Black people wake up, knowledge is power!

As a writer for the Mind Body and Soul section of the Nubian Message, my motive is to encourage the African-American community to engage in research to understand the natural world. These are the reasons why I have written on several topics such as the raw food diet, detoxification of the body, super foods, etc. African-Americans are dying at increasing rates due to complications of high blood pressure, cancer and various other afflictions as compared to their counterparts. According to a pamphlet from Americanheart.org, a Website that provides information on heart disease for minorities, “Blacks are 1.5 times more likely to die from heart disease and 1.8 times more likely to experience a fatal stroke than whites.” It is a duty for the black community to research and find ways to prevent these fatal diseases and help their conditions in order to hopefully prolong the lives of many people. We as a people rely too much on our doctors who sometimes may not have our best interests at hand. I also believe that a portion of African-Americans simply do not care about their health they exemplify apathy in health care because they believe the conditions are hereditary and inevitable. With attitudes like these, no wonder African-Americans are the majority ethnic group stricken with these illnesses. There are some cases of illnesses like cancer, obesity, and heart disease that are genetic and that the possibilities of preventing these diseases that occur later in life are slim to none.

High cholesterol and high blood pressure are very serious problems which can lead to diseases like atherosclerosis, coronary heart failure, and death. I wonder why some doctors are quick to write a prescription for drugs such as Lipitor when there are many different ways to combat these problems. According to fishoil4health.com, fish oil is has been found to help decrease high cholesterol, which aids in preventing heart problems.
Not only am I concerned about the potentially fatal diseases, but I am also worried about the nonfatal diseases that effect members of the African-American community. Treatments for the skin disorder eczema can be costly. As a person who does have eczema, I cannot tell you how many times I have gone to see the dermatologist in order to ask for various prescriptions to relieve the severity of the itching. Not once did my dermatologist whom I have gone to for years recommend that I increase my intake of Omega 3-fatty acids. Incidentally, taking flax seed oil has astoundingly decreased my eczema outbreaks as well as helped with other symptoms like menstrual cramps. If I would have known this a long time ago, I would have saved all the amounts of money spent on various cortisone creams and doctor prescribed ointments.
However, sometimes it is not the doctors’ fault for prescribing us so many medications to treat our various illnesses. A person who is suffering from high cholesterol or diabetes sometimes may continue to eat things like macaroni and cheese, deep fried chicken or overly sweetened yams until a near death experience causes them to wake up from their unhealthy lifestyle. When I walk through stores such as Whole Foods or The Health Economists, I sometimes have to wonder why the majority of the people you see shopping are Caucasians. Obviously Caucasians know something that many of us African-Americans do not. One time I did see a very fit black woman who seemed to be in her late 40’s or early 50’s  and in her basket contained several cases of wheat grass. I’d bet a lot of African-Americans probably do not even know what wheat grass is, much less its benefits or how it even tastes. It is also very rare to find a black male or female jogging in order to stay fit.  When I do find one jogging, it almost always shocks me. When will there be a day when we are not shocked to find a black male or female jogger? This should be a common occurrence. When will there be a day when I walk into a health store and find many people like myself curious of the organic products and health supplements? I do not know when that day will come, but I do hope it will come soon.