The Buzzwords Your Doctor Might Use If They’re Quietly Aligned With MAHA

In a world where high-ranking government officials like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the country’s health and human services secretary, are telling the public not to trust medical experts, it’s no surprise that people are doing just that.

Instead, the current administration encourages folks to follow the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda, which is known to peddle misinformation and the idea that “natural” interventions such as diet and exercise are better than pharmaceuticals like vaccines and medication.

Many of the country’s professional medical societies and evidence-based doctors are staunchly against what MAHA preaches, regularly putting out press releases countering the MAHA commission’s announcements because of the direct harm this misinformation is doing.

Many experts say that MAHA-backed principles are contributors to a host of health issues in the country, such as the measles outbreaks throughout the United States. Many people are apprehensive to vaccinate their children thanks to the false narrative that vaccines cause autism, which is propelled by MAHA advocates.

While it’s not exactly surprising to hear influencers fall for MAHA nonsense or neighborhood parents to repeat some of the messaging, it is more surprising to hear it from medical professionals. But this does happen. People are disappointed in the country’s medical system across the political aisle, said Dr. Elizabeth Kazarian, a family medicine physician.

“I think that there is a lot of burnout because of our current medical system … so when there is another team that is saying, ‘Oh, we have an answer,’ and they’re feeding off of people’s disappointment with the current medical system, it’s easy to buy into the promises of what they’re saying,” Kazarian said.

Health care workers aren’t immune to the infiltration of MAHA ideals, and many even stand to make money from it. Take Casey Means, Trump’s surgeon general nominee, who promotes and sells unproven supplements and health tests online.

Since many MAHA principles start from fact (like eating a nutritious diet and exercising), it can be hard to know if your own doctor has crossed the line into MAHA territory. Here are the signs to look out for:

It’s important to understand that there are cases when a doctor or medical professional may have an opinion that sounds MAHA-leaning but isn’t, said Dr. Mona Amin, a pediatrician in Florida.

Instead of totally dismissing your doctor, consider asking follow-up questions so you can see where they’re coming from. They should be willing and able to clearly go over the benefits and risks of any medical treatment, Amin said.

“Sometimes patients feel uncomfortable challenging their doctor, but just say the doctor says ‘You should get this vaccine’ or ‘You should not,’ either way, the patient should be able to say, ‘Tell me more about why you feel that way,’” Amin said. “You want to hear what they say about that. And if there’s negativity about science, about the vaccine … and it’s ‘unsafe,’ it’s all ‘big pharma,’ that is a MAHA-leaning sentiment.”

If they can point to actual science, your personal health history or other reasons why a medical decision is right for you, that’s a different story.

While any medical professional can be MAHA-aligned, it’s more unlikely for a doctor who is board-certified and has all of their credentials to peddle some of MAHA’s unscientific ideas. You can check a physician’s board-certified status on a website like Certification Matters.

“If they are board-certified, then they should be proud to label that. And if they are not, maybe the absence of that specification means something to you,” said Kazarian.

Being board-certified means your doctor completed tests and assessments that ensure they’re up to date on the latest advancements in their field, followed the necessary steps to become a doctor, are dedicated to safety and follow a level of professionalism. Essentially, being board-certified says “hey, this person is safe to practice medicine in America,” Kazarian added.

“You are taking a complete risk with your health if you go to someone who is not board-certified,” she said.

It’s not a good sign if your doctor is trying to sell you a supplement, both doctors told HuffPost. This doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing if your doctor recommends one — instead, you should take notice if they try to sell their own, Kazarian said. This is even more true if they’re recommending supplements over evidence-based medicine, such as vaccines, Amin noted.

“There’s a large group of us doctors who just wouldn’t do that … that’s just icky to me,” Kazarian said. “That’s a huge red flag. If you’re putting down something that’s more evidence-based to sell something that has no evidence behind it, that is your prototypical people who have fallen into the MAHA movement, and there are influencers, content creators [and] pediatricians who are guilty of that.”

