...GirlTrek

Sarcoidosis . . . The Fight Continues!

2011-03-30T11:40:00.000-07:00

“Like a Thief in the Night”

Like a thief in the night, IT snuck up on me quietly without warning or premise . . .

Step by step IT creeps through my body cleverly disguised, stealing bits and pieces of what I considered a normal life . . .

Sleepless nights, aching joints, shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, lack of focus, a chronic cough, night sweats, random blindness, organ failure and toxic medication therapy that’s supposed to help me but will eventually start “killing me softly” . . . that’s the face of my “new normalcy”!

Day to day, moment to moment no one knows how IT will make its next move . . . Not me, the doctors or scientists, the world still stands scared and confused!

IT cleverly masquerades itself under different identities while manifesting erratically within the cells and organs of innocent bystanders without “fair” warning!

What is IT, this mysterious thing? Where does IT come from and WHY did IT pick ME?! Does IT lie in the environment, is IT born from toxins or was IT passed down through the roots of my family tree?

The answers evade the questions making it hard for people to believe . . . I’m NOT crazy! I REALLY am sick! I HAVE Sarcoidosis?

Poem by ~ K. “Jaz” Winchester Owens

(Jaz Owens at ASFL Event 2010)

Sarcoidosis . . . The Fight Continues!

By, Jaz Owens

It was just last year that I was approached by OurHealth to shed some light on the mysterious disease known as Sarcoidosis . . . All though slow strides are being made with “Sarcoidosis . . . The Fight Continues!”

Sarcoidosis (sar-coy-doe-sis) is an inflammatory auto-immune disease of unknown origin that causes the body’s tissue to clump together forming grain-like lumps called granulomas (gran-u-lo-mahs). Sarcoidosis is multi-systemic because it has the ability to affect any system or organ of the body (heart, eyes, liver, kidneys, skin, nervous system; including the brain) but is most commonly found within the lungs and lymph nodes.

Symptoms of Sarcoidosis vary with each patient yet they can become chronic, debilitating and are quite unpredictable making it difficult to detect. A large number of people go misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all because the medical community at large is still highly uneducated about it due to the lack of funding for research. However it’s important to know that this is not a contagious disease and therefore can not be contracted from person to person.

Since this is still an unfamiliar disease that most people are unaware even exists, Sarcoidosis has become what I like to call a “quiet epidemic” . . . Reading this you might think to yourself; “How can that be? I don’t know anyone with Sarcoidosis”, but if you’ve ever heard of R&B singer Angie Stone, actress Tisha Campbell-Martin, model Karen Duffy, NBA legend Bill Russell, sports anchor Darrian Chapman, NFL player Reggie White and most notably the late comedian and actor Bernie Mac, then you know someone with Sarcoidosis . . .Oh, and if you haven’t already figured it out I too suffer with this disease!

Sarcoidosis has become an important global public health concern for many Americans and countless others around the world! In an effort to shine more light on this disease the Sarcoidosis community has adopted April as “Sarcoidosis Awareness Month”. In recognition of this, many organizations, groups and individuals will be hosting Sarcoidosis events and highlighting awareness campaigns such as the ASFL “Faces of Sarcoidosis” collage which was created to connect the world to the “real” faces and “real” people who have been personally affected by Sarcoidosis.

(Jaz and ASFL Sponsors)

Additionally, the A Song for Life Sarcoidosis Foundation alongside Janine’s Sarcoidosis Outreach Foundation (whom ASFL works closely with) in conjunction with other U.S. and international organizations who are members of the FSR International Coalition to Stop Sarcoidosis, have been rallying to get all 50 states and other countries around the world to contact their local government and request a Proclamation for their state or region in an effort to get April “officially” recognized as Sarcoidosis Awareness Month by “the powers that be” on a global level.

The public’s support of Sarcoidosis awareness, education and research is crucial in our fight to find a cause and a cure so we’re imploring everyone to acknowledge Sarcoidosis Awareness Month by attending an event in their area, wearing an awareness pin, bracelet or t-shirt, making a small donation to an organization that supports this cause or by simply wearing purple and white on April 13^th which is designated as “National Sarcoidosis Awareness Day” . . . It doesn’t matter what activity you choose, just get active in spreading the word about Sarcoidosis.

To find Sarcoidosis events scheduled in your area you check out the event calendar on the A Song for Life Sarcoidosis website at: www.asongforsarcoid.spruz.com or simply checkout www.Facebook.com/asongforsarcoid.

Forgiveness - For Your Mental & Spiritual Health

2011-02-17T06:42:00.000-08:00

(Morgan and I back in the 90's. Yes those are sparkly, butterfly hair clips. Remember those?)

By, Vanessa
OurHealth Staff Writer

Way back in the late 90's Morgan and I were struggling, ambitious, pseudo - radical college students living in LA. She was a USC Trojan and I was a UCLA Bruin. We met in the marbled trenches of a fancy investment bank where we both worked after school - hustling for free dinners, tuition reimbursement and profit share.

We became fast friends and bonded over our many shared interest. One of the things that we did during this time was to read together Iyanla Vanzant's book - One Day My Soul Just Opened Up: 40 Days and Nights Toward Spiritual Strength and Personal Growth.

Each day we read our chapter and diligently wrote our thoughts and practiced our affirmations. We were super hyped and probably a little too gong - ho. I really loved this book. Iyanla's writing touched me and the topics and exercises were really helping me to see life and it's experiences in a new light. I was flying through the book until I got to... Day 21 - FORGIVENESS.

Ummm Tanya (cause I do not call her Morgan), I'm going to need an extra day on this one. Yeah. I had a really hard time processing the idea of forgiveness as laid out in the book. Intellectually I really felt like it was powerful stuff, but from an emotional standpoint - as a 20 year old woman who'd already experienced her fair share of hurt - forgiveness was not coming easy.

Over the years I have revisited that chapter on forgiveness many times. Each time I read there is a new revelation for me. I am still learning and evolving and I think the process of forgiveness is one that I am still working on. Today, I was going to write a blog about toxic family relationships but then some real family issues reared their ugly head and I backed away from the idea.

India Arie's lyrics keep playing in my head -
One shot to your heart without breaking your skin/ No one has the power to hurt you like your kin /Kept it inside, didn't tell no one else/Didn't even wanna admit it to yourself/And now your chest burns and your back aches/From 15 years of holding the pain/And now you only have yourself to blame/If you continue to live this way

All of us will have to work on forgiving at some point in our lives. It is absolutely critical for our overall health - emotional, spiritual, mental and physical that we find forgiveness in our hearts. I don't always know what forgiveness looks like - but I'm going to re-read this chapter and try and find some new understanding. :-)

Day 21: Honor Others with...FORGIVENESS

Working Definition:

The principle we are working with today is FORGIVENESS. It is release. Letting go. The process of removing errors from the mind in pursuit of harmony. The release of what is false for what is true. Giving up of a thought or emotion in order to facilitate change of the thought or emotion.

Commentary on FORGIVENESS

"How long are you going to stay mad and hurt?" I didn't know, but I knew I was not ready to not be mad yet. What she had done to me was unforgivable! Besides that, somewhere in the back of my mind I actually believed that the longer I stayed mad, the more she would suffer. After a while, what she had done was no longer the issue. The issue was her suffering. She had to suffer! And I wanted everyone to know that she was suffering because of what she had done to me! I wanted to read about her suffering in the newspaper! Then and only then would I even consider not being mad at her anymore. She must have known I was mad at her, because one day she quietly died in her sleep. I wanted to say, "Good for her!" But I was too mad. Many, many years after her death I was mad, I was miserable. I was still hurt, and she was still dead. Now, what kind of sense did that make?

Most people believe that when you forgive someone, you are doing something for them. The truth is, when you forgive, you are doing it for yourself. As it relates to forgiveness, you must give up what you do not want in order to make room for what you do want. You must give up pain, anger, resentment, and fear in order to experience goodness, joy, peace, and love. For some reason, we believe that if we forgive someone they might get to the good stuff before we do. Offering another the forgiveness they need strengthens the spiritual nature in you. It is this nature and your consciousness of this nature that reaps you the benefits of life. When you withhold forgiveness or love from anyone, for any reason, it diminishes your awareness of the abundance of good in life. You are stuck in so much old stuff, new stuff has no way of getting to you. In essence, the good that you withhold from others will be withheld from you.

As long as you hold on to the belief that anyone on earth can do anything to you, you will be unable to forgive. People cannot change who you are and what you were born to be. They can create obstacles in your path. They can do things that make you believe you are other than what you are, but people cannot change, alter, or in any way hinder the truth of your being. The truth is you are divine. The truth is that the divine source of life made you perfect and complete, and nothing anyone does can change that. The truth is we all forget that we are divine and act out of our human fears, beliefs, and perceptions. In doing so, we offend one another's sensibilities, we ignore one another's boundaries, we lash out, strike out, and in other uncompassionate ways dump our pain on one another. It does not change who we are. It makes us believe we are less than we are. This makes us mad, and in holding on to our madness, we refuse to forgive.

There is no one who does not make mistakes. Mistakes are a way of human life. We mistake what we see for the truth. We do not realize that there is always more to life than we can see and that the truth is not always visible to the naked eye. We mistake what we know for all there is. What we do not realize is, we don't always know the whole story. At any given time in your life, there are characters, plots, and story lines that have not yet been presented. When you do not know the whole story, almost any conclusion you draw will be a mistaken conclusion. We mistake our experiences, particularly bad experiences, to be indications of who we are and what we deserve. Even when we know we deserve better, we mistake our experiences for the obstacles that can keep us from experiencing more. Sometimes, we make the mistake of thinking that other people have the power to control or alter our destiny. It is our beliefs, mistaken and otherwise, that ultimately determine what we will do or be in life, not another person.

If we did not make mistakes we would not learn what works and what does not work. Each time we make a mistake we are provided with an opportunity to be corrected. The divine spirit of life is self-correcting. It will show us our mistakes in the form of the pain and suffering that we endure. It will show us our mistakes through mental unrest and emotional dissatisfaction. Unfortunately, when we encounter the results of our mistaken beliefs, choices, and perceptions, we blame other people. We hold others accountable for what we think, feel, or believe. We believe our experiences make us who we are in life, and then we blame the players in our experiences. The biggest mistake we all make is believing that other people can hurt us. When we believe they have done so, we are unwilling to forgive them.

My aunt refused to acknowledge that my uncle, her husband, had raped me. She acted as if it did not matter. Translation: I did not matter, and what he had done to me did not matter. I concluded that she didn't care about me, that he was wicked, that I was dirty, and that life in general sucked! I held onto the memory of that experience, and my translations, conclusions, and the anger for a very long time. When a counselor asked me how long was I going to stay mad, it was sixteen years, three children, one bad marriage, and several heartbreaking relationships later. "What do you want her to do?" she asked. I wanted her to acknowledge me. I wanted her to acknowledge that what he had done was wrong. "And how would that make you feel?" "Better!" I said. Since my aunt was dead, she suggested that I needed to find another way to feel better. She suggested that I try forgiving my aunt for not acknowledging me, and for making the mistake of believing that if she had acknowledged what her husband had done it would have meant the end of her marriage. I told her she was out of her mind!

When being hurt and angry and believing you are less than you are does not get you what you want, it is time to forgive. When you cannot move beyond the memories of what someone else has done to you and those memories keep you hurt, angry, or in any way limited in life, it is time to forgive. When the only thing you remember about someone is what they did to you and not the fact that they are a human being prone to make mistakes, it is time to forgive. When you believe you know the whole story of why someone did what they did and believe that if they had done anything else, you would be different, it is time to forgive. If you don't like yourself, it is time to forgive. If there is anyone, anywhere on the planet you can honestly say that you do not love, it is time to forgive. If you are overweight, underweight, out of cash, in a bad relationship, working in an unfulfilling career, have corns on your little toes, have a cold or a toothache, there is somebody, somewhere you need to forgive. Start with yourself. Forgive yourself for believing that anyone who occupies the flesh form as a human being could in any way alter the truth of your being. Once you've done that it will be easy to forgive anyone for anything, particularly if you are holding them hostage for making human errors.

Commentary Journal

After reading today's commentary, I realize

The key phrase(s) I want to remember and work with today are

Morning FORGIVENESS Affirmation

I am now ready and willing to receive the perfecting presence of Spirit in my life.

I now open my mind and heart to the divine understanding of Spirit.

I now FORGIVE myself for every thought, word, and deed I have embraced or undertaken that has kept me from the realization of the truth about myself, and the perfect unfolding of the divine plan for my life.

I am now ready and willing to receive the perfecting presence of Spirit in my life.

I now open my mind and heart to the divine understanding of Spirit.

I now FORGIVE everyone for every thought, word, and deed they have embraced or undertaken that has kept them from the realization of the truth about themselves and me, and the perfect unfolding of the divine plan for our lives.

I FORGIVE all! I release all! I am now free from all except the perfect and Divine plan and purpose for my life!

For this, I am so grateful!

And So It Is!

Let Me Remember...

God has always FORGIVEN me.

I can FORGIVE myself.

To FORGIVE is to be free.

Being angry or hurt will not get me what I want.

What I withhold from another will be withheld from me.

Evening FORGIVENESS Journal

Today, I realize I have been unwilling or unable to FORGIVE because

I realize that I would be willing to FORGIVE____________________if

I now realize the need that being unwilling to FORGIVE has

Sunshine Soup

2011-02-02T11:09:00.001-08:00

Are you suffering from the winter blues? It could be due to a lack of essential vitamins such as A, C & D. Boost your mood from the inside out by making this hardy soup recipe courtesy of Fatimah Ali at Healthy Southern Comforts.

Yellow Split Pea/Tomatoes with vegetables

Ingredients

3 cups yellow lentils, soaked for 3 hours and thoroughly rinsed

1/2 gallon spring or filtered water

12 vine-ripe tomatoes, skinned, seeded and quartered

1/4 cup fresh cilantro finely, chopped

1/4 cup fresh parsley

1 head of garlic, coarsely chopped (however, more is better if you can tolerate it)

3 large red onions, finely diced

2 red peppers, diced

3 yellow peppers, roasted and cut into wedges

3 zucchini, diced in one-inch pieces

2 yellow squash, diced in one-inch pieces

5 sweet potatoes, skinned and cut into wedges

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

Tamari sauce to taste

a dash of cayenne pepper if you’re brave enough

1/2 cup virgin olive oil

1 very large jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce

1 cup of vegetable broth

Directions

Rinse tomatoes and submerge in boiling water until skin lifts. Set aside to cool.

Add split peas to boiling spring water, and after 15 minutes, turn heat to low and cover.

In a wok, saute garlic and onions on high heat, then turn to low and cook three minutes until golden brown.

Add all of the remaining ingredients to the wok, starting with the fresh herbs and stir constantly until blended.

Add vegetable broth and cover on low for 1/2 hour.

Skin tomatoes and remove seeds, then quarter and add to pea soup along with spaghetti sauce.

Add vegetables and fresh herbs from wok to pea soup.

Add the rest of the vegetables and cook on very low heat for 3 hours.

Take 1/4 of the soup, blend it and return it to the pot.

Turn off heat and allow soup to rest for 15 minutes before serving with your choice of bread.

No Glory in "Blackness"

2011-01-20T16:27:00.000-08:00

Trip told the 54th Regiment to "tear it up!"

A symbol of inequity, insult and degradation, each soldier held up his wage slip, and tore-that-bad-mamma-jamma-up-baby! They were not being paid their worth. I love the movie Glory. I love that scene. I love that statement - don't let your worth be determined by others!

In comes "the Black card." You know the card I'm talking about.

"What!? You went skiing? I'm going to have to take away your 'Black card'."

I say, take it. "Tear it UP!"

I don't want the Black card.

The Black card has an insufficient limit. Very little credit. Yes... it qualifies us to analyze the lyrics of Dem Franchise Boys. ...but the Black card also causes diabetes. It leaves one susceptible to carjacking. Owners tend to have angry dispositions.

I'm good. "Tear it up!"

I had to drink Kombuchi tea this weekend. My stomach was killing me. Why? Because I ate fried chicken two times last week. My body was having a sit-in..."no justice, no 3 pieces of chicken!"

I work for a school in Newark and celebrations tend to include chicken. I didn't even want no chicken - rather "any chicken". I didn't. But I also didn't want to be judged - a member of the black bourgeoisie - so I ate the damned chicken. That was the first day.

Day 2, the chicken was from Popeyes. It smelled good and I was hungry. I ate the chicken.

Dave Chappelle said that Black people and chicken are very fond of one another. Maybe that's true.

Making a few bad decisions is understandable. Forgivable even.

What I don't understand is my co-worker's response the following week.

I said, "Girl, I'm trying to live right. I ate fried chicken two times last week. I hadn't eaten fried chicken in three years. My stomach is hurting. So I committed to eating oatmeal for breakfast, fruit or salad for lunch and a hearty soup for dinner all week."

She said, "If you say one more thing like that, I'ma take your black card!"

She made the comment in mixed company, in the main office of the school. ...so I thought, before I responded.

I wanted to yell, "Tear it Up!!!!" in protest.

Ok.

I did.

...because I'm tired of Black people, especially women hating on any pursuit of healthy living. That has to stop. Half of the problem is mine. i own that. I have to stop caring. Caring drove me to eat the chicken in the first place.

Blackness should never lead to unhealthy decisions. The very function of culture is to proliferate. We must abandon any such bastardization of our culture. I can't understand the crabby assertions that Black is anything reckless. I'm good.

Tear it up.

So the next time someone says - in jest or all seriousness:

"Black girls don't swim."
"Black people don't eat sushi"
"Girl, we don't read."
"Black girls don't run."
"Yoga? You ain't Black"
"I don't need no passport, I got my Black card"

Tell them to "tear it up!"

The crazy irony about this situation is that the week prior to the chicken nonsense, the same woman took one look at my natural plaits, which where really cute, but not jelled down, and said "Oh Lord, here comes Celie!"

It seems like a common tension. Am I TOO Black - not coifed, extended, ironed into a mold of your expectations, OR am I not Black enough.

I say Black is as Black does.

Live your healthiest, most fulfilled, most productive life and let's call that Black. Bet.

Anytime someone makes such an insult, or tells you that striving to be better, healthier, more loving, more kind is not Black...look at them like Denzel is looking at the brother in the picture above.

***********
1. This post is dedicated to my girlfriend Ayanna, whose knee-jerk reaction to any injustice, big or small, was "tear it up!" Thank you AG!

2. I support responsible indulgence in a delicious piece of fried chicken. No chickens were hurt in the writing of this article. In fact, the picture above came from a delicious sounding recipe, that I might try. All in moderation.

A Suitable Mate?

2010-09-16T17:41:00.000-07:00

By, Vanessa
OurHealth Staff Writer

A new season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta is set to premiere this fall and they’ve added some new faces to the cast. Set to star on the show, as one of the new housewives, is Atlanta attorney Phaedra Parks. By all accounts she’s beautiful, successful and smart and that’s why some people were surprised to find out that she was married to a man with a criminal record.

Many started to question, (yet, again), are black women that desperate to get married or are the pickings really that slim? Why would any woman, let alone a woman with so much going for her, want to settle for a criminal.

Feeling the heat, or the need to defend her personal choices, Phaedra did an interview in which she stated that her husband was convicted of a white-collar crime (racketeering) and that he hadn’t harmed anyone or done anything violent. She then went on to say, “I married my husband because I loved him and he loved me and I think that’s the foundation of any good relationship. I didn’t marry him because of his past or because of his future. I married him because I respected him and I realized⎯everyone should realize that people make mistakes.”

For me her answer is enough. People make mistakes. She loves him, end of story. Love can defy logic and overcome obstacles. People choose to love who they love.

There really wouldn’t have been more to discuss if she hadn’t felt the need to elaborate even further and that’s where, well, she lost me.

She goes on to state - "And so as a Black woman, unfortunately, in our community more than anything a lot of times Black men have had legal problems. And every Black woman who says that Black men with legal problems cannot be considered as a mate, then we help with the genocide of our own community."

Are you kidding me??? If a black women isn’t willing to accept or consider dating a black man with a criminal past then she is contributing to the genocide of her community?

My immediate response is black men who commit crimes are the one’s contributing to the genocide, but is that too black and white? Considering the statistics and the numbers, if a black woman wants to marry a black man, does she have to consider black men who have been in jail?

I could go on a whole – I’m a snob who drinks chai tea and spends all day in the bookstore and I would never settle for that hood shit in my life – but I don’t know. I’ll just leave it open and let everyone think on this topic for themselves.

What do you think?

Women We Love: Linda Celeste Sims

2010-09-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

Linda Celeste Sims

Linda recently performed at The White House at Michelle Obama's tribute to Judith Jamison, choreographer and artistic director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater.

We love Linda's beauty, talent, grace and athleticism and wanted to introduce her to our readers.

Biography

Linda Celeste Sims began her dance training at Ballet Hispanico School of Dance and is a graduate of LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts. In 1994, Mrs. Sims won a Presidential Scholar award given by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. She has been highlighted in the “Best of 2009” list in Dance Magazine, and has performed as a guest star on “So You Think You Can Dance”, “Dancing with the Stars” and “The Today Show”. She has also made guest appearances at Youth America Grand Prix, Vail International Dance Festival, and galas in Budapest and Vienna. Mrs. Sims joined the Company in 1996, and was named Assistant Rehearsal Director in June 2010.

Mama’s Milk Is Best for Our Health

2010-09-03T09:12:00.001-07:00

By, Angele W.

OurHealth Guest Writer

Mama's Milk Is Best for Our Health

Growing up I always heard my black mother brag about how my sister and I were healthy babies because she breastfed us. Right before I gave birth to my first child we attended a breastfeeding class taught by a black nurse and learned about all the great benefits of breastfeeding. My homegirl who is black also breastfeeds. I am black and I never questioned whether or not I would breastfeed once I had children. It just seemed like the natural and right thing to do. So, I was very shocked and surprised when I recently found out that, according to the statistics, black women typically don’t breastfeed! We are the least likely to initiate breastfeeding, and the least likely to continue after we initiate. I was not aware of this.

But, what’s the big deal? So what if black women are not breastfeeding? How is this an issue for OurHealth?

Here are the goodies: Breastfeeding helps prevent childhood obesity, reduces the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), and builds up the child's immunity system. Breastfed babies have fewer ear infectionsgastrointestinal illnesses, and respiratory infections. Breasfeeding also helps the mother loose weight after pregnancy by burning 500 calories per day! It also reduces the mothers risk of type 2 diabetes. Benefits for breasfeeding mothers also include protection against: reproductive cancers, heart disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. Breastfeeding also , and reduces the risk of postpartum depression. Donated breast mlk can also help save the lives of premature babies. Win-win-win. But, with all these benefits, why are black women the lowest group of breastfeeders?

Is it because we can't separate the sexual nature of our breast from the motherly nature? I remember when I was about 12 years old there was a foster child that stayed with my family who became a teen mother. She cringed at the thought of breast feeding and said to me, “My breast are for my man, not for a baby.” Her expression stayed with me. Even though I was a child at the time, I remember thinking that her comments were ignorant.

Is it because we are wrapped up in the vanity and cosmetic look of our breasts? Recently I was watching MTV and there was a reality show with a teen mom who said, “I don’t want to breast feed because I don’t want my breasts to get saggy.” Her doctor replied, “It’s pregnancy that causes boobs to get saggy, not the breastfeeding.” The girl just seemed to tune out her doctor, and thereby block out the literal voice of reason.

Is it because when we return to work, we cannot handle the busy schedule of a breastfeeding/working mother? When children get sent to daycare, it becomes much easier to buy formula than to pump throughout the day, label, and store milk for the baby. It takes much more time and energy to prepare breast milk when the baby is apart from the mother, than to use formula. And, for mothers who are dependent upon government subsidies, such as WIC (Women, Infant, Children), formula comes at little-to-no cost.

Is it because we buy into the marketing schemes? Formula companies also tend to market more aggressively to women of color and those in lower economic situations because the government subsidizes it. Organizations that support breast feeding, like La Leche League, often tend to service white women.

