Semua Kabar

Attack on presidential candidate is reminiscent of some of the darkest chapters of the country’s history

The attempted assassination of a Colombian presidential hopeful has reignited fears of a return to a bloody past when organized crime and rebel groups murdered candidates, journalists and judges with impunity.

The shooting of Miguel Uribe Turbay was one of the most serious attacks against a high-ranking politician in Colombia this century, and comes as adeteriorating security crisisgrips the Andean nation.

“We’re going back to the worst moments of violence that our country has known,” said Andrés Barrios, a councilman and close friend of Uribe’s, who was standing beside him when he was shot. “It’s a very difficult time.”

Uribe, a 39-year-old opposition candidate from the rightwing Centro Democrático party, wasshottwice in the head and once in the leg during the campaign event.

Graphic videos showed the senator bleeding profusely and slumped against the floor; he remains in acritical condition.A 15-year-old reportedly said he was paid to shoot Uribe and has been charged with attempted murder. He haspleaded not guilty.

For many Colombians, the attack is reminiscent of some of the darkest chapters of their country’s recent history. Between 1986 and 1990 five presidential candidates weremurdered, while grassroots political activity was marred by regular violence. The country’slast high-profile political assassinations were in 1995.

“Symbolically, it draws on the memory of a whole generation of Colombians who grew up at a time when violence was used as a tool at the height of politics,” said Elizabeth Dickinson, an analyst at the International Crisis Group.

She added that Colombia political assassinations had historically been used to send messages, reconfigure power or pressure the government – and that the attack was meant to “draw out fear and re-instill it and stoke polarisation”.

While a military campaign against leftist rebels in the mid-2000s and a 2016 peace agreement with the country’s largest guerrilla army ushered in a period of relative calm,many ofthe terms of the deal were never implemented, and new armed groups emerged, often financed with drug money.

Over recent years,violence has surged. Human Rights Watch reported that since 2016, homicides have increased by 20.9%, kidnappings by 34.8% and mass forced displacements have quadrupled.

This week awave of coordinated bomb and gun attackskilled at least seven people and wounded 50 across the country’s south-west. Police said attackers launched 19 attacks across Cali – the country’s third largest city – and several nearby towns, hitting police stations, municipal buildings and civilian targets. In January,violence escalated on the other side of the country between armed groups fighting for control of a region bordering Venezuela, leading to the displacement of more than50,000 people.

“It’s a devastating moment for Colombia,” said Juanita Goebertus Estrada,Americasdirector at Human Rights Watch, adding that the 7 June assassination attack has sent a “chilling message” to anyone wanting to engage in politics.

“If someone like Miguel – with a security detail and from an established political family – can suffer the kind of attack that he did, then really no one is safe,” Goebertus said. “This is a reminder for those of us who actually lived through violence in the 80s that that violence is still very much present, and for those younger ones, a rediscovery.”

Barrios criticised the government’s handling of the recent spike in violence, saying that violence “is escalating because these criminal structures are doing whatever the heck they want”. He also said that Uribe had requested increased security from the government 25 times before the shooting, but that his appeals were denied.

The Colombian president, Gustavo Petro,has acknowledgedthat the security for Uribe had been severely reduced on the day of the attack, and said he was ordering increased security measures for opposition leaders. Petro also blamed a global crime syndicate for the shooting,saying: “The assassins want us to kill each other, weaken the state, and advance their control over the illicit economy.”

Uribe had been gearing up for next year’s elections, scheduled for 31 May, although not considered a frontrunner. Several other potential candidates have suspended their campaigning activities following the attack.

León Valencia, director of the Bogotá-based Peace and Reconciliation Foundation whichmonitors political-electoral violence, said four political leaders had already been murdered since this election cycle began on 8 March, and a further 53 people have reported politically motivated threats.

“There’s always a lot of violence at the bottom in Colombian politics, but this incident is unique, because it concerns a presidential candidate,” he said. “This attack – a harsh attack on democracy – has marred the electoral campaign.”

Valencia cautioned, however, that there was a “very big difference” between the 90s and today. “First, the guerrilla groups and the armed groups are not as strong as they were in the past, and second, there aren’t any cartels with the power of Pablo Escobar or Cali,” he said.

In the aftermath of the attack, the left and the right have traded blows about inciting hatred amid atense political disputeover proposed reforms. “Colombia’s political leaders need to defend peaceful political participation and refrain from using hate speech that can incite political violence and put lives at risk,” Goebertus said.

Uribe hails from one of Colombia’s most prominent political families – his grandfather Julio César Turbay Ayala held the presidency between 1978 and 1982 – and was raised in the shadow of the country’s violence. When he was four, his mother, journalist Diana Turbay, was kidnapped by Pablo Escobar’s Medellín cartel and killed during a botched rescue operation in 1991.

“One of the hardest things Miguel had to face in his life was growing up without his mother,” said Barrios, speaking by phone from inside the hospital where Uribe remains in critical care. “I pray his own son does not have to go through the same.”

