Ralph welcomes the author of “Salt Wars,” Dr. Michael Jacobson, who explains how the food industry and a small group of scientists keep fighting government efforts to reduce dangerous levels of sodium in our food. Plus, fraud expert, Elliot Greenblott, tells us how we can protect ourselves from getting conned by Medicare scammers.
Michael Jacobson holds a PhD. in microbiology from MIT. He is well-known for his nutrition advocacy that helped eliminate artificial trans-fat from the food supply, expose the enormous calorie counts of movie theater popcorn and many restaurant foods and make Nutrition Facts mandatory on food packages. Dr. Jacobson is the author of Salt Wars: The Battle Over the Biggest Killer in the American Diet.
“If their blood pressure is typical of a young person, 120 over 80, they should cut back on salt, because 80 or 90 percent of us are going to develop high blood pressure by the time we get into our 70s or 80s, so it’s worth [cutting back on salt] for everybody.”
Dr. Michael Jacobson, author of Salt Wars: The Battle Over the Biggest Killer in the American Diet
Elliott Greenblott runs Vermont’s AARP’s Consumer Fraud Education program. Mr. Greenblott pens a regular Fraud Watch column for New England Newspapers’ publications, the Brattleboro Reformer, Bennington Banner, Manchester Journal and The Berkshire Eagle of Pittsfield, Mass, where he informs readers about how to protect themselves from the latest scams. He also tapes a regular public access show, “Mr. Scammer” on the same topic.
“We find there is underreporting of fraud in all areas. And it’s very troubling. There are numerous reasons. People feel ashamed if they’re a victim of fraud. They’re in denial quite often. And even the sense of fear that there will be some kind of reprisal. But one of the biggest issues in terms of not reporting fraud when it occurs in Medicare, is there’s a general attitude that it’s not my money. It’s not coming out of my pocket, so why should I worry about it?”
Elliott Greenblott, writer of Fraud Watch column
“There seems to be two levels of deception. One is the hardcore scams by fly-by-night companies and the other is the hollowing out of traditional Medicare by something called Medicare Advantage, which I call Medicare Disadvantage.”
Ralph Nader
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