I think about it over and over again and I just don't get it. I just don't understand. How did we go from being this country’s wet nurses during slavery to those most reliant on formula for feeding our own children? Why aren't WE breastfeeding?

Medical Moment: High Blood Pressure

2010-09-02T07:54:00.000-07:00

High Blood Pressure is a scary diagnosis and yet a common diagnosis amongst black women. OurHealth is concerned with the lack of information that people who are actually suffering from this condition seem to have about how it's effecting their overall health and what steps they need to take to combat it.

Did you know -


➭	High blood pressure is a leading cause of stroke. The rate of high blood pressure for non-Hispanic black females age 20 and older is 45.4 percent.
➭	As many as 20 percent of all deaths in hypertensive African-American women may be due to their high blood pressure.
➭	The risk of heart disease and stroke increases with physical inactivity. Physical inactivity is more prevalent in women, African-Americans and Hispanics. For non-Hispanic black females age 18 and older, 33.9 percent are inactive, compared to 21.6 percent of non-Hispanic white females.
➭	Among non-Hispanic black females ages 20 and older, 77.2 percent are overweight or obese.

Read this very informative article on tips to controlling High Blood Pressure and please share it with anyone who may need the information. Remember - knowledge is power.

Source

Feature Stories

High Blood Pressure: Tips to Stop the Silent Killer

University of Maryland cardiologist and hypertension expert Elijah Saunders, M.D., offers advice on controlling your blood pressure and protecting your heart.

The heart, a muscle about the size of a fist, is one of the hardest working organs in our bodies. Over the course of an average life span, it beats about two and a half billion times without ever taking a break. The daily choices we make about how we live our lives determine our hearts' ability to function optimally.

According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the United States. More than 2,600 people die of heart disease every day, which translates into one cardiovascular death every 33 seconds.

High Blood Pressure Risk Factors

It is important to keep your blood pressure under 140/90 mm Hg. Blood pressure higher than that is considered dangerous. Below is a list of high blood pressure risk factors. People with any of these risk factors should have their blood pressure checked every time they visit their doctor. For those who fall into several risk categories, experts recommend purchasing a blood pressure cuff and a stethoscope and taking your own pressure reading every week.

Cigarette smoking or being exposed to secondhand smoke on a daily basis
Diabetes (a fasting glucose higher than 125 mg/dL)
Kidney disease
Family history of hypertension
Being obese or overweight
Leading a physically inactive, sedentary lifestyle
Men over the age of 45
Women over the age of 55
Taking oral contraceptives
Elevated cholesterol levels
Frequently consuming alcoholic beverages
Being African American

Despite the seriousness and prevalence of heart disease, cardiovascular problems aren't inevitable. There are steps you can take -- eating a healthy, low-fat diet and getting plenty of exercise -- to reduce your risk. On the other hand, bad habits such as smoking and drinking too much alcohol overburden our already busy hearts and cause them to break down.

"Cardiovascular disease is a real problem in the United States," said Elijah Saunders, M.D., Head of the Hypertension Section of the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Division of Cardiology. "The average American diet is high in fat, cholesterol, calories and salt, and our lifestyles are far too sedentary."

Elevated Blood Pressure: The Silent Killer

Hypertension or high blood pressure is often a precursor to heart disease. High blood pressure that goes undetected or isn't properly controlled can lead to heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure, stroke or premature death. Because hypertension has few early symptoms, many people aren't aware they have it.

"Only about half of the people in this country who have high blood pressure know they have it," said Saunders. "Of those who know they have it, only about half are being treated for it. And of those being treated for it, only about half actually have their blood pressure under control. Nationwide, that translates into about 25 percent of hypertensive patients who are controlling their blood pressure."

According to Saunders, many people shy away from taking the medications that could help them manage their blood pressure because they are concerned about their side effects. Treatment methods, however, have improved over the years, and some of the old fears are unfounded.

"The way drugs are being used to control high blood pressure today is much more effective than in the past," Saunders said. "Doctors are using ACE inhibitors, Calcium channel blockers, Beta-blockers, Angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs), Alpha-blockers and low-dose diuretics in ways that don't cause the sexual complications and other side effects of older therapies. Also, these new drugs only need to be taken once a day, instead of two or three times a day. This is a lot easier for patients."

Saunders, who has served on the Advisory Council of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, has lectured extensively on hypertension. Throughout his career, he has focused on hypertension among the elderly and African American populations.

Statistics show that African Americans are 50 to 100 percent more likely to develop high blood pressure than their white counterparts. African Americans also develop hypertension at younger ages than whites, have a harder time keeping it under control and die from it at much higher rates.

Saunders is currently working with the National Institutes of Health to understand any possible genetic factors that increase hypertension in African Americans.

"Unlike sickle cell, I doubt that we're going to discover a single gene that predisposes African Americans to hypertension," Saunders said. "More than likely, it is a combination of environmental factors such as diet, obesity, physical inactivity and stress that contribute to the increased rates of high blood pressure we see in the African American community."

Control Your Pressure

The average adult has about five liters of blood flowing through the body via an intricate network of blood vessels called arteries, veins and capillaries. Blood is essential to life for it delivers oxygen from our lungs to our body tissues, and carries harmful waste to the kidneys to be removed. Blood also transports hormones from our glands to various parts of our bodies, as well as vitamins and nutrients from our digestive tracts.

When our blood vessels become clogged due to a plaque buildup of cholesterol and fat, our hearts must work twice as hard to pump enough blood to our vital organs. This is what causes our blood pressure to surge.

As the pressure increases inside of our arteries, veins and capillaries, our hearts become even more overworked. Over time, our hearts grow larger in an effort to compensate for the extra workload and eventually they become weaker.

When you add obesity, smoking, or diabetes to the mix, the risk of heart attack, stroke or kidney disease for those with high blood pressure increases dramatically. This is why it is important to know what your blood pressure is.

Experts recommend that you maintain a blood pressure lower than 140/90 mm Hg at rest. The higher number represents the maximum pressure exerted when the heart contracts (systole). It reflects the stiffness of the large arteries near the heart, and the volume of blood pumped into them. The lower number represents the pressure exerted when the heart begins to relax between beats (diastole), just before the next contraction. It measures the amount of constriction of the body's smaller arteries or arterioles.

Good Reasons to Exercise

A great way to lower your blood pressure and combat the corrosive effects of plaque buildup is to exercise. Studies have shown that sedentary lifestyles tend to elevate blood pressure, while regular exercise can reduce it.

According to Saunders, exercise is so effective at controlling blood pressure because it stimulates a substance within our bodies called nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is produced by our endothelial cells, which live on the inside layer of our blood vessels.

"Nitric oxide is a substance that helps to keep our blood vessels open," said Saunders. "During the early stages of plaque buildup or arteriosclerosis, one of the first things we see is a reduction in the amount of nitric oxide in the blood vessels. When we exercise, the accelerated pumping of our hearts forces more blood to flow through our vessels. As this blood pushes its way along the lining of our vessels, the endothelial cells release more nitric oxide."

You don't have to spend hours in the gym to reap the healthy benefits of exercise. Walking the dog, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, even vacuuming briskly can increase the blood flow from your heart and through blood vessels.

In addition to regular exercise, a heart-friendly diet is also important, said Saunders. Broiling foods instead of frying them and trimming the skin and fat off of meat all add up to less artery-clogging plaque in your blood vessels.

Shake That Salt Habit

So, you avoid foods high in fat and cholesterol and are exercising on a regular basis, what else can you do to stay healthy? Saunders suggests staying away from foods that contain a lot of sodium.

Sodium plays an essential role in regulating fluids in the body. Studies of diverse populations have shown that a high sodium intake is associated with higher blood pressures.

Although the human body requires only about 500 mg of sodium a day, the average American ingests between 6,900 mg and 9,000 mg of sodium a day. For people sensitive to sodium, such as those with a family history of hypertension, African Americans, diabetics and the elderly, the accumulation of too much salt in the body can be particularly risky.

Saunders recommends doing away with your salt shakers. Adding extra salt to most foods is unnecessary since many of the prepackaged, prepared foods that you buy in the grocery store already contain a lot of sodium.

"A good rule of thumb is that if you can taste the salt in your food, then there is too much of it," said Saunders. "Canned foods, snack foods, fast foods and other prepared foods are loaded with sodium. It is much better to prepare your own low-sodium meals. You may also consider using some salt substitutes (with approval by your doctor) or various condiments and seasonings that may add to the taste without excess salt. When eating out, insist that the food be prepared without sodium and you can then control the amount consumed."

If you don't have time to cook your meals from scratch, Saunders advises that you pay close attention to the amount of sodium listed on food labels. Since 1986, the Food and Drug Administration has required manufacturers to list sodium content on their products.

Say No to Smoking, Excessive Drinking

Another way to improve your overall cardiovascular health is to quit smoking and drinking a lot of alcohol.

While drinking in moderation doesn't seem to have much of an impact on your heart, having more than three drinks a day may contribute to high blood pressure. Alcohol has been shown to raise blood pressure by interfering with the flow of blood to and from the heart. When alcohol courses through your bloodstream, it pushes blood rich in nutrients away from your heart.

Studies have shown that it is much more difficult to control blood pressure if you drink heavily. Conversely, a reduction in alcohol consumption can help lower blood pressure.

Smoking also takes a heavy toll on the heart. According to the American Lung Association, over 400,000 Americans die of smoking-related illnesses each year. This figure includes those affected by secondhand smoke and babies born prematurely due to prenatal, maternal smoking.

Nicotine, one of thousands of chemicals found in cigarettes, causes the blood vessels to constrict. This narrowing of the vessels increases blood pressure.

Nicotine is an extremely addictive chemical. Studies show that nicotine activates the circuits in the brain that regulate pleasurable feelings. It does this by increasing the levels of a chemical found in our brains called dopamine. The U.S. Surgeon General warns that nicotine addiction is similar to heroine and morphine addiction. In fact, when smokers inhale, the nicotine reaches the brain faster than drugs that enter the body intravenously.

Kicking a smoking habit may not be easy, but it is worthwhile. About 1.3 million people quit smoking each year. The benefits of quitting are numerous. They include improved tolerance for exercise, and a reduction in the risk of developing lung cancer, bladder cancer and heart disease.

Three years after giving up nicotine, Saunders said that ex-smokers have a 65 percent reduction in deaths from heart disease relative to those who continue to smoke.

Make Heart-Healthy Changes

Experts urge the public to break those habits that threaten cardiovascular health. Adopting a more heart-healthy approach to life now can have a positive influence on future generations.

"We are all getting too fat in our society and we need to turn things around," said Saunders. "Physical inactivity among our youth is a real problem. We need to make sure that we eat eight servings of fruits and vegetables a day, and get more exercise. We need to get ourselves and our children away from the television sets and the computers, and start them exercising early in their lives."

Fresh Take on Salads

2010-08-31T09:09:00.000-07:00

By, Vanessa
OurHealth Staff Writer

Summer is almost over, but you still have time to indulge yourself in some of your favorite warm weather fruits and vegetables. If you ever get tired of the same ho-hum side salad with lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes and you're looking to change it up, we have just the recipe for you!

Summer salads that have unique combinations of fruits and vegetables are the perfect way to step outside of the culinary box. You can add color, nutrition and delicious flavor to your meals in ways you never even imagined.

Recently I was the guest at a friends house in Montana and she served up a fresh and yummy nectarine and beet salad. I do not fancy myself a fan of beets and the combination of beets with nectarines, feta cheese and balsamic vinaigrette really did not sound like an appealing choice. Not wanting to be rude of course, I scooped one small serving onto my plate. I timidly took a bite and wow! It was fresh, sweet, clean and delicious.

My palette is always evolving and changing and I love it when I find something new that I love to eat and that's also healthy. I truly believe that one of the biggest obstacles that many black women face in striking a balance with a diet that's healthy but that they also enjoy eating, is stepping out of the comfort zone of foods they grew up eating and trying new things.

After getting a taste of such a fresh summer salad, I decided to go a little further and try out a salad that I have been eyeing for awhile at one of my favorite restaurants in my area, Salute, a French style bistro. They serve a watermelon salad with a gin-lime vinaigrette, arugula, ricotta, almonds and pink peppercorns.

(Watermelon salad from Salute)

Have you ever been in a restaurant and you literally wanted to lick the plate? That's how good this salad was. I actually considered ordering a second salad but I do understand, all things in moderation. ☺

(Almost gone!)

The restaurant promised to email me the recipe to the watermelon salad, but I am still waiting...hum! Based on the simple list of ingredients, I think I can figure it out myself. I'm going to attempt it this weekend, maybe with a grilled NY strip or some Tilapia and I'll post my results next week.

In the meantime, here is the great recipe for the beet and nectarine salad. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

Salad

medium beets (about 1 lb)

nectarines, sliced

1/4

cup crumbled Feta or Brie cheese (1 oz)

tablespoons walnuts, toasted*

Dressing

tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

tablespoons orange juice

tablespoons finely chopped onion

teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4

teaspoon salt

Directions

Heat oven to 425°F. Remove greens from beets, leaving about 1/2 inch of stem. Do not trim or cut root. Wash beets well. Tightly wrap beets in double layer of foil, and roast on cookie sheet 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until tender. When beets are cool enough to handle, peel them, discarding stems and root ends, then cut into 1/2-inch-wide wedges.
2In small bowl, mix dressing ingredients with wire whisk.
3In large bowl, toss half the dressing with mixed greens. Divide evenly among 4 salad plates. Arrange beets, nectarines, cheese and walnuts over each salad. Drizzle remaining dressing over each salad. Serve immediately.

Healthy Role Model: Paula!

2010-08-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

Last year OurHealth launched its Healthy Role Model series in an effort to highlight the many black women who are out there everyday making healthy choices, striving for excellence and living by example. We have highlighted almost 40 extraordinary women and we are always on the lookout for women who raise the bar.

Thankfully for us we did not have to go looking for our next role model because she is already out there telling her own story and we have been captivated by what she’s had to say about her journey.

Healthy Role Model: Meet Paula!

She Inspires: “If it's politically correct to scream "fat acceptance", I'll scream just as loud ... "fat un-acceptance" - in my own life ... without a care in the World, of what others may think. I've never been one to just accept something, I must love it too...”

Paula has a terrific blog Madame: The Journey of a Weight Loss*ista. By sharing her own personal struggles with weight loss and her triumphant victories on the road to being the healthiest she can possibly be, she is inspiring women everywhere to be conscious, aware and active.

Having spent a lot of time on her blog and following her tweets we can tell you that she doesn’t preach, she practices. She doesn’t judge, she encourages and she does it all with the humor and warmth of an old friend.

We reached out to Paula and asked her if she would agree to answer some of our questions as part of her profile as a Healthy Role Model and we are so glad she agreed! If you are in a rut, feeling lazy or unmotivated, spending too much time coming up with excuses and looking for some inspirations, look no further!

Her Story:

1. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Paula, I'm 25 years old and I live in Columbus, Ohio. I lead a team of retirement investment advisors for a major financial services firm. I'm also a graduate student, pursing my Master's in Business Administration, with a concentration in Marketing.

2. You have a blog Madame: The Journey of a Weight Loss*ista. Can you tell us why you decided to start a blog?

I was browsing my usual political, sports and entertainment blogs/op-eds and I felt like something was lacking. While the aforementioned all piqued my interests, I had just begun my weight loss journey and was eager to pull insight from that subject perspective as well. After some research, I ultimately discovered an entire community of weight loss and health bloggers. It intrigued and inspired me to get in on the fun. I started off writing about my personal journey for accountability and tracking purposes. Over time, I then began to incorporate stories and events that grabbed my attention.

3. Have you always struggled with your weight?

It wasn't until my late teenage years, that I began picking up weight. Considering the average frame of those in my family and even my neighborhood, my "thickness" was normal. When I went away to college, however, I rapidly upgraded from "thick" to "obese". This was a result of awful eating habits and an overall physically-lazy life on campus.

4. What motivated you to start losing weight?

My primary reason for beginning my weight loss journey, was my health. At age 22 and 257 pounds, I was told that I was Pre-Diabetic and had Stage 1 Hypertension. If all of this was occurring so early, my quality of life looking forward - didn't seem to hold much promise. It was unfortunate that my "awakening" was due to dire circumstances, but I thank God everyday for those early warning signs.

5. What do you do for exercise?

My current workout regimen consists of cardio, weight resistance, yoga and running. I'm preparing to take on my 3rd half-marathon in the Fall, so running has certainly been a training priority for me, as of late. Following the race, I'll be looking into some sort of dance classes and possibly, biking. I need variety, it keeps me engaged and energized about my fitness life.

6. You're a vegetarian. When did you decide to stop eating meat and why?

I decided to make the switch to vegetarianism, this past May. My primary reasons stemmed from health concerns and awareness of the sometimes unnatural and inhumane methods of it's production.

After a small stint with exploring farm-raised and organic products, I came to the conclusion that, I simply didn't need meat to survive. It was definitely a tough transition, as I love pork and scallops like the rest of the World! However, the benefits of "going veg" regarding my energy levels and even weight management - have all been well worth it.

7. You struggle with MS. Can you tell us a little about your diagnosis and how it effects your daily life and weight loss?

I was diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis w/ Trigeminal Neuralgia in 2006. As an auto-immune disease, my body interprets my nervous system as a danger and it essentially, attacks it. As all functions are tied to the brain, the results of MS can vary. I encounter mobility issues when I'm deep into a relapse, in which I'm unable to stand or walk. More frequent problems that arise for me are bouts of depression, vision complications, limb and facial pain and paraesthesia (numbness/tingling). All of which I control with therapies and treatments. I continue to be a student of my disease. I know my limits and realize that my restoration days are just as important as my active ones.

8. What is your ultimate goal & hope for yourself?

I know numeric goals are at times controversial, but I'm sticking to mine. While I feel I've gained some good ground, I'm still in pursuit of losing weight. My goal is to reach 120 pounds - which would place me in the "Healthy" category of the BMI chart. I don't harp or stress over the scale though. When it happens, it will happen. I'll just continue pressing forward in executing best practices and decisions on my journey.

9. Who inspires you to live healthier?

It's certainly a group effort. My mother dealt with morbid obesity most of her life and always expressed to me her fears of me going down the same path. A few years ago, she began making drastic lifestyle changes for her health. I've watched her transform from being bed-ridden (due to obesity-related illnesses) to leading support groups for women who wish to take back the reigns of their health and weight also.

I cannot forget my loving fiance, RaShad, who has been there for me during the ups and downs (literally) of my journey. And, my little brothers of which I was given the privilege or raising, after our father's passing. Getting them to eat broccoli with me was a struggle. But, I wanted to instill in them that even though our family is nowhere near the poster children of wellness, we can and will break this generational cycle of destructive health. I could go on and on with this question, but that's certainly the base of my inspiration.

10. What's your favorite workout song?

"I'm Me" by Lil' Wayne!

11. Upcoming projects and ventures:

I am rounding out course work to become a Certified Personal Trainer. My goal is to hold and apply these credentials in a non-profit capacity. Affording my services and understanding of the body's well-being, to those communities in which a gym membership isn't always an option.

A few of my friends, sorority sisters and partners in a healthy-living book project, have organized a walking program on our city's East side. Every Sunday morning, in this historically-rich black neighborhood, we set out for 3 miles with all that are willing. The turnout has been awesome and we've even had the honor of having the support of some city leaders. Even though this effort is still in it's infancy, it further perpetuates my dream; continuing to build on my personal healthy journey and sharing those experiences.

Madame: The Journey of a Weight Loss*ista

Try It Tuesdays: The World Famous Mud Run!!!!

2010-08-17T04:35:00.000-07:00

By Morgan D.
OurHealth Staff Writer

We are surrounded by superwomen. Stop for a moment and think about the amazing feats women in your life are accomplishing! Friends, sisters, mamas, aunties....sailing around the world, raising other folks kids, holding down two jobs, ...and mud running. Yep mud running!

Jeannette is the kind of "supa star!" that would give Molly Shannon a run for her money! She was that girl in high school that was literally class president, happy cheer leader, honor roll student and in the friendly popular crew in lunchroom - not the mean girls. Her adult life is even more inspiring. She is a enchanting mother (who dresses her little girls in princess dresses at Thanksgiving), a loving wife, an educator, and a student of all things majestic! Her life is her creation. One peek into any album on her Facebook page reveals a woman who is living with James Brown level "umph"! Do it Jeannette! Do it.

But now... Jeannette has raised the bar.

She just completed The World Famous Mud Run! I was so inspired by her pictures, I HAD to interview her! Her answers arrived in my inbox in the wee hours of the morning - because she's a good friend too!

OHM: What was going through your mind in the picture of you crossing the finish line?

JFD: A couple of things were going through my mind - I was trying to hold back tears (it was emotionally overwhelming) and I was pretty shocked at my finish time (my goal was 2.5hrs, but I finished in an hour and 34mins).

OHM: What is a mud run? How long is it?

JFD: I ran the "World Famous Mud Run". There are many, but this is titled as is because people come from all over the country to run it. I thought it was just a SoCal thing until people around me started talking about where they were from. Anyway, it is 6.2 mile (10k) obstacle course through the mud on Camp Pendleton's Marine base. It is like basic training for civilians.

(From their website: The Mud Run is a challenging 10K run with hills, tire obstacles, river crossings, two 5-foot walls with mud on both sides, tunnel crawl, slippery hill climb, and the final 30-foot mud pit. Along the course there will be 6 water points with personnel staged at each).

OHM: How did you learn about it?

JFD: I heard about the mud run a few years back, but didn't really pay attention to it until my office mate said she was going to run it with her cousin.

OHM: Did you do it alone or with friends?

JFD: I tried to register with my co-worker, but could get the same date so ended up registering (as an individual runner) for another weekend. I actually backed out when I found out my daughter's recital was the same day. About five days before, I was asked to take the place of a co-worker's friend who had dropped out of their team. In the end, I still ran as an individual because the team was short too many people.

OHM: Would you call yourself a runner or is this a new challenge or hobby?

JFD: I am ABSOLUTELY NOT a runner! Dancing has been my only athletic hobby and it's been almost three years since I danced last (six years since I actually trained). I used to joke around and say "the only time you'll see me running is towards a buffet"! The funny thing is that this experience forced me to realize that I let other people decide who I was. Somewhere along the line someone said I was not athletic. In my family dance is appreciated, but it's not a sport. So I just went along with the fact that I was not an athlete. I guess that as the years passed I really began to believe that. The truth is, I am much more athletic than I gave myself credit for (and if anyone has studied African-Caribbean dance from Dr. Linda Goodrich they'd agree that dancers ARE athletes). So, as much as I used to say "I hate running", I don't think I really do. To answer the question - running has not become a hobby, but I like the idea of it being a new challenge.

OHM: You are a mother, did your daughters witness your victory?

JFD: Unfortunately my daughters were not present to witness my victory. It was my youngest daughter's 2nd birthday party so I had to get there, finish the race, and have another race against the clock to get the party together in time (with lots of help).

OHM: What did training look like?

JFD: Training looked like - PROCRASTINATION!!! I told myself I would start in February for my June race. I didn't start until March and it began with walking about a mile twice a week. Seems like nothing, but it was a big deal for me to even purchase running shoes-yet alone go for a walk (I hadn't bought a pair of tennis shoes since my purple shell toe Adidas in 2002).
By the end of March I attempted to walk/jog. I did that 2-3 times for about 2miles before I found out that my 4yr old's recital would be the same day as the mud run. Any idea of training started to vanish, as I knew I wouldn't take the chance of racing and not making it back in time for my baby's performance. I would say I was still gonna try for it, but in my heart I knew I wasn't gonna do it.

My saving grace was that I gave up on the running and started Zumba class. I'm convinced that that one hour a week Zumba class did something for my endurance!

OHM: What was your biggesst challenge?

JFD: My biggest challenge was mental. I really didn't think I could do it. Honestly, I think I was secretly relieved to find that Kaya's recital was on the same day. It gave me an out without looking like a chump. The non-athlete attempt a challenge like this? What the hell was I thinking??? Then when I was offered to run on a different day I had no excuse. I had to do it and I am so glad I did. On the course, my biggest challenge came just before the last mile marker when my leg started to cramp going up the last hill.