Peace activist Takamatsu Gushiken, 71, searches for the remains of people who were killed during the Battle of Okinawa, one of the bloodiest chapters in the second world war. As the US seeks to bolster its military presence on the island, due to its close proximity to China, Taiwan and North Korea, we explore the multi-layered tensions that have haunted the people of Okinawa for 80 years

It’s made me feel it’s OK to be an artist with a social purpose, though my wife hates the beard

Ihave spent the first three months of the past six years trying to become the 19th-century designer and activistWilliam Morris. I grow my hair and beard to look like him, while immersing myself in his work.

On 24 March – his birthday – I dress as Morris and finish the quarter with some kind of absurd performance to highlight pressing social issues that he was concerned about, and that I want more people to focus on today.

I first came up with the idea in 2020, but I had been reading and thinking about Morris for nearly a decade.

Like Morris, I’m a middle-class artist and designer. And, also like him, I’m a compromised socialist. In 2020, after taking a five-year career break to look after my kids while my wife went back to work, I was 37 and feeling conflicted about returning to the art world. Throughout my life, I have wanted to create work with a social purpose. Yet the only way to make a decent living out of art is by operating in the high-end market.

Researching Morris inspired me. He dedicated most of his life to creating a socialist movement in the UK – but he also said he felt conflicted about“ministering to the swinish luxury of the rich”. He made objects using natural materials and gave craftspeople some autonomy, so his products always ended up too expensive for most people.

I was worried I would have the same experience when it came to making my own socially conscious art. But Morris gave me comfort. He was privileged like me, and yet he dedicated himself to the arts and to social purposes such as socialism. He provided a guide for me to get back into my artistic practice.

Each 1 January, I begin my Morris quarter by rereading his 1890 novelNews from Nowhere. I read his other works, too, and try to build skill sets he had. I’ve had singing lessons to sing his socialist chants, made prints on his letter press in his house in Hammersmith, west London, and designed wallpaper based on the River Lea. Morris knew the river well and named one of his patterns after it. I’ve also made socialist flags in Leyton, east London, where his mum lived while Morris was at Oxford.

I’ve even attempted to write poetry. He was most famous in his lifetime for being a poet – he turned down the poet laureateship. I have also learned embroidery from my mother and taught it to my children. Morris taught his daughter, May, to embroider, and she became one of the greatest craftspeople in Britain.

I get some funny comments when I drop my kids off at school dressed as Morris. Otherwise, no one where I live – in Hackney, eastLondon– ever gives me a second glance, as big beards and hair, and Victorian suits are trendy here.

My children think what I do is very funny, while my wife hates my beard and can’t wait for me to shave it off. But I intend to keep my Morris quarter going for ever.

Each year, my finale performance is different. This year, Icreated a digital plum orchardin Trafalgar Square, because Morris envisaged an actual orchard there in News from Nowhere. The novel is set in the year 2102, where everyone lives in an eco-utopia.

Another time, I went fishing for salmon in the Thames, dressed in a Victorian workwear suit like Morris, because there is a famous sketch of him fishing in the Thames byDante Gabriel Rossetti. In News from Nowhere, the river is healthy enough for salmon to live in, but there’s no chance of finding salmon there today. Last year, I gave one of his speeches and flew a red handmade socialist flag at theWilliam Morris Gallery in Walthamstowfor his birthday.

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Sometimes it’s just me and my camera operator; other times, as many as 50 people have turned up.

I do it to amplify Morris as an individual, because I see him as a brilliant guide to the ridiculous times we live in. And I do it because we live in ridiculous times: it’s a ridiculous thing to do.

Becoming Morris has made me feel more confident about my position in the world – that it’s OK to be an artist with a social purpose, and in fact it’s more needed than ever. It gives me a feeling of solace and validity. It helps me carry on.

Do you have an experience to share? Emailexperience@theguardian.com

From the Alpujarras to the Dolomites, our tipsters hike, camp and devour hearty mountain food in some of Europe’s most spectacular scenerySend us a tip on European wilderness– the best wins a £200 holiday voucher

After a gruelling journey from the UK, arriving at Alpe di Siusi during golden hour felt like stepping into a dream. Farmers turned hay in some of Europe’s highest alpine meadows, framed by jagged Dolomite peaks glowing in soft evening light. We can recommend staying at theHotel Schmung, a family-run gem with delicious northern Italian food and direct access to scenic hikes. Rifugios provide great lunch stops along the trails. The peaceful setting, breathtaking views and freedom to explore on foot without needing a car make this a perfect base for the Dolomites.Louise

