Q&A
Do calories still count?
Courtesy Peter Menzel
Nutritionist Marion Nestle is one of the country's hardest-working crusaders for food system reform. She's written 15 books that cast a withering eye on the ways business interests have conspired to make the foods Americans eat less healthy and less safe. Earlier this month she released a revised edition of her 2006 book, "What to Eat Now." The revised edition is heftier — some 700 pages. "It's my version of the great Western novel," Nestle told STAT's Sarah Todd.
Leafing through the book, readers might worry that there aren't many good options available. But that's part of the point, Sarah explains. Nestle doesn't just want to help Americans make better decisions at the grocery store, but to demand better from the food system overall. Read more of Sarah's conversation with Nestle about how the food industry has changed in the last 20 years, why the U.S. dietary guidelines should go back to the food pyramid, and her controversial stance on calories.
infectious disease
Congo declares its latest Ebola outbreak over
The Ebola outbreak that killed 43 people in Kasaï, one of Congo's southern provinces, has ended, the country's health authorities announced yesterday. No new confirmed cases had been reported in the past 45 days. The 43 deaths were among 53 confirmed cases in the outbreak, which was first announced in September. Read more.
As infectious disease physician Krutika Kuppalli wrote in a First Opinion essay shortly after the outbreak was declared, "The flames in Kasaï serve as warning: If we allow global health defenses to erode, the next time smoke rises from a remote corner of the world, the fire may not stay contained."
first opinion
When calling someone a 'hard stick' signals racial bias
As physician assistant Jahidah La Roche explains, racial bias in health care isn't always obvious. "Sometimes, it's a sigh. A glance. A provider who stops trying just a little too soon," she writes in a new First Opinion essay. "These interactions seem small, but they aren't."
Take IV placement. It's one of the most routine procedures in health care. But for Black patients, bad experiences are common, and they can lead to medical mistrust. La Roche recalls countless stories she's heard from Black patients — being poked multiple times, told their veins are "rolling," or that they are "difficult sticks" — as well as her own frustrating experience as a patient. Read more about what these incidents look like and why it matters.
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