Sen. Roger Marshall, M.D., issued a challenge to Newsmax viewers on Tuesday in an effort to highlight his initiative of tearing up the federal government's dietary guidelines and starting anew.
The Kansas Republican joined Newsmax's "National Report" to talk about the legislation that he introduced last month and to discuss healthcare in the first 100 days of the Trump administration.
Marshall's Newsmax challenge: Get through today without eating packaged food.
"Well, look, we need to completely redo our dietary guidelines. For decades it's been focused on calories, but we need to also focus on the nutrient value of what people are eating or drinking with those calories," Marshall said. "So a great example to me is whole milk. It's been over a decade since whole milk was taken out of our school system, and consequently milk consumption is down about 70 or 80%. And we're going to have early onset osteoporosis, osteopenia as well."
Marshall last month introduced the Dietary Guidelines Reform Act of 2025, a bill aimed at amending the National Nutrition Monitoring & Related Research Act of 1990 and modernizing the development of federal dietary guidelines with up-to-date, evidence-based nutritional information.
"So we need to redo it, start all over. And I think one simple thing I would challenge all your listeners right now: try to get through the whole day today without opening a package of food," Marshall added. He said that "60, 70% of our calories in America come from packaged food. I'm concerned about the salt, the sugars, the preservatives in that food, the food dyes as well. So I think that's where we need to incorporate what's the quality of the food that you're eating as well as just the calories."
As for the Trump administration's goal of Making America Healthy Again, Marshall said, "We have a long ways to go."
He said we must focus on disease.
"As I think about the healthcare system, I think that the No. 1 issue we need to address is chronic disease. Sixty, 70% of Americans have a chronic disease. But also the cost of healthcare we need to address as well," he said.
"I know your listeners want us to save Medicare and Social Security. To do that, we need to get rid of the fraud, waste, and abuse. Remember, under Joe Biden's four years, the federal government issued over $1 trillion of improper payments ... a lot of those from Social Security, from Medicare as well."
GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now
BEST OFFER:
Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials. Even get Jon Voight's special series and President Trump's comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app. Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!
Start your FREE trial now: NewsmaxPlus.com
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.