TheVosges mountainsin Alsace offer relatively gentle walking with fantastic way-marking (shown on IGN maps, the French equivalent of the Ordnance Survey Explorer maps). Panoramic views punctuate the walking through a mixture of pine woods and open pastures. Most Brits seem to keep to the valleys and the beautiful villages and towns but among my highlights of the area is the opportunity to compare the fare at the variousfermes aubergesthat are scattered over the hills. Sharing a table with French and German visitors and locals, the short menus offer food that has to be mainly grown by the farmer/owner.Glasborn-Lingein Soultzeren has a four-course hearty lunch at just €27.Tony Eginton

Every week we ask our readers for recommendations from their travels. A selection of tips will be featured online and may appear in print. To enter the latest competition visit thereaders' tips homepage

A spectacular train ride from Corsica’s seaport of Bastia to the small mountain town of Ponte Leccia provides access to the island’s highest peak, 2,706-metre (8,878ft) Mount Cinto. It can be approached from the dramatic Asco Gorge. For hikers, a network of donkey trails reveals arresting views, river pools and lost worlds, such as the abandoned village of Sepula. There are a couple of remote campsites off the gorge. There’s a ski resort halfway up Mount Cinto where the more challenging cross-islandGR20 mountain hiking pathcan be joined. Late spring is the most enchanting time to visit.Didier

We spent a heavenly week in Gornja Brezna, Montenegro, a peaceful village 1,000 metres above sea level, surrounded by mountains and with a turquoise river canyon (the Piva) to explore. Days were warm and nights cool. We pootled about on rusty bikes, got coffee at the Etno village restaurant, befriended local dogs, went on herb walks and ran about naked in the birch woods, as well as making bigger excursions toDurmitor national park. We stayed at Nikola’s beautifulBrezan Lug chalet, in its own private woodland, with hot tub, barbecue, fire pit and all mod cons.Beth

My partner and I had a magical time in the northern Albanian mountains. From Shkodër, we made our way to the Valbona valley national park via a two-night stay on (and boat across) Lake Koman. Once in Valbona, we camped with permission on the grounds ofHotel Rilindja, where the owner offered a wealth of hiking tips. From our base, we embarked on a series of spectacular hikes, including a three-day circular toÇerem. The first two days we saw no one apart from shepherds (and a few vipers, which were given a wide berth) before hitting a slightly more travelled section, where we encountered a handful of fellow hikers. The views were breathtaking; the hospitality, affordable and welcoming; and the experience, incomparable.Alex

The mountains and glaciers surrounding the mountain hut at Nallo in north-west Sweden were so spectacular last year that I’m returning to stay for longer in July. It’s roughly seven miles off the popularKungsleden trail(King’s trail) that winds its way through Lapland. There’s no mobile phone reception, or food, so bring your own supplies. These can be bought at the trailheads, three days’ walk away, or at other mountain huts along the way. What you find at Nallo is awelcoming cabin with a host(£32 for a bunk bed), cozy bunk beds and peace.Catherine

Get travel inspiration, featured trips and local tips for your next break, as well as the latest deals from Guardian Holidays

This exhilarating four-milestroll across our solar system starts, appropriately, at an enormous sundial next to theObservatoire François-Xavier Bagnoudat Tignousa in theVal d’Anniviers. As you walk away from the sundial, the planets are revealed sequentially in large metal sculptures, informative panels and a hand-cranked audio track. Each one appears at its proportionate distance and size from the sun, so Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars and Jupiter are soon ticked off on a shallow climb. Twenty minutes later, a striking silver-ringed Saturn overlooks magnificent views of the valley and down to the Rhône a kilometre below. Uranus presages a refreshing paddle in a mountain stream, good preparation for a steeper, but manageable, 30-minute scramble to Neptune and lunch at 2,300 metres, distracted by panoramic views of the Swiss Alps from the deck of the 19th-centuryHotel Weisshorn.Bryan Conway

I hiked through the Maiella national park in Abruzzo, just two hours east of Rome, where marsican brown bears,Abruzzo chamoisand wolves roam while griffon vultures soar above. The drought-tolerant vegetation and steep-sided valleys conceal caves that were once inhabited by hermits – it was amazing to imagine what it must have been like living there. Flowering plants galore, with rarities such as the Apennine edelweiss, Apennine gentian, Alpine aster and dryas (a glacial relic) on the high peaks. Exploring ancient pathways and clambering up rocky slopes rewarded me with far-reaching views over the Adriatic Sea.Monique Gadella

Rather than ascend the expensive and crowded Zugspitze (Germany’s highest mountain at 2,962 metres), during a summer visit to Garmisch-Partenkirchen we instead opted for a cable car up the magnificently namedMount Wank(1,780 metres). We were rewarded with lush mountain meadows, superb views of the valley below and peace and quiet. A cold beer on the sun terrace at theSonnenalm restaurantis a must. If you have the energy, you can walk the well-marked trail back to the town or head down on theWankbahn.Travis Roberts

