Latest news with #foodfreedom
CBC
19-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
Saskatoon woman shares her journey from dieting to food freedom
After moving from South Africa as a child, Natasha Ngindi felt the pressure to fit in with Canadian beauty standards. She spent years dieting and cycling through weight loss and gain before getting the help she needed to change her relationship with food and embrace her body. Now, she's helping others find food freedom.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Raw milk advocates wonder: Where is Kennedy?
When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became health and human services secretary, advocates for raw milk were thrilled to have one of their own at the helm in Washington. A self-professed fan of the drink, Kennedy had included raw milk in a list of foods and drugs that he felt federal officials had unfairly suppressed. 'FDA's war on public health is about to end,' he wrote shortly after the November election. But Kennedy hasn't actively taken up the cause yet — even amid his sweeping effort to upend federal health agencies and his Make America Healthy Again campaign to change how Americans eat, frustrating and concerning some of the most prominent raw milk advocates. Federal officials have long warned that raw milk is unsafe for drinking because it hasn't gone through the heat process of pasteurization that kills off harmful bacteria, and sales across state lines have been banned since 1987. Kennedy helped champion and elevate raw milk and has criticized resistance from health officials, but he has yet to relax federal rules or reverse warnings against drinking it. His inaction so far is in contrast to his campaigns against childhood vaccines and artificial food dyes, longtime causes now at the center of his efforts as secretary. The Department of Health and Human Services didn't respond to questions seeking comment about Kennedy's plans. Mark McAfee, one of the country's leading raw milk producers, had expected to advise Kennedy's department on ways to support raw milk farmers and expand access to consumers and hoped to help reverse the federal government's official stance that raw milk is too risky to consume. McAfee said he had been in close touch with Nicole Shanahan, Kennedy's presidential running mate, who interviewed him for a video she produced about raw milk. McAfee said that Kennedy texted him in February, shortly after his confirmation, that he would be in touch — but that there has been silence since then. A recent federal report on children's health commissioned by President Donald Trump — titled 'The MAHA Report'— stressed the importance of whole milk and other unprocessed foods but made no mention of raw milk, even though Kennedy celebrated its release by doing shots of raw milk at the White House with a leading health influencer last month. The Food and Drug Administration's stance that 'raw milk puts all consumers at risk' because of potential contamination hasn't been changed or updated, nor has the federal ban on selling it across state lines. And when McAfee recently reached out to the FDA for a meeting, he was rebuffed. 'It appears that the FDA culture will continue its war against raw milk,' McAfee said. There's a long-standing consensus among U.S. public health agencies that pasteurization is an essential step to kill bacteria in milk — one of the most important mainstays of the American diet, especially for children. Then again, there's also consensus that vaccines don't cause autism and that they're necessary for public health and safety, and that hasn't stopped Kennedy from raising the issue. 'We've had this message, all of these decades, that raw milk is dangerous,' said Judith McGeary, executive director of the Farm and Ranch Alliance in Texas, which has advocated for expanding access to raw milk. 'It's not going to change overnight, no matter who's in charge.' Meghan Davis, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University, said the federal warnings and restrictions on selling raw milk have been in place for good reason. 'Humans drank raw milk for a long time, but they got diseases from it for a long time,' said Davis, a former dairy veterinarian. 'Raw milk is among the more risky of the foodstuffs that we can consume.' Without pasteurization, which heats milk to high temperatures, raw milk is likelier to transmit dangerous pathogens like E. coli, salmonella, listeria and campylobacter, Davis said. But raw milk advocates like McAfee argue that the risks have been overstated and the health and nutritional benefits have been undersold, arguing that consuming raw milk provides healthy gut bacteria, decreases asthma and allergies and strengthens our immune systems — all claims the FDA challenged in a post last year about 'raw milk misconceptions.' Peg Coleman, a raw milk advocate and former Agriculture Department microbiologist, argues that a 'pro-pasteurization bias' remains entrenched in federal agencies and wants Kennedy's Health and Human Services Department to take down such information. But even despite the persistence of such warnings, 'there is the demand,' she said. 'People are still choosing raw milk.' Like many of the other health trends and beliefs that Kennedy has embraced, raw milk was once considered a fringe health food associated with the new-age left that has transformed into a signifier of the right — a mainstay of the MAHA health influencers in Kennedy's orbit and a rallying cry for conservatives who have pushed states to legalize raw milk sales and oppose government crackdowns on unlicensed raw milk producers. Small farmers, especially, have successfully lobbied both blue and red states to legalize sales as a way to diversify their offerings, overcoming major opposition from the pasteurized milk industry. But the sale of raw milk remains banned across state lines. And even though new state laws have expanded access and expanded raw milk production, sales remain highly restricted in most states: Only 14 permit retail sales to consumers. In many others, consumers must buy it on site from farms. And state health officials typically look to federal health agencies for guidance about safety. While some states have their own safety rules and testing requirements for raw milk, there are no federal standards or guidance for producers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that from 1998 to 2018, drinking raw milk was linked to 2,645 illnesses and 228 hospitalizations. The agency also found that outbreaks linked to unpasteurized dairy products are far more likely than those linked to pasteurized dairy. While the overall numbers are low compared with other raw foods like oysters and leafy greens, such foods are consumed far more widely. Davis added that more research is necessary to prove that specific standards or testing protocols are effective at making raw milk safe or safer to consume. 