Tag Archives: Diet

Black lifestyle notes to keep you healthy

Black doctors are challenged by racism in so many ways

What Racism in Medicine Takes from Us

Fighting racism will not be the central story of my personal or professional life. I’m discovering that Black doctors deserve ...
Waiting for my new therapist of color

The best $160 I ever spent: A session with a Black therapist

I hadn’t realized how important for my mental health it was to talk with someone like me. From VOX, By ...
African American senior athlete stays in shape

Start forming your Alzheimer’s prevention strategies now

Pre-Senior Strategies For seniors and their children - preparation is the key to a healthy future New research indicates that ...

Start your new year of a new you

If the last year or two has left youwith a little more weight than whatyou had planned for this point ...
Black_parents_need_to_know_about_suicide_risks_for_young_children

How to help your black child deal with the pandemic

Suicide rates and risks for black children are rapidly rising during the isolation of the pandemic. Here's 5 things you ...
Weed, marijuana, cannabis - all names for a drug that has been legalized, but that doesn't mean that it's harmless.

Increase your fertility by speeding up your sperm

On the Discovery channel several years ago, there wasa film showing the activity of sperm on their way up thevaginal ...
A smoke ring in the shape of a heart symbolizing heart disease

Does marijuana cause heart attacks?

Marijuana is showing up in the bloodstream of heart attack and stroke victims. People are thinking that marijuana is harmless ...
Weed, marijuana, cannabis - all names for a drug that has been legalized, but that doesn't mean that it's harmless.

Marijuana miseries

It's not the same marijuana that you smoked as a kid.It's far more potent and can cause permanent damageto vulnerable ...
A hand holding up a lit joint

Marijuana miseries you can sidestep

Marijuana has been legalized and people are lighting up everywhere.A weekend stroll to the local town center on a Saturday ...

Add this to your healthy- black-self diaries

You want to be more than just a pretty face.....you want to bea healthy mind and body! We, black & ...

Take action!

We hear this everyday: "In these unusual times....." Unusual they are and they require from us, unusual participation to save ...

Protecting the Black Body through self-care

Covid 19 has exerted devastating losses on our communities. The vaccine has been a lifeline for many and a source ...

Black mind health matters

Secrets & plain English answers to Black mental health concerns

Book cover People of the Lie: The Hope For Healing Human Evil (Simon & Schuster, 1983) ISBN 978-0-684-84859-4

People of the Lie – A book whose time has come

In a time like this, one thinks about the books, written long ago, that seemto have foretold this moment M ...

Finding your voice in the Age of the Big Lie

At the root of almost all conflict - whether between internationalgovernments or between intimate partners - is a LieSaid by ...

What determines sanity

At the core of anyone's sanity is the issue of knowing and recognizing the truth. Our recent political "situation" afforded ...

Taking psychiatric meds? How to protect yourself from side effects.

Along with frequently described mood  or antidepressant medications, what else can a person do to protect themselves from accumulating brain ...
Nutrition author Tracye McQuirter

How to feed your brain to make it last

Let's face it.....every time you feed your body, you feed your brain. A well-fed brain can think clearly, make great ...

Coconut oil for alcoholism

A former alcoholic who researched a solution to the unbearable cravings for alcohol that ruined his personal life, Dr. Robert ...

Psychosis – Is Early Childhood Bullying a Cause?

Children who are bullied or who are bullies themselves may be at greater risk of becoming psychotic as adults. Psychosis ...

Kids Are Being Prescribed Antidepressants and ADHD Meds at Increasingly High Rates

In the report, Children's Health Spending: 2009 - 2012, issued by the Health Care Cost Institute, an increase in prescription ...

Fight dementia & Alzheimer’s: Dump the bread

Renowned neurologist, David Perlmutter, says that it's neither consistent with reality nor current science to deny the negative effects of ...

No Amount of Alcohol is Safe

The 2014 World Cancer Report from the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concludes that no ...

Just Get Over It! And Other Insensitive Things That People Say……..

How many times have you heard someone shriek, mutter, moan, yell, spit, murmur or plead, "Just get over it!", usually ...

Crucial Factors in Mother Driving her Children into the Ocean

What would make a young mother want to kill her children? That was the big question when this near tragic ...

Start forming your Alzheimer’s prevention strategies now

Pre-Senior Strategies

For seniors and their children – preparation is the key to a healthy future

New research indicates that African Americans and other people of color have twice the risk of getting Alzheimer’s due primarily to diet
and lack of proper medical care. With the expected number of folks
estimated to swell just when our health care system may have to
shrink it’s offerings and accessibility, it’s action time, people.

Here are the steps that will get you started:

  1. Get moving! The number 1 way to combat cognitive decline is to keep the blood flow going and keep the brain busy. After the initial resistance, your muscles, joints and nervous system will wake up with the right level workout. Run it by your health provider. Start small and work your way
    up. Check out YouTube, phone apps, the local Y or community center. They may all have online offerings to get you started.

  2. Use it or lose it, when it comes to the brain. So crossword puzzles aren’t
    your thing, but haven’t you always wanted to learn to draw, bead or do
    woodworking? There are plenty of online classes to get you started or just start experimenting with your computer paint program or different pens, pencils and paper. Practice makes the eye perfect
    in figuring out how to draw. The more you draw, the better you get.

