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KRYPTONITE:
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URBAN KRYPTONITE
The Formidable Health Decline of African
Diaspora Descendants Located In America
URBAN KRYPTONITE
The Formidable Health Decline of African Diaspora
Descendants Located In America
“No matter who puts you in a box, it is up to you to get out of that
box. The responsibility of living a disease- free life now belongs to
the person in the mirror-and that’s you.”
COCHISE TARAK-SAA
(DAMIEN M,)
Second Edition, 2015
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
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URBAN KRYPTONITE
THE FORMIDABLE DECLINE
IN HEALTH OF AFRICAN
DIASPORA DESCENDANTS
LOCATED IN AMERICA
COCHISE TARAK-SAA
Designed by:
Salahdeen Asad
Editing:
Urban Kryptonite Films Inc.
Registered in the Library of Congress
ISBN: ISBN-13: 978-1489599803
Printed in the United States of America
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PERSONAL MESSAGE TO READERS
This book has been long in the making. I wanted to put together something
that could thoroughly edify other Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade descendants
regarding the rapid decline in health of the black community. The book’s
subtitle speaks directly to persons who are located in the United States of
America but these issues are applicable to other countries located in the
Americas where so called black people find themselves residing. The
concepts may vary in number from place to place but the results are similar in
many instances.
This book is not about conspiracy theories, racism or hatred towards other
races. It’s about what has happened to us that has caused us to fall from a
once moderately healthy group of people to an affliction plagued community.
You might say that other communities have health problems as well. I will
concur with you in your statement. The difference is that I was not born and
raised in another community nor do those other communities lead the country
in most of the major disease categories. My focus is to share what I believe
to be the integral factors (based on my studies) in the decline in health of
African descendants located in the Western Hemisphere. Many of the causes
are derivatives from the Caucasian settlers that brought blacks to the
Americas. This however is not a valid excuse for remaining in detrimental
conditions. I will cover 8 topics that must be rectified within the black
community if we are to become healthy again as a group. This book can and
should be read by all ethnicities. Many of the concepts mentioned in this text
apply to all races. As far as the black community is concerned I ask that you
read this book and lay these contents to heart because this publication was
specifically written for your edification. I am speaking to Christians, Pan
Africanists, Black Muslims, Hebrew-Israelites, Prince Hall Free Masons, Five
Percentists, Moors, Ancient Kemet Scholars, Eastern Stars, Black Fraternity
and Sorority Members, Neighborhood Blacks, Caribbean Islanders, South
American Blacks and anyone else who could be considered a descendant of
the African Diaspora.
It seems that the mental programming that we have undergone has had an
infinite generational impact beyond comprehension. The troubling part is
that many of us do not realize that we have been programmed. That in itself
is the mark of powerful mental programming by the oppressor. I do not
expect Urban Kryptonite to change you overnight. What I do hope is that
something in this book changes your way of thinking and inspires you to make
a change in an effort to improve your health. One cannot be totally blamed if
they are unwillingly ignorant of a thing. But once you become aware of what
is taking place you are now responsible for what you know. It’s time to get
out of the box and identify the thorns that have caused so much disease and
death in the black community. There is no better time to fix a problem than
today!
Cochise Tarak-Saa (Damien M.)
Table of Contents
Section 1 – Mis-Education
Introduction
Chapter 1 – My People Perish For Lack of Knowledge
Chapter 2 – Ignorance of the Law is No Excuse
Chapter 3 – Micronutrients
Chapter 4 – Hidden Leading Cause of Death
Chapter 5 – Media Impact
Chapter 6 – Benefits of a Plant Based Diet
Section 2 – Maladroit Dependence on Doctors and Prescription Drugs
Chapter 7 – Doctors Are Humans
Chapter 8 – Arthritis
Chapter 9 – Cholesterol
Chapter 10 – Salt and High Blood Pressure
Chapter 11 – Diabetes Mellitus
Section 3 – Lack of General Knowledge of Body Parts and Their
Functions
Chapter 12 – Early Life for American Blacks and the Reversal of Priorities
Chapter 13 – Organs and Their Functions
Section 4 – The Meat, Dairy and Sugar Curse
Chapter 14 – Black Folks Love Their Meat Even if it Kills Them
Chapter 15 – The Importance of Alkaline, Acid and Ph to Your Health
Chapter 16 – But They Told Me Milk and Cheese Was Good For My Bones
Chapter 17 – It’s Time to Have Your Sweet Tooth Pulled
Chapter 18 – White Rice, Somewhat a Mystery
Chapter 19 – The Truth About Soda Pop
Chapter 20 – Is the Oil in Your Car More Important Than the Blood in Your
Body?
