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Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Health
- Boston Globe
Is sunscreen toxic? The UV truthers on the Internet sure think so.
'They told us the sun was the threat,' another said. 'Not the corporations funding both the warning and the cure. I stopped burning when I stopped believing them.' 'People burn because of the seed oils in these processed foods,' read a third reply. 'If you eat clean, you'll be fine.' Wait — what? Wasn't it just yesterday that we were supposed to feel guilty for not using sunscreen? Yes, but forget all that nonsense from your dermatologist. Now it's burn, baby burn. Advertisement Make America Blister Again! Forget 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 The social media doctors have weighed in, and now a serious portion of the public believes any or all of the following: Sunscreen doesn't prevent cancer, it causes it. Sunscreen is a ploy by big pharma to increase profits by making people sick. Use it, and you'll end up deficient in Vitamin D (most people reportedly don't put on enough for this to be a problem). A 2024 Advertisement Brigham and Women's Hospital dermatologist She learned that firsthand, in 2023, when she posted a TikTok video with what seemed like basic, if perhaps even dull, advice: wear sunscreen on exposed skin and reapply it regularly. The vitriolic responses, and there were hundreds, had a theme: She was a shill for big pharma. She was propagating the lie that sunscreen protects against skin cancer. She was saying this to … somehow … get more patients. 'I had no idea that this was a public sentiment,' she said. 'It had never been discussed in medical school or any of my training.' But the misconception that it's harmful is so common that even educated people believe it, she said. 'I went to play tennis yesterday, and my coach was like, 'I'm not putting chemicals on my body.' He's an engineer.' The skepticism has its roots in reality, if only very tangentially, said Timothy Rebbeck, a professor of cancer prevention at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, whose research focuses in part on false claims connected to cancer. 'This is a phenomenon we see in a lot of cancer misinformation,' he said. 'There is a kernel of truth to a story.' For example, he said: a study is done in a test tube or an animal that shows a compound found in microscopic levels in sunscreen, when exposed to ultraviolet light, could cause DNA damage. Advertisement That result, taken out of context, makes its way to social media, where it's sensationalized and amplified. 'By the time it gets to your social media feed, it doesn't resemble the original piece of information,' he said. 'No one goes back to the original paper and sees that it was in mice.' Even if sunscreen raised your risk for skin cancer — which it doesn't, he emphasized — its well-established cancer-fighting benefits would outweigh any risk. 'If you're trying to make a choice, the choice is pretty clear.' There are two types of sunscreens: physical blockers, which have zinc oxide or titanium dioxide and reflect ultraviolet rays from the sun; and chemical blockers, which contain chemicals that absorb the sun's ultraviolet rays. Fernanda Duarte put sunscreen on Luisa Vilela, 10, of Watertown at the Artesani Playground in Brighton in 2021. Christiana Botic for The Boston Globe Rebbeck said that people who are concerned about the content of sunscreens should choose one that contains zinc oxide or titanium oxide, which are well established as safe and effective without any indication of carcinogenicity or other adverse health effects. As Harvard Health Publishing explained in 'However, there has been no conclusive evidence that oxybenzone is harmful to humans,' it wrote. 'Organizations that have raised concerns about oxybenzone typically cite studies done in rats, where the rats were actually fed oxybenzone. It would take an individual 277 years of sunscreen use to achieve the equivalent systemic dose that produced effects in these rat studies…' Advertisement But what's Harvard Health Publishing compared to the wisdom, or at least the reach, of social media star and 'Anytime I do an interview, I get a lot of s*** when I admit that I don't [wear sunscreen],' she said in a viral 2024 episode of her 'Let's Be Honest' podcast, before prompting her guest to talk 'about the health benefits of the sun and why we maybe don't need sunscreen.' 'We've literally spent our whole existence as humans under the sun all day, until the last, like, 100 years or so, and now we're like shut-ins … and that's really bad for a lot of reasons,' her guest replied. At Castle Island on a recent weekday, the weather app was showing a UV rating of 5, high enough for the website of the National Weather Service to recommend use of a sunscreen of at least SPF-30. But Catherine Civitella, who was hanging out with a friend from college, wasn't wearing any, as she considers it 'toxic.' She formed that opinion from 'the internet,' she said, and also by observing people in Florida, where she used to live. There, she noticed that the better people ate, and the more time they spent in the sun, sans sunscreen, the better their skin looked. 'What you put in your body is more important than what you put on your body,' she said. Over on the beach, Maria Turolska, a Dorchester grandmother watching her 18-month-old grandson, both fair-skinned, said she wouldn't use sunscreen on herself or the little boy, even though his parents wanted her to. Asked if she thought sunscreen could cause cancer, she reflected the widespread skepticism about basically everything these days: 'The companies who sell the products want you to think this, but it's hard to know if it is good or not good.' Advertisement Alas, as is too often the case, you may be doomed no matter what you do. Studies have found that people who use sunscreen tend to stay out in the sun longer, according to Harvard Health Publishing, 'and thus may actually increase their risk of skin cancer.' Beth Teitell can be reached at