    Also, online brain games, like Lumosity, are fun, challenging and stimu-
    lating. They guide you towards strengthening your weak spots and you
    will actually see changes in how you handle things in everyday life.
    You’re never too old!
  3. Getting older is like being a car that goes from automatic to manual.
    You gotta do things intentionally that your body used to do without thinking. Stretch! Want to remember things. Write them down. Put
    up a calendar that you can write on. Set the timer on your stove
    before you walk away from that pot. Learn how to use some of
    the new technology. It will help you organize everything.
  4. Get the tools you need to know what your body is doing. Every
    senior needs a blood pressure cuff, thermometer and even an
    oximeter at home. Know what foods affect your blood sugar so
    that you can avoid them. You shouldn’t wait until your next
    scheduled medical appointment to find that a new menu
    item is driving your blood pressure sky high. Check out
    the Apple watches along with other less expensive devices
    you can wear on your body to know and track those
    life saving numbers!
  5. Put the brakes on eating everything you want all the time. There
    is no other part of your life where you can do whatever you want-
    no holds barred! Your body won’t tolerate it when it comes to
    food either. The ingredients corn syrup (also in sodas) and
    hydrogenated fats (like in baked goods) in processed foods
    are said to be the two top foods that contribute to Alzheimer’s.

    Most folks pay more attention to what they put in
    their cars than what they put in their bodies. Oh, and the Food
    Pyramid was obviously designed by food manufacturers. It’s
    led us to an epidemic of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cancer.
    We have some ideas on this site about how to get and stay healthy
    at any age.
  6. With all due respect for the many physicians out there who have
    sacrificed their whole lives to help you, you still have to be a
    smart consumer of medical care
    . Your doctor cannot know and
    tell you everything. Living is a participation sport. You have to
    take responsibility for tracking symptoms, your daily behaviors
    and all the stuff you try to forget as soon as you eat it or do it.
    People are quick to defend their health with, “Well my doctor
    said I am fine!” Uh-huh, but your doctor doesn’t know that you
    work 60 hours a week, skip breakfast, don’t sleep well and can’t
    walk a city block without looking for somewhere to sit down.
    You can change your physical and mental health now. It may
    take time, because you have to be aware of your inner misguider,
    but YOU CAN DO IT! Here are the facts you need to get
    started……..
  7. Last, (for the moment) but not least, eliminate the sure
    enough unnecessary stress in your life
    . Give others a
    little grace when they don’t perform as hoped for.
    Give yourself the time and understanding that you
    deserve. Let things get done “in due time”, as you
    keep moving forward at a comfortable pace. Let go
    of people and things that cause you anxiety.

Start your new year of a new you

If the last year or two has left you
with a little more weight than what
you had planned for this point in
your life – here’s the remedy and
the plan

Our favorite nutrition expert and a woman with a
plan, ChicagoanTracye McQuirter, has a new book
and one of the most thorough and appetizing
plans to improve your dinner table status than
we can remember. We’ve featured her on our
home page for years because we feel like you
would be in good hands with the food info that
she has so smartly put together.

Nutrition author Tracye McQuirter
ByAnyGreensNecessary.com’s Tracye McQuirter

Now we know that some of you are not
interested in giving up meat but there is little
reason to not learn how to make vegetables
equal partners on your plate. If we seasoned
and approached cooking veggies the way we
do meat and seafood, it wouldn’t take long
for them to become healthy preferences.

Tracye’s got an even better deal for this
year we are stepping into. Check out her
site
and try out her plan. There is a wonderful
guide to download for free. It will get you
started on putting some soul in your food,
the lite, right way.

Can Black people hide from covid? – part I

Oh, where to start? Despite all the political wind blowing
around this unique and devastating virus, there are some
facts and there are questions. Determining which “facts”
are actually true and getting straight answers to the
questions is the subject of another post which will follow
this one.

First things first. How do you deal with fear and/or risk?
With facts and action. What do we know?

Prevention works best.

COVID Vaccine is considered the best bet to
reduce the presence of the virus in the most
vulnerable in our population. Contact your
doctor or county health dept. for info.

Don’t get it to begin with. Stay home. Keep
your home clean and safe. Keep “messy” (you know what
we mean!) people away from your space. There will
always be that “friend” who wants to “share” their
misery with you. Don’t do it. COVID is not a team
sport.

Wash your hands! For a full twenty seconds with soap
and water. 60%+ alcohol spray is not enough.

Wear a mask. It won’t hurt you and it saves on makeup
and shaving (for men). Wear one outdoors, indoors if
there’s others around, but keep your washable masks
washed and change your paper masks regularly. (Re-
member you sneezed in that other one yesterday.)

Do carry out or delivery rather than eating in a restaurant.
Sooooo many people got infected at restaurants.

We’ve heard over and over again from researchers,
holistic practitioners, nurses, etc. about natural
remedies, etc. Many of us know those time tested
remedies our parents have sworn by from Caribbean,
African and southern American cultures. Many of
them are rooted in the same natural substances that
prescription and over-the-counter remedies are modeled
after. Whether your abuela, grandma or mum managed
to always pull you out of the sick bed with her special
blend, be careful with this one. Just remember, that you
may only have one chance to get this wrong.

Get strong and stay strong

Here are some inexpensive vitamins and minerals that may
strengthen your immune system. Along with sleep
and exercise
, they might help. These are some we’ve
heard recommended:

  • Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol)
  • Vitamin C (You can find it buffered and in crystalline
    form at Whole Foods & nutrition shops)
  • Quercetin (antioxidants)
  • Zinc unsweetened lozenges or pills
  • Fish oil capsules or liquid (Look for Omega-3
    wild salmon or Alaskan cold water fish oil)
  • Oil of oregano capsules (Take only as directed)
    and alternate it with
  • Black Elderberry extract capsules

Consult your doctor or pharmacist for dosages.
Or take a look at the recommendations in guides
like Smart Medicine for Healthier Living. Remem-_
ber, accuracy in supplement names, dosages and
good quality natural brands makes a difference.