Chapter 21 – Using Raw Foods to Help Rectify Your Health Issues
Section 5 – Using Illegal Drugs and Alcohol for Psychological Relief
Chapter 22 – The Inability to Get Past Mental Trauma Organically
Chapter 23 – Gambling - The So Called Financial Relief Drug
Chapter 24 – Pass Me My Cigarettes
Section 6 – Toxic Relationships
Chapter 25 – Physical Attraction is Just One Piece of The Puzzle
Chapter 26 – Behavior is Learned – You Have to Be Around The Right People
Section 7 – Loss of Spirituality
Chapter 27 – The Building Blocks of Sound Spirituality
Chapter 28 – Being Indoctrinated
Section 8 – Soul Food: The Survival Cuisine of Those Who Were Slaves
Chapter 29 – Authentic Nutritious African Cuisine vs. What We Consume
Today
Section 9 – Helpful Reminders Regarding Life and Health
Chapter 30 – Being Consistent Pays in Your Wellness, Personal and
Professional Life
Chapter 31 – Do Not Allow People Access to Your Mind
Chapter 32 – Can You Do Everything in Moderation?
Chapter 33 – Physical Warning Signs That Indicate a Necessary Change In
Your Diet
Chapter 34 – Dealing with Unhealthy Family Members or Spouses
Bibliography
Introduction
It has been almost four hundred and seventy years since the first ship sailed
from the coasts of West Africa to the shores of what is now known as the
Americas. The United States, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Colombia,
Venezuela, Panama, Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, Bahamas, Trinidad and Puerto Rico
are just some of the countries that were established through this egregious
process. For as many slaves that arrived on western soil, there were at least
triple the amount that did not live to see that day. No one could have possibly
fathomed the residual effects that would be left on this group of people that
are recognized today by the world as “blacks.” We do know that for the
people that were directly involved, slavery would leave a lasting imprint on
their minds. If we understand that the mind controls the body then we may
also understand that having a mind riddled with fear and stagnation is a fast
track to a spiritual and physical death.
During the voyage to the Americas there were things that were done to the
slaves that the average human being present today could not imagine. These
individuals were stacked on ships like crates, fed like dogs and tossed
overboard in bunches when they were deemed to be infirmed and unprofitable.
Not only were they murdered but they were also separated from loved ones
and stripped of their culture and native customs. Imagine that you are ten
years of age and you are captured by foreign men and taken to a land distant
from your native soil. Your mother and father are taken from you and you
are no longer allowed to speak your language or eat the foods that have been a
staple in your entire life. A foreign religion is introduced as the religion of
which you must now believe. You are forced to eat things of which you
know not and you are consistently prodded by force to speak the language of
your captors in order that you will be considered a valuable asset to them. Do
you think that you would behave the same as you did after 10 years? What
about after 500 years? Science tells us that your mind would function in a
different manner.
We must consider that the blacks that were brought to the United States during
the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade represent only a small number of the people
who were involved with the Great African Diaspora. A diaspora is defined
as “the movement, migration or scattering of people away from an established
homeland.” That is exactly what happened to Africans who were captured by
European oppressors. The number of African slaves brought to the United
States hovers between 600,000 to 700,000 people. The country today known
as Brazil boasted the largest number of African-descendant passengers with
close to 3.5 million. There were almost 700,000 people that were shipped to
Hispaniola now known as the island of Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Venezuela and Colombia also had a high influx of African slaves. Although
many of the inhabitants of these present day countries share a common bond
in origin and ancestry there is a distinct difference between each of the
cultures today. Some of the more noticeably visible diversities are the
languages spoken in these countries, the mentality of the people and lastly the
culinary practices.
It has been said that a culture can be differentiated through its’ cuisine. If
you mention any of the Spanish speaking Caribbean countries like Cuba,
Puerto Rico or Dominican Republic the first thing that comes to mind about
their cuisine will be “rice and beans” or “plantains” with music coming in at a
close second. If someone mentions Jamaican food you might automatically
begin to think of jerk chicken and rice or Ackee and saltfish. What foods do
you think of when someone mentions the so-called African Americans or
American blacks? Is there a cornerstone food of which they can hang their
hat?
The truth of the matter is that when you mention cuisine and
African-Americans you will find a long list of insalubrious foods. Fried
chicken, pork chops, chitterlings (affectionately known as chitlins), collard
greens (depend on how they are cooked), macaroni-n-cheese, pig’s feet and
things of the like. Foods such as these are what blacks in America are widely
associated with. These foods are commonly known as soul food. If you
compare the nutritional value of these foods with those of the Caribbean
islands and South America you will find that the foods consumed by
African-Americans have little to no value. In fact these foods cause disease
and break down the body temple. Not only is it the actual foods that cause a
problem but the methods of preparation play a large role as well. This does
not mean that our brothers and sisters that are living in the islands or South
and Central America are not sick. It only means that the foods that are
available to them in a natural raw state are more nutritious than what
American blacks consume. The question that must be asked is, are the foods
that are currently being consumed by African-Americans the same foods that
were brought from the shores of Africa? Seeing that the United States was
one of the latter colonies to be invaded by European settlers one can surmise
that no cultural food items were retained during the voyage. The impact that
the European slave settlers had on the African-American diet was and still
remains immense.
However, there is something to be said about why blacks from the Caribbean
and South America have a slight nutritional advantage on their brothers and
sisters from the United States. The foods that are consumed by
non-American blacks that were a part of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade are
more nutrient packed. To say it best they are less processed. The Caribbean
climate poses an ideal environment for harvesting and growing fresh fruits and
vegetables. The methods of fertilization and natural resources far exceed
those available to people living in the United States. America has polluted
soil. A big portion of the plant life that is consumed in the US is a result of
imported goods from nearby neighboring South American and Caribbean
countries.
