{"id":149,"date":"2025-05-06T23:32:52","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T23:32:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/aldonova\/?page_id=149"},"modified":"2025-05-07T18:01:01","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T18:01:01","slug":"149-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ascjcapstone.com\/spring-2025\/aldonova\/","title":{"rendered":"Overdosed on Health Optimization"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Alexandra Donovan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 3:17 a.m. \u2014 a TikTok post from 16-year-old Isabella\u2019s favorite “gut health expert” explaining how her afternoon chocolate craving might signal parasites popped up on her phone. Isabella then crept downstairs and picked up a jar of wormwood extract that claimed to kill parasites, based on what she saw on a TikTok post. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hours later, she woke up in a pool of sweat with bloodshot eyes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"ABJ\"
A photo of Isabella Donovan in the middle of the night suffering from symptoms of the parasite cleanse
she took without a physician’s guidance (Courtesy of Marion Donovan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“I spent $350 on parasite cleanse supplements that made me violently ill,” recalls Isabella. Her mom took her to the hospital in a panic, trying to understand what Isabella ingested and if she needed to call poison control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“My doctor later told me there was absolutely nothing wrong with me craving chocolate, except the anxiety I had from consuming too much health content, ” Isabella said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isabella is my sister, and she is not alone. A growing movement of former “wellness warriors” is now advocating for what might seem counterintuitive in our information-saturated era: consuming less health content \u2014 not more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thirty-three percent<\/a> of surveyed Gen Z\u2019s, globally, and 26%<\/a> of millennials used social media to discuss illness. 20%<\/a> of Gen Z surveyed asked their doctor for a treatment they had seen an influencer or their friend say they have received. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this same study, they found that when it comes to chronic conditions, 30% of people of all ages, globally, did not see their doctor as an information source. At the same time, an AI analysis of over 67,000 videos on TikTok showed that only 2.1%<\/a> of nutrition information given was accurate.

A digital detox approach to wellness is gaining traction as evidence mounts that consuming excessive information on health may be making us sick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But much of America is already sick. Last fall, almost 75%<\/a> of U.S. adults over the age of 25 were classified as \u201coverweight\u201d or \u201cobese,\u201d with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or above. The situation appears almost worse for teens and young adults aged 15 to 24, when they are supposed to be their most active. Almost half of them are now considered either \u201coverweight\u201d or \u201cobese.\u201d Meanwhile, the obesity rate for these teens and young adults was only 29% in 1990, according to the New York Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. just months into his new appointment as the United States Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, and the launch of his “Make America Healthy Again” Commission, more regulatory changes are expected based on his pledge to tackle chronic disease. While some of these may help lower America\u2019s staggering rates of obesity and cardiovascular disease, some fear government regulation over vaccinations could grow due to Kennedy\u2019s past anti-vaccine actions before he became a politician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it seems unlikely that vaccination mandates would be banned on the federal or state levels, RFK Jr.’s vaccine fear-mongering could have an effect on families choosing to opt-out of vaccinating their children, leading to potential disease outbreaks<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennedy Jr. has been promoting conspiracy theories about vaccines since the early 2000\u2019s<\/a>, all of which have been debunked by certified health organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dr. Amanda Burkhardt the Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
(Photo Courtesy of USC Mann)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are going backwards,\u201d Dr. Amanda Burkhardt, who holds a PhD in Immunology from UC Irvine and feels strongly against RFK Jr.’s vaccination stances. \u201cPeople may not see why researching particular vaccines is important right now. But in 5 or 10 years it’ll be too late to do anything about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the Trump administration seeks to cut the Department of Health and Human Sciences\u2019 (HHS) budget by $33.3 billion<\/a>. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), which supports science research, conducts its own studies, and puts forth reliable health information to the public, will have its budget cut by $18 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s a really terrifying time to be in STEM, especially academic STEM right now,\u201d said Burkhardt, whose research focused on developing innovative vaccines and immune-enhancing adjuvants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’m seeing this with colleagues and friends and family who are doing Biomedical research. People don’t know about funding. They don’t know if they’re going to be able to keep the students that they have, or if they’re going to be able to accept new ones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although vaccines haven\u2019t yet faced direct regulatory changes, we are seeing a broader trend: increasing scrutiny and regulation around health-related ingredients. In October 2023, California enacted the “Skittles Ban” under the California Food Safety Act, prohibiting food additives including brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, Propylparaben and Red Dye 3, which were ingredients in U.S. Skittles.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This comes 35 years after these additives were banned from cosmetic products because studies showed they caused cancer in rats. These changes come alongside research suggesting that there are potential links between synthetic food dyes and behavioral issues in children, including hyperactivity and attention deficits<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two weeks ago, the FDA announced<\/a> a plan to phase out the remaining petroleum-based synthetic dyes from our food supply by the end of 2026, as well as accelerate the removal of the Red Dye 3. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Source: The FDA <\/a>
