The nutrition community doesn’t like diet soda. Of all the groups that make dietary recommendations, I can’t find one that lends full-throated support. “Limit low-calorie sodas,” says the American Heart Association, and “stick to water.” The Center for Science in the Public Interest says it’s “best to avoid” artificial sweeteners. The Canadian dietary guidelines discourage them. The U.S. dietary guidelines are decidedly meh. Although added sugar is a top public health concern, diet soda is consistently met with something between distrust and hostility. Read More...
OUIDAH, Benin — Less than a mile from what was once West Africa's biggest slave port, the departure point for more than a million people in chains, stands a statue of Francisco Félix de Souza, a man regarded as the father of this city.
There's a museum devoted to his family and a plaza in his name. Every few decades, his descendants proudly bestow his nickname — "Chacha" — on a de Souza who is appointed the clan's new patriarch. Read More...