If we were to choose which glaring disadvantage American blacks possess it
would be that of being unable to identify with any cultural cuisines. Food is
culture. Many of the foods that are highly admired in the African-American
culture are foods that were once considered “scraps.” In other words these
nutritional customs were born strictly out of survival. None of these alleged
foods were brought from the west coasts of Africa to the shores of the United
States of America. These foods are comprised of pig body parts, the most
undesired cow portions and other forms of low nutrient based foods. Due to
the creativity and culinary acumen of the so-called African-Americans, they
were able to take what was virtually unwanted garbage and make it into a
delectable cuisine that is now sold in restaurants in several parts of the United
States and the world. On many plantations the American slaves were allowed
to grow their favorite vegetables to accompany many of the scraps that they
were given. More often than not the vegetables of choice were pinto beans
(which are widely consumed in the Caribbean and South America), collard
greens, black eyed peas, mustard greens and cabbage. There are sure to be
variations of how the meals were prepared but one thing remains constant.
The preferred flavoring agent(s) of these vegetable dishes are known as ham
hocks. A ham hock is a small cut of meat from a pig that is stationed just
above its’ leg. If ham hocks are not used then the next most famous flavoring
agent would be what is known as salt pork. Salt pork is a collection of fat
from the stomach, back and side sections of a hog that is cured with
man-made salt. What we have come to understand is that this form of
cooking has become a great detriment to the African-American race and other
African-descendants worldwide.
Historically speaking, the forefathers of the African diaspora were merely
surviving on what was accessible to them at that particular time. The more you
continue to do a thing the more it becomes second nature. As time passes and
generations come and go there is no longer a question of whether something is
healthy or unhealthy because most African-Americans are focused on what is
normal and not what is natural.
Normal has become the new natural regardless if it is something that is proven
to be unhealthy.
A perfect example of the new “normal behavior” is that of marijuana
consumption. There are many African-Americans who have fallen under the
belief that smoking weed recreationally or “blowing trees” (as we
affectionately call it) is something that is healthy. Tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC), the active mind altering ingredient in marijuana has been proven time
after time as something that alters cognitive function, affects the hippocampus
(portion of the brain responsible for memory storage) and destroys brain
neurons. This is not an argument against cannabis because it does provide
medicinal benefits (when ingested properly) for those who contract specific
ailments. However, smoking weed has been abused and become more of a
fad while being consumed under the auspices of health benefits. We
(African-Americans) as a whole have been converted into simpletons who
believe anything and love to engage in low-vibrational unhealthy activities.
Natural things no longer matter as they once did. Behavior is learned. People
are now willing to accept authority as their truth instead of truth as their
authority. This makes for a great deal of confusion being that falsehood and
lies are being pushed to the public under the guides of “the right or healthy
thing to do.” The best deceptions are based on ambiguity, mixing fact with
fiction. Unfortunately for the present population of African-Americans
residing in the United States, there are no glaring signs that indicate a change
for the better is on the horizon regarding the overall improvement of the state
of health of the black culture. As of the year 2010, the top five causes of death
in African-Americans were as follows:
1. Heart Disease
2. Cancer
3. Stroke
4. Diabetes
5. Unintentional Injuries
Of these top four causes of death the first four causes listed can be very much
avoided or profoundly delayed through nutritional adjustments. Diseases not
mentioned but play a factor in plaguing the lives of many of the so-called
African-Americans are: obesity, hypertension, high blood pressure and
arthritis. As a people we have lost our way as far as diet is concerned. The
initial impact from nearly five-hundred years ago still lingers today. Naturally
the black population has become more edified on what foods are considered
beneficial and which foods are not. However, their minds have been so
heavily programmed by a litany of media outlets that it makes for a
monumental task to get a person to change their eating patterns. Most often
times the only time a black American is willing to change his or her diet is
when they are facing a near death situation or an illness that could claim their
lives in the near future. It seems as though people feel better waiting until a
threat is upon them rather than preventing the threat in the first place.
Prevention will always be better than cure. Social issues have also
contributed to the decline in health of American blacks. Let’s face it life is
generally a struggle for most African-Americans. These patterns of behavior
have only gotten worse over time. We can no longer use poverty or lack of
resources as an excuse for our poor state of health. Poverty is state of mind
and hardships are a part of life. Too many people have given their lives for
the freedom of present day black America to make important life choices.
Where you want to live, who will be your president and having the best
education to provide you with an opportunity to live financially free was not a
true option sixty to seventy years ago. Blaming nutritional habits on the
overall decline of health of the black community is the obvious and most
sensible resolution to the problem. History reveals that there are deeper and
darker issues that must be meticulously examined than what is presented on
the surface. Through my fifteen years of studying health, people and
nutrition the African-American race’s state of health has proven to be one of
the world’s biggest quandaries. We are all very unique but still the same
because of our common denominator, Africa.
