Health
Miami-Dade Mayor Vetoes Plan to Remove Fluoride From Drinking Water
The mayor of Miami-Dade County on Friday said she vetoed legislation that would remove fluoride from the drinking water in Florida’s most populous county, pushing back on a growing campaign against the mineral used to prevent cavities.
The veto by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, a Democrat, comes at a moment when critics of adding fluoride to the water supply have a newly powerful ally: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s health secretary, who this week called for states to ban fluoride in drinking water. Utah recently became the first state to outlaw adding fluoride to public water, and several other states, including Florida, are considering similar action.
“The science is very clear,” Ms. Levine Cava said at a news conference on Friday. She added, “ending fluoridation could have real and lasting harm, especially for children and families who cannot afford regular dental care.”
The Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners, a nonpartisan body, approved the measure to ban fluoride on April 1 in an 8 to 2 vote, with three commissioners absent. Nine votes are needed to override the mayor’s veto if all 13 commissioners are present, and it is unclear whether there will be enough support. The next scheduled board meeting is on May 6.
Six commissioners are Republican, including Kevin Marino Cabrera, an ally of Mr. Trump’s who will soon depart to become the country’s ambassador to Panama. Ms. Levine Cava is now the state’s highest-ranking elected Democrat, with Republicans having swept every other countywide elected office in Miami-Dade — including sheriff and elections supervisor — last year.
At the news conference on Friday, Ms. Levine Cava, flanked by dentists and doctors in their white medical coats, cited research supporting her decision.
“I’m doing what I believe is the correct thing to do in the interest of the community’s health, and I stand with our dental and medical experts,” she said.
Commissioner Roberto J. Gonzalez, who sponsored the legislation, accused Ms. Levine Cava of “acting like a typical politician, relying on partisan pollsters and tired talking points, while putting people’s health at risk.”
In a statement on Friday, he called on his colleagues on the commission to override the veto.
The measure would require Miami-Dade to stop adding fluoride to the water supply within 30 days. Ms. Levine Cava said she and her office were closely following efforts in the Florida Legislature to pass a similar ban at the state level.
Many experts have warned that removing fluoride from drinking water would be detrimental to oral health, and particularly cavity prevention. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called fluoridation one of the “10 greatest public health achievements of the 20th century.”
But wariness about fluoride has taken on new life in recent years, especially after the coronavirus pandemic eroded trust in public health interventions. Opponents say they want to protect bodily autonomy and have raised concerns about the possible cognitive effects in children.
They point to a recent review paper, where an analysis of 74 studies conducted by researchers with the National Institutes of Health found that there was a connection between lower I.Q. scores in children with high levels of childhood or prenatal fluoride exposure. (The levels studied were twice as high as those recommended by the C.D.C., and some research has found no link.)
Ms. Levine Cava’s veto puts her at odds with Mr. Kennedy and other fluoride skeptics in the Trump administration, as well as with Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, and his appointed surgeon general, Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, who has been traveling around the state to speak against fluoridated water.
“Do we want forced medication or do we want people to be able to choose medication?” Mr. DeSantis said recently. “When you are forcing it into the water supply, that’s not really giving people a choice.”
Ahead of the mayor’s announcement, Dr. Ladapo, who has also called for a halt to using Covid vaccines, publicly urged Miami-Dade residents to ask the mayor to support the fluoride ban. “I’ll never understand how anyone feels entitled to add drugs to the water that other people drink,” he said.
Fluoride was first introduced to a city’s water supply in 1945 and began to become common practice across the country in the following decades. Studies show a direct correlation between fluoridation and an improvement in oral health.
“The growing distrust of credible, time-tested, evidence-based science is disheartening,” Dr. Brett Kessler, the president of the American Dental Association, said in a statement this week. “When government officials, like Secretary Kennedy, stand behind the commentary of misinformation and distrust peer-reviewed research, it is injurious to public health.”
Fluoridating water has been debated for years, in part because experts say that excessive exposure to fluoride over a long period can cause health problems. Federally mandated levels have lowered over the years, including after a recent court order.
On Monday, Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, announced a decision to “expeditiously review new scientific information on potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water.”
“Without prejudging any outcomes, when this evaluation is completed, we will have an updated foundational scientific evaluation,” Mr. Zeldin said in a statement. He credited Mr. Kennedy for having “long been at the forefront of this issue.”
At a Miami-Dade commission meeting in April, most people who spoke during the public comment portion were against fluoridation. Days after the meeting, Ms. Levine Cava held a round-table discussion with doctors, dentists and others in the community that focused on its benefits.
