 million posts. Influencers have also repeatedly overstated concerns that we are becoming chronically vitamin D deficient thanks to sun protection. the importance of vitamin D. According to Cancer Australia, melanoma alone caused 1,455 deaths in Australia in 2021. So, don’t ditch your sunscreen (or make it at home).
Raw Milk:
@ballerinafarm A little info on raw milk if you didn’t already know! 🤠👍🏼
♬ original sound – Ballerina Farm
Raw milk is loved by TikTok influencers like Trad Wife queen Hannah Neeleman, aka @ballerinafarm and like Hannah, Kennedy thinks it’s unfairly vilified by the FDA. Advocates of raw milk argue that it is a complete and “natural” food with special properties. Among the claims the American Food and Drug Administration has had to address include the assertion that raw milk can cure lactose intolerance. Raw milk acolytes also maintain it can reduce asthma and allergies and that it is more effective at preventing osteoporosis.
In fact, rather than having immune-boosting food raw milk has been linked to a multitude of disease outbreaks. It’s illegal to sell raw milk in Australia, and according to the South Australia Health website, raw milk has been linked to E. coli, salmonella and haemolytic uraemic syndrome, which can cause death. Leave it to Ballerina Farm.
Nutraceuticals:
Nutraceuticals are essentially supplements, with the word combination coming from the combination of “nutrient” and “pharmaceutical.” This word encapsulates Kennedy’s “food as medicine” attitude to healthcare, but many supplements have unproven benefits. They’re also distinctly not medicine — but they’re spoken about like they are online. On TikTok, supplements are recommended for anything from weight management to depression and ADHD. Green tea extracts, a common and seemingly innocuous ingredient in weight loss supplements, and ashwagandha, a popular ingredient in muscle-building supplements, have both been linked to liver toxicity.
Stem Cells:
Stem cell research has shown promise for treating type 1 diabetes and macular degeneration, and they are also allegedly loved by everyone, from Kim Kardashian to Christian Ronaldo and Monty Python comedian John Cleese. However, in the USA, rogue clinics have started promoting stem cell “cures,” many targeting anti-ageing from skin health to hair loss. In 2017, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who Donald Trump had appointed to lead the F.D.A said that “unscrupulous actors” had seized on the buzz around stem cell research and were selling “unproven and in some cases dangerously dubious products.” In 2-17, Stanford researchers reported that some patients who had attended a stem cell clinic in Florida for “infusions” had suffered considerable loss of eyesight. The F.D.A has unsurprisingly cracked down on these, leading to one percenters heading to Brazil for stem cell treatments for everything from anti-ageing to hair loss and sexual dysfunction.
Can Robert F Kennedy Jr. Actually Implement His Policies?
Donald Trump promised to let RFK Jr. “go wild” on American healthcare. But Kennedy still needs to go through Senate confirmation hearings, and there is no blueprint for what his ideas will look like in practice. Many of his ideas would need to pass many hurdles and approvals and, as ABC News pointed out, would require the cooperation of a government system and agency of 80,000 employees. Then, there’s also the fact that President Donald Trump has a history of changing his mind on a dime.
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