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Boston Globe
a day ago
- Health
- Boston Globe
RFK Jr. praises cane sugar
But studies do not show substantial benefits in using cane sugar as a substitute for high-fructose corn syrup, some nutrition experts said. Kennedy has repeatedly blasted high-fructose corn syrup — a staple of sugary snacks and drinks including Coke — as a driver of obesity and diabetes. And research has established that added sugar in food does fuel those chronic diseases. Get Love Letters: The Newsletter A weekly dispatch with all the best relationship content and commentary – plus exclusive content for fans of Love Letters, Dinner With Cupid, weddings, therapy talk, and more. Enter Email Sign Up Cane sugar is also an unhealthy addition to drinks, the experts said. Advertisement 'Replacing one sugar with another isn't going to have much of an effect on health,' said Dariush Mozaffarian, director of the Food Is Medicine Institute at Tufts University, who praised other Kennedy food priorities, such as reducing consumption of ultra-processed foods. The Department of Health and Human Services declined to comment. Some Kennedy allies defended his comments, saying they were not contradictory and instead highlighted concerns over a pesticide commonly sprayed on corn. 'Of course, Coca-Cola is not a healthy drink. Of course, it still has a ton of sugar and is nutritionally void,' said Vani Hari, an author and activist known as the Food Babe. Advertisement But Kennedy is 'looking at the bigger picture,' Hari added. 'He understands how food is produced in this country. He understands the downstream impacts on human health.' Many US customers are already familiar with the Mexican version of Coke made with cane sugar because it is widely imported. President Donald Trump, known for his love of Diet Coke, said last week that he had spoken to Coca-Cola about making its product in the US with cane sugar and that the company agreed. At the time, Coca-Cola did not confirm the move, but the company said in a statement that it appreciated Trump's 'enthusiasm' for its brand. The company said the addition of a soda with cane sugar in the US 'is designed to complement the company's strong core portfolio and offer more choices across occasions and preferences.' James Quincey, Coca-Cola's chief executive, said some of its other drinks sold in the US already use cane sugar, such as teas and lemonades. 'We are definitely looking to use the whole toolbox, the whole tool kit of available sweetening options to some extent where there are consumer preferences,' Quincey said on a Tuesday earnings call. Trump's preview of the decision revived a long-running debate over whether 'Mexican Coke' made with cane sugar tastes better. Nutrition experts bristled at the focus on the type of sugar in the drink instead of whether people should be drinking it at all. 'To actually improve health, the administration should focus on less sugar, not different sugar,' said Aviva Musicus, science director of the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, which advocates a healthy and safe food supply. Advertisement Cane sugar, derived from a sucrose-rich plant, and high-fructose corn syrup, made by breaking down corn starch and processing it, share similar compositions with slight differences in their makeup. The Food and Drug Administration says it is not aware of evidence showing a difference in the safety of foods containing the syrup versus other sweeteners such as sucrose, also known as table sugar, and honey. Several nutritionists said they have not seen scientific evidence showing sucrose is healthier than high-fructose corn syrup in food. They pointed to a 2022 study indicating that both have similar effects on weight, blood pressure, and body mass index. 'Biochemically and physiologically, they're the same,' said Marion Nestle, a retired professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University. 'They're sugars. Everybody should be eating less of them.' More than three-quarters of children five years and older and more than half of adults consume more than the recommended limit of added sugars, according to US data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Kennedy has long targeted high-fructose corn syrup and touted 'Mexican Coke' over the version manufactured in the U.S. 'High-fructose corn syrup. That is poison. … Clearly it is linked to the obesity epidemic. It's linked to the diabetes epidemic,' Kennedy said on a 2023 episode of 'The Breakfast Club,' a radio show. He added, 'If you're going to drink Coca-Cola, drink a Mexican Coke because they don't have it in it.' But public health experts have long raised alarms about soda consumption in Mexico. According to one 2019 study, nearly a fifth of all deaths of Mexican adults due to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or obesity-related cancer were attributable to sugar-sweetened beverages. At one point, the drinks contributed to more than 40,000 excess deaths per year in Mexico. Advertisement A May report from the Trump administration's MAHA commission - which Kennedy chairs - said high-fructose corn syrup and other added sugars 'may play a significant role in childhood obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).' Embed code:
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Trump likes renaming people, places and things. He's not the first to deploy that perk of power.