Nearly 20 other cities and county governments in Florida have voted to remove fluoride from their water supplies since the November election. Among those, Miami-Dade County, with about 2.7 million people, is by far the largest. A bill under debate in the Florida Legislature would bar local municipalities from adding fluoride to water.
Miami-Dade’s politics have shifted sharply to the right in recent years, reflecting Florida’s transformation from a battleground state into one that votes reliably Republican. In November, Mr. Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to win the county since 1988.
Patricia Mazzei contributed reporting
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Country music star Jessie James Decker is getting real about her health and fitness this year, alongside her family.
In a viral moment posted to Instagram, Decker, who is married to former NFL wide receiver Eric Decker, shared a video of her squatting with a barbell at the gym. The caption reads: “2026 energy! LFG💪”
The video, which has more than 111,000 likes, promotes a focus on “marriage body,” rather than “revenge body.”
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“Forget revenge body. How about marriage body,” the text on the video reads. “How about we get hotter & hotter for the person who chose us forever”
Screenshots from a video posted to Jessie James Decker’s Instagram account on Jan. 19, 2026. (Instagram @jessiejamesdecker)
The post received praise from other celebrities and influencers.
“Biggest fan of this belief,” actress and wellness influencer Daniella Monet commented.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Decker revealed some of her top wellness habits that help her uphold these standards, while feeling her best mentally and physically.
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The mother of four responded that her No. 1 wellness tip is drinking lots of water.
“Water, water, water,” she said. “I drink water all day. I even have it next to my bed, drinking it all night.”
The celebrity swears by drinking water throughout the day and night for better overall health, although it’s the “boring answer.” (iStock)
“My mom swears by it. My mom walks miles and miles every day, drinks tons of water, and she literally looks like she’s aging backwards,” the singer added. “We’re like Benjamin Button. We’re about to meet in the middle and look the same age here soon. She looks incredible.”
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In addition to focusing on hydration, Decker continues to follow many of her mother’s practices, including eating “really healthy.”
“We cook everything at home. I mean, I barely go out,” she said. “Everything I make is from scratch from home.”I really think when you know what you’re putting in your body, that’s the best bet always.”
Jessie James Decker is seen during a segment of “Good Day New York” on Jan. 29, 2026, in New York City. (Michael Simon/Getty Images)
She summarized, “Water, cook at home and just stay active — it’s really that simple.”
Decker also instills this mentality into her children — Vivianne, Eric Jr., Forrest and Denver — as sports, outdoor play and pickleball are daily rituals in their household.
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“You know, Vivi’s a gymnast — she’s in the gym five days a week … And little Eric is constantly doing sports,” she told Fox News Digital.
“They’re active … they are busy, busy, busy. They don’t sit around on iPads. They’re out there in the wildlife, barefoot and being free.”
Staying active is something the entire family embraces together, especially when they’re traveling.
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“We’ve done family workouts together, [and] we stay active together,” the singer said. “Maybe when we’re on vacation, we’re doing bike rides together, or whether it’s a football game outside or throwing the ball on the beach.”
One sport in particular has become a family favorite.
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“We love pickleball. That’s probably the thing we all do every day,” Decker said. “We have a pickleball court in the backyard, and if we go on vacation, my husband’s like, ‘Is there a pickleball court at this place?’”
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The Trump administration’s January rollout of the new, inverted food pyramid has sparked some debate in nutrition circles, as it places a stronger emphasis on dairy, red meats and foods higher in fat.
The top of the pyramid, which is now the wider part of the structure, is built on meat, fats, fruits and vegetables, while whole grains are at the narrow bottom.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Dr. Mark Hyman, co-founder of Function Health and author of the new book “Food Fix Uncensored,” commented on the backlash the new guidelines have received.
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“The pyramid is just a graphic representation of the content … and it’s really impossible to create a proper visual that’s going to satisfy everybody,” said the Massachusetts-based expert. “Could it have been better? Sure.”
Although he acknowledged there is room for improvement, Hyman, host of “The Dr. Hyman Show” podcast, praised the new model for focusing on what’s been driving obesity in America.
The new nutrition food pyramid shows previous guidance flipped in an inverted structure. (realfood.gov)
“Did it flip the script from what we used to have, which was a low-fat, high-carb set of recommendations from the government that caused the obesity, diabetes epidemic and all the resulting costs and consequences on society?” he asked. “Yeah, we needed to fix that.”
