RFK Jr.’s new podcast Strange as you would expect

Although this statement is true to some extent, it ignores the fact that food costs are set to rise this year by approximately 3 percent and that a nutrient-dense diet Animal proteinWhich emerged prominently in the new administration Inverted food pyramidhas become more expensive. the US Department of Agriculture It is estimated that beef and veal prices were more than 12 percent higher in March than in March 2025, while poultry prices rose by 1.5 percent over the same time period. Meanwhile, fresh vegetable prices rose 7.5 percent in March compared to the previous year.

The main barrier to healthy eating is education, Irvine says, joking that he knew nothing about okra and avocados growing up in England. Although he is partly right, he and Kennedy fail to mention other important factors such as cost, accessibility, and lack of time to prepare meals. Packaged, highly processed foods are popular because they are more convenient, have a long shelf life, and are a cheap source of calories. Research continues to show that many adults still eat these foods Even though they know they shouldn’t.

The second episode of Kennedy’s podcast is just 15 minutes long and features professional boxer Mike Tyson, who appears in a MAHA-compliant Super Bowl ad for “real food.” Kennedy presents Tyson, who was convicted in 1992 of raping a teenager and spent three years in prison, as one of his “heroes.”

After talking about raising pigeons for the first few minutes, Tyson says he grew up in a neighborhood where ultra-processed foods were a “delicacy” and that his boxing mentor, Cus D’Amato, pushed him toward a healthy lifestyle.

Kennedy mentions Tyson’s sister, who died in her mid-twenties from an obesity-related heart attack. “All we ate was processed foods, because we didn’t have money to buy food,” Tyson says. “We were the kind of family that would knock on the neighbors’ doors, ‘Do you have any food?’

Tyson is known to have adopted a vegetarian diet for several years to improve his health, something he did not discuss with Kennedy. However, it does describe what appear to be disordered eating patterns, which are prevalent in weight-sensitive sports. “If I’m not in good shape, I won’t eat,” he says. “If I can’t get to the weight I want, it’s just a subconscious feeling, and I won’t eat.”

To his credit, Kennedy wonders what needs to be done to help people in urban neighborhoods eat better. “We need more mentors,” Tyson answers. “You know, they need mentors to show them how to eat a healthy diet and take care of themselves.”

He’s not wrong. Nutritional knowledge and support from family and friends are key to motivating people to adopt healthy diets. But the biggest problem with Kennedy’s podcast is that, so far, it’s been as much about offering practical nutritional advice to the average Americans who are ostensibly her audience. There are no meal prep tips or suggestions to trade protein for less. Most importantly, despite their portrayal as the villains of the piece, Kennedy never provides a definition of what “processed” or “ultra-processed” foods are — while defining these terms is very confusing, FitCrunch bars would certainly qualify — or what types of foods or ingredients to avoid.

There is no doubt that Americans are largely unhealthy. Despite the assurances of Kennedy, doctors and government officials He owns People have been told to eat healthier for decades, in fact. Most Americans already know they should eat healthy. It’s unclear how Kennedy’s podcast will help them do that, perhaps given its host claim He only eats meat and fermented foods, and it’s best not to try that.