We are unique in that we reside in different sectors of America which at times
can be like being from different countries depending on where you are. This
mere fact is chiefly responsible for how we view nutrition and our lives as a
whole. Blacks who live in the southern states below the Mason-Dixon Line
are known for eating a southern diet rich in fried foods and soul food. For
this reason, cities such as Jackson, Mississippi have an alarmingly high rate of
cardiovascular disease and diabetes. African-Americans who live along the
east coast consume a large array of foods because of the foreign nationals who
populate areas such as New York, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Hartford,
Miami and Newark. These foreigners typically have melanin in their skin
and originate from the Caribbean, Central or South American countries like
the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Cuba, Brazil, Venezuela, Panama, Costa
Rica, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Trinidad. There is also a healthy mix
of direct African immigrants such as Ethiopians, Nigerians, Liberians and
Senegalese. Often times this collection of foreigners become intimately
involved with many people from the African-American population. Hence,
cultures become intertwined and American blacks begin consuming cultural
foods from other countries on a consistent basis. Midwestern blacks are
usually children, grand-children or great grand-children of those who migrated
to the north in pursuance of a factory or other form of manual labor job.
Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Gary are some of the more
popular Midwestern cities with a population high in so-called black people.
African-Americans in these cities consume a diet significantly better than their
ancestors who were from “down south” in the United States. Although some
the younger generations of mid-westerners consume many of their foods
boiled, broached, stewed and baked, they occasionally keep many of the
customs of their predecessors. By doing so, they suffer from some of the
same diseases that afflict many of the southern blacks. Last but not least are
the black people from out west. Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix and
Denver are a few of the cities from the west coast in which blacks populate.
These people are a bit enigmatic because they represent sprinkles and clusters
of African-Americans from around the entire country along with traces of
Native American (Indian) heritage. The blacks in places like Los Angeles are
somewhat more health conscious than those in other areas of the country
because of the demands from Hollywood placed on the local sector of actors.
These physical appearance requirements somehow trickle out into the general
population. As a result local residents find themselves working out more,
going on diets, eating vegan and in more drastic cases opting for plastic
surgeries. So, we can see that the United States is comprised of four distinct
regions that are about as similar as a watermelon and a grape. Drawing
conclusions on what could possibly affect the health of every
African-American in each of these four regions would be impossible. What
has been possible is the careful examination of lifestyles, diseases, dietary
habits and general culinary practices of African-Americans. Somewhere
within these areas is revealed the truth of the decline in the health of the black
community.
Let the record show that this is not a publication advocating or blaming
another race or set of races for the issues that blacks face. This is not about
“the white man” and his quest to exercise power over African-Americans.
Make no mistake that I acknowledge that every single contributing factor
listed in this book was born out of the oppression of the so called
African-Americans. At this stage the unwillingness to take responsibility for
staying in this situation will only dig a deeper grave for the entire black race.
At some point we all have to look in the mirror and make a conscious decision
to say that we will make a change. Change is not always easy but everything
has a beginning.
Health Psychology is a branch of wellness that too often gets overlooked. In
order for one to improve their state of health they must first begin in the
psyche. Health enhancement should not be solely viewed under the guides of
food consumption. If it were that cut and dry blacks would probably have a
reasonably lower disease rate than we do at present. Physical nutrition is
certainly a big aspect in gaining control of your health but it only represents a
part of the end portion of the journey. I have discovered that there are three
imperative stages that a person must undergo during their ascension to a
healthful life. These steps are non-negotiable and cannot be skipped or
eliminated. It would be virtually impossible for someone to bypass one of
these stages and arrive at flawless health. These three basic steps can also be
applied to any undertaking in life. Below are the action stages necessary to
arrive at destination "disease-free life."
The first action stage that a person must pass through is what I call the
recondite stage (or intangible action stage). During this stage a person has an
epiphany and realizes that they must make a change to their health. They
suddenly feel the incessant desire to look good and be disease-free. No
physical action is present to others because the change is taking place in your
mind. The moment you release thoughts of change to the universe things are
being set in motion to help you achieve your goals. The problem with most
Afro-Americans is that they STAY in this stage forever. There is a saying that
goes, "Cemeteries are the richest places on earth because so many people die
with ideas and desires unfulfilled." People find it more comforting to just
DAYDREAM about an idea because they feel that they are not equipped
enough to accomplish their desires.
The second action stage is known as the compliant stage (or passive action
stage). During this stage a person has done their due diligence on diets and
health information. They purchase gym memberships and begin buying
healthier foods that will promote life instead of claim a life. There also exists
a dilemma at this stage. People like to buy things off of emotions. Usually
people see infomercials or kitchen appliances such as juicers and they
immediately purchase them. After three months has passed the juicer is still in
the package and collecting dust. This is a common issue in the world not just
in the black community. It stands out more in the black community because
we can be very boisterous about what we are “fixin to do.” Sometimes life
gets in the way or people are simply not motivated enough to push through
this stage.
The final stage is what we call the bellicose stage (or aggressive stage). In
this stage you are physically and mentally engaged in the battle. You have
changed your diet and are consistently partaking in some form of exercise
whether it is walking or high-intensity cardio. This is where your original
thoughts in the recondite stage have become manifested into a reality.