'We have to do that study,' she said. McAfee's own raw milk has been subject to multiple voluntary recalls, as well as outbreaks of foodborne illness. California officials linked raw milk from his company, Raw Farm, to dozens of salmonella cases in 2023. McAfee said the company has since strengthened its testing protocols and created an on-site pathogen lab to prevent future problems. 'We learned from that incident,' he said. 'We owned that we had a problem, and we fixed it.' Last year, the company also issued a recall after its raw milk tested positive for bird flu but said its products were never associated with any infections. McAfee says that proper guidelines and testing can make raw milk safe to drink — and that the federal government has an important role to play in establishing safety standards. He drafted a proposal for the FDA to develop standards and guidance for raw milk producers, which he sent to the agency after Kennedy became health and human services secretary. 'We are not looking for the FDA to regulate raw milk, but we would love to have the best FDA scientists in the world acknowledge the benefits of raw milk, if it is produced under the High Standards that we will discuss,' McAfee wrote in a recent email to FDA officials that he shared with NBC News. The FDA turned him down. 'Given our need to balance agency priorities, the Human Foods Program respectfully declines your request for a meeting at this time, though we remain open to dialogue with the raw milk industry,' Donald Prater, principal deputy director of the FDA's Human Foods Program, wrote in response. The FDA didn't respond to a request for comment. Kelsey Barefoot of Dunn, North Carolina, who became a raw milk producer in 2021, said, 'It's our basic human right to be able to have the freedom to choose our food.' As a former critical care nurse, Barefoot was taught about the dangers of raw milk, but she said she was won over after she tried it herself. 'I had been prepared to think that raw milk was going to kill me,' Barefoot said. 'I started drinking it. I loved it. I didn't die, and my kids drank it, and so I started producing the milk for myself.' She now works for the Raw Milk Institute, founded by McAfee, which seeks to support 'low-risk raw milk production' through safety standards and testing protocols, including test results that are publicly posted. The advocates haven't given up on Kennedy, bolstered by the MAHA movement's push to eradicate food dyes and other top concerns. It may just take more time for him to come around, McAfee said. 'It's really, really crowded with people trying to saturate him. He's trying to sort things out.' Sally Fallon Morell, founding president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nonprofit alternative nutrition organization, said she first spoke with Kennedy about milk in 2021, when she was seated next to him at the foundation's annual holistic health conference, held that year in Texas. She said Kennedy recalled drinking raw milk when he was a child and said he wished he were drinking it again but wasn't sure where to find it. Morell directed him to a website her foundation had set up, which had a searchable database of raw milk purveyors. The following year, Kennedy was invited to speak at the same conference. 'Since I was here last year, I only drink raw milk,' he said from the stage. The audience burst into applause. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'WeightWatchers set me up to fail' - Why diet industry is losing to jabs like Ozempic
Symone has been using weight loss injections for nearly a year. She says they have done what the diet industry could never do for her - free her from a life controlled by food. From a very young age, the 34-year-old could not switch off the constant noise in her head. When would her next meal come? What would it be? Would there be enough for her? "The food noise was just so loud, it could be unbearable," she says. "I have tried every single diet going - I've done Atkins, eating clean, SlimFast, Slimming World, meal-replacement shakes - you name it - I've done it and none have them worked for me." Several years ago, weighing 16st (102kg), she was one of the many millions who signed up to WeightWatchers, downloading the app and meticulously following its points plan, scanning in everything she ate and staying within her daily points budget. WeightWatchers attributes points to food and drink, stating that it uses a "groundbreaking algorithm" to assess their nutritional makeup and then uses a point system to inform its members which food is better to eat. But after a few weeks, Symone says she started to feel like she was being set up to fail. "How could I lose weight long term if I had to follow this mad points system? Food is not measured in points - it's measured in calories, fat, macro nutrients. "I felt trapped, and the more research I did, the more I educated myself, the more I thought this is not for me." The only thing that has ever worked in her quest to lose weight, she says, is weight loss injection Mounjaro, which she started using nearly a year ago. "I was at my heaviest, just over 21 stone, and the doctor told me I was pre-diabetic. I knew something had to change - I've got two children who depend on me too." She was advised to start on the weight loss medication but with a two-year wait, she decided to buy it privately online and within just a few days, she was crying with relief. "I couldn't believe that I had control over food. For the first time, I wasn't panicking about when I would next eat." Weight loss jabs work by mimicking a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which suppresses people's appetites and makes them feel full. Symone has now lost 4st 7lb (26kg) and is losing weight gradually, documenting her experiences on social media. "I don't want a