Walking theacequiasof the Alpujarras in the southern Sierra Nevada, following 1,200-year-old irrigation systems built by the Moors while the snow-capped peaks above soar to almost 3,500 metres. Acequia Baja from the forest track above Capileira, curves round into the Poqueira valley, into a basin below the three highest peaks in mainland Spain while booted eagles ride the thermals. There are views across the Mediterranean to the Rif mountains in Morocco in clear conditions, framed by the deep valleys funnelling year-round snowmelt waters down steep gorges, yet the walk along theacequiais quite easy-going given the altitude.Jeremy

An oppressed orca breaking free to find its true family? It may not be obviously queer, but I’ve found much comfort in Willy and Jesse’s story in this film

I don’t know precisely when I first watched Free Willy. But I do remember that the film was central to a childhood obsession with whales – orcas, specifically – that followed me well into adulthood. (I still remember a lot of random facts, such as “killer whales can live up to 90 years old!” and “their pregnancies are17 monthslong!”)

Released in 1993, just a few months after I was born, the film follows Jesse – a moody 12-year-old foster kid with abandonment issues – and his unlikely friendship with Willy, an orca confined in a far-too-small pool at a local marine park. Jesse and Willy have a lot in common. Both are antisocial, stubborn and mistrustful, but form a close bond – one that sees Jesse determined to free Willy from the park where he is being exploited for profit by an evil businessman. It’s a classic good v evil tale – and a coming out story.

Free Willy isn’t queer in any explicit sense. But the film’s central theme is one of “chosen family” – a concept that has been central to LGBTQ+ life ever since our community elders were forced to meet in secret because they were criminalised, stigmatised and forced to the margins. In the film, Jesse’s longing for his mother – a woman who abandoned him as a young child – initially stops him from bonding with his new foster parents. It’s only when he meets Willy that he begins to find joy in his life. It’s a narrative we see repeated in anthems such as Rina Sawayama’sChosen Family, TV dramas such asQueer as Folk, or a reality show likeRuPaul’s Drag Race: that there is radical power in finding “your people.” (Or, in this case, your whale.)

In 2023, for my 30th birthday, my boyfriend and I visited Norway for the first time. I was determined to see whales in the wild. On the day of the planned boat excursion the winds were high and the boat trip was cancelled. But we managed to find a smaller rib boat that, however misguidedly, was still heading out. A few hours later, I found myself shivering in the middle of the black ocean, facing huge swells and terrifying winds. It was a far cry from the idyllic scene I had envisaged, where the sun reflected off the calm sea, illuminating pods of whales swimming peacefully.

First, our boat encountered a sperm whale – a gigantic and gentle creature who blew water high into the air and seemed completely unbothered by us. And then, just as we sped back to the shore, I saw it: the unmistakable black dorsal fin, gliding through the crashing waves with ease. At that moment, it suddenly became clear that we were intheirterritory – and it scared the crap out of me.

Since that moment, I’ve wondered if I was particularly drawn to orcas, even as a child, not only because they are visually stunning, but because there was something inspiring about apex predators totally in control of their surroundings. (Strong? Majestic? A little evil? They’re what every gay man aspires to be.)

In Free Willy, however, the film’s star is fairly helpless, like a slippery overgrown puppy who communicates through whining noises that are adorable and distressing. But eventually, Jesse and his foster family help Willy to break free from his enclosure.

Placing this film within the queer canon might sound like a reach – a leap even bigger than Willy who, in an iconic final scene that required arocket launcher(and animatronic whale) to shoot, jumps over the harbour wall to escape his captors. But when he does, it feels like a moment of transformation, like a coming out story. And on the other side, there’s an ocean of freedom and possibility.

Designer brands such as Always Pan and Caraway are booming – but safety experts are raising questions

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The cookware industry has entered a golden age, largely driven by the wild success of a new generation of “nontoxic” and “nonstick” designer ceramic pans backed by stars includingSelena Gomez,Stanley TucciandOprah Winfrey.

But the pans are probably not “nontoxic” someindependent testingandresearch suggests. Nor are they even “ceramic” – at least not in the way the public broadly thinks of ceramics. Now, regulators are investigating some of the pan sellers’ claims.

OnInstagram, TikTok and theirmarketing materials, the social media-savvy cookware brands promise “enchantment”, and “non-toxic materials and thoughtful design” that “prioritizes the health and safety of you and your family”.

In fact, no legal definition for “nontoxic” or “ceramic” exists, and the marketing has drawn greenwashing accusations exacerbated by the companies concealing their pans’ ingredients.

And the blockbuster sellers like Our Place’s Always Pan, Caraway and GreenPan are typically made with a material that thinly coats an aluminum substrate and is characterized in one study as “quasi-ceramic”. Meanwhile, independent testing and research suggests quasi-ceramics may contain toxins like titanium dioxide, siloxanes, lead and mercury.

The claims are eliciting regulatory scrutiny. The state of Washington recently ordered quasi-ceramic producers to submit their nonstick ingredients to the state’s ecology department as it attempts to learn which chemicals cookware companies are using to replace Teflon or other toxic Pfas, or “forever chemicals”. The order is about “transparency”, said Marissa Smith, a senior toxicologist with the Washington department of ecology.

