What experts or nutritionists has RFK Jr. cited when promoting particular diets and in what years?
Executive summary
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has repeatedly invoked external nutrition experts while promoting diets and changes to U.S. dietary guidance, most prominently praising British cardiologist Aseem Malhotra (reported as a backer) and citing a loose coalition of critics of conventional guidelines such as Nina Teicholz; his public push to “end the war on saturated fats” and to emphasize whole foods and warn against ultra‑processed foods shows up across reporting in 2025 and 2025–2026 coverage (examples: Malhotra tied to Kennedy in January 2025 reporting; Teicholz cited in May 2025 critiques) [1] [2] [3].
1. Who Kennedy names or has been linked to: the short list
Reporting identifies several nutrition figures tied to Kennedy’s public agenda: British cardiologist Aseem Malhotra is described as an “ardent supporter” of Kennedy and linked to a metabolic-focused diet Kennedy has promoted (January 2025) [1]; Nina Teicholz is an outspoken critic of the Dietary Guidelines who has been cited by Kennedy allies and mentioned in critiques of his effort (May 2025) [4] [5]; other names appear as “experts to watch” around Kennedy’s MAHA initiative, including Marion Nestle, Susan Mayne and Dariush Mozaffarian — not necessarily as Kennedy’s endorsers but as figures who will influence or react to his agenda (STAT’s May 2025 piece) [2].
2. When he promoted particular diets or dietary claims — timeline highlights
Kennedy’s high‑visibility diet and policy pronouncements concentrate in 2024–2025 reporting and accelerate through 2025 as he reshaped the federal process: his push against ultra‑processed foods and for warnings about food dyes was widely reported mid‑2025; press coverage linking him to endorsing more saturated fat, whole milk, beef tallow and meat-centered guidance appears by mid‑ to late‑2025 as he promised to “end the war on saturated fats” and to rework the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines (July–November 2025) [6] [7] [8] [3].
3. What experts say about those endorsements
Mainstream nutrition scientists and public‑health organizations criticized aspects of Kennedy’s approach. Harvard and other outlets report experts welcoming his focus on ultra‑processed foods but cautioning that his policy moves could be counterproductive or lack rigorous scientific backing (July 2025) [6]. The Center for Science in the Public Interest directly contested arguments advanced by Kennedy’s allies such as Teicholz and warned that promotion of saturated fat contradicts decades of guidance (May 2025) [4]. STAT and Medscape sourced multiple nutrition scientists who warned Kennedy’s simplified prescriptions (e.g., high‑protein or “caveman” diets) are not one‑size‑fits‑all (May–Oct 2025) [2] [9] [10].
4. Which claims are attributed to which experts — and where sourcing is thin
Some reports explicitly connect Malhotra to Kennedy’s diet circle, framing him as a promoter of metabolic‑focused, low‑ultra‑processed approaches that align with Kennedy’s MAHA rhetoric (Jan 2025) [1]. Teicholz is named in media criticizing the advisory committee and in opinion pieces sympathetic to reducing emphasis on limiting saturated fat (May 2025) [4] [5]. Other mentions of “experts” around Kennedy’s effort are aggregated by outlets (STAT, QZ, TIME) as people to watch or unnamed sources; those articles do not document Kennedy directly citing each expert in a specific year or speech [2] [11] [12]. Available sources do not mention a comprehensive, dated list from Kennedy himself enumerating every expert he cites.
5. Conflicts, agendas and the politics of who’s named
Multiple outlets note that Kennedy’s MAHA program is politically aligned with the Trump administration’s broader priorities and that some experts he elevates or whose critiques he amplifies — like Teicholz — have a history of opposing prevailing dietary orthodoxy; that context suggests an implicit agenda to reshape federal guidance rather than to run a neutral technical review (USDA/HHS statements and reporting on MAHA, March–Aug 2025) [13] [14] [3]. Conversely, some public‑health voices welcomed the attention to ultra‑processed foods while warning that policy must remain evidence‑based (Harvard, Medscape, STAT) [6] [10] [2].
6. Limitations in the record and what’s not found
Available sources document named individuals tied to Kennedy’s food messaging and media accounts from 2023–2025, but they do not provide a single, authoritative list showing every expert RFK Jr. personally cited on particular diets with precise dates. Several articles aggregate “experts to watch” or report unnamed sources about who helped craft changes (STAT, TIME, QZ) rather than firm, dated attributions from Kennedy [2] [12] [11]. If you want an exhaustively sourced, date‑by‑date ledger of every expert Kennedy has explicitly cited, available sources do not mention such a compilation.
Bottom line: reporting in 2025 connects Kennedy to a small set of controversial, often contrarian nutrition figures (e.g., Aseem Malhotra, Nina Teicholz) and to mainstream experts who both back parts of his agenda (critiques of ultra‑processed foods) and warn against reversing long‑standing saturated‑fat guidance; the mix reflects both scientific dispute and clear political aims to remake federal dietary guidance [1] [4] [6] [3].