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First Post
3 days ago
- Health
- First Post
Wake-up call: How snoozing your alarm is costing you more sleep
A study by Mass General Brigham has found that hitting the snooze button on a morning alarm does more harm than good. Not only does it disrupt the important REM sleep stages, required for optimal cognitive functioning, but it also leads to poorer sleep quality and grogginess throughout the day. So, how can you fix this habit? read more A new study from researchers at Mass General Brigham, the largest hospital-based research group in the US, has found that the cherished snooze button might be doing more harm than good. AI-generated representative image We've all been there. Monday morning, alarm blasting, and without even thinking, your hand shoots out to hit snooze. 'Just five more minutes', you whisper to yourself. Maybe even ten. But while those extra moments under the covers feel like sweet relief, they might actually be messing with your sleep more than helping. A new study from researchers at Mass General Brigham, the largest hospital-based research group in the US, has found that the cherished snooze button might be doing more harm than good. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Published in Scientific Reports, the study analysed over 3 million nights of sleep using data from the Sleep Cycle app. And what it found could make you rethink your morning routine. So, how common is snoozing? What does it really do to your brain and body? And is there a better way to wake up? Here's a closer look. You are not the only one If you thought you were alone in your morning snooze ritual, think again. The study led by researchers at Mass General Brigham shows that reaching for the snooze button is a habit shared by many around the world. Using data from more than 21,000 users of the Sleep Cycle app, the team discovered that nearly 56 per cent of sleep sessions involved hitting the snooze button. On average, users squeezed in about 11 extra minutes of sleep between alarms before actually getting out of bed. 'Many of us hit the snooze alarm in the morning with the hope of getting a little more sleep,' explained Dr Rebecca Robbins, the study's lead author and a sleep expert at Brigham and Women's Hospital. 'But that extra sleep is usually very light and fragmented,' she added. On average, people squeeze in about 11 extra minutes of sleep between alarms before actually getting out of bed. Representational Image/Pixabay The research also showed that snoozing is far more common on weekdays, particularly Monday through Friday, when rigid work schedules make early wake-ups unavoidable. On weekends, people are less likely to snooze, perhaps because they're waking up on their own or simply allowing themselves more rest. Interestingly, those clocking fewer than five hours of sleep per night were found to be the least likely to snooze, likely because they had no choice but to get moving immediately due to responsibilities or time constraints. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Geographically, the snoozing trend was most prominent in countries like the United States, Sweden, and Germany. Meanwhile, users in Japan and Australia were least likely to delay their alarms. Why snoozing does more harm than good While those few extra minutes in bed might feel like a small morning luxury, experts warn that snoozing could be quietly sabotaging the quality of your rest—and your day. According to Robbins, the sleep we get after pressing snooze is typically fragmented and shallow, meaning it doesn't offer the same restorative benefits as uninterrupted sleep. Instead of feeling refreshed, many people end up groggier than before. 'Certainly, if you're feeling worse off (and) more tired from the snooze alarm, I would recommend going back to waking up cold turkey without it,' Fiala, who also runs the CommunityHealth Chicago sleep clinic told CNN. But why does this happen? This is because the last stages of sleep before we naturally wake up are crucial. This is when our brain gets rich amounts of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, important for memory and emotional processing. According to Robbins, the sleep we get after pressing snooze is typically fragmented and shallow, meaning it doesn't offer the same restorative benefits as uninterrupted sleep. Image for Representation 'The hours just before waking are rich in rapid eye movement sleep. Hitting the snooze alarm will interrupt these critical stages of sleep and typically only offer you light sleep in between snooze alarms,' said Robbins. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD So while hitting snooze might seem harmless, it's not just costing you a few extra minutes; it could be robbing you of the quality sleep your body needs to function at its best. What should you do? Tempting as it may be to sneak in those extra few minutes of sleep, experts suggest you're better off resisting the snooze button altogether. 'The best approach for optimising your sleep and next day performance is to set your alarm for the latest possible time, then commit to getting out of bed when your first alarm goes off,' said Robbins. In short: set it and don't forget it. Another strategy is to build a consistent sleep schedule. According to Kimberly Honn, associate professor of psychology at Washington State University Spokane, maintaining regular sleep and wake times helps your body complete its sleep cycles properly, reducing that groggy, fogged-up feeling known as sleep inertia. At deep stages of sleep, electric pulses of the brain reach a highly rhythmic pattern, Honn explained to CNN. Trying to wake up during these stages cuts important brain maintenance processes short and can lead one to experience sleep inertia, which can last for several minutes or even hours. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But when your body follows a regular routine, it starts to move through sleep stages at predictable times. That way, you're more likely to wake during lighter sleep, and feel sharper and more refreshed. Having a morning routine can help with waking up early, and you will be less likely to hit the snooze button. AI-generated representative image 'In the perfect world, we would not be relying on an alarm clock at all,' said Robbins. 'We would be able to fall asleep and wake up naturally and have energy throughout the day.' If you're struggling to make the switch, try giving yourself something to look forward to in the morning, a warm cup of tea, your favourite breakfast, or a quick walk in the sun. It's all about building a routine that supports both your body and your motivation. And if you must tweak your schedule, do it slowly. Sleep specialist Fiala advises adjusting your bedtime by no more than 30 minutes, even on weekends. Shifting gradually, he says, is better than shocking your system. The bottom line: Better sleep starts the moment you stop snoozing. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With input from agencies
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Removing fluoride from public drinking water may lead to millions more cavities in US children, study estimates
The longstanding public health practice of adding fluoride to public drinking water systems in the United States is facing new challenges and bans in some places, and experts have warned that the change would come with significant costs – both to the health of children and the health care system. A new modeling study, published Friday in JAMA Health Forum, estimates that removing fluoride from public water in the US would lead to 25.4 million excess decayed teeth in children and adolescents within five years, along with $9.8 billion in health care costs. After 10 years, these impacts would more than double to nearly 54 million excess decayed teeth and $19.4 billion in costs. That translates to one additional decayed tooth for every three children in the US – but the costs wouldn't be spread evenly, said Dr. Lisa Simon, an internal medicine physician with Brigham and Women's Hospital and co-author of the new study. 'We know that the people who have the most benefit from fluoride are people who otherwise struggle to access dental care,' says Simon, who has been researching dental policy for a decade. 'When we think about those 25 million decayed teeth, they're much more likely to appear in the mouths of children who are publicly insured by Medicaid or come from otherwise low-income families.' Fluoride is a mineral that can be found naturally in some foods and groundwater. It can help prevent tooth decay by strengthening the protective outer layer of enamel that can be worn away by acids formed by bacteria, plaque and sugars in the mouth. Adding fluoride to public water systems started in the US in 1945 and has been hailed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as one of the 10 greatest health interventions in America in the 20th century In 2022, close to two-thirds of the US population was served by community water systems that had fluoride added to them, according to CDC data. But US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in April that he would tell the CDC to stop recommending that fluoride be added to public drinking water, and lawmakers in two states – Utah and Florida – have banned the practice this year. To estimate the effects of removing fluoride from community water, Simon and co-author Dr. Sung Eun Choi from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine assessed clinical oral health data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to create a nationally representative sample of US children. At baseline, the data showed that about 1 in 5 children between the ages of 2 and 5 were estimated to have dental caries, a chronic infectious disease involving tooth decay and cavities, along with more than half of children ages 6 to 12 and more than 57% of teenagers. But removing fluoride would raise those prevalence rates by more than 7 percentage points, the researchers found. 'This is a huge cost for our country and it's all avoidable. There is no better replacement for the time-tested, doctor trusted use of fluoride in community water programs,' Dr. Brett Kessler, president of the American Dental Association, said in a statement. 'No amount of political rhetoric or misinformation will change that good oral health depends on proper nutrition, oral hygiene and optimally fluoridated water, or fluoride supplements if community water programs lack fluoride.' On the campaign trail last fall, Kennedy called fluoride 'industrial waste' and claimed that exposure has resulted in a wide variety of health problems, including cancer – claims that both the American Cancer Society and the CDC have disagreed with. And in April, HHS and the US Environmental Protection Agency announced that they would study the potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water – a review centered around a government study from last year concluding that higher levels of fluoride are linked to lowered IQ in children. In the new modeling study, researchers found that only about 1.5% of US children in 2016 had exposure to this excess level of fluoride – considered to be above 1.5 milligrams per liter – that posed risk for fluorosis, a condition that leaves streaks or spots on teeth, or other harms. Meanwhile, about 40% of US children had access to optimal fluoride levels that effectively prevent tooth decay – between 0.6 and 1.5 milligrams per liter – while about 46% had access to even lower levels. The authors of the new study did not assess the neurocognitive effects of fluoride because 'current federal guidance does not find an association' at the levels used in public drinking water. They found that removing fluoride would only help prevent about 200,000 cases of fluorosis over five years. Tooth decay can mean a lot of things, Simon said, but their model was picking up cases that would likely need at least a filling along with severe cavities that could turn into a root canal or a tooth extraction – the costs of which would be borne by families, insurers and the government. 