OHM: You said this was harder than giving birth, when you felt like giving up, what pushed you to keep going?

JFD: This was indeed harder than giving birth (for me at least). If I would have known the intensity before starting, I would have probably backed out. What pushed me was the energy of the hundreds of people around me. I was at mile four without knowing it because even though not many people were talking, the energy was really positive. When my leg cramped at towards the end, this awesome marine dude pushed me forward. There were marines all along the course in case of injuries. When my leg cramped I must have had a look of despair on my face because he came along side me and started motivating me (in that marine yelling voice) - "You can DO this! Let's go. You got this! You're almost there!". He literally ran along side me until he was convince that I would not stop. I finished the hill and started the decline to the last mud pit. That's when I got all choked up. I couldn't believe it was almost over.

OHM: What is your next challenge?

JFD: My next challenge is not half the challenge of the World Famous Mud Run, but a challenge nonetheless. I have returned to my love of performing arts. I am dancing in the musical "Guys and Dolls" for Tustin's 2010 Broadway in the Park. After three years (and another kid) your body doesn't move the way it used to, but it sure feels good to use it again - and use it daily. Aside from the physical challenge of rehearsals and performing, the biggest challenge is in finding the balance to maintain work, marriage, and motherhood - all while still finding and TAKING the time to take care of yourself. I am thankful to my husband and daughters for allowing me take this time.

Blogs We Love: Lorynwilson.com

2010-08-11T19:48:00.000-07:00

OurHealth recommends reading this honest and courageous blog post - Superwoman Sings the Blues.

It's a great step forward when black women can talk about and share their experiences with depression and/or mental health issues. We applaud lorynwilson.com for sharing her story.

Try it Tuesdays: Barefoot Hiking

2010-08-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

By Kallima, The Brain
OurHealth Staff Writer

I like to hike. And so when I saw an article in my local paper talking about barefoot hiking and how it's taking the country by storm (ok a tad exaggeration on my part), I decided to try it. I grew up in the Caribbean and basically ran around barefoot as a kid. How bad was it going to be? So I signed up with a local barefoot hikers group in my area and committed to going on a two mile hike. I tried to recruit a few of my friends to try this new endeavor, but I only got looks of 'you crazy' and 'hell no'. On the day of the hike I updated my Facebook status to say 'out barefoot hiking'. Here are a few responses, direct quotes. Names have been changed to protect the 'innocent'.

my sister:

eah...good luck with that one

i live in da hood

u trying to catch something chick

a damn fool

First of all u black...what you doing hiking?

*Sigh*

Anyhoo, I quickly read up on what I should know about barefoot hiking. The hike leader went over some instructions for the beginners and we set off on a two mile hike. At first it was weird and uncomfortable as the pads of your feet are sensitive but then you quickly get into a groove. You experience new sensations, ones you would not feel when you're out hiking in shoes. I found that I noticed animals on the ground more, the spiders, ants, holes in the ground. Walking barefoot truly is like an amazing foot massage. Nature's springy moss is THE most amazing texture to walk on and I found myself practically skipping along the trail to find the next patch to walk on. You notice the silence more, no longer are boots slapping against the ground, just bare feet.

Would I do this again? Absolutely. Would I recommend it? Yes. Find a heavily wooded area where lots of leaves and moss are guaranteed to be on the ground even in the summer. Make sure the trails are fairly clear of debris like broken branches, trash and smaller sharp pebbles. And when you go out for your first time, try to walk for a mile or less than two.

Happy trails

Aretha Franklin- Can We Get Real?

2010-08-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

We at OurHealth once said that Aretha Franklin was above reproach. We were talking about her fashion choices. Then she decided to do the Snickers commercial and we were thinking, really Aretha?

When it comes to this tom-foolery here, we think it's OK to say - PLEASE get real Aretha.

From The Urban Daily

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, has cancelled two upcoming free concerts in New York City after the singer fractured her ribs and complained of abdominal pain after suffering a fall.

Lady Soul’s spokeswoman, Gwendolyn Quinn issued a statement explaining the reasons for the cancellation:

“Due to fractured ribs and pain in the abdomen, it was necessary for Ms. Franklin to cancel and reschedule the two concerts,” said the statement from spokeswoman Gwendolyn Quinn. Franklin’s doctors have advised her to come in for tests immediately, the statement said.

“I was very much looking forward to being in Brooklyn and having a foot-long hot dog at Coney Island,” Franklin said in the statement. “Hopefully I will get it before the end of August.”

Franklin, 68, also noted, “I will really miss that nice slice of cake from Congressman Charlie Rangel’s birthday party and singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him.”

Aretha Franklin is dangerously obese. She should not be promoting Snickers bars and her first thoughts when falling should not be cake and hot dogs. OurHealth is frustrated. When are we going to learn and get real about OUR HEALTH?

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. - Hosea 4:6

Tragedy in the Water

2010-08-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

By, Vanessa
OurHealth Staff Writer

It's not too late to take the OurHealth challenge and learn how to swim. It's not just about recreation. It can actually be about life and death.

My husband thinks the parents should face criminal charges. He said that adults who can't swim should not take their kids, who also can't swim, near the water. I don't know if I agree, but this is truly a tragedy.

What do you think?

6 Teens Drown in Louisiana's Red River

Lisa Flam and Lauren Frayer

(Aug. 3) -- With one life jacket among them, six teenagers who couldn't swim drowned in Louisiana's Red River when they waded off a sandbar and into water that dropped to 30 feet deep, leaving two families wailing and screaming in horror. A seventh teenager was pulled out alive.

The victims, ages 13 to 18, were wading in water 3 feet deep near a sandy beach along the Red River in the Charles and Marie Hamel Memorial Park in Shreveport on Monday evening when they ventured into an unfamiliar area and entered water that suddenly got 20 to 30 feet deeper, Assistant Fire Chief Fred Sanders in an interview today.

"The terrain of the river is unstable," Sanders told AOL News. "They were on a beachy, sandy area with a steep drop-off."
The teenagers were part of a large group of about 20 young people who had been enjoying a day at the river to swim and barbecue, Marilyn Robinson told The Times of Shreveport.

"None of us could swim," said Robinson, 38. "They were yelling 'Help me! Help me! Somebody please help me!' It was nothing I could do but watch them drown one by one."

Friends and relatives of the six, including the two mothers, were wailing, crying and screaming as the children went under the water, said Sanders, who was there. "They were just starting the grief cycle," he said. "Quite naturally, they were upset and hysterical."

Fire Chief Brian Crawford told the Shreveport newspaper that after one child went into an unfamiliar area, others followed. "And once one started toppling into that sinkhole grabbing ahold of another, trying to save another, eventually seven were pulled into the hole," he said. They had one life jacket among them.

Sanders said the domino effect is a possibility. "We're not sure if when one went in and grabbed another trying to save themselves or if others actually went in when they saw their friends and family go in and try to save them, not considering that they could drown because they couldn't swim."

Hearing the families screaming, other people in the park rescued a 14-year-old boy, who did not need to go to the hospital, Sanders said.

Crawford and Sanders say it's the worst accident they've seen.

"We've had drownings before but never to this magnitude where six teenage children drown at the same time," Sanders said today. "The day will be etched in the minds of many of us here in Shreveport."

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid, and it's with a heavy heart, to report that we have pulled so far [six] bodies from the river. ... I can honestly say that in my 26 years of service I've never seen anything of this magnitude. And I hope I never see it again," he told the paper. "It's truly catastrophic and I can only imagine the effect it has on the families."

Authorities said three brothers from one family drowned and two brothers and a sister from another drowned. The victims were identified as Takeitha Warner, 13, and her brothers, JaMarcus Warner, 14, and JaTavious Warner, 17. The rescued teen was their cousin, D.J. Warner.

Also killed were the Stewart brothers: 18-year-old Litrelle, 17-year-old LaDairus and 15-year-old Latevin.

The Fire Department got a 911 call at 6:33 p.m. but the caller gave an imprecise location, Sanders said. Other units that responded from a different direction were flagged down by the families and arrived at 6:40 p.m. but did not see anybody in the water. Divers recovered the first body at 7:51 p.m., the final one just after 10 p.m.

The bodies were found at the bottom of the river, Crawford told reporters today, at depths of 20 to 28 feet. They were within 20 to 30 feet of each other, he said.

Louise Edwards said it was hard to stand by and watch helplessly.

"Some people tried to jump in, but they were already gone," she told The Times, tears rolling down her cheek. "It's like a nightmare. Lord please help us, please."

This is a terrible situation. When I read about the family members, I got a Sims-like image in my head. I wonder if the family would ever even attempt swimming lessons, now.

Getting Outdoors

2010-08-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

By, Vanessa
OurHealth Staff Writer

Before the summer is over we would like to encourage all of our readers to visit a national park, an outdoor recreational area, a nature reserve or some sort of outdoor environment.

The U.S. National Park Service is a great resource. Find a park near you - http://www.nps.gov/findapark

Growing in up in Seattle, WA, I lived within an hours drive of some of the most beautiful and scenic outdoor recreational areas in the country and yet I never visited any. It's sad, really, what we and our children our missing out on and as an adult I realize how much being in the outdoors has enhanced my life.

Park Ranger Shelton Johnson agrees. (Is it sad that I reading this wondering if he was married? He would make a good catch!)

Park ranger asks: Where are all the black visitors?

From The San Francisco Chronicle

Nothing would make Shelton Johnson happier than the sight of Snoop Dogg singing by a campfire or Oprah hiking to the top of Yosemite Falls.

Johnson, one of a scarce few African American park rangers in the United States, said a black American celebrity publicly frolicking in the woods would do more to help people of color embrace their heritage than all the money in Hollywood.

Johnson, a musician, storyteller and interpretive specialist at Yosemite National Park, is determined to inspire young inner-city African Americans to experience what he says transformed his life. Less than 1 percent of the visitors to Yosemite are African American, a number he's eager to improve.

"It's bigger than just African Americans not visiting national parks. It's a disassociation from the natural world," said Johnson, who has worked in Yosemite for the past 15 of his 22 years in the Park Service. "I think it is, in part, a memory of the horrible things that were done to us in rural America."

The rejection of the natural world by the black community, he said, is a scar left over from slavery.

"All Snoop Dogg has to do is go camping in Yosemite and it would change the world," said Johnson, 51. "If Oprah Winfrey went on a road trip to the national parks, it would do more than I have done in my whole career."

Early years

Born in Detroit, Johnson's mother was half Cherokee Indian. His father, James O. Johnson Jr., was part Seminole. A career military man, the senior Johnson enlisted to get out of the Jim Crow South.

Johnson described himself as a painfully shy youth who read a lot. He trained as a classical clarinetist during high school and later joined the Peace Corps in Liberia, where he contracted malaria.

He eventually got a job working concessions in Yellowstone National Park, where he was hired as a park ranger in 1987. He transferred to Yosemite seven years later.

It was there, in 2001, that ranger Johnson made the discovery that changed his understanding of the black experience. Deep in the archives he found a faded 1899 photograph of five U.S. Army cavalry troopers on horseback patrolling a pine forest deep in the Yosemite backcountry. The soldiers were African American.

He learned that, for three years, Army troops from the Presidio known as buffalo soldiers had patrolled Yosemite and Sequoia national parks. He became engrossed in their story, reading the soldiers' archived letters.

Johnson has since taken on the persona of one of the soldiers and tells the story of the buffalo soldier and his own Native American heritage to youth groups and tourists through that character. The musical presentations bring to life the forgotten history of the black American soldiers who essentially became America's first national park rangers.

Spot in documentary

In 2002 he won the Park Service's Western region award for outstanding achievement in interpreting the park. Sierra Club Books is publishing "Gloryland," his fictional memoir of a buffalo soldier. He is featured in the upcoming six-part Ken Burns documentary, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," scheduled to air on PBS next month.

"Race is the core of this history, the heart of this history," he said. "It shows that the national parks are as much a cultural resource as a natural resource."

But Johnson cannot seem to break through to the African American community, and, he said, the "African American intelligentsia" does not seem willing to step up.

"We are now part of our own problem," he said. "It bothers me immensely because one of the great losses to African culture from slavery was the loss of kinship with the earth."

As it is, he said, so few black Americans visit the parks that he and his colleagues refer to encounters with them as "sightings."

'Finally, black people'

He said he sees more Africans at the parks. Once, he said, he ran across a group of Kalahari bushmen who were trapped by flooding at Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona.

"I'm thinking, 'finally, black people,' " Johnson said.

While he was in Liberia, he said, he noticed that every person, every child, knew the names of the birds, animals and trees. He claims the bond with nature that always existed in Africa was taken away by American slave traders, who deliberately separated tribes, mixed cultures and instilled in their subjects fear and superstition about the wilderness.

"For me, the buffalo soldier history is a way of reconnecting African Americans to the land that shaped our consciousness," Johnson said. "You don't have to go back to Africa to reconnect with nature, to understand its value and to know that it is an essential part of our shared history. It is right here."

Nike Ad

2010-07-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

Do we like this ad and the direction it's going?

A Farmers Market Near You

2010-07-26T21:15:00.000-07:00

OurHealth LOVES a great Farmers Market. This time of year is an especially great time to hit up a Farmers Market for some fresh produce, homemade jam and honey and maybe even some arts and crafts if you're lucky.

We found this great resource and we wanted to share. On the website Local Harvest you can put in your zip code or city name and source all the great Farmers Markets happening near you! They also have listing for farms, co-ops and restaurants in your area.

http://www.localharvest.org/

Total Wellness - Shoppers Diet

2010-07-22T20:25:00.000-07:00

By, Vanessa
OurHealth Staff Writer

This morning while browsing my favorite style blogs and checking out the “just arrived” section at my favorite online store, I received an email from Kallima, The Brain. I read the email quickly on my Blackberry. I saw the words – shoppers, diet, six items of clothing, 31 days…Heart started racing. I wish I was making this up but my heart actually started racing!

Kallima said she read my tweets (ugh, that’s the problem with public sharing) confessing that I had “way, way, way” too many clothes. She threw down a challenge. She sent me the link to this NY Times article. Shoppers on a ‘Diet’ Tame the Urge to Buy.

The article covers familiar territory. A closet full of clothes. So many choices, but nothing to wear. Spend, spend, spend. Exhale………

I am a notorious clothes horse. Dresses, skirts, shoes, bracelets, scarves, the perfect suit, this seasons must have trench coat, last seasons got to jeans. Its just gluttony. I am always looking for ways to pare down, but only six items of clothes for a month? That’s just cruel.

The subject of the New York Times article, “Ms. Brennan” decided on her six items of clothing with thought and care. For one month she wore a combination of only - a black blazer and pants from H & M; two button-down shirts, one black and one pink; a pair of Old Navy jeans; and one well-worn pink T-shirt.

From the NYT:

This self-imposed exercise in frugality was prompted by a Web challenge called Six Items or Less (sixitemsorless.com). The premise was to go an entire month wearing only six items already found in your closet (not counting shoes, underwear or accessories). Nearly 100 people around the country, and in faraway places like Dubai and Bangalore, India, were also taking part in the regimen, with motives including a way to trim back on spending, an outright rejection of fashion, and a concern that the mass production and global transportation of increasingly cheap clothing was damaging the environment.

Meanwhile, an even stricter program, the Great American Apparel Diet, which began on Sept. 1, has attracted pledges by more than 150 women and two men to abstain from buying for an entire year. (Again, undies don’t count.) And next month, Gallery Books will publish a self-help guide, called “The Shopping Diet,” by the red-carpet stylist Phillip Bloch. (“Step 1: Admit You’re an Overshopper”... “Step 9: Practice Safe, Responsible Shopping”... “Step 10: Make the Diet a Way of Life.”)

Though their numbers may be small, and their diets extreme, these self-deniers of fashion are representative, in perhaps a notable way, of a broader reckoning of consumers’ spending habits. As the economy begins to improve, shoppers of every income appear to be wrestling with the same questions: Is it safe to go back to our old, pre-recession ways? Or should we? The authors of these diets — including some fashion marketing and advertising executives, interestingly enough — seem to think not.

Could I do this? Could I take this challenge and for one month only wear SIX items of clothes? I thought long and hard about it and decided, of course I could. In doing a quick inventory of the clothes in my current rotation and my daily routine, which at the moment does not include going into an office or interacting face to face with people on a professional level, I decided that for the most part I already wear only a tiny, tiny fraction of my clothes as it is. That’s half the problem.

Although I have at least six varieties of sequence blouses, I’m most likely to throw on a V-neck American Apparel t-shirt. Although I have two drawers full of jeans in every style from skinny to high waist, more than likely I will get up and put on the same black stretch pants or same green cargo pants everyday.

I have a lot of clothing options. I rarely wear half the clothes that I have and yet I continue to buy more. Why? Psychosis.

What if I’m invited to a fancy head of state dinner and I need the perfect cocktail dress? The state dinner will probably be in London so I’ll need a great city coat while I’m there. Oh yes, the flight is also really long; I definitely need a new comfortable pair of pants for the plane. Oh and a scarf to dress up my travel look. And some boots of course because it might rain. And a cocktail ring and the perfect pair of shoes, and well a cute carry on bag for all my new purchases…. Does this sound crazy? It is. And yet some version of this utterly ridiculous and very far fetched scenario has ran through my head many times and this is how I have justified, many a unnecessary purchase.

This is why I’ve decided to reject the challenge set forth by Kallima of only wearing six items of clothing for 30 days. I could easily do this and yet still end up at Nordstrom purchasing a fur shawl (because you know a fur shawl would be perfect for a wintery romp through the park on horse drawn sled…whenever this happens).

Nope, I’ve decided to go BIG with this challenge. Why not? How about I commit publicly to embark on NO SHOPPING for the rest of 2010. I’ve thought about this all day. I’ve considered not posting this because I did not want to make the commitment. I thought about the long list of things that I’d already planned to buy. I actually considered rushing out to the mall today and grabbing two tunics that I’ve been eying at H&M. I thought, well I don’t need them now but they’d be perfect for a brisk October day when I’m on my way to a football party or something. Or something! God, I am a mess!!!!

And so it is.

OurHealth is about total wellness and I am doing this for my health. My mental and spiritual health are calling for me to make some changes. Thanks Kallima for calling me out!

One small note– I’ve decided that “Health & Beauty” do not fall under no shopping. If I’m not getting my fur shawl the least I can have is my Moroccan hair oil and Bobby Brown pressed powder. I still have to have my purrty girl swag. ☺

I’ll be back next Friday with an update on how my week went. Irony = I have to go to Chicago tomorrow. No Michigan Avenue for me!

Question of the Day

2010-07-19T19:05:00.000-07:00

This question was asked by OurHealth reader, Angele W. We really have to think about this one. It seems like there could be pros and cons on both sides. What do you think?

From Angele W. -

Wow, while shopping online I ran across this and was shocked. I immediately thought, is it wrong to have children exercise on adult like equipment? I mean shouldn't they be getting their exercise from fun interactive activities, not a treadmill, which they also sold on this site, or any stationary exercise machine?

Considering that we proselytize about changing the habits of our community and living a healthy lifestyle, do you think these types of toys/equipment are a good idea, or at this age is it too much?

Redmon for Kids Fun and Fitness Air Walker - 9203

The Fun and Fitness Collection is the latest of innovative products for children to get and remain active. This collection of durable equipment keeps children moving with healthy activity based recreation. Children"s exercise should be safe, productive, and fun. The Fun and Fitness Collection will inspire children to lead an active lifestyle.

Features:

Air walker
Fun and Fitness collection
Non motorized children"s swing walker
Safe and reliable "no tip" design
Easy to assemble, all instructions and tools included
Low impact workout

Michelle Obama Speaks to the NAACP

2010-07-13T17:54:00.000-07:00

“We are living today in a time where we’re decades beyond slavery, we are decades beyond Jim Crow, when one of the greatest risks to our children’s future is their own health..." - Michelle Obama

We couldn't agree more. The racial and social injustices that we face as African - Americans are as real as ever, but the real crisis is happening right in our own homes.

Read the full transcripts of First Lady Michelle Obama's speech -

For Immediate Release July 12, 2010

REMARKS BY THE FIRST LADY
TO THE NAACP NATIONAL CONVENTION

Kansas City convention Center
Kansas City, Missouri

11:38 A.M. CDT

MRS. OBAMA: Wow. Oh, my goodness. (Applause.) Thank you all. Thank you so, so much. Everyone, please, please, please take your seats.

Thank you so much. It is such a pleasure and it is an honor to be here today for the 101st NAACP Convention. Yes! (Applause.)

I want to start by thanking Chairman Roslyn Brock, beautiful woman, for that very kind introduction. (Applause.) And I mentioned to her, I said, her mother's hot. She's gorgeous. Good genes. (Laughter.)

I also want to thank both her and your President and CEO Ben Jealous for their inspired leadership of this organization. Give them a round of applause. (Applause.)

I want to thank a few other people as well who are here. I want to thank Governor Nixon and the First Lady, Georgeanne Nixon, who are here. (Applause.) I want to thank Senator McCaskill, who was here, who's no longer here, but I wanted to say hello to her. Representatives Cleaver, Moore and Scott, who are here. (Applause.) And Mayor Funkhouser for all the outstanding work that all of you are doing for the people of this city and for this great state and for taking time to join us today. So let's give them all a round of applause. (Applause.)

And finally, I want to thank all of you. I want to thank you for a few things. First of all, thank you for being here today and thank you for the outstanding work that you've done in making this a great American institution. And also, I have to thank you for your prayers, for your support. I cannot tell you how much that means to me and my girls and my mom, and then my husband as well. (Applause.) Thank you all so, so much. It really keeps us going, and I am just thrilled to be here.

One hundred and one years ago, the NAACP was established in pursuit of a simple goal, and that was to spur this nation to live up to the founding ideals, to secure those blessings of liberty, to fulfill that promise of equality.

And since then, the work of this organization has been guided by a simple belief: that while we might not fully live out that promise or those blessings for ourselves, if we worked hard enough, and fought long enough, and believed strongly enough, that we could secure them for our children and for our grandchildren, and give them opportunities that we never dreamed of for ourselves. (Applause.)

So, for more than a century, the men and women of the NAACP have marched and protested. You have lobbied Presidents and fought unjust laws. You've stood up and sat in and risked life and limb so that African Americans could take their rightful places not just at lunch counters and on buses, but at universities and on battlefields -- (applause) -- and in hospitals and boardrooms; in Congress, the Supreme Court; and, yes, even the White House. (Applause.) Think about it -- even the White House.

So I know that I stand here today, and I know that my husband stands where he is today, because of this organization -- (applause) -- and because of the struggles and the sacrifices of all those who came before us.

But I also know that their legacy isn't an entitlement to be taken for granted. And I know it is not simply a gift to be enjoyed. Instead, it is an obligation to be fulfilled.

And when so many of our children still attend crumbling schools, and a black child is still far more likely to go to prison than a white child, I think the founders of this organization would agree that our work is not yet done. (Applause.)

When African American communities are still hit harder than just about anywhere by this economic downturn, and so many families are just barely scraping by, I think the founders would tell us that now is not the time to rest on our laurels.

When stubborn inequalities still persist -- in education and health, in income and wealth -- I think those founders would urge us to increase our intensity, and to increase our discipline and our focus and keep fighting for a better future for our children and our grandchildren. (Applause.)

And that's why I really wanted to come here today -- because I wanted to talk with you about an issue that I believe cries out for our attention -- one that is of particular concern to me, not just as First Lady, but as a mother who believes that we owe it to our kids to prepare them for the challenges that we know lie ahead. And that issue is the epidemic of childhood obesity in America today.

Now, right now in America, one in three children is overweight or obese, putting them at greater risk of obesity-related conditions like diabetes and cancer, heart disease, asthma.

And we're already spending billions of dollars in this country a year to treat these conditions, and that number is only going to go up when these unhealthy children reach adulthood.

But it's important to be clear that this issue isn't about how our kids look. It's not about that. It's about how our kids feel. It's about their health and the health of our nation and the health of our economy.