The following information provided is my best attempt to encompass and
share what I believe to be the most relevant and logical facts as to why
American black people (and blacks outside of the United States as well)
continue to be plagued by health-related afflictions. My hope is that you
seriously consider the contents of this book and implement ANY detail that
may help change your life for the better.
Section 1
Mis-Education
My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of
illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and
more intelligent than college professors.
Maya Angelou
Chapter 1:
MY PEOPLE PERISH FOR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE
There are several factors that go into achieving optimal health. Many people
like to skip the mental process involved and speak directly about the benefits
that fruits and vegetables offer to those that consume them. They may even
speak on the daily habits that one must keep in order to sustain a level that is
consistent with supreme health. The truth of the matter is that true health or
true well-being begins in the mind. For reasons being that the mind is the
control center of the body. The mind controls the body through emitting and
receiving messages through the senses. These senses are most commonly
known as hear, touch, feel, smell etc. When your hand touches a hot stove
your brain goes to work through transmitters sending a message back to the
brain to say that the stove is hot and it returns a message back to your hand
and you remove your hand from the stove because you feel that the stove is
hot.
In order to fully understand one of the biggest issues in the decline of the
overall health of the so-called African-American community we must first
investigate their level of education as an entire group. Education is the key
ingredient behind any life success whether it is a physical or cerebral task.
You have to know about a subject in order to master that subject or craft. If
you do not know anything about that specific subject your odds of success will
grow small in an instant. Knowing and applying what you know will be the
deciding factor. Education and schooling are often used interchangeably but
there is a distinct difference between the two. By definition education is the
act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the
powers of reasoning and judgement, and generally of preparing oneself or
others intellectually for mature life. It stems from the latin word educo which
means to draw out. Schooling on the other hand means the process of being
taught in a school. One of the best examples of the mal-interpretation of a
person not being educated is the case of Henry Ford. Many people believed
that because he did not have a great deal of schooling that he was not
educated. He was educated in the way of his life experiences and as a result
he was able to build a billion dollar empire. This particular conversation is
not about schooling nor is it about anything that would provide tangible
scholastic achievements that favor black people. This is more about the
inability of the race as a whole to not desire to seek out available health
education. We must however state certain general facts that play an
intangible role in the abatement of their overall health. Over the years there
has been a decline in the graduation rates in African-Americans. We could
say the reasons are single parent homes, drugs or possibly environmental
issues. This statement does not represent the entire black population but only
the majority.
It is recognized that there are high numbers of successful African-American
children who come from thriving families. This calculation was computed
with the general population in mind as are all statements in this publication.
The fact remains that kids are not finishing school at the rates that they once
were. The rates seem to fall year after year and the scholastic test scores
appear to drop as well. When you lack in education you are at an immediate
disadvantage. At bare minimum, when you are educated within an institution
(school) you are taught to retain and store information as well as coexist with
individuals from other backgrounds and ethnicities. Whether this is
information that people want to learn or not it does help to strengthen memory
and interactive skill sets. Traditionally speaking, institutions do not teach
independent thinking. Where there is lack of knowledge there is lack of
making informed choices. Here lies a great dilemma within the black
community. When you do not know how to make informed decisions you are
left to rely on other people to make those decisions for you. Unfortunately
these decisions may be surmised from propaganda, dogmas or uninformed
family members or friends. Because you don’t have the education or
scholastic aptitude to make a decision for yourself you must rely on their
knowledge or lack thereof in most cases. This has become a dire issue in the
neighborhoods and homes of black people across America. By not gaining
and applying knowledge you automatically become identified as a simpleton.
A simpleton is an ignorant, foolish or silly person who believes anything that
anyone tells them. They are most commonly known for their inability to
think or do for themselves. By adopting this lifestyle you automatically
exhaust other avenues and arrive at three choices. The first choice is earning
money through illegal means. This way can be lucrative but has proven to be
short lived for most partakers. The second choice is living off of a friend or
family member. The black community refers to this behavior as leaching.
This option is generally short lived because of the strain (and financial
demands) that it places on the individual who is helping the person who needs
assistance. The last choice is to be taken care of by “the system.” The third
option is an umbrella under which many African-Americans find themselves.
Again this does not mean that everyone receiving government assistance is
uneducated or cannot think for themselves. This is simply to drive home the
point that when you fail to educate yourself your options of survival are
limited. The state programs are where many people turn under the guides of
poverty or public assistance. The problem is that many people decide to live
on programs that were created as a temporary bridge to a better life situation.
This makes the individual become more complacent and unmotivated. What
happens when you enter the system? Depending upon your status you will be
allotted a certain amount of government dollars each month to purchase food
items that you deem necessary for your survival. Naturally if you are a single
woman with three children your dollar allotment will exceed that of a single
male with no children. You are not given physical cash unless you have been
identified as needing such. You are given a credit card for which to purchase
your foods. This is the second point where mis-education (or lack of
education) continues to plague your state of health. When you are on
WELFARE, WIC or any other government funded program you can only get a
certain amount of food monthly. If you have three children to feed and only
five hundred-dollars for with to feed them from then it is logical to believe
that you will attempt to make your money stretch. In an attempt to extend
their money African-Americans purchase low vibrational insalubrious foods.