Related : Advertisement A name, after all, defines identity and even reality because it is connected to the verb 'to be,' says one brand strategist. Get Love Letters: The Newsletter A weekly dispatch with all the best relationship content and commentary – plus exclusive content for fans of Love Letters, Dinner With Cupid, weddings, therapy talk, and more. Enter Email Sign Up 'A parent naming a child, a founder naming a company, a president naming a place ... in each example, we can see the relationship of power,' Shannon Murphy, who runs Nameistry, a naming agency that works with companies and entrepreneurs to develop brand identities, said in an email. 'Naming gives you control.' Trump reignited a debate on football and American identity In Trump's case, reviving the debate over the Washington football team's name had the added effect of distraction. 'My statement on the Washington Redskins has totally blown up, but only in a very positive way,' he wrote on his social media platform, adding a threat to derail the team's deal for a new stadium if it resisted. Advertisement In this 2019 photo, the then Washington Redskins logo is seen on FedEx Field prior to an NFL football game between the New York Giants and the Redskins in Landover, Md. The team has since been rebranded as the Washington Commanders. Mark Tenally/Associated Press In fact, part of the reaction came from people noting that Trump's proposed renaming came as he struggled to move past a rebellion among his supporters over the administration's refusal to release much-hyped records in Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking investigation. Over about two weeks, Trump had cycled through many tactics — downplaying the issue, blaming others, scolding a reporter, insulting his own supporters, suing the Wall Street Journal and finally authorizing the Justice Department to try to unseal grand jury transcripts. Trump's demand that the NFL and the District of Columbia change the team's name back to a dictionary definition of a slur against Native Americans reignited a brawl in miniature over race, history and the American identity. Trump's reelection itself can be seen as a response to the nation's reckoning with its racial history after the 2020 police killing of George Floyd. That year, Americans elected Democratic President Joe Biden, who championed diversity. During his term, Washington's football team became first the Washington Football Team, then the Commanders, at a widely estimated cost in the tens of millions of dollars. And in 2021, The Cleveland Indians became the Cleveland Guardians. In 2025, Trump has ordered a halt to diversity, equity and inclusion programs through the federal government, universities and schools, despite legal challenges. And he wants the Commanders' name changed back, though it's unclear if he has the authority to restrict the nearly $4 billion project. Is Trump's 'Redskins' push a distraction or a power play? What's clear is that names carry great power where business, national identity, race, history and culture intersect. Trump has had great success for decades branding everything from buildings he named after himself to the Gulf between Mexico, Cuba and the United States to his political opponents and people he simply doesn't like. Exhibit A: Florida's governor, dubbed by Trump 'Meatball Ron' DeSantis, who challenged him for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. Advertisement And Trump is not the first leader to use monikers and nicknames — branding, really — to try to define reality and the people who populate it. Naming was a key tool of colonization that modern-day countries are still trying to dislodge. 'Naming,' notes one expert, 'is never neutral.' 'To name is to collapse infinite complexity into a manageable symbol, and in that compression, whole worlds are won or lost,' linguist Norazha Paiman wrote last month on Medium. 'When the British renamed places throughout India or Africa, they weren't just updating maps," Paiman wrote. 'They were restructuring the conceptual frameworks through which people could relate to their own territories.' This is not Trump's first rebranding push Trump's order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America is perhaps the best-known result of Executive Order 14172, titled 'Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness.' The renaming sent mapmakers, search engines and others into a flurry over whether to change the name. And it set off a legal dispute with The Associated Press over First Amendment freedoms that is still winding through the courts. The news outlet's access to events in the Oval Office and Air Force One was cut back starting in February after the AP said it would continue referring to the Gulf of Mexico in its copy, while noting Trump's wishes that it instead be renamed the Gulf of America. President Donald Trump holds up a signed proclamation declaring Feb. 9 Gulf of America Day, as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum watches aboard Air Force One as Trump travels from West Palm Beach, Fla. to New Orleans, Feb. 9, 2025. Ben Curtis/Associated Press It's unclear if Trump's name will stick universally — or go the way of 'freedom fries,' a brief attempt by some in the George W. Bush-era GOP to rebrand french fries