RFK Jr, MAHA, and the fight for America’s diet - What’s really going on | Dr Jessica Knurick

The Proof with Simon Hill

Simon Hill

Nutrition, Health & Fitness, Self-improvement, Education

4.9 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 24 November 2025

⏱️ 108 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Dr Jessica Knurick joins me to examine the systems influencing America’s health. We discuss the gap between individual choices and public health realities, the rise of MAHA, and why many proposed solutions fail to address the real drivers of chronic disease. Jessica breaks down regulation, subsidies and the role of corporations, the truth about food dyes and additives, and why SNAP remains essential for reducing food insecurity and improving health outcomes. What We Cover Jessica’s path into public health communication Individual behaviour versus systemic influence The MAHA movement and its limitations How regulation and subsidies shape our food environment What the evidence really shows about additives and food dyes Why SNAP matters and the consequences of defunding Policies that could genuinely improve child and adult health A timely and important conversation that brings clarity to a confusing and polarised nutrition landscape. You can connect with Dr Jessica Knurick on Instagram and TikTok, or visit her website and Substack to explore her work and evidence based insights on public health, nutrition and the systems shaping our wellbeing. Intro (00:00:00) The Unexpected Moment That Changed Everything (00:01:26) The Hidden Systems Behind Your Health (00:09:14) Agencies That Protect (or Fail) Public Health (00:18:11) The Dietary Guidelines You Thought You Knew (00:20:32) “Toxins,” Food Dyes, and the Real Story Behind Processed Foods (00:38:13) The Corporate Playbook Shaping America’s Health (00:47:56) A Program Millions Rely On… Yet Few Understand (00:57:38) The Hidden Battles Over Food Regulation (GRAS, Additives & More) (01:12:16) Science Funding, Misinformation, and Who Gets to Shape the Narrative (01:19:25) If You Want Better Health in America, Start Here (01:30:24) This episode is brought to you by: 38TERA Consider 38TERA's DMN prebiotic supplement a daily multivitamin for your gut. Formulated by yours truly and gastroenterologist Dr Will Bulsiewicz. Use code THEPROOF for a discount at checkout. Function Health Take charge of your health with advanced blood testing and personalised insights. Function Health provides a practical solution to track key health markers such as cholesterol, blood sugar, and more. For the first 1,000 listeners, new members get a $100 credit when signing up. Head to functionhealth.com/simonhill to claim your credit. Only available to those living in the United States. Pique Tea Pique's Nandaka provides sustainable, all-day energy and makes you feel like you’re doing something good for your body! Go to Piquelife.com/simon and get 20% off sitewide FOR LIFE plus a complimentary exclusive holiday bundle. IM8 With 92 nutrients, including Vitamin B12, Iodine, Selenium and Vitamin D, in highly absorbable forms, IM8 Daily Essentials is the perfect all-in-one daily multi-vitamin to ensure you meet your daily micronutrient needs. IM8 is offering an exclusive 10% off your first order with a free welcome kit when you enter the promo code SIMON at checkout on im8health.com AirBnB Right in the heart of the city, I’ve been hosting a hands-on Airbnb Experience at Little City Farm that’s all about plant diversity, gut health, and delicious food. For more information, or to find other experiences on your next trip, check out airbnb.com/experiences. BetterHelp This is a paid advertisement from BetterHelp. This month, don’t wait to reach out. Whether you're checking in on a friend or reaching out to a therapist yourself, BetterHelp makes it easier to take that first step. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at BetterHelp.com/THEPROOF. Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons) Creator of theproof.com Host of The Proof with Simon Hill Author of The Proof is in the Plants Subscribe & Connect: YouTube Apple Podcasts Spotify Instagram: @simonhill Twitter: @theproof Facebook: The Proof with Simon Hill

Transcript

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0:00.0	Why does nutrition feel so broken?
0:04.0	We live in a time when food advice is everywhere, yet trust is at an all-time low.
0:10.0	One week butter is back, next it's poison.
0:13.0	Politicians are rebranding themselves as wellness reformers, influences a shaping dietary policy,
0:20.0	and somewhere between all of this noise, real public health priorities are getting lost.
0:26.4	In today's episode, I'm joined by Dr. Jessica Newrick, a nutrition scientist and one of the
0:31.3	clearest voices online, helping people separate evidence from ideology.
0:36.5	Together in this conversation we unpack
0:38.4	how nutrition became a political battleground, why movements like Maha make America
0:44.0	healthy again resonating with millions, and what's really driving the policies that
0:48.8	shape our food environment. In this conversation we discuss everything from
0:53.2	RFK Jr's claims about saturated fat and the dietary guidelines,
0:57.0	to the controversy around SNAP funding and food chemical regulation, and explore what it would actually take to fix the systems that decide what ends up on our plates.
1:09.0	Whether you're a health professional, a policymaker,
1:12.6	or someone simply trying to eat well in a confusing world, this is an episode you don't want to miss.
1:19.6	Please enjoy.
1:25.6	Starting at the top here, how did you become a leading fact checker of sorts in this international
1:31.4	conversation about nutrition, policy, and all things, public health?
1:36.2	Well, how far back would you like me to go?
1:38.4	I suppose, I guess I could say that my exact area of expertise, I think, just met a moment,
1:45.0	and that's really kind of what fueled this. I had joined social media in 2022 when I was pregnant with my daughter.
1:52.2	And I joined really because, you know, algorithms are as algorithms like, you know, you get into a
	...

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