“If they’re recommending a supplement, there should be a conversation on why that supplement is being recommended,” Amin said.

For example, Amin may recommend a fiber supplement to a child who only eats beige foods but not to one who eats their fair share of beans, whole grains and fruit. Or some people do need certain supplements like vitamin D for a deficiency. If your doctor recommends you pick some up at the store or prescribes you a certain dosage from the pharmacy, that’s OK.

But if your doctor says they’re selling some kind of formula of vitamin D that works “better” or absorbs “faster” and it costs more than what’s sold at your local pharmacy, that’s a red flag, Kazarian explained.

Pay attention to the science messaging and any buzzwords your doctor is using, too. “For example, if you’re hearing ‘this causes inflammation,’ ‘this prevents chronic disease,’” Amin said, noting that people who subscribe to MAHA principles often focus on “inflammation” and “chronic disease” and how to fix it.

Another “buzzword that I think is very MAHA: ‘root-cause medicine,’” Amin said. “I want to be clear that every doctor practices root-cause … we’re always looking [at] what can we do environmentally? What should we be doing in terms of the source of this?”

“Health freedom” and “informed consent” are two other red flag buzzwords, Amin noted. Kazarian said promises about “longevity” can also fall into the MAHA buzzword category.

The same is true if they’re using fear-mongering or absolute language like “don’t eat this,” “you can’t do this,” Amin said.

“If you’re hearing a lot of [this kind of language], you’ve got to get a little curious about where is their alliance at — like, are they getting into this vilification MAHA movement which vilifies synthetic food dyes, processed foods, or are they giving a more balanced approach of ‘hey, you can eat these foods, but are they your primary source of nutrition, because they shouldn’t be.’”

Health is about balance and how certain foods may impact you personally, not so much about restriction, Amin added.

The MAHA movement loves a common enemy, whether that’s something to blame for autism or obesity. Like the “Wicked” quote, “The best way to bring folks together is to give them a really good enemy,” MAHA uses the scientific community and Big Pharma, specifically, as the common enemy, Amin said.

This isn’t to say the pharmaceutical industry is perfect, but the benefits of Big Pharma far outweigh the risks, Amin said. These benefits can include cancer treatments like chemotherapy, medication for things like high cholesterol, and, of course, vaccines for kids (and adults).

But a lot of people in the MAHA movement aren’t willing to admit that there are benefits, in addition to risks. They instead only talk about risks. An evidence-based doctor should be willing to talk to you about the risks of any medical treatment or intervention, but also the perks, Amin said.

“The MAHA movement is a very privileged movement, because it’s people who are highly educated … [and] have access to the best doctors,” Amin said. These folks know that “if shit hits the fan” they’ll be OK, she added.

As the impacts of MAHA trickle down — low vaccination rates, fears of fluoride, avoidance of medication — it’ll more severely impact those of lower socioeconomic status, Amin explained. The people most at risk during a whooping cough outbreak are the parents who can’t afford to keep their kids home from day care, not the parents who can afford an in-home nanny.

“It’s going to negatively impact a larger majority of our population, because a larger majority of our population relies on the community, relies on all these public health efforts to keep them safe,” Amin said.

In the end, MAHA is very anti-public health, she added.

“The problem I have with the MAHA movement is it’s saying that nature can treat everything, when being an osteopathic physician myself, I strongly believe in natural remedies, but I also know it’s that mentality that caused a lot of kids in the 1900s to die prematurely,” Amin said.

We live in a world where we can bridge modern medicine (vaccines, antibiotics, hospitalizations) with natural remedies, she added — not totally ignore one in favor of the other.

“I can’t rely on my MAHA influencer or my MAHA doctor who’s telling me to wait it out because … at the end of the day, I say this very bluntly, it’s not going to be the MAHA doctors that are taking care of your child in the ICUs. It’s not going to be the MAHA influencer that holds your hand bedside when shit hits the fan,” Amin said.

Evidence-based doctors who encourage medication, vaccination and medical treatments are going to be the ones caring for you when natural remedies don’t cut it, she added.