“It’s challenging for regulators to know when we’re moving to safe alternatives, but it’s also hard for families who want to buy safer products,” Smith said. “There’s this fundamental challenge of figuring out what’s in our products and having the data to make those decisions.”

The nonstick, quasi-ceramics have in part quickly blown up because, their producers claim, they cracked the “nontoxic/nonstick” code. Before 2019, nonstick pans largely used Pfas, a class of chemicals that contain among the most toxic man-made substances, and linked to cancer and a range of other serious health problems. The quasi-ceramic, design-forward pans with color palettes like “spice” and a millennial aesthetic burst on to a market ripe for an alternative.

Their launches coincided with the rise of wellness culture and the pandemic’s outset. With people forced to cook at home and on social media, the cookware became Instagramsensations– Caraway’s monthly e-commerce salesjumped390% between January and May 2020.

Celebrity involvement also fueled the quick ascents: Selena Gomez, Tan France, Gwyneth Paltrow, Stanley Tucci and Drew Barrymore now have their own quasi-ceramic pan lines.Gigi HadidandKate Hudsonpromoted their Caraways in the media. Always Pan’s orderbacklog hit 30,000early on. GreenPan made Oprah’s 2024Favorite Things list, and Caraway’s profits grew over 500% between 2020 and 2023.

Throughout, the companies have relentlessly touted their products as “nontoxic”.

Ceramic cookware dates back at least 15,000 years. The concept evolved across cultures – the medieval British pipkin, the ancient Roman testum and the Wampanoag Native American decorated pots. Throughout the ages, the basic formula remained the same: some mix of clay, silica and minerals fired at a high heat to create a solid piece.

The new quasi-ceramics are something else. The producers use some variation of a process called “sol-gel” developed in the 1970s to create a material that is a mix of silica, metals and chemicals. The material is sprayed on to an aluminum substrate – the pan is not quasi-ceramic all the way through.

The companies won’t tell the public what else is in the pans, and their formulas are shielded by confidential business information laws, making it very difficult to verify their claims. The uncertainty alone raises suspicions among some public health advocates, but sleuthing of peer-reviewed research, legal documents, patents and regulatory documents around the pans raises more questions than answers, and points toward the use of toxic chemicals.

Still, Carawaystates: “We believe in full transparency with regard to our products, so we’re happy to share testing reports with anyone via email to prove just how safe our products are.”

In an email to the Guardian, it declined to share the formula: “The formulation of Caraway’s ceramic cooking surfaces is proprietary.”

Responding in 2022 to I Read Labels For You, a consumer protection site that questioned the pan producers’ non-toxicity claims, Always Pan maker Our Placeconceded the products are not ceramic, but a “ceramic precursor” with a different formula.

“We are heating it at a lower temperature, it never gets to that ceramic state,” Always Pan wrote. “Ceramic is totally inorganic whereas our sol-gel has organic and inorganic substances. The inorganic material is glass/silica. The organic material is an organic polymer.”

In an email to the Guardian, Our Place said its pans’ materials were “similar in feel to traditional ceramics”, and are made with “a sand-based material, which is why it’s commonly referred to as ‘ceramic’”. It did not immediately respond to a question about why it’s marketed as ceramic if it’s admittedly not ceramic.

The distinction is in part important because the surfaces can potentially melt at heat above 260C (500F), increasing the risk of chemicals leaching into food. The pans have also beenreportedtowear downandlosetheir nonstick coating sometimes within months of purchase. True ceramic can withstand much higher heat and is far more durable.

Other quasi-ceramic producers use a similar material, all of which include polymers. Polymers may mean any of tens of thousands of chemicals, including Pfas, which the sol-gel patent even details. Applying nonstick organic polymers may also create toxic monomer byproducts, Smith noted, but it’s impossible to know without having the pan makers’ ingredients. Nonstick can liningscan createtoxic bisphenol-A, for example.

A 2019 lawsuitallegedGreenPan’s “0% toxins” claim represented false advertising. Citing GreenPan’s patent, the suit alleged the pans contained silane, aluminum oxide, tetraethoxysilane, methyltrimethoxysilane, and potassium titanate. Regulatorsclassify some of theseas hazardous, but the suit was dismissed, though the settlement’s terms are unclear. GreenPan has denied using aluminum oxide. It did not respond to a request for comment.

Smith said the state of Washington is concerned companies may be using siloxane, a chemical family often used to replace Pfas in consumer goods, but which sometimes pose similar risks. Some siloxanes are safe, but the companies won’t say which, if any, they’re using, which creates uncertainty. One industrystudycompared the performance of nonstick properties of siloxanes to Pfas in quasi-ceramic pans, finding Pfas worked better.