And there's no doubt that this is a serious problem. It's one that is affecting every community across this country. But just like with so many other challenges that we face as a nation, the African American community is being hit even harder by this issue. (Applause.)

We are living today in a time where we're decades beyond slavery, we are decades beyond Jim Crow; when one of the greatest risks to our children's future is their own health.

African American children are significantly more likely to be obese than are white children. Nearly half of African American children will develop diabetes at some point in their lives. People, that's half of our children.

And if we don't do something to reverse this trend right now, our kids won't be in any shape to continue the work begun by the founders of this great organization. (Applause.) They won't be in any condition to confront all those challenges that we know still remain.

So we need to take this issue seriously, as seriously as improving under-achieving schools, as seriously as eliminating youth violence or stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS or any of the other issues that we know are devastating our communities.

But in order to address this challenge, we also need to be honest with ourselves about how we got here, because we know that it wasn't always like this for our kids and our communities.

The way we live today is very different from even when I was growing up. And I like to tell my kids I'm not that old. (Laughter.) They don't agree. (Laughter.)

Many of you probably grew up like I did -- in a community that wasn't rich, not even middle class, but where people knew their neighbors, and they looked out for each other's kids.

In these kind of strong African American communities, we went to neighborhood schools around the corner. So many of us had to walk to and from school every day, rain or shine. I know you've told that story. (Laughter.) And in Chicago, where I was raised, we did it in the dead of winter. (Laughter.) No shoes on our feet -- it was hard, but we walked! (Applause.)

And in school, we had recess twice a day and gym class twice a week, like it or not. (Applause.) And then when we got home in the afternoon, after school or in the summer, there was no way we'd be allowed to lie around the house watching TV. (Applause.) First of all, there wasn't that many channels. (Laughter.)

Our parents made us get up and play outside. Had to get up, get out, didn't have to -- just couldn't be inside. And we would spend hours riding bikes, playing softball, freeze tag, jumping double-dutch. Kids nowadays don't even know how to jump double-dutch! (Laughter and applause.)

We were constantly on the move, only stopping to eat or what? When the streetlights came on, right? (Applause.)

And eating was a totally different experience back then. In my house, we rarely ate out -- rarely. Even when both parents worked outside of the home, most families in my neighborhood sat down at the table together as a family for a meal. (Applause.) And in my house, Marian Robinson's house, we ate what we were served. (Laughter and applause.) My mother never cared whether me or my brother liked what was on our plates. (Laughter.) We either ate what was there or we didn't eat. It was as simple as that. (Laughter.)

We never ate anything fancy, but the portion sizes were reasonable and there were rarely seconds -- maybe for your father, but not for you. (Laughter.) And there was always a vegetable on the plate. (Applause.)

And many of our grandparents tended their own gardens or they relied on, as my father told me, "The Vegetable Man" who brought fresh produce. That was how people got by back then -- they had fresh fruits and vegetables in their own backyards, and in jars in their cellar during the winter. And that wasn't just being thrifty -- that was healthy too, little did we know.

And unless it was Sunday, or somebody's birthday, there was no expectation of dessert after our meals. And we didn't dream of asking for soda or pop. That was for special occasions.

Now, if you were lucky, you might get a quarter or two to take to the corner store and get some penny candy. But you did not eat it all at once because you never knew when you'd see another piece of candy. (Laughter.) So you saved it in that little brown bag under your bed. (Laughter and applause.) That bag would be all worn out and sweaty. (Laughter.) You'd hold on to that bag, take out a half a piece of candy every other day. (Laughter.)

Back then, without any expert advice and without spending too much money, we managed to lead pretty healthy lives. But things are a little different today, and many kids these days aren't so fortunate.

So many kids can't attend neighborhood schools or don't, so instead of walking to school, they ride in a car or they're in a bus. And in too many schools, recess and gym class have been slashed because of budget cuts.
Fears about safety mean that those afternoons outside have been replaced by afternoons inside with TV, video games, the Internet.

In fact, studies have found that African American children spend an average of nearly six hours a day watching TV -- and that every extra hour of TV they watch is associated with the consumption of an additional 167 calories.

For many folks, those nutritious family meals are a thing of the past, because a lot of people today are living in communities without a single grocery store, so they have to take two, three buses, a taxi, walk for miles just to buy a head of lettuce for a salad or to get some fresh fruit for their kids.

Most folks don't grow their own food the way many of our parents and grandparents did. A lot of folks also just don't have the time to cook at home on a regular basis. So instead, they wind up grabbing fast food or something from the corner store or the mini-mart -- places that have few, if any, healthy options.

And we've seen how kids in our communities regularly stop by these stores on their way to school -- buying themselves sodas and pop and chips for breakfast. And we've seen how they come right back to those same stores after school to buy their afternoon snack of candy and sugary drinks.

According to one study, on average, a trip to the corner store, a child will walk out of that store with more than 350 calories worth of food and beverage -- this is on average. So if they're going two and three times a day, that can really add up.

And taken together, all of these things have made for a perfect storm of bad habits and unhealthy choices -- a lifestyle that's dooming too many of our children to a lifetime of poor health and undermining our best efforts to build them a better future.

See, we can build our kids the best schools on earth, but if they don't have the basic nutrition they need to concentrate, they're still going to have a challenge learning. (Applause.) And we can create the best jobs in the world -- we must -- but that won't mean that folks will have the energy and the stamina to actually do those jobs.

We can offer people the best health care money can buy, but if they're still leading unhealthy lives, then we'll still just be treating those diseases and conditions once they've developed rather than keeping people from getting sick in the first place. (Applause.)

See, and the thing is, is that none of us wants that kind of future for our kids or for our country.

And surely the men and women of the NAACP haven't spent a century organizing and advocating and working day and night only to raise the first generation in history that might be on track to live shorter lives than their parents.

And that's why I've made improving the quality of our children's health one of my top priorities.

As many of you may know, my efforts began with the planting of a garden on the South Lawn of the White House. (Applause.) But it's important to understand that this garden symbolizes so much more than just watching beautiful things grow. It's become a way to spark a broader conversation about the health and well-being not just of our kids but of our communities.

And in an effort to elevate that conversation nationally, we launched "Let's Move." It's a nationwide campaign to rally this country around a single, ambitious goal, and that is to solve childhood obesity in a generation so that children born today reach adulthood at a healthy weight.

And through this initiative, we are bringing together governors and mayors, businesses and community groups, educators, parents, athletes, health professionals, you name it, because it is going to take all of us, working together, to help our kids lead healthier lives right from the beginning.

"Let's Move," the campaign, has four components.

The first, we're working to give parents the information they need to make healthy decisions for their families.

For example, we're working with the FDA and the food industry to provide better labeling, something simple, so folks don't have to spend hours squinting at labels, trying to figure out whether the food they're buying is healthy or not.

Our new health care legislation requires chain restaurants to post the calories in the food they serve so that parents have the information they need to make healthy choices for their kids in restaurants. (Applause.)

And we're working with doctors and pediatricians to ensure that they routinely screen our children for obesity. And I can personally attest to the value of these screenings based on my own personal experiences, because it wasn't that long ago when the Obamas weren't exactly eating as healthy as we should have been. And it was our daughters' pediatrician who actually pulled us aside and suggested that I think about making some changes to our family's diet. And it made a world of differences.

But we also know that giving better information to parents is not enough, because with 31 million American children participating in federal school meal programs, many of our kids are consuming as many as half their daily calories at school.

That's why the second part of "Let's Move" is to get healthier food into our schools. (Applause.)

And we're working to reauthorize our child nutrition legislation that will make significant new investments to revamp our school meals and improve the food that we offer in those school vending machines, so that we're serving our kids less sugar, salt and fat, and more vegetables, fruits and whole grains.

This is bipartisan legislation and it is critically important for the health and success of our children, and we are hoping that Congress will act swiftly to get this passed. (Applause.)

But we also know that healthy eating is only half the battle. Experts recommend at least 60 minutes a day of activity. That's at least the bare minimum, and many of our kids aren't even close.

So the third part of "Let's Move" is to help our kids get moving, to find new ways for them to get and stay active and fit. And we're working to get more kids participating in daily physical education classes and to get more schools offering recess for their students.

We've set a goal of increasing the number of kids who walk or ride their bikes to school by 50 percent in the next five years.

And we've recruited professional athletes -- they've been fantastic -- from different sports leagues to inspire our kids to get up off that couch and to get moving.

But we know that even if we offer the most nutritious school meals, and we give kids every opportunity to be fit, and we give parents the information they need to prepare healthy food for their families, all that won't mean much if our families still live in communities where that healthy food simply isn't available in the first place.

And that brings me to the fourth and final component of the campaign, and that is to ensure that all families have access to fresh, affordable food in their communities where they live. (Applause.)

And one of the most shocking statistics for me in all of this is that right now, 23.5 million Americans, including 6.5 million children, live in what we call "food deserts" -- areas without a single supermarket.
This is particularly serious in African American communities where folks wind up buying their groceries at places like gas stations and bodegas and corner stores where they often pay higher prices for lower-quality food. (Applause.)

But the good news is that we know that this trend is reversible, because when healthier options are available in our community, we know that folks will actually take advantage of those options.

One study found that African Americans ate 32 percent more fruits and vegetables for each additional supermarket in their community. So we know the kind of difference that we can make with some changes. We know that when we provide the right incentives -- things like grants and tax credits, and help securing permits and zoning -- businesses are willing to invest and lay down roots in our communities.

And many grocers are finding that when they set up shop in high-need areas, they can actually make a decent profit. They're learning that they can do well by doing good.

So as part of "Let's Move," we've proposed a Healthy Food Financing Initiative -- a $400 million a year fund that we'll use to attract hundreds of millions of more dollars from the private and non-profit sectors to bring grocery stores and other healthy food retailers to underserved areas across the country.

And our goal is ambitious -- we want to eliminate food deserts in this country within seven years, and create jobs and revitalize neighborhoods along the way. (Applause.)

So, I know these goals are ambitious, and there are many, many more. And as First Lady, I am going to do everything that I can to ensure that we meet them.

But I also know that at the end of the day, government can only do so much.

I have spoken to so many experts about this issue, and not a single one of them said that the solution is to have government tell people what to do. It's not going to work. Instead, this is about families taking responsibility and making manageable changes that fit with their budgets and their needs and their tastes. That's the only way it's going to work.

It's about making those little changes that can really add up -- simple things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking instead of riding in a car or bus, even something as simple as turning on the radio and dancing with your children in the middle of your living room for hours. That will work up a sweat. (Applause.)

How about replacing all of that soda and those sugary drinks with water? (Applause.) Kids won't like it at first, trust me. But they'll grow to like it. Or deciding that they don't get dessert with every meal. As I tell my kids, dessert is not a right. (Laughter.) Or they don't get it every day.

Or just being more thoughtful about how we prepare our food -- baking instead of frying. I know. (Laughter.) Don't shoot me. (Applause.) And cutting back on those portion sizes.

Look, no one wants to give up Sunday meal. No one wants to say goodbye to mac and cheese and fried chicken and mashed potatoes -- oh, I'm getting hungry -- (laughter) -- forever. No one wants to do that. Not even the Obamas, trust me.

But chefs across the country are showing us that with a few simple changes and substitutions, we can find healthy, creative solutions that work for our families and our communities.

And that's why I am excited about our new "Let's Cook" video series, which we're launching on our "Let's Move" website at letsmove.gov.

This is a great series featuring Sam Kass, who a lot of people think is cute -- I don't know if that helps. (Laughter.) But this series features some of the country's top chefs, who will be demonstrating how folks can prepare simple, affordable, nutritious meals for their families.

The first guest chef is a guy by the names of Marvin Woods, who's known for his cuisine based in North Africa, the Caribbean, South America, the Low Country. He's demonstrating how to prepare a week of healthy and tasty dinners for a family of four on a tight budget. And he provides recipes, shopping lists, so that folks can do it all themselves at home.

And finally, it's one thing we can think about, is working to make sure that our kids get a healthy start from the beginning, by promoting breastfeeding in our communities. (Applause.) One thing we do know is that babies that are breastfed are less likely to be obese as children, but 40 percent of African American babies are never breastfed at all, not even during the first weeks of their lives.

And we know this isn't possible or practical for some moms, but we've got a WIC program that's providing new support to low-income moms who want to try so that they get the support they need.

And under the new health care legislation, businesses will now have to accommodate mothers who want to continue breastfeeding once they get back to work. (Applause.) Now, the men, you may not understand how important that is. (Laughter.) But trust me, it's important to have a place to go.

But let's be clear, this isn't just about changing what our kids are eating and the lifestyles they're leading -- it's also about changing our own habits as well. Because believe it or not, if you're obese, there's a 40 percent chance that your kids will be obese as well. And if you both you and the child's other parent are obese, that number jumps to 80 percent.

And this is more than just genetics at work. The fact is, we all know we are our children's first and best teachers and role models. We teach them healthy habits not just by what we say but by how we live. Shoot, I can't tell Malia and Sasha to eat their vegetables if I'm sitting around eating French fries -- trust me, they will not let that happen. And I can't tell them to go run around outside if I'm spending all my free time on the couch watching TV.

And this isn't just about the example that we set as individuals and as families, but about the lifestyle we're promoting in our communities as well.

It's about the example we set in our schools. It's about schools like the Kelly Edwards Elementary School in Williston, South Carolina. It's a Bronze Award winner in our USDA Healthier U.S. School Challenge. This is a school where students have planted their own garden so that they can taste all kinds of fresh vegetables, they can stay active because they've got their own dance team.

And it's about establishing strong community partnerships that involve folks from every sector and every background.

There's a Fresh Food Financing Initiative in Pennsylvania -- it's a great example. This initiative is a collaboration between business, non-profit and government that's funded more than 80 supermarket projects, bringing nutritious food to hundreds of thousands of people in underserved communities.

These are just a couple of the thousands of programs and projects that are making a difference in communities across the country already.

So if there's anybody here, after all this talking I've done, who feels a little overwhelmed by this challenge -- because it can be overwhelming -- if there is anyone here who might even already be losing hope thinking about how hard it will be to get going, or giving up, I just want you to take a look around at all the things that are already being accomplished, because I want folks to learn from each other and to be inspired by each other, because that's what we've always done.

That is exactly what happened here in this city half a century ago. See, because back in 1958, folks right here in Kansas City saw what folks down in Montgomery had achieved with their bus boycott. So they were inspired by all those men and women who walked miles -- walked miles home each day on aching feet because they knew there was a principle at stake.

So folks here organized their own boycott of department stores that refused to serve African Americans. (Applause.) Handbills publicizing their meetings stated, and this is a quote: "They stopped riding in Montgomery, so let's stop buying in Kansas City." (Applause.)

A local music teacher even composed a song that became the anthem for their efforts. It was entitled "Let's take the walk that counts."

And then, as you know, a few years later, in April of 1964, folks turned out in droves to pass a public accommodations law mandating that all residents, regardless of their skin color, be served in restaurants, hotels and other public places. Even folks who were too sick to walk showed up to vote. (Applause.)

One organizer recalled that they used wheelchairs to get people to the polls and even brought one man in on a stretcher. So think about that -- being carried to the ballot box on a stretcher. (Applause.) Those folks didn't do all that just for themselves. They did it because they wanted something better for their children and for their grandchildren. That's why they did it.

And in the end, that's what has driven this organization since its founding.

It is why Daisy Bates endured hate mail and death threats to guide those nine young men and women who would walk through those schoolhouse doors in Little Rock.

It is why Thurgood Marshall fought so hard to ensure that children like Linda Brown, and children like my daughters and your sons and daughters, would never again know the cruel inequality of separate but equal.

It is why so many men and women -- legends and icons and ordinary folks -- have faced down their doubts, their cynicism and their fears, and they've taken that walk that counts.

So we owe it to all those who've come before us to ensure that all those who come after us -- our children and our grandchildren -- that they have the strength and the energy and the enduring good health that they need to continue and complete that journey. (Applause.)

So I'm asking you, NAACP, will you move with me? (Applause.) Let's move! I'm going to need you, NAACP. (Applause.) This is not an endeavor that I can do by myself. We cannot change the health of our community alone. I'm going to need each and every single one of you to work together for this campaign for our children's future. If we do this together, we can change the way our children think about their health forever.

So I want to thank you all in advance, again, for your prayers and your thoughts and your support. The struggle continues.

Thank you all. God bless you, God bless this organization, and God bless America. Thank you all so much. (Applause.)

Drowing Death - A Teachable Moment

2010-07-13T15:16:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back we issued a challenge to all black women to take swimming lessons and learn how to swim. Stay tuned for a great article from Denise W. At 29 years old she made it her goal to learn to swim by her 30th birthday. OurHealth reached out to her and she has agreed to share her story with us!

In the meantime, please read this article. This is truly a tragedy but as the article says, even in the midst of this pain, there is something that we can learn.

Black kids are three times more likely to drown than white children. Nearly 70 percent of African-American children and 58 percent of Hispanic children have low or no swim ability compared to 40 percent of Caucasian kids.

Olympic Swimmer Cullen Jones: Drowning Death of Former NFL QB Randall Cunningham's Son a Teachable Moment

By Jeff Mays on Jul 13th 2010 6:05PM
Originally posted on BVblackspin

The sad drowning death of the two-year-old son of former NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham came while Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones was at a swim meet in Canada.

The first thought that crossed his mind was: "That could have been me." Jones almost drowned at a water park when he was just five.

The second thought was that the Make a Splash initiative, his mission to help minority kids learn to swim was the right thing to do.

"My heart goes out to the Cunningham family. The tragedy that happened seems like a freak accident. You never know, it could happen to anybody," said Jones.

Cunningham, 47, who is now a minister, was away from his Las Vegas home when a woman who was there with several kids found the boy floating in a backyard hot tub that Cunningham used for baptisms. Christian Cunningham would have turned 3 in December. The death has been ruled an accident.

Cunningham, a highly regarded player, was among a wave of black quarterbacks who helped to integrate the position. He played 16 seasons in the NFL.

Although the details of the incident are unclear, Jones said the "freak accident" can serve as a reminder of the importance of learning to swim.

"I hate that the Cunningham family has to go through this. It was a freak accident. But because of who his dad was, this tragedy can be used to help parents look at learning to swim as something important," said Jones.

"You can introduce them to water as infants. There is no age that's too old or too young. It's definitely what we need to do."

USA Swimming recently released a study conducted by the University of Memphis that found that parental fear was one of the biggest factors keeping black kids from learning how to swim.

Black kids are three times more likely to drown than white children. Nearly 70 percent of African-American children and 58 percent of Hispanic children have low or no swim ability compared to 40 percent of Caucasian kids.

The study also found a potentially deadly overconfidence from black and Latino kids regarding their swimming ability. Of the 40 percent of children who said they knew how to swim in the survey, only 18 percent had taken swim lessons from a professional. About 28 percent of Latino kids surveyed and 26 percent of African Americans say they taught themselves how to swim.

"I try to push these numbers into people faces. I push these numbers because a lot of people don't believe it. They don't know how bad the numbers are. I can look at my own family and see the number of people who can't swim," said Jones.

Parents need to overcome their own fear of the water to benefit their children.

"Its important not to project your own fears onto your kids because this is something that can save their lives. I made a career out of it," said Jones. "After I almost drowned at five my mother did not know how to swim herself but she put me into swim lessons. Instead of thinking that water was like fire, something kids should stay away from, she chose to let me learn."

The Truth About Soul Food

2010-07-12T07:31:00.000-07:00

By Celia Barbour
Published in O, The Oprah Magazine, June 30, 2010.

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Eating organically, sustainably, and locally is just the latest eco-foodie trend—right? Hardly. African-Americans have been doing it for 200 years, and their vibrant, veggie-centric traditions are worth reviving. Celia Barbour heeds the collards.

[photo: Joseph from Joseph Fields Farm by Karson Photography]

Here's a confession: I thought I knew a thing or two about soul food, but I didn't. I assumed, for instance, that it originated roughly 200 years ago, give or take a few decades. I believed that its essential ingredient was pork—especially the less savory cuts: trotters, snouts, tails, and entrails—and that deep-fat frying was its definitive technique. And I presumed that this cuisine was responsible, in some vague and sinister way, for the rash of obesity-related health problems that have beset African-Americans.

Fortunately, my journey to enlightenment was neither arduous nor greasy, though it did require frequent stops to sample—er, research—the subject.

It was set in motion by an offhand remark. "Soul food didn't even exist before the 1960s," said an in-the-know friend over lunch one day. Huh? So I looked it up. Turns out she was half-right: The term was coined in 1964, according to Webster's—though the cuisine has features that go back millennia, to precolonial Africa. The soul food I thought I knew, however, turned out to be little more than a grease-spattered cliché.

Like most culinary traditions, African-American cooking was long a balance of wholesome and unwholesome elements. The good ones kept the bad ones in check, until this equilibrium was upset by the processed and fast food industries. In the past few decades, traditional dishes have been supersized and made with nontraditional ingredients, and meals that were formerly eaten only on special occasions have been marketed as everyday fare. (It was hard to gorge on fried chicken when you had to first catch, slaughter, gut, and pluck the obstinate bird; quite another matter when it came in a bucket for $6.99.) Processed foods also recalibrated taste buds: "normal" came to mean excessive amounts of fat, salt, and sugar. It was a toxic mix.

But as I nosed around, I detected signs here and there that soul food had not only survived the onslaught but might actually be reemerging as a healthy cuisine. I wanted to meet its champions.

[photo: Teresa Lumpkin and Angelish Wilson of Wilson's Soul Food. ]

Which is how I found myself walking through the front door of Wilson's Soul Food in Athens, Georgia, one hot spring day. At the back sat a white-haired gentleman enjoying his lunch. "What brings you here?" I asked, after introducing myself.

"They serve vegetables," he replied. "Many places don't anymore." His name was Jerome Mitchell, and I learned that he's a retired professor of English at the University of Georgia. He often eats here with other retired professors. "We don't like the food the kids go for," he said.

Next I spoke to Angie Dudley and her daughter, Harper, 12. (It's easy to meet people at Wilson's, which is as homey as your favorite aunt's kitchen.) Angie had been bringing her daughter here since she was less than a year old. "We came every day so she'd learn to eat her vegetables," said Angie. "I knew they'd be soft and flavorful."

Turns out they were low in salt and saturated fat, too, thanks to Angelish Wilson, second-generation owner of the restaurant. Thirteen years ago, Angelish took a nutrition class at the local hospital. What she learned motivated her to rid her vegetable dishes of all animal ingredients, such as the smoked ham hocks traditionally used to flavor greens (she still serves meat on its own, however). "I decided to do something different so I could have a longer life," she said. The customers didn't miss the animal fat at all. In fact, said Angelish, "they couldn't tell." Onions, garlic, herbs, and spices provided more than enough flavor.

Back in my hotel room that afternoon, I leafed through a book called Hog and Hominy: Soul Food from Africa to America, by Frederick Douglass Opie, a professor of history at Marist College. I learned that for thousands of years, the traditional West African diet was predominantly vegetarian, centered on things like millet, rice, field peas, okra, hot peppers, and yams. Meat was used sparingly, as a seasoning.

[Photo: Mary "The Herb Lady" from The Southeastern African-American Farmers Organic Network (SAAFON)]

This was news to me, but not to Alluette Jones-Smalls, owner of Alluette's Holistic Soul Café in Charleston, South Carolina, the next stop on my tour. She's spent the past 12 years working to shift her people's diet back toward its plant-based roots. "The sad thing about African-Americans is we don't know our bodies," she told me. "We need small portions of meat and huge amounts of vegetables."

Tall and fit, Alluette, 58, stood and touched her toes to show me the benefits of conscious eating. She said, "Young people think, 'My mom had diabetes, and it's genetic, so I'm going to have it.' That's not true. If they're going to have it, it's because they eat like their mama did. Look how food transforms your body, how it disfigures you if you're not conscious. 'You are what you eat' means that if you eat garbage, you're going to look and feel like garbage."

