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littlemissmartypants

(33,856 posts)
Wed Apr 8, 2026, 10:31 PM 19 hrs ago

RFK Jr. touts IHS funding at tribal conference while spreading false claims about diabetes

Source: Arizona Mirror

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a crowd of Native American leaders on Wednesday that cutting out “ultra-processed” foods would reverse high rates of diabetes within their communities.

Joined on stage by his new upside-down food pyramid at Gila River Indian Community’s Wild Horse Pass Casino, Kennedy mentioned the high incidences of Type 2 diabetes within Arizona’s Indigenous communities.

“Type 2 diabetes is curable,” he said. “You can reverse the diagnosis by changing the food source.”

But that isn’t true. Studies have shown that increased consumption of ultra-processed foods is correlated with increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, and while cutting consumption of those foods can help with management of symptoms, it will not “cure” the disease.

Read more: https://azmirror.com/2026/04/08/rfk-jr-touts-ihs-funding-at-tribal-conference-while-spreading-false-claims-about-diabetes/



Caitlin Sievers
April 8, 2026
7:17 pm
13 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
RFK Jr. touts IHS funding at tribal conference while spreading false claims about diabetes (Original Post) littlemissmartypants 19 hrs ago OP
Isn't it time for your Ivermectin & whale juice enema, Bob? LudwigPastorius 18 hrs ago #1
Ultra processed foods are not good for anybody Bayard 18 hrs ago #2
I decided to avoid diabetes many years ago... ananda 1 hr ago #12
The old timers would accuse RFK of speaking with a oasis 18 hrs ago #3
Running around spreading woo-science BlueWaveNeverEnd 18 hrs ago #4
He should be sued for all the misinformation he spreads. Baitball Blogger 18 hrs ago #5
This 70 year old diabetic just got an A1C test result of 6.5! Sweet Rosie Red 16 hrs ago #6
Actually, there may be some truth to this claim of RFK Jr's. summer_in_TX 16 hrs ago #7
Still diabetics. Definitely not a cure. Misleading information in medicine can be deadly. littlemissmartypants 11 hrs ago #9
Thanks, LMSP! summer_in_TX 1 hr ago #10
Yes Natives are highly prone to diabetes and yes diet is a factor of course GusBob 1 hr ago #11
Societies with a diet low in processed foods, low in sugar and meat, tend to have lower rates of Type 2. Aussie105 15 hrs ago #8
He's full of shit TexasBushwhacker 16 min ago #13

Bayard

(29,821 posts)
2. Ultra processed foods are not good for anybody
Wed Apr 8, 2026, 10:40 PM
18 hrs ago

Indigenous people are like everyone else in this country--its expensive to eat healthy. Many just can't afford it, plus it goes away from the diets they were raised on.

I do have a friend who recently went from a Type 2 diagnoses to nothing by going on a healthy diet, and losing a bunch of weight. Lots of salads. No one should listen to Jr. about anything though. His brain is Silly Putty.

ananda

(35,220 posts)
12. I decided to avoid diabetes many years ago...
Thu Apr 9, 2026, 04:26 PM
1 hr ago

by going on the Zone diet.

And boy, has it worked.

Sweet Rosie Red

(92 posts)
6. This 70 year old diabetic just got an A1C test result of 6.5!
Thu Apr 9, 2026, 12:46 AM
16 hrs ago

My A1C would be considered pre diabetic in a younger person. I was diagnosed 23 years ago and put on insulin. Slowly lost weight and now controlled by oral meds, exercise and diet. But I am not cured. I never will be cured. My pancreas is genetically programmed to malfunction as I age, and all the prevention in the world would only delay onset by a few years. My father developed diabetes much younger than I did. He was a red meat junkie! I have been a vegetarian whole foods cook since I turned 18 and developed diabetes anyway! Taking great care of myself does not prevent or cure diabetes, but the effort is worth it to improve the quality of my life as I age. Remember, the whole point of coping with a chronic illness is to die of something else! A shout truth from the rooftops to drown out the Worm brain and his followers!

summer_in_TX

(4,181 posts)
7. Actually, there may be some truth to this claim of RFK Jr's.
Thu Apr 9, 2026, 12:51 AM
16 hrs ago

The Pima Indians of Arizona have a very high incidence of diabetes, as well as many other bad health outcomes due to the tribe's documented adoption of a Western diet. A group decided to revert to their traditional eating practices. Their blood sugar levels returned to normal.

In addition a comparative study of a Pima Indian group in Mexico that did not adopt a Western diet showed that there was a far lower incidence of diabetes in the group in Mexico.

littlemissmartypants

(33,856 posts)
9. Still diabetics. Definitely not a cure. Misleading information in medicine can be deadly.
Thu Apr 9, 2026, 06:20 AM
11 hrs ago

But thanks for your reply, summer_in_TX. ❤️

summer_in_TX

(4,181 posts)
10. Thanks, LMSP!
Thu Apr 9, 2026, 03:50 PM
1 hr ago

Very true. Absence of symptoms doesn’t exactly mean a cure. But it sure beats the alternative.

Lots of clues that may help others. Maybe.

But he is a charlatan weaving a tissue of lies with the occasional truth to suck folks in.

GusBob

(8,268 posts)
11. Yes Natives are highly prone to diabetes and yes diet is a factor of course
Thu Apr 9, 2026, 04:24 PM
1 hr ago

As a Native American health care provider going on 12 years now I can attest to those facts. I deal with the ravages of DM all day, everyday.

Natives are prone to other auto-immune disorders and other health conditions as well that are not diet related.

Ozempic and GLP-1 drugs have been very helpful in many cases, to control the disease, but not cure.

Aussie105

(7,962 posts)
8. Societies with a diet low in processed foods, low in sugar and meat, tend to have lower rates of Type 2.
Thu Apr 9, 2026, 01:37 AM
15 hrs ago

Japan for instance, and most Asian countries.
Vegetable rich diet in short.
Spices to make them interesting to the palate.

Americans who grow up with a diet of high fructose corn syrup in everything and processed foods don't stand much of a chance of getting old with a lifelong healthy body weight and few health problems.

Not a secret, surely?
Not a cure though.

Type 2 HbA1c numbers can be controlled by changing your diet, but it needs to be a permanent change.
Probably wiser to get that 'diet change' in early in your kids' lives.


TexasBushwhacker

(21,209 posts)
13. He's full of shit
Thu Apr 9, 2026, 05:18 PM
16 min ago

They are high rates of diabetes in indigenous people because they started eating Western diets, their genetics and other factors like high rates of alcoholism. Forgoing "ultra processed" food alone will not reverse diabetes.

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