after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Advertisement But there's evidence that at least for business in some places, the 'Gulf of America' terminology has staying power. Chevron's earnings statements of late have referred to the Gulf of America, because 'that's the position of the U.S. government now,' CEO Mike Wirth said during a Jan. 31 call with investors. And along the Gulf Coast in Republican Louisiana, leaders of the state's seafood industry call the body of water the Gulf of America, in part, because putting that slogan on local products might help beat back the influx of foreign shrimp flooding American markets, the Louisiana Illuminator news outlet reported. Renaming is a bipartisan endeavor The racial reckoning inspired by Floyd's killing rippled across the cultural landscape. Quaker retired the Aunt Jemima brand after it had been served up at America's breakfast tables for 131 years, saying it recognized that the character's origins were 'based on a racial stereotype.' Eskimo Pies became Edy's. The Grammy-winning country band Lady Antebellum changed its name to Lady A, saying they were regretful and embarrassed that their former moniker was associated with slavery. And Trump didn't start the fight over football. Democratic President Barack Obama, in fact, told The Associated Press in 2013 that he would 'think about changing' the name of the Washington Redskins if he owned the team. Trump soon after posted to Twitter: 'President should not be telling the Washington Redskins to change their name-our country has far bigger problems! FOCUS on them, not nonsense.' Fast-forward to July 20, 2025, when Trump posted that the Washington Commanders should change their name back to the Redskins. 'Times,' the president wrote, 'are different now.' Advertisement
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Health
- Boston Globe
Bees have some ways to cope with a warming Earth, but researchers fear for their future
Get Love Letters: The Newsletter A weekly dispatch with all the best relationship content and commentary – plus exclusive content for fans of Love Letters, Dinner With Cupid, weddings, therapy talk, and more. Enter Email Sign Up 'Just like we go into the shade, or we sweat or we might work less hard, bees actually do the exact same thing so they can avoid the heat,' said Jon Harrison, an environmental physiologist at Arizona State University and one of the study's authors. Advertisement But that means the bees aren't able to do what they normally do, said Kevin McCluney, a biology professor at Bowling Green State University. 'They're not going out and getting more nectar. They're not mating. They're not doing the things that bees would otherwise do,' McCluney said. Heat is just one challenge for critical pollinator Generally, most bees are heat-tolerant, but as the climate warms, some experts think their ability to fend off disease and gather food might become harder. And habitat loss, increased use of pesticides, diseases and lack of forage for both managed and wild bees are all listed as potential contributors to the global decline of bees and other pollinators. Advertisement 'If you're not well-fed, and your body is intoxicated with pesticides and you have lots of diseases in your body, you're going to be less heat-tolerant than if you were healthy,' said Margarita López-Uribe, a pollinator health expert at Pennsylvania State University. Earlier this year, preliminary results from the annual U.S. Beekeeping Survey found that beekeepers lost almost 56% of their managed colonies, the highest loss since the survey started in 2010. Almost all of the managed honeybee colonies in the U.S. are used to pollinate agricultural crops such as almonds, apples, cherries and blueberries. Fewer pollinators can lead to less pollination and potentially lower yields. 'It's a very fragile system if you think about it,' López-Uribe said. 'Because if something goes wrong, you have these super high-value crops that won't get enough bees for pollination.' Losing hives at Honeyrun Farms Back at Barnes' hives in Ohio, thousands of honeybees fly around as he gathers boxes to take back to his farm for honey production. Nearby, a couple of his bees land on milkweed flowers, a rare bit of plant diversity in an area dominated by corn and soybean fields. For Barnes, who operates Honeyrun Farm with his wife, Jayne, one of the challenges heat can pose to his 500 honeybee hives is fending off parasitic mites that threaten the bees. If temperatures get too hot, he can't apply formic acid, an organic chemical that kills the mites. If it's applied when it's too hot, the bees could die. Advertisement Last year they lost almost a third of the 400 hives they sent to California to help pollinate commercial almond groves. Barnes thinks those hives may have been in poor health ahead of pollination because they were unable to ward off mites when it was hot months earlier. 'Dead hives aren't pollinating the almonds,' he said. 'It's a real ripple effect that stems back from the heat in the summertime.' Sometimes the heat helps. Here in Ohio, Barnes' hives last summer produced a bumper crop of honey as they feasted on nearby soybean nectar as the plants bloomed in the heat. Still, the lack of diverse plants for bees to forage in an area dominated by corn and soybean fields isn't ideal. And even the native blooms are appearing erratically, Barnes said. In autumn, his bees search for food on goldenrod, but those blooms are appearing later. And even then, he has supplemented his hive with additional food to keep them healthy into the winter. 