Wellness Unmasked Weekly Rundown: Virus Outbreak + SNAP Reform: What the CDC and RFK Jr. Are Warning About

In this Weekly Rundown, Dr. Nicole Saphier discusses the CDC’s new travel advisory for China, Bolivia, and Indian Ocean islands due to the chikungunya virus, offering practical prevention tips and vaccine guidance. She also highlights recent efforts by RFK Jr. and HHS to restrict SNAP benefits from being used for unhealthy foods, emphasizing the need for public health responsibility and systemic reforms to make nutritious options accessible and affordable. Wellness Unmasked is part of the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Podcast Network - new episodes debut every Tuesday & Friday. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Wellness on Mass I'm doctor Nicole Sapphire and
this is your weekly rundown. Well The CDC has issued
a level to travel advisory. This is for mainland China
as well as Bolivia and some nation islands off the
Indian Ocean. And why is this. This is because of
the chicken gunya virus. Now, I know that sounds a
little bit scary, but the reality is this virus has

(00:23):
been around since at least the nineteen fifties. It's a
mosquito born illness, meaning you have to be bit by
a mosquito to get it. We have not seen cases
of human human transmission. So it's the summertime and 'tis
the season for these vector born illnesses, whether it's lyme
disease from ticks, or chicken gunya from mosquitoes, or even

(00:45):
zeka danghi some of the other things. The good news
is if you're in the United States and you don't
have any plan on traveling to some of these other countries,
you probably don't need to worry about it. Although I
always try to protect myself and my family from mosquito bites,
not because the diseases they carry, but I don't know,
I just don't like being stung by mosquitos. They're itchy.

(01:05):
If you are traveling to some of these other areas,
you want to take some precautions, specifically wearing long sleeve clothing,
make sure you're using mosquito controls, whether it's the deep sprays, whatnot.
Sleep with the net around you because you don't want
to get chicken goodia virus. I'll tell you why. It's
a high fever and also severe joint pain. Now, for

(01:25):
most people the joint pain does go away, but up
to sixty percent of the time, the joint pain can
last weeks, if not months. So no, it's probably not
going to kill you, but it's not fun. You don't
want to get it. You don't want to go on vacation,
come back and then be sick for a couple of weeks.
There are two vaccines that have been approved if you
want to prevent this illness if you have to travel.

(01:46):
One vaccine is not recommended in kids or elderly because
of some of the potential side effects. Another one has
been determined to be safer, So again, talk to your
doctor if you have to travel to these areas. If
you're traveling anywhere, tell you whether you're going to the Caribbean,
Central America, South America. You can find viruses in these mosquitoes.

(02:06):
So it's always important to know where you're going, know
what the health concerns are, and do what you can
to protect yourself and your family from these doctor born illnesses.
Some are more serious than other. In a much needed
dose of nutritional sanity, RFK Junior and the AHHS have
been working with state lawmakers, with many states across the
country now saying that the SNAP or the food stamps,

(02:28):
you know, the federally or state funded program for helping
people who can't afford food get food. They're saying they're
no longer going to cover soda, candy, ultra processed chips,
and cookies because well, why is that. Well, we know
that these contribute to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Over
forty million Americans rely on SNAP, so the system should

(02:49):
be supporting health, not undermine it, especially because a huge
amount of people on SNAP are also receiving Medicaid. This
is healthcare that's also being paid for by tax dollars
for those who can't afford it. It is a very
ugly cycle. You eat unhealthy because of what snap is covering,
and now you're having to use the healthcare system to

(03:10):
pay for all of the issues that have come from
this unhealthy eating. Now, while this is a great small
step to making America healthy again, it has to go
much farther. The reality is, yes, we can restrict these things,
but that will not make someone healthier. We need to
make sure fresh fruits and vegetables and other healthier items
are not just available, but affordable and accessible. Did you

(03:32):
know that there is a much higher percentage of people
getting their groceries from convenience stores in low income areas well,
Buying groceries at convenience stores is directly linked with obesity
and illness. We have to encourage businesses to get into
these neighborhoods so that people can afford some of these
healthier alternatives, whether that is making sure that there're security

(03:52):
and that it is safe to have these big businesses
in these areas. Whatever we're doing, we need to be
doing more to make sure healthy food is affordable to everyone.
This is not about shaming, it's about responsibility. Let's not
pretend it's compassionate to hand someone with soda and send
them down the road to like insulin dependence diabetes. It's

(04:14):
not fair. If they want to spend any of their
extra spending money and get candy or soda, that's fine,
but taxpayer dollars shouldn't go for it because at the
end of the day, those taxpayer dollars are having to
pay twofold because then they're having to pay the consequences
of that unhealthy diet. Thanks for listening to Wellness Unmass
on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow Wellness Unmass

(04:36):
with doctor Nicole Saffire and start listening on the free
iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts, and we
will catch you next time.