1 00:00:01,040 --> 00:00:03,880 Speaker 1: Welcome to Wellness Unmass. I'm doctor Nicole Sapphire and this 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,360 Speaker 1: is your Wellness Unmass weekly rundown. Let's start with the 3 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:11,799 Speaker 1: FDA's urgent move this week to restrict seven hydroxy mitrigidine, 4 00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: also known as seven OH. Much easier to say. It's 5 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:19,320 Speaker 1: a powerful synthetic derivative of craton, often marketed in innocent 6 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:22,599 Speaker 1: looking gummies, shots and drink powders. But do not let 7 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,680 Speaker 1: that colorful packaging fool you. Seven oh can be up 8 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:29,320 Speaker 1: to thirteen times more potent than morphine. It's not your 9 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:32,600 Speaker 1: grandma's herbal tea. It's more like legal morphine for sale 10 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: at the gas station. So the FDA has officially recommended 11 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:40,160 Speaker 1: scheduling seven oh as a Schedule one controlled substance, meaning 12 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:44,200 Speaker 1: it has no approved medical use, essentially like heroin, because 13 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 1: it has such a high potential for abuse. Now, this 14 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: doesn't affect natural craton leaf products, although I can tell 15 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:51,839 Speaker 1: you that I think that these are a little bit 16 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: risky as well. But it's a line in the sand 17 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: for these lab enhanced versions being marketed as wellness supplements. 18 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: Now here's why matters. These products are completely unregulated, aggressively 19 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 1: marketed to young people and sold online and in stores 20 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 1: with zero oversight, And let's be honest, many people consuming 21 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: them have no idea what they're actually taking. I applaud 22 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: the FDA for stepping in, but the fact that these 23 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:19,679 Speaker 1: products were allowed to flood the market in the first 24 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: place shows us just how broken our whole regulatory framework 25 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:27,760 Speaker 1: still is when it comes to these synthetic health trends. Now, 26 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: I want to pivot from fake drugs to real tech. 27 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 1: This week, the White House announced a bold new initiative. 28 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:39,640 Speaker 1: On the surface, it sounds exciting AI in healthcare interoperability, 29 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: data transparency and streamlining medical coding and reimbursement and all 30 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: that they have, all of the tech companies Amazon, Google, Apple, 31 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: and all these others who are voluntarily stepping up to 32 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:53,440 Speaker 1: be a part of this initiative. But if you've been 33 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 1: long enough, you know this isn't the first time Washington 34 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:00,520 Speaker 1: has promised tech is going to fix healthcare. Remember the 35 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:04,560 Speaker 1: whole Affordable Care Acts push for electronic medical records. Well, 36 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: that mandate led to bloated software, clunky workflows, and data 37 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: breaches we're still recovering from, not to mention, it forced 38 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 1: out a lot of positions from private practice, and a 39 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: lot of people just left medicine altogether. So yes, innovation 40 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 1: is good, but let's not forget the side effects of it. 41 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 1: And here's where it gets a little murky as well. 42 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:27,120 Speaker 1: Two names that keep coming up in the orbit of 43 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 1: this initiative are Cali Means and doctor Casey Means, both 44 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 1: well known for their health startups, outspoken positions on metabolic wellness, 45 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:39,360 Speaker 1: and deep ties to Silicon Valley funding, and they happen 46 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,959 Speaker 1: to work with RFK Junior. One is a special employee 47 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: of the government, the other is the current Surgeon General nominee, 48 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:50,000 Speaker 1: and they are both owners of these companies that would 49 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 1: benefit from these tech initiatives. So are they brilliant, probably, 50 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 1: But if their companies are being positioned to benefit from 51 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:01,119 Speaker 1: new data sharing rules and preferred partnerships, we certainly need 52 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:05,279 Speaker 1: some oversight and transparency. So the same people pushing policies 53 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 1: probably shouldn't be standing to profit from them, especially when 54 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:11,799 Speaker 1: we're talking about personal health data. On top of it, 55 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:15,680 Speaker 1: I have major concerns about health data privacy. So let 56 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 1: me ask you, if we're digitizing more health information than ever, 57 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: who's guarding the vaults? Because right now they're saying it's 58 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: going to be CMS, Medicare and Medicaid, and last time 59 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:30,799 Speaker 1: I checked, they're not the best when it comes to 60 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: just about anything. In fact, they're failing systems. But right 61 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: now there's no standard for how your genetic data, medical history, 62 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:42,840 Speaker 1: or even biometric trackers are being stored and in the 63 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 1: wrong hands. It's not just like a hip a concern. 64 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 1: It's like a national security issue. So whether we're talking 65 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: synthetic opioids in your vitaminile or synthetic intelligence managing your 66 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:57,480 Speaker 1: medical records, one thing's clear. As Americans, we deserve transparency, 67 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 1: oversight and truth. Need some financial disclosures if people are 68 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 1: standing to benefit from the things that they're mandating everyone 69 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: to take part in. I'm doctor Nicole Sapphire and this 70 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 1: has been your wellness Unmass Weekly Rundown. Thanks for listening 71 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 1: to Wellness on Mass on America's number one podcast network iHeart. 72 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 1: Follow Wellness on Mass with doctor Nicole Sapphire and start 73 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:20,479 Speaker 1: listening on your free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get 74 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: your podcasts, and we will catch you next time.