On the off chance that Alluette's message doesn't win people over, her food surely will. That evening I dined on a huge organic salad and quite possibly the tastiest shrimp I've ever eaten, dusted with spicy flour and fried so lightly that each sweet crustacean bore a crisp, fragile shell. Looking up, I caught the blissed-out smiles of customers sitting at a nearby table and knew they were having an equally satisfying experience.

"We didn't know we were going to walk into heaven when we came here," said Bertha Coffin-Shaw, out for a last-night-of-vacation dinner with her husband, Willie. It's heaven with an unwittingly trendy vibe. Local, seasonal, and organic may be buzzwords of contemporary foodie culture, but to Alluette, they just mean home cooking. "I grew up eating that way from my grandmother's garden," she said. "And I think we African-Americans invented slow food. As kids, we were always waiting on the meal."

Sure enough, patience turns out to be a key element in soul cooking. Certainly, it and creativity were required to transform whatever ingredients the first African-Americans could scrape together into some semblance of dinner. Arriving in this land with little but the traditions they carried in their hearts and minds—fishing, gardening, foraging, and open-fire cooking among them—they invented a vibrant cuisine. "Their food was a way of surviving with dignity in a very oppressive situation," said Professor Opie.

Adversity breeds resourcefulness. Again and again, the African-Americans I spoke to reminisced about the gardens their grandparents had cultivated on any plot of land at their disposal.

"My grandfather's Memphis yard was like an urban farm," said Bryant Terry, author of Vegan Soul Kitchen. "He had pecan trees in the front and grew three kinds of collards out back. Most people in his neighborhood were growing some kind of food, so they bartered." They also canned, pickled, smoked, and otherwise preserved nearly everything they harvested. Saving money wasn't their only goal. Said Bryant, "When you're in charge of your own food, you're empowered."

Yet in the past few decades, this empowerment has given way to its exact opposite, a diet created by corporations and marketed for cheap to unwitting consumers. "People have this illusion: If I eat this crappy food, it's my choice," said Bryant. "But every day we're being told to eat this, drink this. It's not autonomy at all."

His words echoed in my head as I drove through a gauntlet of restaurant franchises—Chili's, Subway, Outback Steakhouse—and turned into the unassuming parking lot by Gullah Cuisine, a restaurant in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Over dirty rice, succotash, and cornbread, I chatted with Kesha Antonetti, daughter of Charlotte Jenkins, chef and co-owner. Gullah, she told me, is the name for the African-American culture of the Carolina Low Country—the region in and around Charleston and the coastal islands. (One-pot rice dishes with sausage and seafood are among its culinary earmarks.)

So where does Gullah fit into soul? I asked. "Soul food is just Southern food of any origin," said Kesha. Gullah is a regional variation, the way that Tuscan is an offshoot of Italian cuisine.

Later, as she packed up cornbread for my plane ride home, Kesha added, "Soul cooking just means you put your patience and love into the food." And that can result in anything from her mother's Frogmore stew to Bryant Terry's double watermelon-strawberry slushee. No wonder Bryant laughs when people tell him that his cookbook's title (Vegan Soul Kitchen) is an oxymoron. To him, soul food stands for all the diverse eating traditions that developed wherever African-Americans put down roots. It includes black-eyed peas and self-empowerment in equal measures. And to him—as to Alluette and Angelish—this realization offers nothing short of a path to a brighter, healthier future.

Is that a lot to ask from a plate of vegetables? Nah. "What African-Americans were eating one generation ago is what the nutritionists say we should be eating now," said Bryant. "You don't have to go that far back, you don't have to make this huge change to get on the right track. That gives me hope."

Me, too. Hope—and a hankering for another plate of okra.

*********
Recipe from Alluette's Holistic Soul Café in Charleston, South Carolina

Geechigirl Crab Cakes
(Servings: makes 10 Crab Cakes)

1 pound fresh lump crabmeat
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 clove garlic , finely chopped
1 large egg , lightly beaten
1/2 lemon , juiced
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 scallion , chopped
1 tsp. dried dill
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs
6 Tbsp. olive oil

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients, except olive oil, together. Form into patties about 3/4-inch thick and 2 inches in diameter. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm 3 tablespoons oil. Add half the patties. Sear until golden, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Repeat with remaining oil and patties. Serve hot.

This recipe is from Alluette's Holistic Soul Café in Charleston, South Carolina.

Recipe: Chicken Salad

2010-07-09T15:31:00.000-07:00

By, Vanessa
OurHealth Staff Writer

Maybe you are on the fence about the concept of chicken salad. I think I was for the longest time. Whenever I would go anywhere and chicken salad was an option on the menu, or at someones house, I would always pass. It seemed like it usually consisted of a big glob of mayonnaise with some dry chicken and often something really weird like grapes of figs.

My feelings are completely different now. After finding a recipe that I love, I now LOVE chicken salad. At least mine. I make a big bowl on a Friday night and it will last all weekend. It's perfect as a sandwich filler or over lettuce as a salad. It's perfect for a picnic or a lazy Saturday when you have company coming by and you want to impress them with something easy and delicious. Make this recipe. You will not be sorry.

The recipe I use is a combination of a recipe I saw on Barefoot Contessa and one that Patti LaBelle has in her LaBelle Cuisine cookbook. It's mainly the Patti recipe, but she calls for the chicken to be poached. Barefoot Contessa says to bake the chicken for optimal moisture and flavor and after trying it both ways, I agree with Barefoot Contessa.

4 chicken breast halves, with skin and bones (about 2 1/2 pounds)
1 small yellow onion, sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, plus more to taste
2 medium celery ribs, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 medium green bell pepper, seeded and cit into 1/4 inch dice (1/2 cup)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 jumbo or 4 large hard-cooked eggs, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup sweet pickle relish
1 cup of mayonnaise
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to taste

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place the chicken and the sliced yellow onion in a baking dish. Drizzle generously with olive oil and season well with the kosher salt and pepper. Cover with foil and let bake for 35-40 minutes or until the chicken shows no sign of pink when pierced. (Be careful not to overcook the chicken). After it's done baking remove from the dish. Discard the skin and chop the chicken off the bone into 3/4 inch pieces. Cool completely.

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, celery, red onion, green pepper, garlic, eggs and relish. Gently stir in the mayonnaise, season with red pepper flakes and additional salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours.

Serve as a sandwich filler or with Boston lettuce leaves as a salad.

Yummo!!!

Apologize to Black Men?

2010-07-05T05:53:00.000-07:00

OurHealth believes that healthy women, attract healthy men, who create healthy families - ultimately making our communities healthier.

We've all been painfully aware of the statistics and state of Black families - 70% of Black children are raised by a woman in a single parent home.

The latest onslaught of media cover asking the ever-so-slightly insulting question 'Why are so many Black women alone?" to a mainstream audience is getting out of control.

This is one subject that requires our opinions, our stories and our solutions.

To get us started in this discussion, let's take a look at an open letter to Black Men written by Nikia P. a few days ago. Whether you agree or disagree with her opinions, please leave a comment so that we can start this important dialogue.

(If you have an Op-Ed piece you'd like to share about Black women and healthy relationships please contact us at soundoff@ourhealthmovement.com)

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Op-Ed

Submitted July 2, 2010

By Nikia

OurHealth Guest Writer

To my amazing Black Men,

When I woke this morning, I just couldn't rest my mind/start my day until I wrote and released to you this letter. It has recently been brought to my attention that our division may be stronger than I imagined. That in this day and age, you now feel as if we (Black Women) don’t need you or our expectations are so high you will never reach them. That we (Black Women) have come so far, that we can tell you how to be the man, - or that we can even "be the man" for you if you don’t “step to the plate”. Today, I want to set the record straight.

While this is my opinion, I believe I speak with enough experience, self-awareness, spiritual soundness and maturity that many black women would agree with me. WE NEED YOU. Not for anything but – You. A clear distinction should be made between “independence” and “survival”. Don’t let us fool you with the successful careers, lavish homes/vacations, and the up- and-down looks as we roll pass you in our Mercedes and Infinitis. We do it alone to survive, because just like you, we don’t want to wait for years to own our dreams. But no woman, I don’t care what she claims, wants to be in it without someone to genuinely share it with. And we imagine sharing it with a Black Man. Again, proper distinction should be made between “content” and “happy”. We are content “doing it for ourselves”, but we are “happy” when we have a confident and loving Black Man to share it with. Anyone who has ever had a brush with love knows that being loved and in love, ultimately, is all that matters. Love takes the largest percentage of your heart, the organ that keeps you breathing. I know for a fact that most women would give up some of these successes and tangibles if it was a choice between them and the man she loves, but I also believe that a man who really loves and appreciates a woman would never ask her to (and vice versa). All what the songs, TV and magazines say are not real – Black Love, strong love, is still what we want.

Now unfortunately, Black Men say one big difference between Black Women and other women is the “nagging” (“I come home form work, she’s in my ear, I hang out with my friends, she’s in my ear…”.) It’s not just black women being labeled a “nag”, its all women. Black women are just known to be more vocal, earlier. So why do we “nag”? Why the infinite “attitude”? Out of our feelings of frustration, lack of communication, lack of attention and lack of appreciation.

A wise person once told me that what someone feels and perceives is true enough to them
to form their beliefs, and we base are actions on our beliefs.

Black Men, don’t you know … everyone woman wants her man to be the head, take control, in all the right ways. No one is happy “nagging”, so stop our madness. Grab our hands, sit us down, talk (not argue back) with us and let us know that this will be the only way we’ll have discussions. But if you’re not willing to talk with us, know that we will continue to and without you in the conversation. If this seems like too much trouble, than I don’t have an answer to that. It takes only one person to ruin a relationship, but it really takes two people to make it work. I will be the first to say, if you take control in the right way, truly believe you are doing all you should be doing, and you feel she’s still on your back – leave her for awhile. Just do your own thing (staying respectful of her) and see if that doesn’t change her “attitude”. The only real way people seem to find appreciation for someone, is when their gone.

But I have to wonder too, “Do you need us?” Black women like all women need to feel needed in all the right ways. We are looking for our Black Men to believe in us as much as we believe in you. BELIEVE. Believe we are not that sneaky ex-girlfriend, controlling mama or the spiteful colleague at work. WE ARE NOT YOUR ENEMY. We are your soundboard, backbone, best friend, business partner, assistant, nurse, chef, helpmate, teammate, playmate, sexual experiment, glance interpreter, defender, rejuvenator, procreator and lifelong cheerleader. Having careers and goals doesn’t take away from us being all these things – it increases our confidence, know how and ability to be all this and more, when you make space for us to be.

I remember the 70s, the black panther days, black men and black women loved each other and loved hard. Even the cops and government couldn’t break up Black Love. We knew with division, we would all fall. Black Men, we want you to know we still want to love you that strongly. We believe you can be that leader, the head.

So see through our neck/eye rolls and “he ain't no good” comments, and see what we really mean and should be saying …”Now more than ever, we need you, and we need you to need us. Love us with no games and you’ll never need anything more. You complete our circle and we need you to take your place in our kingdom.” Let’s stop throwing daggers, hurting each other and wasting time talking about why there are others so much better. Find and keep Black Love – it’s our lifeline.

-Nikia

Celebrate the 4th: Healthy BBQ!

2010-07-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

This is a must read before firing up the grill. Be safe this holiday. Don't set your eyebrows on fire with sparklers!

From Care2

Summer is here at last! And what summer would be complete without a delicious meal on the BBQ? Yet, you’ve probably been hearing about the link between grilled food and cancer. Here are 9 ways to minimize your risk and make your next summer BBQ healthier:

1. Keep a watchful eye to prevent BBQ flare-ups and the resulting charring of your food.

2. Use lower to medium cooking temperatures. When foods like meat are heated over high temperatures or come in contact with flames, certain compounds can form. These compounds are called: Heterocyclic Amines (HCA) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH). Both compounds are known carcinogens. But, you don’t need to remember their names to lessen your risk of exposure to them.

3. Marinate meat in olive oil and fresh lemon juice-based marinades. Research shows that these two items can reduce the formation of the cancer-causing compounds by up to 99 percent while cooking. Not to mention that they tenderize the meat, add great flavor, and help keep it moist during cooking.

4. Choose foods that are low in fat like vegetables, lean cuts of meat, poultry or fish. Heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are primarily formed when fats are heated to high temperatures or fall into the flames and create smoke. By choosing lean cuts of meat and vegetables which are naturally low in fat, you reduce the chance of these compounds forming at all.

5. Trim excess fat from meat prior to cooking it (for the same reason as number 3).

6. Choose specific herbs for your marinades. These herbs include: basil, mint, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and sage. Scientists at the Food Safety Consortium project at Kansas State University have discovered that these herbs drastically reduce the formation of heterocyclic amines. Simply use one or more of these herbs, preferably fresh, in a marinade prior to and during cooking. Plus, they add tremendous flavor.

7. Avoid overcooking vegetables. The longer they cook the more certain vitamins like vitamin C and B-complex vitamins break down. So don’t overcook them.

8. Add more vegetables to the grill. One of the easiest ways to make your BBQ healthier is to add more veggies. Making kebabs is a great way to do this. By alternating lean meat and vegetables, the veggies will keep the meat moist and add fiber, flavor, and nutrients.

9. Clean your grill prior to every use. Not only is it more appetizing to eat food that’s been cooked on a clean grill, but you’ll be lessening the amount of char that you’ll be eating. The charred parts of food can cause free radical formation in your body and since free radicals are linked with premature aging, disease, and tissue damage, it’s best to reduce your exposure as much as possible.

Emotional Eating

2010-06-28T17:19:00.000-07:00

By, Vanessa
OurHealth Staff Writer

Do we fill ourselves up to keep from feeling empty?

From the Mayo Clinic –

Sometimes the strongest cravings for food happen when you're at your weakest point emotionally. You may turn to food for comfort — consciously or unconsciously — when you're facing a difficult problem, stress or just looking to keep yourself occupied.

Addiction runs in my family. Gambling, drugs, alcohol, but the most prevalent addiction is food. I don’t know if people really see it this way but trust me, the hold that food has over the people I know is just as powerful and just as destructive as any illegal street drug.

From my personal experience I find that, especially in black families, we use food as a way to cover up emotional trauma, deal with depression and anxiety and to cope with the day to day stresses of life.

From the Mayo Clinic –

The connection between mood, food and weight loss Emotional eating is eating as a way to suppress or soothe negative emotions, such as stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness and loneliness. Both major life events and the hassles of daily life can trigger negative emotions that lead to emotional eating and disrupt your weight-loss efforts.

These triggers may include: * Unemployment * Financial pressure * Health problems * Relationship conflicts * Work stress * Bad weather * Fatigue

Although some people actually eat less in the face of strong emotions, if you're in emotional distress you may turn to impulsive or binge eating — you may rapidly eat whatever's convenient, without even enjoying it. In fact, your emotions may become so tied to your eating habits that you automatically reach for a sweet treat whenever you're angry or stressed without stopping to think about what you're doing.

Food also serves as a distraction. If you're worried about an upcoming event or stewing over a conflict, for instance, you may focus on eating comfort food instead of dealing with the painful situation.

Whatever emotions drive you to overeat, the end result is often the same. The emotions return, and you may also now bear the additional burden of guilt about setting back your weight-loss goal. This can also lead to an unhealthy cycle — your emotions trigger you to overeat, you beat yourself up for getting off your weight-loss track, you feel badly, and you overeat again.

I recognize a lot of these traits in myself. The number one way that I deal with stress is to eat. Often times it isn’t until after I have eaten a bag of cookies or a box of Raisinets that I stop and ask myself, why did I do that? More than likely I can directly relate my bad eating habit to some sort of stress or issue that I am dealing with.

It’s really frustrating to be an emotional eater. I especially feel like I sabotage a lot of my hard work with exercise by succumbing to stress and eating things that I know that I really don’t want and shouldn’t have.

In looking up research about this, I came across these great tips from the Mayo Clinic on dealing with emotional eating. Read for yourself and think about what triggers you to ear poorly. Maybe some of these tips can help you.

I think the last part is especially important so I put it in bold.

Tips to get your weight-loss efforts back on track

Although negative emotions can trigger emotional eating, you can take steps to control cravings and renew your effort at weight loss. To help stop emotional eating, try these tips:

* Tame your stress. If stress contributes to your emotional eating, try a stress management technique, such as yoga, meditation or relaxation.
* Have a hunger reality check. Is your hunger physical or emotional? If you ate just a few hours ago and don't have a rumbling stomach, you're probably not really hungry. Give the craving a little time to pass.
* Keep a food diary. Write down what you eat, how much you eat, when you eat, how you're feeling when you eat and how hungry you are. Over time, you may see patterns emerge that reveal the connection between mood and food.
* Get support. You're more likely to give in to emotional eating if you lack a good support network. Lean on family and friends or consider joining a support group.
* Fight boredom. Instead of snacking when you're not truly hungry, distract yourself. Take a walk, watch a movie, play with your cat, listen to music, read, surf the Internet or call a friend.
* Take away temptation. Don't keep supplies of comfort foods in your home if they're hard for you to resist. And if you feel angry or blue, postpone your trip to the grocery store until you're sure that you have your emotions in check.
* Don't deprive yourself. When you're trying to achieve a weight-loss goal, you may limit your calories too much, eat the same foods frequently and banish the treats you enjoy. This may just serve to increase your food cravings, especially in response to emotions. Let yourself enjoy an occasional treat and get plenty of variety to help curb cravings.
* Snack healthy. If you feel the urge to eat between meals, choose a low-fat, low-calorie snack, such as fresh fruit, vegetables with fat-free dip, or unbuttered popcorn. Or try low-fat, lower calorie versions of your favorite foods to see if they satisfy your craving.
* Get enough sleep. If you're constantly tired, you might snack to try to give yourself an energy boost. Take a nap or go to bed earlier instead.
* Seek therapy. If you've tried self-help options but you still can't get control of your emotional eating, consider therapy with a professional mental health provider. Therapy can help you understand the motivations behind your emotional eating and help you learn new coping skills. Therapy can also help you discover whether you may have an eating disorder, which is sometimes connected to emotional eating.

If you have an episode of emotional eating, forgive yourself and start fresh the next day. Try to learn from the experience and make a plan for how you can prevent it in the future. Focus on the positive changes you're making in your eating habits and give yourself credit for making changes that'll lead to better health.

Swimsuit Season: Think Outside the Two-Piece

2010-06-23T19:46:00.000-07:00

By, Vanessa
OurHealth Staff Writer

I know some people are going to think this is an ongoing theme with me. Dressing to flatter your body…Swimsuit edition.

It’s summer and summer is the one season in Minneapolis that I can say is truly glorious. It's honestly so nice that I forget I miss living in Atlanta and think, I could live here forever! It’s everything you think summer should be; full of leafy streets, kids out riding their bikes, the ice cream truck and everyone – I mean everyone – hanging at “the lake”. There are 10,000 (have you heard) here in Minnesota and that’s not an exaggeration. I live within a 10 minute car ride (or 30 minute bike ride – check back next Tuesday as I detail my biking adventures in Try It Tuesdays: Bike Riding) from 5 of the most beautiful, scenic and fantastic lakes you’ve ever seen and these are smack dab in the middle of the city. It’s amazing!

Because we know that you have to “get while the getting is good” in Minneapolis (snow could be lurking just around the corner), my husband and I have been taking full advantage of our beach time at the lake. You can find us camped out at our favorite lake, Calhoun, beach chairs, sunscreen, and good read in hand. We love the beach!

(side note: not wearing sunscreen because you think black girls don't need it? check out this great article from Black Girls Run)

Of course, for many us, going to the beach means one thing – Swimsuit time. There’s a lot of great people watching at the beach and I really cant help but to notice all of the different choices that women make with their swimsuits and I have to be honest; a lot of it leaves me scratching my head.

Without going into all of the gory details, I will say that I have come to one conclusion - all women want to look sexy in their swimsuit and most women think that looking sexy means wearing a bikini.

While I do love a great two-piece I also know that there are, in fact, many flattering, cute and SEXY one piece suits. I really think that a lot of women are afraid to venture into one-piece territory for fear of looking frumpy or old, but what they are left with is an unflattering, unsupportive bikini that is not doing them any justice.

In the spirit of summer and looking good at the beach, I thought I would share some of my favorite one-piece swimsuits. I think these suits can be flattering on many body types while still keeping the sizzle factor.

Don't believe me? Just take one look at Gabrielle Union and I think your mind will be changed!

If you are planning a beach trip this summer, maybe think outside of the bikini and consider a sexy one piece!

Mircalesuit

Tibi

Mara Hoffman

Marc Jacobs

Jcrew

Victoria Secret

Embrace Your Belly!!!

2010-06-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

By Kallima, The Brain
OurHealth Staff Writer

This past weekend I enlisted my sister to supervise a much needed cleaning of my closet. Now you know we all need that person who can pump the brakes when we are trying to justify why we should keep that skirt we have not worn in two years or that crazy floral shirt that made sense to buy when it was on sale. So after the closet gave up four bags for Goodwill, my sister calmly suggested I might want to start pulling in my stomach when wearing certain articles of clothing.

What? I sputtered.

It was then explained to me that women all over the world engage in this type of activity, every day all day. How do people remember to pull in their bellies all day I mused. My sister gave me an exasperated look. She was Yoda. I was young Luke Skywalker. Much you have to learn, young padawan. So I took this piece of advice seriously and the very next day I hit the mall looking for the holy grail - Spanx. Vanessa, a fellow OurHealth writer swore by this particular brand and garment.

I tried on a tank top and finally came to my senses. What the hell is wrong with having a little belly? Why do I HAVE to hide it? Ain't nobody else out there has a perfect belly (excluding models and twelve year old girls).

Real women HAVE bellys. Even those of us that are smaller in stature! Look I'm not advocating for belly fat that is dangerous to your health. It's important to take notice of belly fat and other factors like weight, family history, etc. The rule of thumb is if your waist is 35in or more then you have a problem. So umm, see your doctor if you have any other questions.

So I am curious to hear what OurHealth Readers have to say on this topic.

Hide that belly because society says it ruins the lines of our clothing? Work out like a fiend to get rid of it because we are constantly bombarded with images of the next to impossible flat stomach? Or let it all hang out and breathe like a normal person?!

(Me and my sister)

What is Sar-Coy-Doe-Sis?

2010-06-18T07:19:00.000-07:00

By, Morgan
OurHealth Staff Writer

We lost comedian Bernie Mac to complications from pneumonia, but his sister-in-law told People Magazine that his inflammatory lung disease contributed to his death. "He had sarcoidosis, but it was in remission," she says. "But because he had it, his immune system was compromised

Sarcoidosis. A big name that draws a big blank for many of us.

OurHealth wanted to get to the bottom of this disease. What is it? How does it affect you? How is it treated?

We interviewed Jaz Winchester Owens, Founder and Director of A Song for Life Sarcoidosis Foundation and we are grateful for the work she is doing to shed light on the disease.

OH: What is your name?

JWO: Jaz Winchester Owens

OH: What does your mama call you?

JWO: "Jaz" (LOL)

OH: Where do you live?

JWO: Burbank, CA

OH: What do you do for a living?

JWO: I'm a Financial Aid Director at a music school.

OH: If you were a character on Sesame Street, who would you be and why?

JWO: This is a hard question to answer . . . I think I'm a combination of many characters! First I would choose the Snuffleupagus because he's very laid back like I am, second I would say Big Bird because I get upset when things don't work out the way I envision them but I'm very determined to get things right, third I would pick Prairie Dawn because we are both leaders and my final pick would be Ernie because he is a free spirit and he is always thinking and that's definitely ME!

OH: When were you diagnosed with Sarcoidosis?

JWO: In May of 2005

OH: What IS Sarcoidosis?

JWO: Sarcoidosis is an auto-immune disease that causes inflammation and clumping of body tissue that form into grain-like lumps called granulomas (gran-u-lo-mahs) throughout various parts of the body. Sarcoidosis is considered a multi-systemic disorder because it has the ability to affect any system and organ in the body (heart, eyes, liver, kidneys, skin, nervous system; including the brain) but it generally originates within the respiratory system.

OH: How do you pronounce it?

JWO: Sar-Coy-Doe-Sis

OH: How did you handle the news of the diagnosis?