<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Khalil Rafati, the founder of SunLife Organics, is concerned about the ingredients going into America’s food system and how it is affecting our health as a country.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are sick and fat and bloated and disease-ridden because we are being fucking poisoned,” said Rafati, who questions why food companies maintain different standards across borders. Skittles are a great example of a food banned in the European Union<\/a> in 2022 for its use of titanium dioxide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What the fuck are you doing putting these food dyes that cause cancer and putting in these chemicals, but in Canada, you sell a product that’s the complete opposite and different? And in Europe, you don’t sell [it], but in the U.S., you’re selling us this poison?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rafati is trying to be part of a positive change in America\u2019s food system, through SunLife Organics, and is supportive of RFK Jr.\u2019s plans to revamp America\u2019s food supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don’t give a fuck if you agree with him about the vaccines or not,\u201d Rafati said. He believes that Kennedy Jr. wants people to understand the dangers of what is being put into our food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rafati’s passion for health stems from personal experience. After struggling with severe addiction in Los Angeles during the 1990’s, he found himself living on Skid Row and weighing just 109 pounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Khalil Rafati’s mugshot for public intoxication (Photo Courtesy of Khalil Rafati)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Rafati struggling with drug addiction (Photo Courtesy of Khalil Rafati)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I just gave up. Sometimes in county jail, sometimes in a mental hospital,” he recalled of his lowest point. “I traded my whole life for a few minutes of pleasure and that superseded my whole desire to get better.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His rehabilitation journey led him to discover nutrition’s power, particularly fresh juices and superfoods, which are high in mineral and vitamin content. This experience inspired him to launch SunLife Organics, an organic smoothie and juice bar, in 2011. His first location opened in Malibu, California, grounded in a mission to “love, heal, and inspire.” Its name \u2014 Sunlife Organics \u2014 is about living life in the sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The SunLife Organics pink lotus logo (Photo Courtesy of Khalil Rafati)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The company\u2019s logo is the pink lotus, which grows from mud and darkness, and turns into a beautiful flower. This symbolizes the darkness that Rafati endured, and how he was able to turn it into light, not only for himself, but others around him, he explains on the SunLife Organics’ website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Rafati is rigid about what he puts into his body, eating predominantly local elk meat and bison with some salt and some butter. He approaches life in a way that seeks discomfort, including what he eats \u2014 which isn’t breakfast. He considers this, “seeking discomfort.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’ve sat through that discomfort for so many years now that I don’t even see it as intermittent fasting,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rafati sees these practices of his and at his company not as extreme, but as authentically healthy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We’re not fake healthy. We’re healthy,\u201d Rafati said. \u201cI got to that place by seeking discomfort.”.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rafati chooses to exercise and eat in a way that is uncomfortable because he believes this allows him to be able to enjoy the comforts of a healthy body and mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Khalil Rafati, 55, strength training at the gym
(Photo Courtesy of Khalil Rafati)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cComfort makes you a coward. Comfort makes me fat. Comfort is not something I seek at all. It\u2019s not that I don\u2019t enjoy comfort. But discomfort is how I can afford to be comfortable in other situations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rafati sees people’s eating habits in America coming from a place of comfort, while people deem his healthy habits as \u201ccrazy.\u201d But Rafati believes people should be scared of their eating habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Rafati was at an airport in Austin, Texas, a pilot saw him order a burger with a lettuce wrap, avocado, an egg, all cooked with no seed oils.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rafati recalled the overweight pilot turning to him and saying, \u201c\u2018that looks good, man, but I gotta have the bun.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At that moment, Rafati said to himself, \u201cNo, you don’t need to have the bun \u2014 no more so than I needed that shot of dope. People are lazy and people are asleep,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Misinformation Crisis<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Outside of Dr. Burkhardt’s work in Immunology, she also teaches a class at USC called \u201cMore than Prescriptions: An Integrative Approach to Modern Healthcare.\u201d The class addresses topics such as gut health, liver and alcohol, stress and mood, examining supplements and botanicals that are related to whatever the disease state of the week is. One assignment is called \u201cSpot the Snake Oil.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multiple students are given supplements, with one of them being the \u201csnake oil seller.\u201d Each student gives a scientific presentation and the rest of the class has to judge which product they think is snake oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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