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Independent testing by the consumer protection site Lead Safe Mama detected high levels of titanium inGreenPan,Always PanandCaraway, pointing to the use of titanium dioxide nanoparticles. A 2016studyalso identified titanium dioxide in quasi-ceramic pans, and showed how it can migrate into food. The toxic substance is banned in the European Union for use in food, but not cookware. It’s a potential carcinogen that accumulates in organs and islinked toneurotoxicity, intestinal inflammation and other health impacts.

Caraway in 2024 acknowledged using nanoparticles, though they didn’t say which. But, it claimed without supporting evidence, that the levels it uses doesn’t cause health risks.

All told, there’s evidence that the pans could contain such ingredients as titanium dioxide, lead, mercury, cadmium, siloxanes, potentially toxic monomer byproducts and other unknown substances. Even if the levels of individual toxins are low, there’s no research into the health effects of all the toxins combined migrating into food, which raises a whole new set of questions.

Caraway in a statement to the Guardian said the company could not “speak to the conduct or quality of any testing that is not its own”.

“Caraway is proud of the products we have developed and the progress made towards a cleaner home for our customers, there is still much to be done,” the statement added.

Public health advocates say the uncertainty is a red flag, and forcing consumers to “go through tests and patents” to know what they’re buying is “absolutely ridiculous”, said Laurie Valeriano, executive director of the Toxic Free Future non-profit, which has raised concerns about quasi-ceramics.

“It shouldn’t be up to consumers to sleuth and try to figure out the ingredients in pans so they can protect the health of themselves and their families,” Valeriano added.

Maryland-based Xtrema is one of very few companies producing ceramic pans as they have been traditionally made. Production takes up to 25 days, said owner Rich Bergstrom and produces a solid ceramic piece that can withstand high levels of heat. Companies passing off a softer sol-gel coating as true ceramic “irks me – it drives me crazy”, Bergstrom said. He called it a “false term”, and said it was being “manipulated from a marketing standpoint to give you the impression that it’s ceramic”.

Some of the pans also contain lead, testing Lead Safe Mama’s Tamara Rubin found. The lids and cooking surfaces of theAlways PanandCarawayshowed some of the toxin, which she said suggests aluminum substrates and pieces are to blame.

Rubin also found mercury in theCarawayand antimony throughoutGreenPan. Caraway still advertises “metals free”, and GreenPanstatesits products “lack harmful chemicals and toxins”.

Rubin is a polarizing figure for her generally absolutist positions on lead – if a product contains the substance, she recommends against it. This is the most protective approach, but companies and regulators point out that lead is naturally occurring and widespread in the environment, often found at low levels in ceramics’ clay, as well as foods. They claim “trace” levels of lead are OK, especially if it’s not in a food contact surface. But there’s no definition for “trace”.

No federal limits for lead in ceramic cookware exist. If lead in a ceramic piece isn’t leaching at the time a consumer buys it, then there isn’t a problem, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told the Guardian in 2022. However, there’s no testing or oversight program, or assurance it doesn’t leach once it’s scratched, chipped or worn.

The FDA has done little to scrutinize cookware materials throughout the decades because it’s chronically underfunded and understaffed, said Tom Neltner, director of the Unleaded Kids non-profit, who has legally pressured the FDA to act on leaded food materials: “With all the things coming into the agency, they have not looked at all these lead issues, and there’s no public scrutiny of their priorities.”

However, the state of Washington is implementing the nation’s first limits directly addressing cookware – 90 parts per million (ppm) next year, and 10ppm by 2028. Rubin found levels as high as 70ppm in the Always Pan.

Rubin in 2018 also found lead, cadmium and other metals like cobalt in Xtrema pieces, and advises against them for that reason. Bergstrom said he eliminated the highest sources of lead, like the logo on the pan’s bottom. He also noted Rubin’s testing looks for the presence of lead, but not whether it leaches into food.

True ceramic pans are less of a leach risk because the material is more solid than quasi-ceramic, Bergstrom claims. His pans have passed California’s Proposition 65 leach tests of new products, and he also pointed to testing that showed no lead leaching from an Xtrema pan thathad been used for several years.

By the time I got a diagnosis, I had seen four different doctors over the span of six years

My baby nephew grabbed my arm, eager to show me his toy trucks.

“Don’t ever touch me there again!” I snapped.

The confusion and hurt on his face stopped me cold. He couldn’t have known that his tiny hand had caused an intense surge of pain.

For years, I’d experienced a stabbing pain in my forearm when it was touched or exposed to cold. I don’t remember when it started, but even putting on a shirt made me wince if the fabric brushed against the area. A cold breeze could trigger agony that felt like needles pressing deep into muscle and bone.

Snapping at my nephew made me realize I needed help. But when I reported the pain to my primary care doctor, he couldn’t see anything wrong. I could see a tiny bump underneath the skin, but instead of investigating further, he dismissed my concerns as an overreaction.

My pain being dismissed was a regular experience for me as a Black woman. Studieshave shown thatphysicians are more likely to underestimate the pain of Black patients relative to their white counterparts.