'Talking about money, which is really important, is only one way to measure that cost,' Simon said. 'It's also a cost in terms of children being in pain, children not being able to eat, children missing school or not being able to pay attention in school because their teeth hurt, parents missing work, children losing teeth that are supposed to stay with them for their entire lives, and those children growing into older adults who are more likely to be missing teeth with all of the health consequences that entails.' Forecasts in the new modeling study mirror real-life impacts that were measured in other parts of the world after fluoride was removed from drinking water. Calgary, Alberta, stopped putting fluoride in its water in 2011, and a study found that children there had more cavities than those in cities that kept fluoride. Calgary will resume fluoridation this year. Simon worries the effects in the US might be even greater because of health inequities that are especially pronounced in the dental care system. 'We've had fluoridated water for so long and it's worked so well that we've stopped appreciating the amazing things it's done,' she said. 'When something has been a success story for 80 years … you don't know which kid never got a cavity because they were exposed to fluoride, and we don't know which older adults aren't wearing dentures because of that.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
A South Bay Man Who Was Part of a High-End Brothel Network Sentenced to Federal Time
A South Bay Man Who Was Part of a High-End Brothel Network Sentenced to Federal Time originally appeared on L.A. Mag. A South Bay man who federal prosecutors say was at the center of a members-only luxury brothel network that regularly flew high-end escorts to service elite clients in Los Angeles was sentenced to two years in federal prison on Thursday by a Boston judge. James Lee, 70, was an elderly pimp connected to a network of human traffickers who operated the underground sex-for-a-fee escort service that catered to wealthy and influential men in Massachusetts, Virginia, and Los Angeles. Lee was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $569,123 in connection with the fraudulently obtained COVID-19 funds and a money judgment of $63,000 related to the proceeds earned by the defendant as a result of the prostitution conspiracy, prosecutors say. Lee was arrested at his Torrence home in late 2023 with co-defendants Han Lee, 42, of Cambridge, Massachusetts and Junmyung Lee, 31, of Dedham, Massachusetts. The trio have since made deals with the government. Han Lee was sentenced to four years in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release in March, and was to forfeit nearly $5.5 million in money made by the human trafficking operation. A month later, Junmyung Lee, 32, was sentenced to one year in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. The Court also ordered a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $200,000, equal to the amount of proceeds earned by the defendant during the conspiracy. Meanwhile, white shoe defense lawyers for a plethora of 'John Does' identified in the black books of the sophisticated interstate high-end brothel network continue the fight to keep their clients' names secret from the public. "They are doctors, they are lawyers, they're accountants, they are executives at high-tech companies, pharmaceutical companies, they're military officers, government contractors, professors, scientists," former U.S. attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy said at the time of the bust in November 2023. Since then, the names of a dozen clients - like Dr. Mitchell Rubenstein of Chestnut Hill, who remains on leave from his position as Executive Vice Chair for the Department of Dermatology at Brigham and Women's Hospital - have been released as prosecutors say that paid a fee to join the members only network and then ponied up anywhere from $350 to $600 an hour to have sex with Korean women. A police commander described the services this way at a court proceeding: "For example, GFE refers to a girlfriend experience, and provides a more intimate experience and blurs the boundaries between a financial transaction and relationship," said Cambridge Police Lt. Jarred Cabral. "Typically including any and all sex acts." But other names of johns who were brothel members remain a secret. "They will undoubtedly lose their jobs, lose their professions and have their lives ripped apart," attorney Benjamin Urbelis, representing five of the alleged brothel clients whose names continue to be shielded, argued before the Supreme Judicial Court. Prosecutors say Lee rented several high-end apartments in Boston and Eastern Virginia that were used as brothel locations and was the sole and legal tenant of at least six locations that were used for sexual hook-ups chosen from a menu of options advertised to the underworld outfit's members. Officials were concerned that the Koreans behind the scheme were collecting intelligence and compromising information on powerful men. A Department of Homeland Security Investigations affidavit filed by an agent in the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Unit pointed out that the three accused pimps - including the elderly Torrance man who ran several businesses in Los Angeles - are from a country that the U.S. considers an adversary and the money they