What are these insalubrious foods? Hot dogs, bacon, bologna, salami, potato
chips, soda pop, popsicles, candy and canned foods are all examples of the
unhealthy foods that are commonly purchased by people living on welfare.
As a child I had the experience of being on welfare for a short period of time.
During the early 1980’s there were no food credit cards. You were either
given physical food stamps or enough food to last you for the month. I can
remember being on the receiving end of the food rations. Powdered eggs,
canned beef, large blocks of cheese and canned fruits are staples in my mind
that I will never forget. At the time I loved it because I was focused on
surviving and filling my stomach which is what we all want to do at the end of
the day. The unhealthy store bought foods much like the foods that were
administered to the welfare recipients in the early 1980’s serve the same
function for the human body. They are all packaged foods that contain no
nutrients and when consumed provoke an environment for cancer causing
agents. When you consistently live on foods that provide no nutrition you
openly invite sicknesses to your doorstep. Remember that this all started with
the lack of education.
The lack of education went from depending on others to make decisions for
you to depending on your local state government to assist you in purchasing
food. If you are lucky you may have local churches that give “fresh foods” to
people in need. The aforementioned store bought junk foods such as
bologna, salami and bacon contain what are known as carcinogens.
Carcinogens are defined as cancer causing agents. When you heat lunch
meats that are cured with sugar and other chemicals you ignite the artificial
substances and set off a host of free radicals that are absorbed by the body.
Most people that consume these forms of foods are unaware of the harm that
they can cause. There are no vitamins in sausage, potato chips or pop tarts.
If you do not actively seek information on what is good to eat then you simply
will not know. Most African-Americans don’t realize that they are doing
damage to themselves or to their children by the daily over consumption of
these food items. What happens is that they find out that they have some
horrible disease and they are left to wonder where they contracted the illness.
In their mind they were eating healthy. This touches on the next concept that
Ignorance of Nutritional Laws Are No Excuse. This can be a difficult
concept for many people to grasp because they associate personal character as
a determining factor for the state of a person’s health.
Chapter 2: IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NO EXCUSE
If you're driving in a 25 miles per hour zone at a rate of 40 miles per hour, is it
safe to say that you are breaking the law? Does it matter if you knew or not
that you were breaking the law? In a court of law you will be punished the
same way which is why your actions would more than likely result in a ticket
if you were detained by a traffic-enforcement officer. This illustration was
used to help you understand that nature has laws that are in the best interest of
man to follow. When you take inorganic substances and put them into an
organic vessel such as your body then you are in direct violation of several
health laws. It does not matter if you know that you are in violation of certain
laws or not the outcome will remain the same. If you partake in activities
such as smoking cigarettes then it's a great chance that you will have some
form of lung, throat or chest ailment at some point over the course of your life.
It's not guaranteed but the probability increases with each insalubrious act.
Here is where African-Americans and other races get confused.
People mistake a person "having high moral character" with a person
following natural health laws. It is certain that you know people who were
the nicest people on earth but yet they were plagued with diseases that
eventually claimed their lives or the quality of their life. Then you have those
who are not known as "good people" but they have youthful appearances and
are considered healthy by normal standards because they consume loads of
nutrient rich foods, herbs and other vitamins. It is important for you to glean
my next sentence. You can be the nicest person on earth and be known for
doing every good deed known to mankind but if you are not eating and living
in accordance with nature you will be sick! Your religion does not matter.
There is no other way to say it. Eating fried foods, refined foods and sugar
laced products will prove to be harmful to your state of health. You must
approach the laws of nature just as you would the law of electricity or the law
of gravity. We know not for certain how these laws function but they have a
great impact on all life forms that exist today so we must respect them. If you
do not believe in gravity simply jump out of an airplane with no parachute and
let me know how that turns out. If you do not believe in the law of electricity
just hang on to a live wire that has fallen during a rainstorm. You will
probably cease to exist if you are so brazen as to carry out these acts. As a
black person residing in America if you have an option to be edified or not
regarding the laws of nature and health it is better to choose to be edified.
When you know something you are well equipped to make an educated
decision. For example, if you do not know that meat and milk both help
cause osteoporosis then you will continue to eat meat and be surprised when
you are diagnosed with arthritic bones and osteoporosis. Study and gain
knowledge but above all gain understanding on nutrition because ignorance of
health laws will not keep disease from showing up at your doorstep. There is
currently a big epidemic of child sickness and obesity in the United States.
Do you think that these maladies are present in black children because they
are eating a healthy diet? Gummy Bears, Candy Bars, Pop Tarts and
Chocolate Chip Cookies don’t eat themselves. These are sugar laden
products. Sugar causes disruptions within the body because it draws water
from other organs to complete the digestive process. Attention Deficit
Disorder is closely linked to too much sugar consumption. The answers are
present if we will only view what’s in front of us.