“It’s probably just a bump or bruise that’s taking a while to heal,” he offered.

So I waited for it to heal. It never did. Instead, I continued living with the pain.

Eventually, I attempted to self-diagnose the issue, Googling my symptoms and weighing possible causes. I concluded that I was likely suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, which often results in numbness, tingling and weakness in the hand and wrist. It didn’t explain the sharp pain, but at least I felt as if I was addressing the problem.

I wore a wrist splint and tried different stretches and exercises for relief that never came.

Two years later, I saw another primary care doctor for a checkup, hoping for an answer. “Do you type a lot?” he asked.

I nodded. As a full-time student and a writer, I spent a lot of time behind a keyboard.

He recommended icing the area and taking a break from my typing habits. But that didn’t work. The pain remained, a searing reminder that something was not OK. Ultimately, each primary care doctor I saw gave me unhelpful diagnoses: a muscle issue, overuse, anxiety – or my imagination.

Over half a decade after I first disclosed my pain to a doctor, another one made a simple suggestion: “Maybe you should see a dermatologist.”

At 25, I had never been to one. I thought dermatologists were for wealthy women chasing eternal youth, and I generally avoided specialists because I didn’t want to put further pressure on my limited budget. “A lot of people skip their annual derm visits because they either ‘feel fine’, think skin issues are purely cosmetic, think skin cancer is not as common as it is, or just don’t realize how important prevention is,”Dr Mamina Turegano, a board certified dermatologist at Sanova Dermatology in Louisiana.

“One of the biggest barriers I see is cost – whether it’s high copays, lack of insurance or out-of-network providers,” she said. “On top of that, dermatologist appointments can be hard to come by, especially in rural areas or underserved communities.” Turegano suggests talking to your insurance company about providers, seeking out community health clinics and asking offices about payment plans or sliding scales.

I needed answers a primary care doctor couldn’t provide, so I called my health insurance provider to ask about coverage. Happily, I discovered that medically necessary dermatology istypically covered by health insurance.

Within a couple of weeks, I was in a dermatologist’s office explaining my symptoms. She gently touched the area and acknowledged the small nodule beneath the skin.

“I’m going to have to open it up and take that out,” she said.

I was shocked – I hadn’t even known dermatologists performed surgery. Moments later, my arm was numb and she made a small diagonal incision over the spot. Then she snipped out a pinkish growth and stitched the skin back up.

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“All done,” she said, dropping the mass into a tube of liquid. “I’ll send this off to the lab.”

Shortly after, I had a diagnosis: a glomus tumor, which is a rare, typically benign growth. (Malignant glomus tumorsare even rarer.) They arise from glomus cells, which help regulate blood flow and temperature. Most often, they develop under fingernails or on fingertips, but they can appear elsewhere – including the forearm. Though tiny, glomus tumors can cause excruciating pain, especially when touched or exposed to cold. Adults aged 30 to 50 are most likely to experience them, but the reason they developremains unknown.

By the time I got this answer, I had seen four different doctors over the span of six years – a delay that mirrors the average experience for many patients with glomus tumors. On average, it takes about seven years for patients to get an accurate diagnosis. In one documented case, thedelay stretched to 40 years.

“Oftentimes, patients are seen by more than one physician before they are able to get a diagnosis,” said Dr Chaitanya Mudgal, associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School. “Not for lack of training – just because of how rare and uncommon they are.”

Because glomus tumors are small, benign and unfamiliar to many physicians, they’re frequently misdiagnosed or overlooked.

“Even MRIs often miss them,” Mudgal said. “They can be as small as a couple millimeters, which is why they are hard to see with the naked eye.”

More generally, it’s common for patients to arrive at a specialist’s office after years of having their concerns dismissed.

“I see it more often than I’d like – cases where a rash, growth or pigment change was either misdiagnosed or brushed off by a primary care provider,” said Turagano. “I’ve had patients come in after months, sometimes years, of dealing with something that ends up being a rare autoimmune condition or an unusual presentation of skin cancer. That’s why I always advocate for specialist care when it comes to the skin – dermatologists are trained to spot the subtle stuff that others might miss.”

Most dermatologists are capable of removing glomus tumors located near the skin – as was true in my case. “Skin surgery is a core part of our training,” said Turegano. “We learn how to remove lesions with precision while minimizing scarring and preserving function and aesthetics, especially in delicate areas like the face.”

However, orthopedic surgeons are often best equipped to treat glomus tumors, especially when they are deeper or near bones, nerves or joints. Their knowledge of the musculoskeletal system and access to advanced imaging make them especially effective at spotting growths that might be missed by others – even on MRIs.

Surgical removal typically cures glomus tumors, said Mudgal. However, complete removal can be difficult because they are hard to tell apart from normal tissue.

After the tumor was removed and the incision healed, my pain disappeared. I no longer had to brace myself for the winter breeze or carefully get dressed. I gave birth to my daughter a few months later and wasn’t preoccupied with fear that her touch would cause me to lash out like I once had at my nephew. I felt so much freedom and relief.