'Every single plant that blooms is something that the bee can use,' Barnes said. 'And every single plant is affected by climate change.' Research that may aid bees is in peril It's only in the last decade that people have become aware of the magnitude of the pollinator decline globally, said Harrison, of Arizona State University. Data is limited on how much climate change and heat stress is contributing to pollinator decline. 'It's a relatively new focus for biology,' he said. 'I think it's super important, but it's not being studied a ton.' The Trump administration's proposed budget would eliminate the research program that funds the USGS Bee Lab, which supports the inventory, monitoring and natural history of the nation's wild bees. Other grants for bee research are also in jeopardy. Advertisement U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon said America's pollinators are in 'grave danger,' and he'll fight for the federal funding. Pollinators contribute to the health of the planet, the crops we grow and the food we eat, he said. 'Rather than taking bold action to protect them, the Trump administration has proposed a reckless budget that would zero out funding for critical research aimed at saving important pollinators,' he said in a statement to The Associated Press. Harrison said his research on this topic would come to a halt if cuts are made to his federal funding, and it would be more difficult in general for scientists to study the disappearance of bees and other pollinators and improve how they prevent these losses. Not being able to manage these pollinator deaths could cause the price of fruits, vegetables, nuts, coffee and chocolate to jump or become scarce. 'Hopefully, even if such research is defunded in the U.S., such research will continue in Europe and China, preventing these extreme scenarios,' said Harrison. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘We Do Not Care' goes viral: the menopausal mantra that's resonating with millions
If you haven't already encountered Sanders — if five friends haven't texted you 'OMG THIS IS ME!!!' — stop right here, listen to her say the word 'care,' in an accent that's been described as 'zero f's,' and then resume reading. Get Love Letters: The Newsletter A weekly dispatch with all the best relationship content and commentary – plus exclusive content for fans of Love Letters, Dinner With Cupid, weddings, therapy talk, and more. Enter Email Sign Up It would be an understatement to say that Sanders' audience has been waiting for her. In the two months since that cri de coeur , she's gained 2.5 million new followers; landed a talent manager; started paid collaborations with Mattress Firm and Dove; and has either begun a movement, or given name to one that's been silently, angrily, building since, well, probably since forever. Advertisement 'I love her so much,' said Advertisement On social media, the millions of likes and comments on her posts are a window into an exhausted and resentful stew of emotions. 'We do not care if our coworkers think we are passive-aggressive,' read a comment on Instagram. 'The only other option I can offer at this time is aggressive-aggressive.' 'We do not care that we just got home from the grocery store and order pizza,' read another. 'We do not feel like cooking. We are tired from the grocery shopping.' 'We do not care if we're out of band aids.' a Facebook fan wrote. 'Use a maxi pad. We no longer need them.' Sanders, who is a mother and a wife, and who often appears on camera rocking a neck pillow, a sleep mask around her neck, and a napkin tucked into her shirt, takes aim at a range of antagonists. 'We do not care if we said we wanted to hang out soon, that probably was said when we was happy; we are no longer in a happy mood,' Sanders says in one post. 'We do not care if we don't show up for the family cookout. Most of y'all have undiagnosed trauma that we honestly just don't want to deal with right now.' Many women repeat Sanders 'we do not care' tagline to themselves in almost a self-soothing way, and the mantra has been compared to Mel Robbins's 'It's 'Let Them',' said WROR's Falcone, but behind their back, 'you're flipping them the bird.' Advertisement The We Do Not Care Club has arrived at a time when many women feel under particular attack, with the Even so, the unapologetic behavior Sanders describes sounds so radical that one club member called it 'aspirational.' As extreme as the not-caring sounds, the behavior, at its core, is simply about 'setting boundaries, and having compassion for yourself,' said psychiatrist The videos are resonating with women in middle age and beyond, she said, because they have 'lived the full cost' of putting their own needs last. 'They've seen that wearing the heels, or whatever they are doing, because they think it will make people like them, or they'll get the promotion, doesn't necessarily work. It just makes life harder for them.' Margie Lachman, a psychology professor at Brandeis University, says Sanders's We Do Not Care Club has gone viral not only because she's found a catchy way to describe how millions of women feel, but because it makes women feel like they are part of something. 