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In his new book, Hyman writes that a central component of America’s dietary policy is what Americans are told to eat — and why.
“I think it was a good step in the right direction.”
The doctor highlighted key updates to U.S. dietary guidance, including a stronger emphasis on whole foods, limits on highly processed products and sugar-sweetened beverages, and revised protein recommendations to “reflect the current science.”
“This is revolutionary,” Hyman said.
Dr. Mark Hyman is the author of the new book “Food Fix Uncensored.” (Function Health; Little, Brown Spark)
The updated pyramid also recommends consuming whole grains, while previous guidance green-lit white flour in portions, which the doctor says is not optimal for human health.
The guidelines are “a bit more protein-forward” than before, Hyman noted, with less of an emphasis on low-fat and non-fat dairy. The expert called the low-fat movement “problematic.”
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“The data didn’t support it,” he said. “It was maybe even the opposite — there was some evidence that kids who had low-fat or non-fat milk actually had more obesity issues because it’s not as satisfying.”
The doctor highlighted key updates to U.S. dietary guidance, including a stronger emphasis on whole foods, limits on highly processed products and sugar-sweetened beverages, and revised protein recommendations to “reflect the current science.” (iStock)
“On the whole, I think [the guidelines are] a big improvement,” Hyman said. “Are they perfect? No. Were there problems? Yes. But it’s a radical departure from what was, and I think it was a good step in the right direction.”
Many Americans struggle with a variety of health conditions that may require specialized diets, such as high cholesterol, inflammation or lactose intolerance.
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Hyman noted that if he had written the guidelines himself, he would have specified that dairy is not a mandatory recommendation.
“There’s no scientific evidence that humans require it,” he said. “It’s a perfectly fine choice if you want to make it.”
Dairy consumption should be a “personalized choice” based on how it affects a person, the doctor said. (iStock)
Dairy consumption should be a “personalized choice” based on how it affects a person, said the doctor, adding that it would be “problematic” guidance to tell Americans they must choose three servings per day.
“It should be understood that 75% of the population is lactose-intolerant, that many people have inflammatory or other issues as a result of consuming dairy — and it should be a personalized choice based on how it affects them.”
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Consuming protein also requires a level of personalization, the expert said, particularly for those who have certain medical conditions, like kidney failure.
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“[The government] could have made more nuanced statements around aging and longevity … and [around] higher protein needs when you’re older, when you are sick, and so forth,” Hyman added. “I think there’s some nuance there that could have been underscored.”
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A simple dietary pairing could offer broader immune benefits than omega-3s alone.
Researchers at the University of Nottingham found that pairing kefir with a prebiotic fiber mix led to greater reductions in inflammation markers than omega-3 supplements or fiber alone.
The findings, published in the Journal of Translational Medicine, suggest that supporting gut bacteria may play an important role in immune and metabolic function.
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Kefir is a fermented milk drink similar to yogurt that contains live bacteria and yeast.
Drinking kefir and taking fiber together may help lower inflammation more effectively than omega-3 supplements. (iStock)
When kefir was combined with prebiotic fiber, researchers observed a stronger effect. Prebiotic fiber feeds healthy bacteria in the gut, helping them grow and function more effectively, the study explained.
As those beneficial bacteria thrive, they produce natural substances that help calm inflammation in the body.
In the six-week study, people who took the kefir-and-fiber combination showed the biggest drop in markers linked to whole-body inflammation.
Those who took omega-3 supplements or fiber alone also improved, but not to the same degree, the study suggested.
Over six weeks, those taking kefir and fiber saw the largest drop in inflammation markers, while omega-3 or fiber alone produced smaller reductions. (iStock)
“Our study shows that while all three dietary approaches reduced inflammation, the synbiotic — combining fermented kefir with a diverse prebiotic fiber mix — had the most powerful and wide-ranging effects,” said Amrita Vijay, a gut microbiome scientist who led the research.
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The researchers measured systemic inflammatory markers, which indicate inflammation occurring throughout the body.
Inflammation is a normal immune response, but chronic, low-level inflammation that persists over time has been linked to conditions such as heart disease and metabolic conditions, according to Cleveland Clinic.
Throughout the study, researchers monitored blood markers to track changes in whole-body inflammation. (iStock)
The findings suggest that combining probiotics and prebiotics may provide broader support than relying on a single supplement.
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“This suggests that the interaction between gut microbes and dietary fiber may be key to supporting immune balance and metabolic health,” Vijay said.
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The team plans to further investigate how synbiotic supplementation may affect individuals with chronic inflammatory disorders.
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