Chapter 3: MICRONUTRIENTS
Another issue that impacts the black community that cannot be ignored as it
relates to low/budget shopping is that of food costs. Many black people are
under the inept belief that it cost more to consume nutrient rich foods. There
is a certain degree of truth to this thought process but not substantial enough to
make a sizeable impact on a person’s pocketbook. Often times eating healthy
foods is nothing more than an increase of the consumption of fruits and
vegetables. Other times it is not. It truly depends on your location and what
grocery markets you shop at. Urban cities such as Detroit provide a unique
yet beneficial situation for African-Americans. The city of Detroit is
completely void of popular commercial chain brand stores. It has been this
way for the last seven years or so. These major chain stores have moved to
the outskirt cities in hopes of improving business. Due to the fact that these
major stores are absent it allows the “mom and pop” grocery stores to supply
quality foods to the residents at a reasonable price. The most common forms
of food items that are usually very affordable are fruits and vegetables. These
items could be the most important foods to the restoration of health of the
black community. The reason is very simple. Live foods promote life.
Dead foods bring death. The chief aim of consuming the plant life is to
consume what is known as micronutrients. Micronutrients provide protection
and nourishment for the entire body. Right now fast food companies,
packaged products and processed foods are spreading all over the world.
People are becoming more overweight, more obese, having more heart
attacks, more diabetes, more strokes and even more cancer. The good news
is that nutritional science has advanced to the point where we can prevent and
eliminate many of these illnesses in the African-American community. If
blacks can eat healthy foods now they won’t have to become demented in
their later years. The secrets that we’ve learned to protect ourselves have to do
with nutrients. One common question that I have been asked over the last
year is, what are micronutrients? There are two types of nutrient groups.
There are macronutrients, which contain calories called fats, carbohydrates
and proteins. If you eat too many macronutrients you can become
overweight, speed up the aging process and promote heart attacks and strokes.
The other type of nutrients are micronutrients. Micronutrients do not contain
calories. They are things like vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. The
human body only needs tiny amounts of micronutrients but their role in
ensuring sound health is grandiose. Over the course of seventy years, doctors
and nutritionists discovered that illnesses had risen every year over those
seventy years. The big problem was that they were leaving out maybe the
most important part of the puzzle when stressing healthy eating. They had
overlooked phytochemicals.
It wasn’t until 15 years ago that health officials started to stress the importance
of consuming phytochemicals. These micronutrients are not found in
processed foods or animal products. They can only be found in fruits and
vegetables. Ironically, fruits and veggies are most often the most affordable
foods in stores. As people of color it is paramount that we grasp this
ideology. You cannot get these nutrients from artificial foods that contain
added vitamins. The reason is that every vegetable or piece of fruit may
contain thousands of these nutrients that are so important to protect our health.
Scientist discovered that we must eat a diet high in micronutrients in order to
live a long disease free life. Not only must we consume the nutrients we’ve
discovered eight decades ago but we must consume the phytochemicals. Past
notions about what constitutes an acceptable diet do not reflect the reality of
what our bodies need to remain healthy. A common mistake that many
Americans make is that we believe that we can eat things like white flour,
pasta, sugar and drink soda pop. Then, take a vitamin and everything will be
ok. It is important that everyone acquaint themselves with micronutrients so
that they can avoid many of the health pitfalls before they arrive. The moral
of the story is that plant life can be bought with little to no money at all. The
excuse of them not being affordable is no longer permissible.
Chapter 4: HIDDEN LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH
There is yet another secret component that has claimed the lives of several
Afro-Americans. It is a subject not openly discussed by doctors or
mainstream media. During my 7 years studying under Naturopath and
Veterinarian Joel Wallach I learned a great deal about nutrition as it relates to
life longevity and mortality. Dr. Wallach has served as a great mentor for me
during my quest to enhance my health information acumen and comprehend
the reasons for the drastically high rates of mortality amongst the black
American population. Wallach served as a health consultant for celebrity
African-Americans such as Pastor Creflo Dollar, Evander Holyfield, Martin
Luther King III, two time Olympic Gold Medalist Delisha Milton-Jones and
US Ambassador Andrew Young just to name a few. He has dedicated his life
to understanding nutrition. Long ago, he and a group of fellow doctors
performed over 17,000 thousand autopsies on animals and human beings.
They came to one conclusion. They realized that any animal or human that
dies of natural causes dies because of nutrient deficiencies. This of course
was frowned upon by medical experts because they couldn’t fathom that a
leading cause of death in America was linked to nutrition. Doctors, professors,
experts will say that there is not sufficient evidence for someone to go around
saying such things. From the beginning of time people have been using key
nutrients to heal themselves of different diseases. All of the essential
nutrients are called essential nutrients because if you don’t have enough you
could potentially die. If you contract a disease and consume certain nutrients
then the ailment should go away. Anyone who says that there is no evidence
to support the claim that you can prevent and recover from disease with
vitamins and minerals is probably working for pharmaceutical drug companies
that stand to lose from people who take nutritional supplements. In October
of 2002 The World Health Organization did a study that said, “The study finds
that life expectancy closely mirrors dietary factors. Nearly one-third of early
death and disabilities stems from nutritional or dietary causes. These causes
include too little food in the poorest countries and the wrong kind of food in
the richest countries.” They continue by stating,
“The inadequate intake of three key micronutrients zinc, iron and vitamin
were responsible for an unexpectedly high burden of disease. “
Author of Slave Quarter Cures, Dr. Joel Wallach states, "The body requires 90
essential nutrients to flourish and be happy.” The World Health Organization
did not mention the other eighty-seven nutrients that Wallach states are
required. If missing only three key micronutrients can do this alone imagine
what the impact would be of missing the other eighty-seven. There are two
specific two reasons why they are called essential nutrients. The first reason
is that our bodies cannot manufacture them so we must either consume them
each day as food or as supplements. The second reason that they are called
essential nutrients is that if you are missing one or more you have the
possibility of getting any one of a sinister collection of diseases many which
are life threatening. The “mineral deficiencies” are deemed the most
important because minerals make up two-thirds of the essential nutrients and
our food plants cannot manufacture them. Herein is the quandary of relying
solely on your foods to give you the daily essential nutrients required by your
body. For this reason alone the absence of essential nutrients in the body
have grown as one of the leading causes of death worldwide and primarily in
the African-American population.
