Category: The Future of Food
IRS Cracks Down on Deductions for Healthy Food, Exercise as Childhood Chronic Disease Epidemic Explodes
March 19, 2024
For the first time in history, the IRS is weighing in on “the degree to which doctors should be recommending … food and exercise” to their patients, said health advocate Calley Means.
In an appearance on the “RFK Jr Podcast,” Means discussed a March 6 IRS “reminder” warning that people who use health savings accounts (HSAs) and flexible spending accounts (FSAs) will no longer be able to deduct “nutrition, wellness and general health” expenses — even if a doctor provides a note recommending them — unless they are “related to a targeted diagnosis-specific activity or treatment.”
Gym memberships can count as a medical expense only if recommended by a doctor for the sole purpose of treating an injury or a specific medical condition like obesity or hypertension, according to The Washington Post, which reported on the IRS alert.
[READ MORE HERE]
Ultra-processed food linked to 32 harmful effects to health, review finds | Health | The Guardian
Ultra-processed food (UPF) is directly linked to 32 harmful effects to health, including a higher risk of heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, adverse mental health and early death, according to the world’s largest review of its kind.
The findings from the first comprehensive umbrella review of evidence come amid rapidly rising global consumption of UPF such as cereals, protein bars, fizzy drinks, ready meals and fast food.
Media Silent on Huge Farming Protest
Jan 7, 2023
7 Reasons Why mRNA-Free, Freeze-Dried Steaks Are Your Future – Vigilant News Network
Dec 21, 2023
Did you know that pork in America has been getting injected with mRNA vaccines since 2018?
https://vigilantnews.com/post/7-reasons-why-mrna-free-freeze-dried-steaks-are-your-future/?amp=1
PEELING BACK THE TRUTH ON APEEL
Sept 2023
Do you know that a company is applying a film to the exterior of fruits and vegetables? What’s it made of? Is it safe? Take a deep dive into Apeel’s product that may change your grocery shopping habits.
(From Del Bigtree at The Highwire)
Fury as Harvard encourages students to apply for food stamps
Fury as Harvard encourages students to apply for food stamps
- At an event earlier this year hosted by the university’s student health center, graduate students were encouraged to sign up for food stamps
- The graduate school union at the school has gone on strike twice in recent years over livable wage disputes
Study finds how micronutrient in human breast milk linked to newborns’ brain development
“As a neuroscientist, it’s intriguing to me how profound the effects of micronutrients are on the brain,” says Biederer. “It’s also amazing how complex and rich human breast milk is, and I now think it is conceivable that its composition is dynamically changing to support different stages of infant brain development.”
42% Americans are living with obesity
March 23, 2023
More than 4 in 10 U.S. adults are obese, with states in the South and Midwest showing some of the highest prevalence, a new analysis from NORC at the University of Chicago shows.
Why it matters: Obesity is associated with hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke and other conditions that are among the leading causes of preventable, premature death.
But strategies for treating obesity are changing, with doctors prescribing a new class of drugs in record numbers despite questions about their long-term effects and a hefty price tag.
The details: West Virginia and Mississippi have the highest obesity rates at 51%. The District of Columbia had the lowest obesity rate at 33%, followed by Colorado at 34%.
- Obesity disproportionately impacts Black and Hispanic Americans, the analysis found.
- Obesity rates are determined in part by using Body Mass Index ranges, which have been called into question for correlating weight and health too closely, the New Yorker reported.
Of note: The NORC analysis was produced with funding from Novo Nordisk, a company which produces both insulin and Ozempic, one of the popular weight-loss drugs.
https://www.axios.com/2023/03/23/norc-share-americans-obesity
Ukraine Begins Firing U.S.-Supplied Cluster Bombs on Battlefield
July 21, 2023
Ukraine is using cluster bombs against Russian forces less than a week after they were first delivered from U.S. reserve stores, the White House confirmed Thursday.
[Cmmt: Posted this disturbing story in Future of Food because this war will/has had such an effect.]