JWO: At first I was relieved because it wasn't Cancer, which was one of the three (3) possible diagnosis the doctors put before me! However after I began to read up on this mysterious disease I became VERY scared all over again . . . 1) Because doctor's didn't and still don't know much about this disease & 2) All of the information published about it wasn't very promising!

OH: What were the symptoms?

JWO: Keep in mind that symptoms of this disease can vary greatly from patient to patient (some having no pre-cursor warnings) but I started out having chronic Sinusitis that never really clear up, I was EXTREMELY tired ALL time & no matter how much sleep a got it seemed as if I wasn't getting any sleep at all, I was experiencing shortness of breath and I developed a dry but chronic cough that lasted over a period of about 3 - 4 weeks which concerned the doctor and led me to having a chest x-ray done which then led to me having to get a CT Scan (because my x-ray came back abnormal).

After having the CT Scan is when the doctor told me they found enlarged lymph nodes near my lungs and it could be one of three things, a bad infection, Lymphoma Cancer or this thing called Sarcoidosis . . .

However in order for them to confirm what was going on I had to undergo a Mediastinoscopy with a Biopsy so that they could make a final determination. For those that don't have a clue what that is (because I didn't) a Mediastinoscopy is a major surgical procedure where the doctor makes an incision in the neck and inserts a thin scope into the chest cavity so that they can collect tissue to biopsy in order to confirm diagnosis.

OH: Did you know anyone else who had the disease?

JWO: NO! I had NEVER heard of this disease until I was diagnosed and long after that!

OH: Why haven't a lot of people heard about it?

JWO: All though this disease is extremely widespread more than the general public knows, you haven't heard about Sarcoidosis because doctors still don't know much about it, there's still not a lot of money being designated for research and for some reason high profile people who have been diagnosed with Sarcoidosis don't want to come out and talk about it! So in short it's the lack of exposure and funding available that makes it hard for us to raise the volume & visibility about Sarcoidosis.

OH: How are you staying healthy?

JWO: Well I don't know that I can say I'm "healthy" but I'm able to maintain a good level of functionality by supplemental replacement and when I'm focused and disciplined with my regimen through a very strict nutritional plan.

OH: What does a bad day look and feel like for you?

JWO: I know immediately what kind of day I'm going to have when I wake up in the morning because normally when I'm having a onset or what we "Sarkies" call a flare up it's extremely hard for me to get out of bed because I feel very weak and drained of energy and my joints hurt (mainly my hands and wrists)!

OH: What are common treatments?

JWO: Currently the only treatments that exist for Sarcoidosis (if you want to label them as such) consist of consuming highly toxic medications like Corticosteroids such as Prednisone, Antimilarial drugs like Hydroxychloroquine or Chloroquine and Immunosuppresant drugs such as Methotrexate.

A high percentage of people who suffer with Sarcoidosis who have opted to follow the traditional drug treatments have admitted that the benefit of these drugs are minimal to none and some say quite honestly the side effects of these drugs end up making them feel worse than before they started the treatments.

However, there are a small percentage of people who say they have had some success with them but again just as each person is affected differently by Sarcoidosis the same is as such with the drug treatments.

OH: Are there any alternative treatments?

JWO: Yes there are alternative options available for helping people with Sarcoidosis manage this disease and I'm one who has chosen the alternative health and disease management route!

A lot of it is really back to the basics, proper diet and exercise coupled with supplemental replacement. Now in terms of a specific alternative regimine, one would have to consult with an alternative health specialist for a program that is specific to their individual condition.

However to give you an idea, my program consists first of a nutritional program high in vegetables, white meat, white fish and salmon, whole grains, fruit (specifically pineapple & papaya), no sugar, no white flour, pasta or rice and plenty of water. My supplemental regimine includes; Systemic Enzymes, Pregnenolone, MSM & Green Papaya Powder. In terms of the specific intake, each person would need to consult with a professional (like I do) to determine what their individual needs are based on how Sarcoidosis is affecting them.

I consult with a wonderful man name Wayne owner of Elite Health Foods in the Greater Los Angeles Area (Culver City, CA to be specific), he is a Biochemist & Public Health expert with over 25 years of experience teaching and consulting within the medical community and with Olympic Athletes. He is beyond knowledgeable and has helped me tremendously but ultimately my success lies with me and how well I follow the regimine (LOL), I'm still working on that!

OH: If you could put a story on the front of the New York Times about Sarcoidosis, what would the headline be?

JWO: My headline would read; "Sarcoidosis, A Quiet Epidemic" or "Sarcoidosis, The Silent Killer"

OH: Tell us about the foundation you started?

JWO: A Song for Life Sarcoidosis Foundation is a non-profit organization that advocates awareness, education, alternative treatments and support for sufferers of Sarcoidosis.

The lack of knowledge and education about Sarcoidosis coupled with the lack of financial resources available keeps sufferers at a disadvantage because this equates to little to no support for us.

My ultimate goal with the ASFL Foundation is to become a strong and consistent source of support for sufferers and their families/caregivers by providing emotional support through our national tele-support meetings and provide financial support through personal grants to help supplement some of the medical costs sufferers incur that insurance doesn't cover and even household needs because it can be difficult for people with this disease to hold down a steady job due to the unpredictable affects the disease can have on our daily functionality and right now it's next to impossible to receive financial benefits from the government such as disability.

I want the A Song for Life Sarcoidosis Foundation to eventually become a strong force in communities across the country by connecting with other Sarcoidosis organizations to raise the volume on this disease and get the powers that be to make research a priority and resources available!

OH: What is one thing in general you'd like to tell our readers about health and wellness?

JWO: Get serious and take control of your health, do your research, communicate with your doctor's and most importantly don't be afraid to TALK ABOUT IT, whatever that "IT" is, we have to start talking!!

To learn more, and support research and advocacy efforts, please visit the foundation's website.

(photo credits: www.picbybarb.com and http://www.naoepix.com/)

Try It Tuesdays: Swimming!

2010-06-15T13:39:00.000-07:00

By, Vanessa
OurHealth Staff Writer

Try It Tuesdays: Swimming!

I read an unbelievable statistic that up to 60% of African- American children can’t swim. I’m not surprised. I grew up taking swimming lessons every summer, but for lack of interest and for lack of wanting to mess up my hair and walk around looking ashy; I never actually learned how to swim.

We all know the issues. We don’t need to get into a deep historical or physiological debate about how we got here. We only need to find a way forward.

My husband likes to swim – a lot. If there is a body of water anywhere, he will swim in it. When we first started dating we traveled to a lot of great places and many of them were on the water. I never ever got in past my waist. All around me people were having fun in the water and I was sitting on the sand watching. Finally he exclaimed one day – enough is enough! He worked with me slowly and patiently (OK, not patiently, but he did work with me). Eventually I mastered the doggie paddle and over time I gained confidence and the fear slowly dissipated.

Don’t expect to see me swimming in the Olympics anytime soon but best believe if the ship goes down, I will not be going with it. I am fully capable of swimming myself to safety and I’d argue that this is a critical life skill.

This is a call to action to all of you reading this who can’t swim. This is the summer where you need to take action. Think of all the times that you have not fully participated on a vacation, at a pool party or hanging at the lake with the family… We are telling you now to get off the sidelines.

We want to challenge every OurHealth reader who cannot swim to seek out swimming lessons now! A few months ago I communicated with a lady for GirlTrek who told me that she learned to swim in her 50’s and she now swim’s up to 90 laps several days a week. She said she learned “one lap at a time.”

To find swim lessons in your area go here - http://www.swimlessons.com/

A Time For Pause: What Are You A Slave of Now?

2010-06-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

Take this picture in and read its story. Consider where you are in your life. Consider how far we have come as a people. Think about the choices that you make everyday and ask yourself does your life honor those who came before you? Is there really any excuse to be overweight, to not workout or to gorge ourselves on foods that take us to an early grave? Someone valued this little boys life at $1,150. What value do you place on your own life?

Maybe it's a stretch. Maybe not.

Rare photo of slave children found in North Carolina attic

An undated rare photo provided by Keya Morgan, found in a North Carolina attic, depicts two slave children, art historians say. In April, the photo was found at a moving sale in Charlotte, accompanied by a document detailing the sale of John for $1,150 in 1854(AP Photo/Courtesy of Keya Morgan, LincolnImages.com)

NICOLE NORFLEET, Associated Press

RALEIGH, North Carolina (AP) -- A haunting 150-year-old photo found in a North Carolina attic shows a young black child named John, barefoot and wearing ragged clothes, perched on a barrel next to another unidentified young boy.

Art historians believe it's an extremely rare Civil War-era photograph of children who were either slaves at the time or recently emancipated.

The photo, which may have been taken in the early 1860s, was a testament to a dark part of American history, said Will Stapp, a photographic historian and founding curator of the National Portrait Gallery's photographs department at the Smithsonian Institution.

"It's a very difficult and poignant piece of American history," he said. "What you are looking at when you look at this photo are two boys who were victims of that history."

In April, the photo was found at a moving sale in Charlotte, accompanied by a document detailing the sale of John for $1,150, not a small sum in 1854.

New York collector Keya Morgan said he paid $30,000 for the photo album including the photo of the young boys and several family pictures and $20,000 for the sale document. Morgan said the deceased owner of the home where the photo was found was thought to be a descendant of John.

A portrait of slave children is rare, Morgan said.

"I buy stuff all the time, but this shocked me," he said.

What makes the picture an even more compelling find is that several art experts said it was created by the photography studio of Mathew Brady, a famous 19th-century photographer known for his portraits of historical figures such as President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Stapp said the photo was probably not taken by Brady himself but by Timothy O'Sullivan, one of Brady's apprentices. O'Sullivan took a multitude of photos depicting the carnage of the Civil War.

In 1862, O'Sullivan famously photographed a group of some of the first slaves liberated after Lincoln issued his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

Such photos were circulated in the North by abolitionists to garner support for the Union during the Civil War, said Harold Holzer, an author of several books about Lincoln. Holzer works as an administrator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Most of the photos depicted adult slaves who had been beaten or whipped, he said.

The photo of the two boys is more subtle, Holzer said, which may be why it wasn't widely circulated and remained unpublished for so long.

"To me, it's such a moving and astonishing picture," he said.

Ron Soodalter, an author and member of the board of directors at the Abraham Lincoln Institute in Washington, D.C., said the photo depicts the reality of slavery.

"I think this picture shows that the institution of slavery didn't pick or choose," said Soodalter, who has written several books on historic and modern slavery. "This was a generic horror. It victimized the old, the young."

For now, Morgan said, he is keeping the photo in his personal collection, but he said he has had an inquiry to sell the photo to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He said he is considering participating in the creation of a video documentary about John.

"This kid was abused and mistreated and people forgot about him," Morgan said. "He doesn't even exist in history. And to know that there were a million children who were like him. I've never seen another photo like that that speaks so much for children."

Mea Culpa: Steelcut Oatmeal

2010-06-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

Let's consider this a mea culpa of sorts for anyone who didn't appreciate the bacon cheddar grits recipe. This oatmeal is so good and so easy. Throw some fresh fruit on top and BAM you are ready for the day.

Trader Joe's Frozen Steelcut Oatmeal Might Change Your Life

From Serious Eats

"Frozen steelcut oatmeal—three words you never thought you'd hear together—and it's ready in less than three minutes."

You have to respect Trader Joe's for addressing such an important issue: that steelcut oatmeal takes forever to cook. Sometimes up to 45 minutes, it's just too long to justify outside of a weekend breakfast luxury. Sure there are shortcuts like the overnight soaking method, but sometimes you fall asleep and forget.

First Joe came out with Quick Cook Steel Cut Oats. A great product. It comes in a cylindrical container with a plastic lid and allows you to get your steelcut on—either via the stovetop or microwave—in just eight minutes. But wait. Joe has really outdone himself here. He made frozen steelcut oatmeal—three words you never thought you'd hear together—and it's ready in less than three minutes.

Cruising the freezer section, I wasn't expecting to see my pal oatmeal hanging out next to the lime popsicles. Aren't you supposed to be in the cereal aisle next to all your fibrous friends?* But there it was in a box.

* Now, if they start putting popsicles in the cereal section, then we have a problem.

For $1.59 you get two plastic-wrapped hockey pucks of cooked-then-frozen steelcut oatmeal. Hard as a rock, they go into a bowl and into the microwave for two minutes on high. Then there's a brief pause for stirring (*stir motion) and back in they go for another minute or so.

Bam. Done. Steelcut oatmeal. And really, it doesn't taste or look much different from the real deal.

So what's all the fuss over the steelcut? Why is it so superior to the normal oat flakes? It's oatmeal at its best. It's how every bowl of oatmeal would taste if we all had an extra 45 minutes to kill. It's what I feed people when they scowl at the mention of oatmeal. It has a nutty texture (kind of like risotto) that pops in your mouth and doesn't turn into a pile of soupy glop. It feels more substantial. More of a meal.

This one is sweetened with brown sugar and maple syrup, but doesn't taste candy-sweet. And the ingredients keep it real: water, steel cut oats, brown sugar, maple syrup, rolled oats, and salt. Nothing you can't pronounce, so you still feel wholesome eating it. And like all oatmeal scenarios, the real fun comes in doctoring it up (try dried cherries or roasted apples).

My next thought bubble: what if you made a batch of steelcut oatmeal yourself, then divvied it up into an ice cube tray. Depending on your hunger levels, you could go for a couple cubes, or like six. Zap them in the microwave, and there you have it. Oatmealsicles, anyone? Is reheating frozen oatmeal the next big thing in the oatmeal world?

Bacon Cheddar Grits!!!!

2010-06-06T13:08:00.000-07:00

By, Anonymous
OurHealth Staff Writer

You have to be really trifling to post a recipe this sinfully bad for you on a website about health, wellness and living right. Therefor this post is being made anonymously. :-)

Bacon Cheddar Grits. Just saying those words makes our mouth water. Don't have them every morning, but on a lazy Sunday, after a long hard week of working out and eating right, when you are lounging around in your robe, catching up on reruns of Real Housewives, you have our permission to pull this recipe out and throw down!

Recipe courtesy of our friends over at Serious Eats

Sunday Brunch: Bacon Cheddar Broiled Grits

Posted by Robin Bellinger, June 6, 2010 at 9:00 AM

Grits earned their spot on my childhood do-not-eat list on account of their name, I think; if you asked me, grit sounded about as appealing as lint. Once polenta made it off the list, a few years ago, I figured it was time to reevaluate grits, too, and boy howdy—are they are fantastically, soothingly easy to love.

Plain grits are a fine thing, yes, but grits plus bacon and cheese will win over anyone. Since I didn't grow up eating the dish, I can't say whether I stirred the pot to corny perfection. Indeed, I fear I found a lump or two in my bowl, but I was eating too happily to slow my spoon for a careful investigation. The Lee brothers suggest serving these grits with scrambled eggs, but also imply that after a rough night you might want nothing more than a big bowl of grits, a spoon, and a tall mimosa. They also advise against instant grits, urging us to look instead for the label "stone-ground" or "old-fashioned."

Bacon Cheddar Broiled Grits

-serves 4-6-
Adapted from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk
2 cups water
1 cup stone-ground grits
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 pound slab or thick-cut bacon, diced
1 3/4 cups (4 ounces) coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Procedure

1. Pour the milk and water into a 2-quart saucepan. Cover and then bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When the liquid is bubbling, uncover the pot, stir in the grits and salt, and reduce the heat to medium. Stir constantly until the grits have the consistency of thick soup, about 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring every few minutes, for about 20 minutes, until the grits thicken. Then cook about 15 minutes more, stirring just about constantly to prevent the grits from sticking.

2. While the grits are cooking, preheat the broiler. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until firm and barely crisp, about 4 minutes. (A 9-inch wide, 2-inch deep, cast-iron skillet, if you have one, will be perfect for broiling the grits later, so go ahead and use it to cook the bacon now.) Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. If you are going to use the same skillet for broiling, pour the bacon fat into a small bowl.

3. When the grits are cooked, stir in the bacon, pepper, 2 tablespoons of bacon fat from the small bowl, and all but a handful of the cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. Pour the grits into your skillet, a broiler-safe 24-ounce baking dish, or four broiler-safe 6-ounce ramekins. Scatter the remaining handful of cheese over the surface.

4. Broil about 2 inches from the flame until the cheese is nicely browned, about 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Are Your Friends Lying To You?

2010-06-04T19:05:00.000-07:00

By, Vanessa
OurHealth Staff Writer

Tell the truth and shame the devil...

A little over a month ago the ladies over at Black Girls Run posted a review of the book Skinny Bitch. As part of the review they posted their three core reasons why they are skinny bitches. Number 3 really stuck with me and I’ve honestly been thinking about it ever since.

3. Tough love – The reviews on the Skinny Bitch website describe their advice as no-holds-barred and hard hitting. I wouldn’t describe myself that way. Toni “you put on some major pounds” Marshall is a little more forthcoming with the tough love. She’s honest with people, and I respect that. I merely drop hints like, “maybe you should eat a salad.” After reading an article that encouraged women to tell their friends they need to lose weight, I posted a question on twitter asking people if and how they told their friends they needed to drop a few pounds. Not surprisingly, most people didn’t have the guts to say anything or they didn’t know a tactful way to break the news. I’ve been on the receiving end of the “you need to lose weight” conversation, and I know that it hurts to hear it. Especially since it was my mother who was telling me and she isn’t always gentle with her advice. Her words were real, and looking back I appreciate the tough love. Maybe more black women need to stage weight interventions? Just an idea…

I’ve wanted to post about this for a couple of weeks because at the core I really think the concept of tough love and weight could be revolutionary for our community. I did a quick analysis of myself and my own relationships with friends and family who are overweight and I wondered if I would really have the guts to be no holds barred and hard hitting with those who need it. Is that really the way we should go about it?

Are we sitting by and allowing the people we love to kill themselves with food and inactivity? Should we be more honest? My initial thought was maybe we need a Try It Tuesdays: Tell Someone You Love That They Are Overweight, but that seems a little harsh. I think we need tough love, but we also need compassion. We need to offer hope and help, but also be honest.

The whole subject that Black Girls run wrote about all came back to me and I decided to post about it after reading this article – Are your friends lying to you?

I think we may all be guilty here, but thank God for real friends who keep it real deal Holyfield.

Are All Your Friends Lying To You? Lori Gottlieb, Fairy Godmother of Rudeness, Thinks So -

We all have friends who act stupid. The one who’s sleeping with her unemployed alcoholic ex again. The one who continues to pick up her mother’s phone calls even though they always end in tears. The one who works for corporate America and still posts nip-slip pics of herself on Facebook. We, the friends, usually stand by as these inanities occur, lying in wait with a shoulder to cry on. That is the role of a friend, right? We’re here for you after the fact.

But in a piece for July’s issue of Marie Claire, author Lori Gottlieb argues we are the ones making bad decisions by not being blunt with our friends. (You’re crazy if you’re still seeing that jerk! Your mother is messing around with your head! You’re going to lose your job if you don’t exercise a little more discretion!) As female friends, Gottlieb writes, we “yes” our pals “into false presumptions and bad decisions ... convincing one another that anyone who disagrees with us is wrong.”

Now, Lori Gottlieb is no stranger to controversy. As the author of Marry Him: The Case For Settling For Mr. Good Enough, you can’t pull out a tampon without knocking over a woman she has pissed off. She’s made a career out of saying blame-the-women-for-their-problems stuff like this.

But all that said, I totally agree with her on this one.

Girls and women are socialized to be pack animals. Friendships are huge parts of our identity. From movies like “Heathers” and “Mean Girls,” shows like “Gossip Girl” and “The Hills,” fiction books like The Babysitters Club, to non-fiction books like Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture Of Aggression In Girls, the importance of our friendships is clear.

What does being a “good friend” mean? Of course it varies based on the dynamic (the “Heathers” are obviously different from the Babysitters Club girls). But generally being a “good friend” means being nice. Being nice means supportive. Not being rude. Not offending her. You don’t rock the boat or else you’re a “bitch.” I mean, just look at how badly things go on “The Real Housewives of New York City” when someone rocks the boat! (That was a joke.) One could probably even make the argument that as women’s opportunities opened (in work, in sex, in life) during the sexual revolution of the ‘60s and ‘70s, our attitudes about what we have to be nice about have changed. We should be able to do whatever we want to do with no one telling us “no” or judging our actions, shouldn’t we?

All this niceness, Gottlieb argues, is actually hurting our friends — antithetical to the whole idea of friendship, no? We encourage our friends even when our gut tells us it’s a bad idea, lest we let the air out of her balloon. We hold our tongues because saying, “Well, you do drink too much” is harsh. So instead of getting free advice from us, our friends pay a therapist $100 an hour to tell them what we already know.

Gottlieb quoted dating coach Rachel Greenwald — who charges $400 an hour, oof! — who said, “It’s the one-in-a-million friend who will actually tell you the truth when you’re complaining. Many of us care more about maintaining the friendship than fixing your romantic life, your career, or your issues with your sister.” Adds couples therapist Helana Rosenberg, “Our social learning has taught us to be consensus builders.” Can we not, Gottlieb argues, quit it with the niceness and just be unabashedly candid with our friends?

Just call her the Fairy Godmother of Rudeness.

How To Plan a Vegetarian Meal

2010-06-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

The folks over at Herbivoracious clearly understand the dilemma that many of us face when trying to plan a vegetarian meal and they've decided to write this great article to help us out.

How To Plan a Vegetarian Meal
Michael Natkin

As a vegetarian, one of the things I hear all the time is "I'd like to eat less meat, but I just don't know how to plan a vegetarian meal". Without the familiar routine of building a plate with meat at the center, many perfectly competent cooks find themselves at a loss for how make a dinner that will be truly satisfying.

I've been a vegetarian and a serious cook for 25 years, so I've planned and prepared several thousand such meals. It may seem like it requires great creativity, but actually the secret couldn't be simpler. I'll show you how to do it by answering three easy questions. Better yet, you can start with any of the questions, and it will help inspire and narrow down answers to the others.

What grain or starch do I feel like eating?
What food culture am I in the mood for?
What's fresh?

Let's walk through these questions and with each one I'll share the simple thought processes that lead to a full vegetarian menu. At the end, I'll point out some pitfalls to avoid.

What grain do I feel like eating?

This might seem like a funny place to start, but actually I find that the grain or starch plays the same anchor role in a vegetarian meal that meat might play otherwise. For example, if I want rice then immediately I'm thinking: risotto, paella, curry, sushi, Mexican food, red beans and rice, ... we no longer have a blank sheet of paper. In fact it is an embarrassment of riches! Other grains are more tightly associated with a particular cuisine. If couscous is the foundation, then a Middle Eastern or North African meal is likely to be in the works.

Let's take a look at a couple of examples. In the first one, the grain (polenta) leads us to the culture (Italian), which in turn leads us to the side dishes. Seasonal fruits and vegetables help us fill in the blank canvas. In the second case, the grain (farro) is paired with seasonal ingredients (chanterelles and apples) in a modern American style, that gives us a rather free hand to choose a simple salad and dessert.

A Meal Based on Polenta

I'm absolutely mad for polenta, the Italian staple of cornmeal cooked until soft and dosed with a healthy amount of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Polenta is a pretty neutral base that can take many of the same accompaniments as pasta. In this case I was serving it in late fall, when hearty greens like chard are very good (question #3). Keeping with the Italian theme, I chose gorgonzola dolce (a mild blue cheese that willingly yields into the surface of the polenta), and garnished the bowl with a drizzle of top-notch balsamic vinegar.

For a simple family meal, I would just serve this with a preface of a simple green salad with a tangy dressing or some sauteed green beans with lemon zest. To make it into a dinner party, we could start with vegetarian minestrone or grilled eggplant with a spicy fresh tomato salsa, and serve a crostata for dessert, using whatever fruit is in season - or that we've frozen from the summer.

(Did you know polenta is also popular in Argentina? Here's a riff on serving it in a South American dish, with chimichurri).

And Another Based on Farro

It was a chilly, rainy fall day in Seattle, so a hearty, warming grain like farro suited my mood. If you haven't worked with farro, you should definitely give it a try - it is healthy, has a nutty flavor and a satisfying but pleasant chew. You can find farro at any natural foods store or upscale market.