The lessons from spending years with a painful, easily curable condition have stayed with me. I always remind family and friends that pain is a real indicator that something is wrong. Even if someone tries to minimize it, it’s worth seeking a definitive diagnosis and treatment.

Tiffanie Drayton is a journalist and author whose work explores health, identity, family and personal transformation

It often looks like tiny wood shavings or a gloopy gel, and experts say it has benefits – but make sure to take it with enough water

Gen Z in the US: tell us how you spend your money

AsOzempicand similarGLP-1shave transformed the world of weight loss, health companies and influencers have been scrambling to find “nature’s Ozempic” –cheaper,non-prescriptionproducts they claim can help with weight loss. The latest buzzy supplement? Psyllium husk.

“Psyllium husk has become popular thanks to a wave of social media influencers and wellness personalities touting its ability to suppress appetite, regulate digestion and even mimic the effects of more costly medications,” says Lena Beal, spokesperson for the Academy ofNutritionand Dietetics. But comparing it to Ozempic is “oversimplified and misleading”, she warns.

On TikTok, more than 12,500 videos boast the psyllium husk tag. But this substance is not new; it has long been popular in India and across south Asia.

Is psyllium husk a miracle weight-loss substance? No. But there are benefits, experts say.

The outer covering of any seed is called a husk. Psyllium husk comes from the seed ofPlantago ovataplants, a type of shrub thatgrowsin sandy deserts and steppes.

In the US, “it is best known as the active ingredient in over-the-counter laxatives like Metamucil”, says Beal.

Psyllium husk can be consumed in pill or powder form. It can also be consumed whole, when is resembles tiny wood shavings. When combined with water, it creates a gloopy, gel-like substance.

That gloopiness may not sound appealing, but it’s part of what makes the product useful.

Psyllium husk is a good source of soluble fiber, explains Katherine Zeratsky, a registered dietitian at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Soluble fiber – unlikeinsoluble fiber, which remains unchanged during digestion – attracts water during digestion and turns into a gel.

This gel can soften stools and add bulk to them, which helps in the management of constipation and diarrhea, says Julia Zumpano, a registered dietitian with the Cleveland Clinic Center for Human Nutrition.

Additionally, Zumpano says, this gel can bind with the bile in your gut, which is composed of cholesterol, and remove it with the body’s waste, thus reducing the amount of cholesterol in your body.

Beal points to a 2018 meta-analysis in theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutritionwhich found 10-15g of psyllium husk a day significantly reduced LDL (or “bad” cholesterol) and total cholesterol in “healthy individuals and those with high cholesterol”.

By slowing the rate of glucose in the bloodstream, it can also help in blood sugar management, says Zumpano.

Psyllium husk can also increase one’s overall consumption of fiber, a significant benefit given that only 5% ofpeoplein the US and 9% ofadultsin the UK eat the recommended amount of 25-30g of fiber a day. Psyllium husk provides about 7g of fiber per tablespoon.

Eating fiber in any form has many benefits, says Zumpano, including “slowing down digestion and increasing satiety, which are both benefits of weight-loss drugs”. (She is careful to add that fiber does not accomplish either of these outcomes to the extent GLP-1s can.)

Practical advice, expert insights and answers to your questions about how to live a good life

When increasing your fiber intake, start slowly and adjust as necessary, says Zeratsky. She suggests starting with a powder form, which gives you control of the amount.

Experts emphasize that it’s extremely important to consume psyllium husk with enough water:roughly500ml of water per 20g of fiber.

Because psyllium husk expands quickly with liquid, without an adequate amount of water, it can become a choking hazard and potentially lead to gastrointestinal obstruction, says Beal.

This also means it may not be ideal for everyone. “People with swallowing difficulties, bowel strictures or severe gastrointestinal conditions like Crohn’s disease should consult a healthcare provider before using psyllium,” says Beal.

Fiber and psyllium can also potentially interact with certain medications, warns Zeratsky, so consult a doctor or pharmacist before taking it.

Also, thinking of it as “nature’s Ozempic” comes with its own risks, experts say.

Overconsumption can lead to digestive discomfort, she warns, adding that people may overly rely on a single ingredient instead of a “holistic lifestyle change”.

If psyllium husk isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other foods that offer similar benefits, says Zeratsky.

“Fruits, vegetables, beans and other legumes, and whole grains, particularly oats, barley and quinoa, all contain soluble fiber” and a variety of other beneficial nutrients, she says.

Millions of people are taking weight-loss drugs like Mounjaro and off-label Ozempic. But with so many unanswered questions, are we in the middle of a giant human experiment? In this episode, journalist Neelam Tailor asks two doctors what these drugs are really doing to our bodies, our minds, and our society – from muscle loss and mental health to beauty standards and the blurred line between medicine and aesthetics.