were making selling sex was sent back to South Korea."Lee was regularly compensated by his co-conspirators for both leasing apartments and for his travel to and from the brothel locations," prosecutors say. "He also served as a liaison between the females working in the units and the property managers by fielding calls and coordinating any issues that arose relating to maintenance and inspections.""This commercial sex ring was built on secrecy and exclusivity, catering to a wealthy and well-connected clientele," Levy said at the time of its takedown. "Business was booming."Clients went through an arduous background check and submitted employment information and referrals before they could join the elite brothel club, which prosecutors say then charged rates of $350 to $600 or more per hour for prostitution services, depending on the services. This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on May 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
A South Bay Man Who Was Part of a High-End Brothel Network Sentenced to Federal Time
A South Bay Man Who Was Part of a High-End Brothel Network Sentenced to Federal Time originally appeared on L.A. Mag. A South Bay man who federal prosecutors say was at the center of a members-only luxury brothel network that regularly flew high-end escorts to service elite clients in Los Angeles was sentenced to two years in federal prison on Thursday by a Boston judge. James Lee, 70, was an elderly pimp connected to a network of human traffickers who operated the underground sex-for-a-fee escort service that catered to wealthy and influential men in Massachusetts, Virginia, and Los Angeles. Lee was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $569,123 in connection with the fraudulently obtained COVID-19 funds and a money judgment of $63,000 related to the proceeds earned by the defendant as a result of the prostitution conspiracy, prosecutors say. Lee was arrested at his Torrence home in late 2023 with co-defendants Han Lee, 42, of Cambridge, Massachusetts and Junmyung Lee, 31, of Dedham, Massachusetts. The trio have since made deals with the government. Han Lee was sentenced to four years in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release in March, and was to forfeit nearly $5.5 million in money made by the human trafficking operation. A month later, Junmyung Lee, 32, was sentenced to one year in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. The Court also ordered a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $200,000, equal to the amount of proceeds earned by the defendant during the conspiracy. Meanwhile, white shoe defense lawyers for a plethora of 'John Does' identified in the black books of the sophisticated interstate high-end brothel network continue the fight to keep their clients' names secret from the public. "They are doctors, they are lawyers, they're accountants, they are executives at high-tech companies, pharmaceutical companies, they're military officers, government contractors, professors, scientists," former U.S. attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy said at the time of the bust in November 2023. Since then, the names of a dozen clients - like Dr. Mitchell Rubenstein of Chestnut Hill, who remains on leave from his position as Executive Vice Chair for the Department of Dermatology at Brigham and Women's Hospital - have been released as prosecutors say that paid a fee to join the members only network and then ponied up anywhere from $350 to $600 an hour to have sex with Korean women. A police commander described the services this way at a court proceeding: "For example, GFE refers to a girlfriend experience, and provides a more intimate experience and blurs the boundaries between a financial transaction and relationship," said Cambridge Police Lt. Jarred Cabral. "Typically including any and all sex acts." But other names of johns who were brothel members remain a secret. "They will undoubtedly lose their jobs, lose their professions and have their lives ripped apart," attorney Benjamin Urbelis, representing five of the alleged brothel clients whose names continue to be shielded, argued before the Supreme Judicial Court. Prosecutors say Lee rented several high-end apartments in Boston and Eastern Virginia that were used as brothel locations and was the sole and legal tenant of at least six locations that were used for sexual hook-ups chosen from a menu of options advertised to the underworld outfit's members. Officials were concerned that the Koreans behind the scheme were collecting intelligence and compromising information on powerful men. A Department of Homeland Security Investigations affidavit filed by an agent in the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Unit pointed out that the three accused pimps - including the elderly Torrance man who ran several businesses in Los Angeles - are from a country that the U.S. considers an adversary and the money they were making selling sex was sent back to South Korea."Lee was regularly compensated by his co-conspirators for both leasing apartments and for his travel to and from the brothel locations," prosecutors say. "He also served as a liaison between the females working in the units and the property managers by fielding calls and coordinating any issues that arose relating to maintenance and inspections.""This commercial sex ring was built on secrecy and exclusivity, catering to a wealthy and well-connected clientele," Levy said at the time of its takedown. "Business was booming."Clients went through an arduous background check and submitted employment information and referrals before they could join the elite brothel club, which prosecutors say then charged rates of $350 to $600 or more per hour for prostitution services, depending on the services. This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on May 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