Apples and chanterelle mushrooms were both in season, answering question #3, and I realized that their natural sweetness when sauteed would complement the grain. I decided to splurge on a generous ration of butter and Calvados (apple brandy) just to make sure the farro wasn't too healthy.

This dish seems more Pacific Northwest than European. I would probably serve it with a first course of arugula or another peppery green with shards of parmesan, and finish with just some ripe figs for dessert. Well, maybe I'd break out the blowtorch.

What food culture am I in the mood for?

The biggest mistake that Western cooks make when they aim for a meatless meal is to try and convert down-home Americana to be vegetarian. There are some ideas there, but they tend to run out pretty fast or lead to clumsy substitutions for meat. If you look to other countries you'll find a bounty of choices. Just about every culture in the world has a variety of dishes that are either inherently vegetarian or easily modified.

I don't know about you, but my cravings are often pretty culturally specific. If I go more than a couple weeks without Thai food, my fingers start to twitch uncontrollably. Sometimes nothing is going to do but a big plate of refried beans and rice with a cheesy enchilada or chili relleno. Or maybe it is an Italian feast that you ardently desire. Wherever it is, odds are there are dishes and flavor combinations just waiting for you.

A Blowout Mexican Feast

For an example, let's go for a killer Mexican dinner. We'll actually have two grains here: rice, and corn tortillas. Although tacos are mainly street food in Mexico, they are fantastic for an informal dinner party.

The formula for great vegetarian tacos is pretty simple: start with a substantial base, like winter squash or grilled tofu, add sauteed vegetables, cheese or crema, and a bright and spicy fresh salsa or slaw. Here are three options: achiote-rubbed butternut squash tacos, roasted potato and asparagus tacos with a kohlrabi slaw, and grilled tofu and bell pepper tacos with grilled pineapple salsa.

Now let's go for broke. You obviously don't have to make all of these dishes, just choose the ones that you have time for: refried beans, green rice or red rice, homemade salsa and ridiculously good guacamole, maybe a quick jicama salad with orange and radish. Take it over the top with a traditional burnt sugar flan.

Want to make this a whole lot simpler? Skip the tacos, and just serve rice and beans, salsa from a jar, guacamole and grated cheese for a healthy weekday menu.

These Swiss chard, onion and Monterey Jack enchiladas would be another fine option instead of the tacos. They are good for a crowd because they finish in the oven, so there is less to fuss with at the last minute. Any or all of the same side dishes would be perfectly welcome.

What's fresh?

The past few years have seen a tremendous change in our understanding of seasonality and local produce. Most of us know now that asparagus is fresh in the spring, and peaches in the dead of winter are probably going to be... dead.

As you become a more confident cook, you can start by buying the vegetables that look beautiful at the farmer's market or grocery, knowing that you can turn them into a coherent meal. The huge bonus is that by starting with the freshest, tastiest produce you can lay your hands on, you won't have to do much to make a delicious meal.

Some vegetables, like eggplant, can go anywhere from India to Italy and back, while others will narrow your focus considerably. Fresh bamboo shoots are probably going to enjoy a visit to China more than, say, New Mexico.

Quinoa Cakes and a Dinner of Homefries

As an example of cooking based around what is fresh, let me refer you directly to these quinoa cakes, served with a veritable riot of fresh produce from the farmer's market: caramelized zucchini, corn relish, and a cucumber and tomato salad. That is a whole meal in a bowl.

For an even simpler dinner, what do you do at the end of August when your backyard is full of homegrown potatoes, the tomatoes are at their peak, and a co-worker brings you eggs laid that morning? You make crispy homefries of course, using the potatoes instead of a grain as the starchy base. The cultural frame here is pure Americana.

What can go wrong?

Once you've started to master vegetarian dishes from around the world, you can go overboard and start mixing and matching too much. Risotto is great and green curry is great, but if you are going to try and serve them in the same meal, you are risking a grave battle on your palate. I'm not saying fusion menus can never work, but I wouldn't go there on a first date unless you are quite sure you know what you are doing!

Also, it can be easy to get in a rut. Once you've mastered, say, polenta, you can find yourself serving basically the same dish over and over again. The cure is simple: keep using it, but search the web or look through cookbooks to find variations.

For example, the basic polenta dish above could be made with green beans or eggplant instead of chard, and you could use a young pecorino instead of the gorgonzola. Or polenta can be allowed to cool and then baked or pan-fried and served with tomato sauce. It could be served with a rich ragout of wild mushrooms, topped with a poached egg, or hit with a generous dose of fresh pesto at the peak of basil season. Keep mixing it up and you'll never grow bored.

Summary

Planning vegetarian meals doesn't have to be any more difficult than meat-centered meals. By following these three simple rules (learn to focus on the grain instead of the meat, look to cultures around the world for ideas, and cook with the best, freshest ingredients you can find), you will discover a universe of options. Take a look around Herbivoracious for more inspiration, and let me know your best vegetarian meal planning tips!

Blogs We Love: Mop Top Maven

2010-06-01T12:51:00.001-07:00

In a perfect world you would make garlic chicken, bake cupcakes and do it all with flawless hair and style. In reality you can just read about a girl who does all of this and thankfully shares her fabulousness with the rest of us. Her name is Mop Tap Maven and her blog is tremendously informative on all things from natural hair, baking and cooking to how to nab the best outfit at an estate sale.

You must check out her blog here

I think I will follow her que and make this for dinner tonight.

*All photos and the original post are from Mop Top Maven

Garlic Roast Chicken [Adapted From Ina Garten]
1 (5 to 6-pound) roasting chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 heads garlic, cut in 1/2 crosswise
1 lemon, halved
1/2 large Spanish onion, thickly sliced
4 carrots cut diagonally into 2-inch chunks
5 large red gold potatoes, cut into 6 pieces
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 "bunch" of asparagus
1 bouquet garni [I used fresh parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and rosemary tied together with kitchen string, although you can use your favorite herbs]

As soon as you get the chicken home, salt it inside and out, wrap it and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

When you are ready to cook the chicken, first preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Pat the outside of the chicken dry with paper towels. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken and stuff the cavity with the all the garlic, bouquet garni and lemon.

Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place it in a roasting pan just large enough to hold it and the vegetables. Scatter the onion slices, carrots, asparagus and potatoes around the chicken. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil.

Place the vegetables back in the oven and continue cooking for an additional 15 minutes.

When the vegetables are cooked, carve the chicken and place the slices on the platter surrounded by the vegetables. Drizzle some pan juices over the chicken and vegetables.

Memorial Day: Our chance to remember and give thanks

2010-05-31T08:24:00.000-07:00

"Just because I can take the pain, doesn't mean it doesn't hurt." - Glory

A really great read...

DONNA BRAZILE | Posted: Friday, May 28, 2010 5:00 am

Source

Last Memorial Day, President Barack Obama honored America's troops for their great sacrifices in defense of our freedom. "That is why they are the best of America," the president said, "and that is what separates them from those of us who have not served in uniform: their extraordinary willingness to risk their lives for people they never met."

During this year's Memorial Day, we owe it to ourselves to think about the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. They left their families for foxholes in foreign lands, eschewing comfort for service. It can truly be said that they were selfless in their motives, desires and actions. They heeded the call to serve, putting their lives on the line for the safety and security of others. It is impossible to know how our lives would be different had they not, but it is certain that the difference would be great in its lack of freedom and security.

They volunteered to do the job the rest of us are eternally grateful to have avoided.

It wasn't until after the Civil War that citizens in communities throughout our nation began commemorating our fallen soldiers, their sons and neighbors. It's likely that the first Memorial Day celebration took place in Charleston, S.C., shortly after the Civil War ended.

It is believed that a group of former slaves exhumed the bodies of soldiers from mass graves at a nearby prison camp to give them a proper burial. After every soldier had been placed in an individual grave, it was reported in the local newspaper, as many as 10,000 residents gathered for a celebration that included sermons, singing and a picnic nearby.

The origin of Memorial Day, in itself, demonstrates the selfless service the holiday was designated to honor. Just like the soldiers of the Civil War, our servicemen and servicewomen fight to safeguard basic human rights and freedoms. They do so because their country asked them to. The least they deserve is a day spent in gratitude for that service.

We have all been touched by their sacrifice, if not personally by a loss, then indirectly by our gain as a free nation. Even the staunchest pacifist can agree that our military forces provide a deterrent so massive and fearsome that our enemies know that to attack us is eventual and assured suicide.

This looming threat, that we can and will counterattack with 100 times the force of the original blow, provides a measure of safety and security from which we all benefit. As a nation, we rest assured knowing that we are the biggest kid on the playground and nobody had better mess with us.

Yes, we face significant threats of asymmetrical warfare, but thanks to our Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines that threat isn't coming with the full force of a foreign government behind it. Our daily lives are made safe because of the sacrifices the men and women of our armed forces make on a daily basis.

There are two painful truths I have to acknowledge in a column about honoring the service and sacrifice of the men and women who make up our armed forces.

First, we haven't always given them what they deserve. Whether it's body armor or veteran benefits, our service people deserve the best, and too often don't get it.

Second, there is a socio-racial-economic disparity in this country that cannot be ignored and makes the vulnerable among us carry a greater burden of service. I applaud the choice of those who want to go into the military, but it should be a choice -- not an escape from the socio-racial-economic disparity that cripples us as a nation and as individuals.

All this is to say that we have inherited an obligation to honor those who built and defend our nation. We must honor them in all stages of service. The sacrifice they make is too great to send them into combat for anything less than the most honorable of missions with the best of support, on the ground and when they return home.

With this week's sobering news that the war in Afghanistan has now taken the lives of more than 1,000 of our sons and daughters, Memorial Day could not come at a more meaningful time. So on this long weekend, fire up the grill, catch up on the latest movies or take a mini-vacation somewhere but, please, I ask you, do not for a moment forget what Memorial Day is really about. It's a day to remember and to give thanks.

In a letter sent to me by Jim Hake, founder and CEO of Spirit of America, he urged us "to help our troops, write a letter or just say a prayer, but do something to thank those we owe for our security." When the mission is complete, we will bring them home to the heroes' welcome they deserve.

As America's armed forces continue to be engaged in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, we must remember that we are at war, and that it is only through the sacrifice of others that we are allowed to walk through our daily lives forgetting that.

But not this weekend. This weekend it is our duty to remember. It is our turn to do our duty by giving pause and thanks for the duty of others. To every serviceman and to every servicewoman, and to the families they had to leave behind: Thank you for your service to our great nation.

Donna Brazile is a political commentator on CNN, ABC and NPR; contributing columnist to Roll Call, the newspaper of Capitol Hill; and former campaign manager for Al Gore.

OurHealth Summa, Summa, Summa Time Challenge!

2010-05-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

From Joe Budden via Twitter, re: Memorial Day Weekend -

“This is 1 of those weekends girls wish they had hit the gym hard like they said they would back in September, lol”

I laughed out loud when I read this because YOU know it’s the truth! Doesn’t the summer just creep up on you faster than you were expecting and before you had a chance to get the fully toned shoulders, ripped back and flat stomach that you told your self back in the fall that you were going to have?

Haven’t you been planning on slipping into the bikini or those short shorts or that halter dress and looking fly? Isn’t summer time a little to hot for the spanx?

Well don’t fret ladies! We are here for you! We at OurHealth know that this is the time of year where panic and dread set in. We know you’ve already started to chastise yourself for the lack of progress and for giving up on your best intentions. We think we need to help give you a kick start. Memorial Day weekend is just the beginning, you have plenty of time to pull it together, let’s say by…July 4th weekend!

Announcing the OurHealth five week Summa, Summa, Summa time Challenge! For five weeks let’s commit together to give it all we’ve got!

The details:

Fitness:
- One full hour a day of cardio. Six days a week.
- 100 sit ups everyday
- 50 push ups everyday
- 25 squats everyday

Are you scuuured?

Nutrition:
- NO sugar
- One protein shake per day (preferably after your hour of cardio)
- NO carbs after 6 PM
- At least one serving of fruit or vegetables with every meal
- At least 8 glasses of water everyday

We are not playing! This is the time. It’s now or never. It’s go hard or go home. You’re out of time and out of excuses. You can join us in this challenge or sit on the sideline all summer wishing you had.

Can you do it? Are you down? Challenge starts Tuesday June 1st and ends Saturday July 3rd.

Highway to a Husband

2010-05-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

By, Vanessa
OurHealth Staff Writer

I wanted to call this post - "Doing the Most", because this woman here is really doing the most and I don't really know how I feel about it.

Julia is an attractive young black woman. In her own words she has "an amazing and exciting career (22 years in the TV news biz), awesome travels, excellent friends and amazing adventures". But she says, she has been unable to find a husband. Feeling frustrated by this reality Julia decided to take the drastic step of quitting her job, packing up from her town and setting off on the open road in search of a man...

Wow. When I first read about this I was really stunned. Is it that serious? If your life is ultimately fulfilled in every other arena then shouldn't that be enough or would you be willing to give all of that up in exchange for companionship?

Check out Julia's site here http://www.highwaytoahusband.com/

What do you think?

Healthy Role Model: Flo Allen

2010-05-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

Healthy Role Model: Flo Allen!

She Inspires: Flo Allen, the 54 year old mother of NBA superstar Ray Allen, completed the Boston Half Marathon this year. She ran the marathon in support of her grandson Walker Allen who was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at the age of 3.

Her Story: Flo was able to raise $20,000 for diabetes research. Read her poignant letter below. Let us all be inspired to take action for the health of our loved ones.

When you are a parent, you will do anything for your child. In loving my babies with my whole heart I would do anything to support their dreams, honor their journey. But, love and try as I might...I was not prepared to shield my son from the heartbreak he would endure as he watched his own son battle for his life.

As my son Ray prepared to win an NBA Championship, my baby Grandson, Walker was fighting with all his mini might to survive his diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes. With God's help, he continues to battle everyday.

This was the moment as a parent that I will never forget. It changed me. Forever.

This Monday, I will be running the BOSTON MARATHON to honor our Walker and his unwaivering persistence, strength, resilience and hope as he continues on his path to triumph over this cowardly disease that is Type 1 diabetes.

PLEASE support me as I run 26.2 miles for my Grandson. Its the least I can do to show Walker how his joy has inspired us; the least I can do to show my son how proud I am of the loving father he is...the least we ALL can do to find a CURE for the millions of little "champions" like my Walker who do battle with diabetes every moment of everyday.

Its funny, people keep cautioning me about "heartbreak hill"; but, running up a hill isn't heartbreak. Diabetes is heartbreak. Watching your 17 month old grandson fight to live is heartbreak. Standing by helpless as your grown son kneels in prayer over his baby in bedside vigil- that's heartbreak.

But, because of the Joslin- we do have hope. Please help me support the Joslin Center to find a CURE for diabetes for Walker and the millions of children like him. Together we can help hope stamp out heartbreak...we can, we WILL!

My Walker made me a "runner"...

OurHealth Homework

2010-05-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

By, Vanessa
OurHealth Staff Writer

Get out your pen and papers ladies. We have some homework for you! I saw this posted on Twitter. Terry McMillan suggested that we make a list of the following things and then combine them. I started on my list and it really got me to thinking so I thought I would suggest this to everyone. Once I’m done with my list I’m going to use it as a mediation tool and put it on my vision board.

Make a list of:
- 10 things you believe in
- 10 things you don’t think you can live without
- 10 things that make you happy

Imagine You Are The Daughter Of a Supermodel

2010-05-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

We all know the pressure that we have from society to fit in to a certain standard of beauty, but this kind of pressure must be immense. The daughter of supermodel Iman shares her story and talks about her decision to get weight loss surgery.

Imagine You Are the Daughter of a Supermodel.

Now imagine you weigh 330 pounds. That was real life for Zulekha Haywood, and this is how, somewhere between size 26 and size 6, she found body happiness.

Source

(Haywood now, two and a half years after gastric bypass surgery.)

I awoke the morning of my twenty-eighth birthday determined to make it my most fabulous year yet. Tonight, I thought, I’m painting the town red in that slinky cap-sleeve number that shows off my décolletage. I opened a birthday card from my ex-boyfriend Eric,* who had remained a close friend. Inside was a top-five list of why I was the most wonderful woman he knows. Number three: “Because you always let me shower first—in case the hot water’s tricky.” When Eric used to spend the night, I’d tell him to shower while I made the bed and put on coffee. “The hot water’s tricky sometimes,” I’d assure him, flashing him a smile.

But the plumbing in my building was fine. The truth: At 330 pounds, I had developed heel spurs and swollen knees that made it excruciatingly painful to stand up after lying down for eight hours, so getting out of bed was always an orchestrated event. I’d send any man who slept over off to shower, and once the coast was clear, I’d swing my legs out and put my feet on the ground gingerly, allowing the blood to return to my feet and legs. After a minute, I could stand. After another minute, I was comfortable enough to start walking.

Reading Eric’s card was a powerful reminder that, while I’d done my very best to love my super-plus-size body, I couldn’t keep lying to myself or anyone else. The physical pain I’d endured in my twenties could not continue into my thirties. I had to lose weight.

But how? I have more or less been on a diet since I was eight years old. None of them worked. An overweight kid and already dining for sport, my first was the “Basta” diet. At home, my mother, Iman, a beauty icon and devotee of clean eating, would whisper basta (“enough” in Italian) when I was in danger of overeating. The choice was always mine, and I usually put down the fork. But I also got hip to late-night snacking, raiding the refrigerator and cupboards after midnight. At school I routinely traded lunches, and when I was old enough to buy my own, I would pass over apples for Hostess Apple Pies. We always had plenty of nutritious snacks at home, but there was nothing more satisfying than savoring a secret Twinkie that I exchanged homework answers for. In the end, all I learned from basta was how to make PB&J in the dark.

“Eat Like a Pig, Run Like a Horse” was my second diet—this one courtesy of my father, NBA legend Spencer Haywood, who might eat his weight in turkey bacon, then burn it off by spending more hours on the court than he did sleeping. Convinced I just needed a sport that I loved, my Olympic-gold-medal-winning father tried to groom me as a power forward. When it was clear that I had no natural aptitude for the game, we tried tennis camp. I actually enjoyed tennis and didn’t mind practicing four hours a day every day. (Not to mention all those cute boys in tennis whites!) It was so hot and sticky that summer I subsisted on cold watermelon and lemon ices. I dropped 30 pounds and returned to school in skintight Guess jeans, thrilled by the squeals and high fives my girlfriends gave me. I gained the weight back by Christmas, plus another 20 pounds. Turns out I had to keep exercising four hours a day or seriously watch what I was eating to sustain the weight loss. My father blamed my lack of discipline; I blamed the Dairy Queen. We were both right.

It wasn’t easy being a heavy, ungraceful teenager when looks and athleticism came so naturally to my parents. As a child I knew that my mother was lovely and people liked to photograph her, but when I was old enough to understand that she was a legendary beauty, I was left questioning my own self-worth because I didn’t look like her. I wasn’t physically lean and powerful like my father, so I didn’t fit in that world either. I was an outlier, and I was determined to find a third option. To be happy with my looks, to accept my body at 300-plus pounds and to love myself, with all of that weight, felt revolutionary. Subversive, even.

So I searched for beauty icons who seemed more accessible and real. Role models like my aunt Dia, who, at 5’3” and size 18, made her entrance at one family reunion in a studded halter catsuit and stilettos. When someone snickered as she sauntered by, she threw her hand on her hip with sass and laughed: “Don’t hate on my shape!” We couldn’t pull her off the dance floor. For me, she was beautiful because she lived joyfully and without apology. That’s exactly what I wanted to do.

I largely succeeded. My life was full of love, fun and adventure, but eventually it would have been hampered by health problems—and possibly cut short. My BMI was a soul-crushing 46 (healthy is between 18 and 25). Being that morbidly obese could cut my life expectancy in half, doctors had told me, and put me at risk for diabetes and heart disease. I already had osteoarthritis, hence the slow climb out of bed each morning, and high blood pressure. So I celebrated that twenty-eighth birthday—and then made an appointment with a surgeon who specializes in gastric bypass. After dozens of questions and medical tests, I walked out with a presurgery packet.

Not long before my operation, I was at my mother’s house sharing a laugh while she cooked lunch. “At least you’ll never have to say basta again,” I told my mother. “I won’t be able to eat as much anymore.” She looked at me with an expression that said being hypervigilant about her daughter’s diet had never been pleasurable. “I had to watch your weight as a child,” she said. “Your pediatrician told me that you were going to be obese when you were four years old. At four, she knew!” She turned around and finished cooking, but I was stunned. What was my mother supposed to do with that information? She had tried her best, I realized. As a child, I had been so angry with her. Now my compassion for her nearly brought me to tears.

Thanks to all my presurgery counseling and visits with a nutritionist, I ate slowly and enjoyed the food my mother prepared that afternoon for what it was: nourishment for my body, fuel to keep it moving. It wasn’t a remedy, a quick fix. A week later I had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery.

I had complications immediately after the procedure, was checked into ICU and needed a second surgery. The typical hospital stay after gastric bypass is two days. I finally left after a week, still weighing 324 pounds and feeling discouraged.

That changed soon enough. One month postsurgery, I was back at work and down 20 pounds. Other people couldn’t see the difference, but I could feel it. Before the surgery, a reasonable portion left me feeling deprived; I was always thinking about my next meal. After the surgery, good food in moderation was unbelievably satisfying. To feel that way and lose weight so quickly was both exhilarating and strange at the same time.

Six months in, I was down another 80 pounds. For the first time in my life, I didn’t have to shop in a plus-size store. (Yay, H&M!) But it felt foreign and made me anxious. There were so many things to choose from, I enlisted friends to help me shop, because I couldn’t tackle it all at once.

A year later I was 160 pounds and, because of my height, a size 6. A staggering number of people walked up to me asking if I was a model. To my surprise, it really bugged me—it still does. Once, I snapped at a cashier: “You know, being a model is not the only thing an attractive woman can do with her life, and being beautiful is not the only thing that women should aspire to. I’m so sick of a woman’s entire stock being in her looks!” The room went quiet and everyone stared at me. I put on my sunglasses and tried to walk proudly out the door. But the security guard stopped me and said, “You’re too pretty to be so angry.” Really?! It was one of many postsurgery realizations: Stacked Zu laughed loudly and often, always the plus-size life of the party. Slender Zu, on the other hand—well, that chick can occasionally be prickly.

Eighteen months later, my body had settled at 165 pounds and a size 8. I jumped in the shower one morning, and it dawned on me that I hadn’t crept out of bed in months. The “aha” moment that had changed my life was just a memory.

It’s hard to explain how it feels to lose so much weight so fast. I tell my friends that it’s like becoming famous overnight—suddenly all eyes are on you. But there’s more to it than that. The difference between Stacked Zu and Slender Zu is like being a fluffy Angora cat and then suddenly being shaved. Being naked feels really naked now. I’m slender, but there are lots of folds and limpness where the voluptuousness used to be. No amount of clever lighting and push-up bras can disguise the fact that my breasts fall to my abdomen when I take off my bra, and men want to know why. The old me was unabashedly voluptuous and sexy, no explanations necessary.

When I was a size 26, men approached me. Now when I walk into a room, guys really pay attention. But the sad fact is that volume hasn’t improved the quality. Most of the men who talk to me now aren’t men I would consider. Recently, a guy at a jazz club was staring at me for so long, I had to ask him if we knew each other. He explained that he was trying “to get drunk enough to get up the courage to talk to you.” Sorry, but liquid courage is not what I’m looking for in a man. Like it or not, being 300-plus pounds weeded out some of the losers who were too superficial to approach me back then.

Perhaps it’s just this kind of attention that has given me a deeper appreciation for my mother’s beauty. Now I realize it’s so much more than her appearance. What people respond to is her grace and elegance, her independent thinking and charity for others.

Looking back, the lesson that a woman’s worth can never be found on a scale is one that I have known all along. I’m proud of the fact that at 330 pounds, I didn’t hide from life, and I didn’t let my weight define me. At 165 pounds, I won’t do that either.