'The fact that it's a 'club' is really meaningful,' she said, 'because this is a time when people are looking for support and validation.' Indeed, Sanders's talent manager, 'She also has a super exciting project in the works,' said Granados, who didn't provide details, but did share that she and Sanders had such an instant connection that on their first call they ended up professing their love for each other through tears. Advertisement So ingrained are societal messages that sometimes, or maybe it's often, the judgment is coming from inside your own brain. Consider Kristina Tsipouras Miller, the founder of the Who cares! she thought joyfully. Until she remembered. 'I said to my husband, '20-year-old Kristina would not have wanted to be seen with me',' she recalled. But now, to channel Sanders, if you do not like that we are comfortable, we do not care. Beth Teitell can be reached at
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- General
- Boston Globe
Splitting the check creates rift between wife and son
Who is right? CONFUSED DAD A. Dating is about finding a person who shares one's values and vision for life. One of your son's values is, apparently, sharing expenses at a certain point. This is totally fine. Advertisement Dates can be expensive. My mother used to say, 'Romance without finance is a nuisance,' and I always remembered that when I wanted to go on a date but my pockets were a little light. Get Love Letters: The Newsletter A weekly dispatch with all the best relationship content and commentary – plus exclusive content for fans of Love Letters, Dinner With Cupid, weddings, therapy talk, and more. Enter Email Sign Up Your son and the woman weren't compatible in their views about paying for the date. That doesn't make him or your wife right. He was doing what works for him and openly communicating with his date about it. One hopes that he'll find someone who shares that value and has no problem splitting the check. Q. My sister stopped speaking to me because I didn't attend the wedding of her daughter, my niece. Every year I purchase very expensive seats for my husband and I to attend a two-day concert, for Father's Day. The wedding was planned on one of these days. We chose to continue our tradition. Advertisement When my sister found out, she called me screaming and brought up things she'd been holding on to for years. As always, most of this was fabricated and not true. There are many issues in my family. I have been on a healing journey from cancer, other health and ancestral trauma, and so on. She is 70 and I'm 75 years old. I want to live in peace and love for the rest of the life I have left. I feel free from family drama. My small immediate family is a blessing. My health, family, and loving friends come first. My niece and I have a good relationship. We had dinner before the wedding, and I met her husband. I am not worried about that. Although I think of my sister often, I reflect on the family drama, and feel relieved that I am not in it anymore. We are senior citizens and should be enjoying our life. What do you think? WANT PEACE AND LOVE A. Honestly, your letter had me in the first half. I thought, 'You can't skip the concert for one year?' But this isn't really about the wedding. Your niece seems to be fine with it, from your telling. So, even if your sister had bruised feelings about your choice, it isn't really her fight. What appears to be happening here is that this event is just another inflection point in an ongoing conflict. Sometimes we're in conflict with people, but sometimes they just have conflicts with us. That's the issue here. If she's bringing up issues she's had with you for years, then the wedding was just an excuse. If part of your healing journey has been setting a healthy boundary, then you should keep that boundary and not engage in further back and forth with your sister. Advertisement You wrote that you want peace. Peace can always be a shared goal, but if she's not willing or interested in working toward it with you, you can step back with love. Q. I use the exercise room in my apartment. So does a neighbor who has a body odor so strong that when he is there — or has been there in the previous few hours — I open the window, turn on the fan, prop the door open, and wear a mask. There is no staff to complain to. I feel that saying something to him would be crossing a line. Help! WORKOUT WOES A. Although a conversation is the most direct route, it might be uncomfortable and could create a tense situation for you in the building. Because the space has no oversight, take the reins by posting a community note on the door or in the room that acknowledges the gym is a stuffy space and requests that everyone should air out the gym during workouts and practice community-minded hygiene. (Think of the signs at pools that instruct swimmers to shower beforehand). Now, this depends on a level of self-awareness that your neighbor may not possess. But, short of talking to him, your next best bet is reminding him — and everyone else — that this is a shared space. R. Eric Thomas can be reached at .