quick fix," she says, "I'm using weight loss injections to give me the control I never had." For many, weight loss jabs can produce rapid results, but some experts are concerned about the meteoric rise in their popularity and how people will be affected by them long term - both physically and mentally. At its peak, WeightWatchers was seen as being synonymous with safe and controlled weight loss. With 4.5million subscribers globally, its workshops were held in most towns, on most high streets, popping up in local church halls - they were everywhere. Now, after dominating the diet industry for more than half a century, it has lost more than a million members and filed for bankruptcy, struggling to compete in a market transformed by social media influencers and weight loss injections. The company has stressed that it is not going out of business and that filing for bankruptcy will help it resolve its debt of $1.25bn (£860m). In a statement, the brand says its weight loss programme (which also includes its own brand of weight loss jabs) and weight loss workshops will continue. The company says it has been the brand with the most scientific backing in the diet industry for over 60 years, and that there have been more than 180 published studies showing the effectiveness of its approach. WeightWatchers says it uses an "holistic model of care" to support "the whole person" with "access to obesity-trained clinicians and registered dietitians". WeightWatchers files for bankruptcy as fat-loss jabs boom Oprah Winfrey to leave board of WeightWatchers What's gone wrong at Weight Watchers? It is also one of several companies GPs can use for weight loss referrals, with the NHS paying for patients to attend weekly meetings in the community. "It's no longer about calorie control and diets," Deanne Jade, clinical director of the National Centre for Eating Disorders, told the BBC. "There's a new movement out there and it's all about wellbeing. "People like to move in tribes – it used to be the WeightWatchers tribe, counting points and calories, now millions follow different ways to lose weight or be healthy through social media influencers, through weight loss drugs, and they're forming new tribes." She is not convinced that medication will be the answer that so many are looking for. "None of these pharmaceutical interventions protect people from regaining the weight when they stop injecting." She believes they are not a quick fix, and that the best way to effectively lose weight and keep it off is to understand the psychological reasons behind overeating. Dr Joanne Silver, lead psychologist at the London-based eating disorder clinic, Orri, agrees. She says the weight loss injections "completely silence what the body is asking for", which is counterintuitive to understanding what the body needs. "People can binge eat because of psychological reasons – they can use food to manage their emotions, to soothe themselves. "Eating disorders are not just about food." Food and nutrition have become just one part of a more holistic approach so many are now adopting when it comes to their overall wellbeing. Jennifer Pybis, a fitness coach based in Liverpool, works with clients both online and in person. She says achieving a healthy lifestyle is not just about hitting a target weight. "I encourage the women I work with to consider lots of ways to measure their progress rather than just jumping on the scales. "Thinking about how they feel, comparing photographs of themselves to see how their bodies have changed shape, how their sleep is, their resting heart rate, their improvements in the gym - all of that is so important." The diet industry might be transforming but there are many who still prefer the more traditional model of sitting together and sharing their experiences, supporting others in their community to lose weight. In a small church hall in Winsford, Cheshire, a group of women are waiting patiently to get on the scales. Muttering and good-natured laughter can be heard as they share their latest weights with each other. "I've put on a pound! I did have a little bit - well maybe a lot - of wine at the weekend." "Why didn't you have gin?" another one asks, "it's only 55 calories a shot!" They're here for their weekly check-in at the BeeWeighed slimming group. Some of the women have lost several pounds, others have a put on a pound or two, but overall, since joining the class, they have all lost weight. They are learning about how to eat in moderation, how to exercise safely and how to feel good about themselves. At first glance, it could be a WeightWatchers class – women meeting up to share their stories of weight loss and support each other – but there are crucial differences, says BeeWeighed owner and founder Lynda Leadbetter. She was a group leader for WeightWatchers for 18 years but left to set up her own group in 2018. "I think WeightWatchers did provide something different and something hopeful for so many women but I think it has lost its way," she says. "I teach nutrition, I educate, I don't sell anything extra. I feel WeightWatchers became about selling extra products, it was always about pushing those extra sales, and not about supporting people to lose weight properly." She's sceptical about the effectiveness of weight loss medications, and some members who have turned to the likes of Ozempic and WeGovy have left her groups, but many have stayed – continuing to attend the meetings for support while using weight loss injections. Kathryn Brady, 38, has been a member of BeeWeighed since 2023, and in that time, she's lost over three stone. But with her wedding in a matter of weeks, the burlesque dancer has started to take Mounjaro to lose weight more rapidly. It's not quite worked out as she had hoped. "I've been on Mounjaro for over a month now, and while I lost 6lb in the first week or so, I've put half of that back on. "Having absolutely no appetite for two weeks was really weird and I'm paying a lot of money to not lose that much weight." She's going to keep on using it, but she's not completely sold yet. "Even if I continue with the skinny jab, I'll still attend BeeWeighed, having others there supporting me keeps me going." Women share their bittersweet experience after taking weight-loss drugs How will weight-loss drugs change our relationship with food? How do weight loss drugs like Mounjaro and Wegovy work?
