CMS Calls On Hospitals To Swap Out Junk Food For Wholesome Options
In line with MAHA messaging, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has asked facilities to prioritize whole grains, get rid of sugary drinks, and provide meals that have fewer than 10 grams of added sugar. Plus, the American Heart Association's new dietary guidelines buck those issued by the government.
US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is asking hospitals to use his revamped food pyramid to redo their food menus offered to patients, regulators announced on Monday. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sent a memo to hospitals asking them to limit ultra-processed food options for patients, though there鈥檚 no formal definition for exactly what that means. Instead the agency wants hospitals to transition to serving whole grains, eliminate sugary drinks and ensure meals have less than 10 grams of added sugar. (Cohrs Zhang, 3/30)
New nutrition guidance from the American Heart Association advises getting protein from plants rather than meat, choosing low-fat or fat-free dairy and using olive, soybean and canola oils instead of beef tallow and butter. The recommendations, released Tuesday by the association, contrast with dietary guidelines that the Trump administration introduced earlier this year. (Petersen and McKay, 3/31)
More MAHA updates 鈥
Most Americans say the Trump administration has not done enough to 鈥淢ake America Healthy Again鈥 (MAHA), according to a Monday poll. In the Politico poll, 52 percent of respondents said the administration 鈥渉as not done enough to Make America Healthy Again,鈥 while 26 percent said the opposite. Twenty-two percent of respondents said they were unsure if the administration has done enough in alignment with MAHA. (Suter, 3/30)
The Trump administration threw its support behind Casey Means for surgeon general a day after President Donald Trump injected uncertainty into her nomination, which has been stalled in the Senate. The president Sunday night on Air Force One said he didn鈥檛 know how she was doing in the confirmation process, noting that he was more focused on Iran. But he added, 鈥淲e have a lot of great candidates for鈥 surgeon general. (Weber and Roubein, 3/30)
The newest evangelists of the Make America Healthy Again lifestyle aren鈥檛 muscled bros crushing reps or wellness moms posting about vaccine schedules 鈥 they鈥檙e high-school- and college-aged young women. In another, not-too-distant era, they might have channeled their energy into writing 鈥淭wilight鈥 fan fiction or playing beer pong. In this era, they鈥檙e making 鈥減izza crust鈥 from ground meat, perfecting their supplement regimens and posting Instagram reels about the supposed dangers of Tylenol and seed oils. (Kraft, 3/27)
