MAHA Summit Features Talk of Psychedelics and Immortality

"Social-media influencers and anti-ageing entrepreneurs mingled with top US government officials, including the head of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), at an exclusive event steps from the White House this month. The meeting's purpose was to discuss the future of health in the United States. Organizers called it the MAHA Summit, referring to US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr's signature Make America Healthy Again' movement. Attendees included Kennedy, US vice-president JD Vance, NIH director Jayanta Bhattacharya,"

"Sessions at the summit, which Nature attended, covered a wide range of health-related topics, including psychedelics, brain implants and anti-ageing therapies. Academic researchers and clinicians were not among the speakers at the sessions, which were peppered by comments critical of the medical establishment. The conference showcased the influence of the MAHA movement, whose supporters say there is a chronic-disease epidemic in the United States that they blame in part on corruption in the food and pharmaceutical industries."

"To combat this epidemic, supporters advocate lifestyle choices, such as improving sleep and taking dietary supplements. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. The movement has ascended rapidly from a loose network of Kennedy supporters into a political force that Vance, speaking at the summit, called a critical part of our success in Washington."

The MAHA Summit convened social-media influencers, anti-ageing entrepreneurs, and senior US officials, including health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., vice-president JD Vance, NIH director Jayanta Bhattacharya, and FDA chief Marty Makary. Sessions covered psychedelics, brain implants, and anti-ageing therapies and excluded academic researchers and clinicians, featuring criticism of the medical establishment. The MAHA movement frames a chronic-disease epidemic in the United States that it attributes partly to corruption in the food and pharmaceutical industries and promotes lifestyle changes such as improved sleep and dietary supplements. Corporate representatives from Walmart, Google, and biotechnology firms also attended, signaling political and commercial reach.

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