Black Women: All the Rage

2010-05-17T12:53:00.001-07:00

This article was on the front page of The Wall Street Journal last week. When I saw it, I had to do a double take. Really? First Nightline is discussing our dating woes and now The Wall Street Journal is discussing our hair salon habits...on the front page.

It's like we've always known. They just can't get enough of us!

Has anyone tried the Dominican blow out?

Much Ado About Straightening: Old Black Salons Face New Rivals

By, Cory Dade

CAPITOL HEIGHTS, Md.—Delshawn Rollins once trusted only fellow African-Americans with the delicate task of styling and straightening her tightly curled brown hair.

But that meant enduring hours of salon gossip, ordered-in lunch (and sometimes dinner, too) and occasional mishaps, like the time the ends of her hair snapped off after she had it dyed.

Kristin Eweka and Sharisse Hunt waited to have their curlers removed at Sintia's Dominican Salon in Landover, Md.

Fed up, the 35-year-old respiratory therapist last fall pulled out a flier she had for a new salon that promised to "work magic" using "Dominican styling." She was in and out of The Hair Co. USA, which displays the Dominican flag in the front window, within two hours, sporting a straight, feathery "do" for $20 less than she had been paying her old stylist.

"My hair has this flow," she says. People ask where she has it done.

Armed with a blow dryer and brush, deft wrist action and shrewd promotional tactics, immigrants from the Dominican Republic are snipping away market share from African-American stylists whose mastery of black women's hair ensured for generations that their customers wouldn't, or couldn't, leave them. Promises of seemingly healthier hair, swifter service and far lower prices are wooing away a growing number of black women.

Ms. Rollins and most other African-American women require a chemical "relaxer" to straighten their hair and get touch-up treatments every six weeks or so. She and many other customers say another benefit of the Dominican technique is that it extends the life of straightening chemicals, thus reducing the frequency of application and potentially harmful effects.

The defections have infuriated African-American stylists who insist that their methods are safe and that they are more highly trained than the Dominicans are. "It's hard enough in these times, but they are undercutting our prices, even passing out fliers to our own clients," complains Atlanta hairdresser Jannifer Jackson, whose cancellations and no-shows began piling up once a Dominican salon opened about a mile away last summer.

Emily Martinez, a stylist at Sintia's Dominican Salon in Landover, Md., demonstrates the Dominican blowout.

Many traditional black stylists accuse Dominicans of misrepresenting their services as "natural" because nearly all Dominican salons perform relaxer touch-ups. Traditionalists say the "Dominican blowout" technique can cause severe hair breakage. Both sorts of stylists wash, set hair in rollers and seat customers under big dryers.

African-American stylists typically use a curling iron to unfurl the hair, while Dominicans use a two-handed method of unraveling the strands with a round brush, followed by a blow dryer in the other hand to smooth the curl to a straight finish. Dominicans do so by pulling from the hair root, often forcefully. That, along with applying the second round of intense heat, leads to breakage, say black stylists and some customers.

"Bad Boy" Romeo Crews, a prominent and outspoken black stylist in Atlanta, has no fear of the blowout. "Let me tell you," he says, "they are helping my business because people are coming to me after the Dominicans make their hair fall out."

Dominican stylists deny the accusations. The majority of Dominicans are themselves black, and like African-Americans, they developed their skills by styling their own hair. "We have stylists—black stylists—all the time calling and asking to come and train with us," boasts Alfredo Rhoden, co-owner of Dominican Hair Salon by Massiel in suburban Atlanta.

The financial impact of the Dominican incursion on black American salons is hard to gauge. Sales volume isn't tracked by the race or ethnicity of salon owners. But industry experts, salon owners and stylists say the impact is indisputable. A fixture in New York City since the 1980s, Dominicans now are rapidly expanding to other U.S. cities.

U.S. salon services generated $50.3 billion in 2009 revenue, mostly from small, independently owned shops, according to industry research firm Professional Consultants & Resources. Most black salons are independently owned, with self-employed stylists who rent booths from shop owners. Black women overwhelmingly outnumber other consumers of "ethnic" hair products, which recorded a 3.2% sales increase in 2009, to $1.5 billion, despite a decline in sales of hair-care products overall, according to consumer research group Packaged Facts. U.S. sales of all hair-care products totaled $9.7 billion last year, says market research outfit Kline & Co.

New Jersey stylist and barber Gina Brydie formed the National Black Cosmetology Association last year to help salon owners strengthen their businesses against the recession and the increasing Dominican competition.

"We have Asians coming in with the beauty supplies and Dominicans coming in and taking over our industry," says Ms. Brydie, 39 years old and 20 years in the business. Salons and barber shops are a proud touchstone for blacks in part because they were among the earliest black-owned businesses, providing one of few paths to economic advancement after slavery. By the early 1900s, black entrepreneur Madame C.J. Walker had become a self-made millionaire by making hair and beauty products for blacks.

Now, rather than trying to beat the Dominicans, some African-American business owners are joining them. Jennifer Drew started RoundBrushHair.com in 2007 to help Dominican salons market to blacks after she switched to the blowout and saw curiosity budding among black women.

The RoundBrushHair.com database has grown to include several hundred Dominican salons, from Sun Valley, Calif., to Chicago to Boston. Almost all opened in the past five years, Ms. Drew says. It includes 80 salons in metropolitan Washington, 95 in Georgia, 15 in Charlotte, N.C., and seven in Houston.

"Some black stylists hate on me, think I've crossed over to the other side," says Ms. Drew, who also sells hair products manufactured in the Dominican Republic to black-owned salons.

The salon to which Ms. Rollins defected is doing well. Owner Monica Clark, who is African-American, opened the shop in 2008 as a traditional black salon. But business was slow and when faced with closing a few months later, she replaced her stylists with Dominicans, brushed up on her Spanish, redecorated, reduced her prices by $10 and renamed her shop The Hair Company USA Dominican Hair Salon. She's playing merengue music now on the stereo. She says client volume has increased by 60% and sales have tripled.

OurHealth Bookclub!

2010-05-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

Women, Food, and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything. By, Geneen Roth

Yesterday on a very powerful Oprah, Geneen Roth said: “Women turn to food, when we are not hungry, because we are hungry for something we cannot name - a connection to what is beyond the concerns of daily life, something sacred. But replacing the hunger for divine connection with double stuffed Oreos is like giving a glass of sand to someone who is dying of thirst.”

We are reading this book and will review it for the site, but I wanted to invite some of our readers to read along with us. Our very first book in the OurHealth book club! At the very least it will open up a dialogue and helps us to look at things from a new perspective.

If Running Where a Drug, It Would Be Illegal

2010-05-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

By, Vanessa
OurHealth Staff Writer

If Running Were a Drug It Would be Illegal. I read this on runnersworld.com. It is one of the truest things I’ve ever read about the emotional, not just physical, impact that running can have on your life.

When I am down, stressed or overwhelmed, a run can lift me up and re-energize me. Even on the days when running seems like a chore (and there have been many of those lately) I never regret lacing up my sneakers. I can never get enough of the feeling that comes when I am done running with the wind at my back or the sun in my face; it’s an amazing sense of accomplishment and it immediately brings my mood up.

A year and a half ago I could barely run down the block. I started off slow and steady using the Couch to 5k program. Last July I ran my first 5k. In September I ran my first half marathon. This morning I ran 6 miles because I felt like it and yesterday I ran 5 miles because I needed to. Thank God for running, it’s my drug of choice.

May is National Runners Month. If you’ve ever looked at someone running down the street and thought, I wish I could do that – well here is your chance. If I can do it, then I know you can. Let’s get that runners high together!

As they said on Runners World -

How great is it that we have access to this drug pretty much any time we want, with unlimited refills? And that the side effects are almost entirely positive?

Ask your doctor about running.

[Read in quiet, rushed "TV drug ad voiceover" voice]

Side effects may include higher energy levels, lower stress, weight loss, increased muscle tone, mental clarity, upbeat mood, decreased blood pressure, and stronger heart and lungs.

Start today by following the Couch to 5K program here - http://www.c25k.com/

Rest in Peace Lena Horne

2010-05-10T17:23:00.000-07:00

Source

Jazz singer and actress Lina Horne died Sunday at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. She was 92.
Horne was one of the most visible celebrities of the civil rights movement.
She embraced activism, breaking loose as a voice for civil rights and as an artist.

Lena Horne, the enchanting jazz singer and actress known for her plaintive signature song "Stormy Weather" and for her triumph over the bigotry that allowed her to entertain white audiences but not socialize with them, has died. She was 92.

Horne died Sunday at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, according to hospital spokeswoman Gloria Chin. Chin would not release any other details.

Horne, whose striking beauty and magnetic sex appeal often overshadowed her talent and artistry, was remarkably candid about the underlying reason for her success: "I was unique in that I was a kind of black that white people could accept," she once said. "I was their daydream. I had the worst kind of acceptance because it was never for how great I was or what I contributed. It was because of the way I looked."

"I knew her from the time I was born, and whenever I needed anything she was there. She was funny, sophisticated and truly one of a kind. We lost an original. Thank you, Lena," Liza Minnelli said Monday. Her father, director Vincente Minnelli, brought Horne to Hollywood to star in "Cabin in the Sky."

In the 1940s, Horne was one of the first black performers hired to sing with a major white band, the first to play the Copacabana nightclub in New York City and when she signed with MGM, she was among a handful of black actors to have a contract with a major Hollywood studio.

In 1943, MGM Studios loaned her to 20th Century-Fox to play the role of Selina Rogers in the all-black movie musical "Stormy Weather." Her rendition of the title song became a major hit and her most famous tune.

On screen, on recordings and in nightclubs and concert halls, Horne was at home vocally with a wide musical range, from blues and jazz to the sophistication of Rodgers and Hart in such songs as "The Lady Is a Tramp" and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered." In 1942's "Panama Hattie," her first movie with MGM, she sang Cole Porter's "Just One of Those Things," winning critical acclaim.

In her first big Broadway success, as the star of "Jamaica" in 1957, reviewer Richard Watts Jr. called her "one of the incomparable performers of our time." Songwriter Buddy de Sylva dubbed her "the best female singer of songs."

But Horne was perpetually frustrated with the public humiliation of racism.

"I was always battling the system to try to get to be with my people. Finally, I wouldn't work for places that kept us out. ... It was a damn fight everywhere I was, every place I worked, in New York, in Hollywood, all over the world," she said in Brian Lanker's book "I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America."

While at MGM, she starred in the all-black "Cabin in the Sky," in 1943, but in most of her other movies, she appeared only in musical numbers that could be cut in the racially insensitive South without affecting the story. These included the Red Skelton comedy "I Dood It," "Thousands Cheer" and "Swing Fever," all in 1943; "Broadway Rhythm" in 1944; and "Ziegfeld Follies" in 1946.

One of the most glaring exclusions, though, was the MGM remake of "Show Boat." Horne, who had appeared in the role of Julie in a "Show Boat" scene in a 1946 movie about Jerome Kern, seemed a logical choice for the 1951 movie, but the part went to a white actress, Ava Gardner, who did not sing.

"Metro's cowardice deprived the musical of one of the great singing actresses," film historian John Kobal wrote.

Early in her career, Horne cultivated an aloof style out of self-preservation, becoming "a woman the audience can't reach and therefore can't hurt," she once said.

Later, she embraced activism, breaking loose as a voice for civil rights and as an artist. In the last decades of her life, she rode a new wave of popularity as a revered icon of American popular music.

Her 1981 one-woman Broadway show, "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music," won a special Tony Award. In it, the 64-year-old singer used two renditions -- one straight and the other gut-wrenching -- of "Stormy Weather" to give audiences a glimpse of the spiritual odyssey of her five-decade career.

A sometimes savage critic, John Simon, wrote that she was "ageless ... tempered like steel, baked like clay, annealed like glass; life has chiseled, burnished, refined her."

Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was born in Brooklyn on June 30, 1917, to a leading family in black society. Her daughter, Gail Lumet Buckley, wrote in her 1986 book "The Hornes: An American Family" that among their relatives was an adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

She was largely raised by her grandparents as her mother, Edna Horne, pursued a career in show business. Horne was only 2 when her grandmother, a prominent member of the Urban League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, enrolled her in the NAACP. But she avoided activism until 1945 when she was entertaining at an Army base and saw German prisoners of war sitting up front while black American soldiers were consigned to the rear.

That pivotal moment channeled her anger into something useful.

She got involved in various social and political organizations and -- along with her friendship with singer-actor-activist Paul Robeson -- got her name onto blacklists during the red-hunting McCarthy era.

By the 1960s, Horne was one of the most visible celebrities in the civil rights movement, once throwing a lamp at a customer who made a racial slur in a Beverly Hills restaurant and, in 1963, joining 250,000 others in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom when Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. Horne also spoke at a rally that year with another civil rights leader, Medgar Evers, just days before his assassination.

It was also in the mid-'60s that her autobiography, "Lena," with author-film critic Richard Schickel, came out.

The next decade brought her first to a low point, then to a fresh burst of artistry. She appeared in her last movie in 1978, playing Glinda the Good in "The Wiz," directed by her son-in-law, Sidney Lumet.

Horne had married MGM music director Lennie Hayton, a white man, in Paris in 1947 after her first overseas engagements in France and England. An earlier marriage to Louis J. Jones had ended in divorce in 1944 after producing daughter Gail and a son, Teddy.

In the 2009 biography "Stormy Weather," author James Gavin recounts that when Horne was asked by a lover why she had married a white man, she replied: "To get even with him."

Her father, her son and her husband, Hayton, all died in 1970 and 1971, and the grief-stricken singer secluded herself, refusing to perform or even see anyone but her closest friends. One of them, comedian Alan King, took months persuading her to return to the stage, with results that surprised her.

"I looked out and saw a family of brothers and sisters," she said. "It was a long time, but when it came I truly began to live."

And she discovered that time had mellowed her bitterness.

"I wouldn't trade my life for anything," she said, "because being black made me understand."

Who remembers The Cosby Show episode where Lena Horne performed for Cliff's birthday? It's one of my favorites.

Raising Awareness: Lupus

2010-05-07T07:33:00.000-07:00

By, Vanessa
OurHealth Staff Writer

The strength and courage of African–American women is legendary. The burdens we bear. The obstacles we face and overcome. Our ability to make a way, to provide for our families, to comfort and support, are all on record as being the traits that set us apart. We are phenomenal women.

However, there are times when I wonder if the idea of the “strong black woman” is both a gift and a curse. There are times when I think we need to reach out to each other, to ask for help, to say that we are going through some things, and yet many of us sit silently. We suffer our aches and pains, sadness or disappointments and illnesses in silence.

When you look at the statistics related to black women and diseases such as cancer or heart disease, you often see that we wait too long to speak up or seek treatment. That we suspect that something is wrong, but we’re so busy taking care of others, that we don’t take care of ourselves with the urgency that is needed. The medical community often says that there needs to be more “awareness” in the black community about our health and wellness.

That’s why when I was browsing on Facebook on the page of a high school friend and saw a video for “Team Koopie and Lupus”, I was intrigued. What is Lupus? I wasn’t really sure, but I was drawn to the video and it’s content and struck by the power her story. Here was a black woman, telling her story. She wasn’t suffering silently. She was spreading the word and rallying her friends and family and raising awareness about a disease that affects 1 in 250 black women.

I reached out to the subject of the video, Kawanna. I told her about OurHealth and asked her if she would be interested in sharing some of her story with us. She graciously agreed and I am so glad she did. Her story is powerful and inspiring.

I hope we can educate some of our readers about Lupus and also encourage you to speak up or seek help when your body starts to tell you that something is not right.

What is Lupus? From the Mayo Clinic: "Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that occurs when your body's immune system attacks your own tissues and organs. Inflammation caused by lupus can affect many different body systems, including your joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, heart and lungs."

Lupus occurs more frequently in women, though it isn't clear why. Four types of lupus exist — systemic lupus erythematosus, discoid lupus erythematosus, drug-induced lupus erythematosus and neonatal lupus. Of these, systemic lupus erythematosus is the most common and serious form of lupus.

The outlook for people with lupus was once grim, but diagnosis and treatment of lupus has improved considerably. With treatment, most people with lupus can lead active lives.

Common Symptoms of Lupus:

* red rash or color change on the face, often in the shape of a butterfly across the nose and cheeks
* painful or swollen joints
* unexplained fever
* chest pain with deep breathing
* swollen glands
* extreme fatigue (feeling tired all the time)
* unusual hair loss (mainly on the scalp)
* pale or purple fingers or toes (from cold or stress)
* sensitivity to the sun
* low blood count
* depression, trouble thinking, and/or memory problems
* mouth sores
* unexplained seizures (convulsions)
* seeing things (hallucinations)
* repeated miscarriages
* unexplained kidney problems

Did you know: African American women are three times as likely as white women to get lupus. African American women tend to develop lupus at a younger age and have more severe symptoms than white women.

An interview with Kawanna P.

Can you tell us a little about yourself ?

I currently live in Federal Way Washington. I turned 33 yrs old on January 7^th. I'm an admin assistant at an awesome company called World Vision.

How did you discover that you had Lupus?

Unfortunately it runs in my family. So I’ve always had this feeling in the back of my mind, due to the many many frustrating years of battling with extreme fatigue, and joint & muscle discomfort. I was finally diagnosed in 2006 at the age of 29 when I literally woke up one morning and could not move!!! I was rushed to the hospital and after a few tests they discovered it was in fact lupus.

(picture left - turning 30, freshly diagnosed with Lupus, puffy face from the steroids)

What was your initial reaction to the diagnosis?

I had many mixed emotions. It was a relief that I was finally diagnosed and could start the proper treatment. But I was also scared to death and even a little angry with God for allowing this to happen.

The first nine months was the most horrible period of my life!! I endured countless number of doctor’s visits, numerous changes in medications, painful blood tests (sometimes on a weekly basis). And as if several months of this weren't enough, I was then told by my doctor that "we need to take more drastic measures to hit this thing head on". So two weeks after my 30th birthday the "drastic measure" was chemotherapy. Which in some Lupus cases its used as a method to decrease abnormal activity in the immune system

Lupus is chronic and currently there is not a cure, what do you do to manage the disease?

Lots and lots of prayer!! I also have daily scriptures of healing that I read. It’s sort of my way of healing myself mentally. I’ve recently changed up my diet a bit. Most people would think 135lbs is not a lot but for me it is. I’ve always been “a buck o nothing” up until all the steroids and other medication. So more fruits, veggies, chicken, and fish (less fried foods). I also drink a lot of water, no alcohol or soda. And after all of that I try to be good to myself…..massages or any kind of self pampering (I’ll admit I need to do more of this)

You’re a mother, how does having Lupus play a role in motherhood?

It does put a slight damper on my physical abilities at times. I’ve been blessed to have a huge family and circle of friends who doesn’t hesitate to lend a hand if I need them. The other blessing is she very smart to be only 6. I've explained to her about the illness. She even goes to some of my speaking engagements with me or helps me hand out info at our lupus table. Most of the time when I say "mommy is to tired today, mommy cant walk very well today, or mommy's not feeling to well today". She'll say something like "Oh the lupus again huh??". So she makes being a Mom so easy and rewarding…..one or two trips to the library per week and she’s content.

What is Team Koopie, can you tell us a little about how Team Koopie came to be?

TEAM KOOPIE is a group of my family & friends who came together after I was diagnosed 2006. This group is dedicated to spreading awareness about Lupus and assisting me with finding a cure. We originally formed with 50 – 60 members for a local Walk With Us To Cure Lupus walk sponsored by the Alliance For Lupus Research. Since that time we have grown to over 150 members. We now make the ALR Lupus Walk an annual event for Team Koopie and we strongly support their mission of 100% of all their proceeds go to lupus research. Team Koopie is also present at local health seminars, church conferences, community fairs and have even birthed our own annual events such as “An Evening For A Cure”, “Singing For A Cure”, “Laughing For A Cure” and most recent “Striking Out Lupus”.

(Team Koopie 2008)

You’re clearly a very passionate and involved advocate for this disease and finding a cure, did you ever consider not stepping forward or keeping your diagnosis to yourself?

I have always been a very private person, so originally I only shared my diagnosis with family, close friends and a few coworkers. One of my coworkers approached me (Jeanette James) about a local Lupus Walk that was taking place in less than two months. I gave her every excuse in the book as to why I couldn't do it. Again the "private person" in me didn't want to be exposed. Soon after that, God really began to deal with me and my "private self" which was really my "prideful self". Just as plain as day God said, "This is bigger than you, I need YOU to pray for those who are not able to get a prayer through, I need YOU to be the voice for those who are afraid of speaking out, I need YOU to lay hands on those who may not know ME as a healer". I'm no fool, so it's safe to say I got busy soon after that!! I told God as long as He gave me movement in my body and gave me the words to say I would be a vessel.

How do you stay positive and motivated on the days when you may not be feeling so well?

Once again if it wasn’t for my strong faith and spiritual foundation, I’m not sure where I would be!! One of my favorite scriptures is Romans 8:25 “But if we HOPE for what we DO NOT see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance”. So on my bad days when I don’t feel so good…..I SEE myself healthy, I SEE myself free of pain, I SEE myself totally healed from lupus.

(A portion of Team Koopie at the Singing For A Cure concert)

Outside of being involved with Team Koopie and finding a cure for Lupus, what do you like to unwind or have fun?

I have a circle of 20 year friendships with a group of ladies that I grew up with in church. We do everything together from BBQ’s at each others homes, movie nights, clothes swapping parties….you name it we do it!! I also enjoy reading, shopping and spending time with my family. I have a very large family so someone is always having a birthday, a baby shower or Sunday dinner gathering. Its those kind of priceless moments of laughter that I enjoy with my family. As I get older I’m finding that “me” time alone isn’t so bad either.

What would you say to other African-American women who may be suffering from Lupus?

Lupus affects people of all ages, including children, but it most often strikes people when they are between the ages of 15 and 45. Nine out of ten people with lupus are women. It’s three times more common among African American women than among Caucasian women, and is also more common in women of Hispanic, Asian, and Native American descent. So to all women I say…….there’s always someone waiting to hear your story. Don’t be afraid to stand up and say I have this illness too, let’s fight it together!!

Thank you Kawanna for sharing your story!

Healthy Role Model: Nikki Henderson!

2010-05-06T14:14:00.001-07:00

Healthy Role Model: Nikki Henderson

She Inspires: How many times have we heard the excuse – eating healthy is expensive and inaccessible! Well, it’s not actually an excuse, it’s the truth and this sista has stepped up to make real change and progress for underserved communities.

At 25 years old she is the recipient of one of Elle magazine’s Gold Awards: 5 at 25. Five young environmentalists who, only a quarter of a century old, are already gold stars.

Feeding the Masses: Source

Nikki Henderson, who has an MA from UCLA in African-American studies and economic justice, was a rising star in clean-energy circles, where she worked closely with Green for All’s founder, Van Jones, known as the “Martin Luther King Jr. of the green jobs movement.” But she says that her “heart and soul were always in food justice,” so in January she became executive director of the People’s Grocery in West Oakland, California, a kind of Whole Foods for the everyman. Among its goals: to provide fresh, good food to people of all income levels. “People tend not to make the connection between food and health care,” Henderson says, “but if we can show on a local level how integrated they are, maybe we can change the national conversation—and the food system.”

Her Work: People’s Grocery is a community-based organization in West Oakland that develops creative solutions to the health problems in our community that stem from a lack of access to and knowledge about healthy, fresh foods. Our mission is to build a local food system that improves the health and economy of the West Oakland community.

We want to change the way the food system works. We believe everyone should have access to healthy food, regardless of income. We call this "food justice" - the belief that healthy food is a human right. The food system is failing to provide low-income people with the healthy foods they need to thrive. It is also failing to create good jobs and support local food businesses in urban communities. So People’s Grocery works toward creating a food system that centralize the needs of the urban poor and develop programs and enterprises that produce and distribute fresh foods, provide nutrition education, promote urban agriculture and create local jobs.

To learn more about People's Grocery, visit their website here - http://www.peoplesgrocery.org/

...GirlTrek

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