RFK Jr.'s Vaccine Panel Is Turning Misinformation Into Policy
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy's dismantling of Americans' trust in — and ultimately, access to — vaccines isn't happening with one sweeping policy that grabs the public's attention. It's unfolding quickly and quietly, in bland conference rooms where hand-picked appointees make decisions that will have far-reaching consequences for our health.
Inside one of those nondescript rooms last week, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), an independent panel that makes vaccine recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, offered a glimpse of what's to come. The group, few of whom have any expertise in vaccines, infectious diseases or epidemiology, at times cast aside evidence-based science and sowed doubt in some of our most valuable public health tools.
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Dr. Jason Fung, a Toronto-based physician who is also an expert in intermittent fasting, agreed that bread's effect on health hinges not only on its carbohydrate content, but also on how quickly the starches are absorbed into the bloodstream. "If you eat commercial white bread, the glucose in that starch is very, very quickly turned into glucose in the blood," he reiterated to Fox News Digital. "This is because the flour is very refined — removing fiber, fats, proteins and bran, which all slow absorption — and is also very finely machine ground. This fine grind creates white flour, which is a dust that is quickly absorbed by intestinal cells." The texturizers and emulsifiers in commercial white breads — which are added to make them softer and easier to eat — also cause them to be more quickly digested and absorbed, Fung noted. "You can see the effect of this on the glycemic index, which measures how quickly bread spikes your glucose," he said. The GI is a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 being the highest glucose spikes. White bread has a very high GI of 73, Fung said, while machine-ground whole wheat is not much better, at 70. To counteract this effect, Fung recommends choosing any of the following healthier options. "You can also slow down the absorption of glucose by eating bread with olive oil and also vinegar," Fung advised. For more Health articles, visit Palinski-Wade agreed that it's important to carefully choose what bread is paired with. "Choosing breads with a low glycemic index and pairing them with foods rich in fat, protein or fiber can help minimize blood sugar spikes and support better glucose management," she said.