Our food plants like grains, vegetables, fruits and nuts can in fact manufacture
vitamins, amino acids and fatty acids but they cannot manufacture minerals.
You won’t be able to find one plant that can manufacture a mineral.
Nutritional minerals do not occur in a uniform blanket around the crust of the
earth. They occur in veins like gold and silver. The odds of someone getting
all of their essential nutrients (including minerals) from eating well is zero.
The reason is simple. In a field of crops the rows will contain varying
amounts of minerals. Row number one might contain two minerals, row
number two might contain ten and row number three might have zero, so it
will largely depend on which row your tomato or soybean is growing in to
determine its’ mineral content. There is one critical fact that many fruits and
vegetable lovers may not know as it relates to the produce they consume. To
be happy a plant only needs nine minerals. Humans need sixty. Knowing this
fact you can understand that there are fifty-one minerals missing from a plant
that your body needs. This is assuming that the plant has the nine necessary
minerals which will not guarantee that all will be passed through your body by
consumption. Missing those 51 minerals will automatically put you at risk
for several diseases.
There is a recent report that says, “Forty percent of the world’s land used for
agriculture is seriously degraded.” A 1992 study shows that African soils
over the last 100 years had been depleted in its’ fertility by 74%, Asia by 73%,
Australia by 55%, Europe by 72%, South America by 76% and United States
by a jaw dropping 85%. With this information one should not dare to believe
that they can get everything they need by eating the four food groups. In
January of 2000 a small report was released in which they compared over a
twenty-two year period (from 1975-1997) certain nutritional values in our
food. They took the most popular vegetables that are grown and eaten in
America; broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collard greens, kale, mustard
greens, parsley, onions and others. They found that there was a 53% drop in
calcium values, 38% drop in Vitamin A, 48% drop in Riboflavin (vitamin
B-2), 35% drop in Thiamin (Vitamin B-1) and a 29% fall in Niacin (Vitamin
B-3). The lack of essential nutrients have become a leading cause of death
because of the huge decline in nutritional content. Farmers have not been
putting the essential minerals into the soil that the plants need so little by little
they (the plants) lost their ability to manufacture vitamins at a high level.
Chapter 5: MEDIA IMPACT
The one sure thing about black folks is that they are going to watch television
and listen to the radio. These two forms of media outlets could be the two
most powerful methods of mental programming known to mankind. As I
have stated consistently throughout this chapter, the lack of education will
destroy any person. Uneducated people are ideal targets for media outlets.
Commercials are run, songs are played and movies are created with the intent
to sway the viewer or listener. If people were not motivated by what they
heard or saw then it would be a waste of money for project investors.
Fortunately for them, the world in general has a tendency to be easily
persuaded. Jessie Jackson once said, “When Americans catch a cold
African-Americans get the flu.” What Jackson was aiming to say is that
black Americans get the worst of anything that happens to the average
American in general. African-Americans can be very untrusting people in
person-to-person interaction but when it comes to taking advice on their health
from or listening to strangers on the television they seem to be all ears. The
part that makes them feel inclined to listen is if these people on television are
famous doctors or have certified letters after their name like Phd, MD or ND.
In their mind nothing else matters because these people are on television so
they must know what they are talking about. Following this pattern of
thinking is a recipe for a health disaster. Often times many of the people who
appear on the big screen are there for a reason. This does not imply that
every individual who gives advice on health has a hidden agenda. The
general rule is very simple. You must always think twice about health advice
given from the major media outlets. The true information can and will most
likely be found in a library or occult books. Pharmaceutical drug companies
often pay doctors or certified health care officials to go on television and make
comments about a new drug on their behalf in order to dis-arm the public.
Remember that the prescription drug industry is a billion dollar industry
worldwide. In order to turn a profit from a new product money has to be
invested. How would you know about the newest drugs if you didn’t watch
television shows, see commercials or hear radio ads? We must not be so
quick to believe in all that we hear or see. The most powerful form of
advertising that plagues the black community is what we call word of mouth.
There has been so much health-related non-sense spread by word of mouth.
The biggest problem I see with African-Americans is that we will not do our
due diligence. Investigating a claim is not one of our strong points. We
seem to take everyone else’s word as the gospel without questioning the
validity of the statement and even the source. At the end of the day you will
be the only one responsible for whether you live a life of sickness or a life full
of health. Think of all forms of media as entertainment. If you base your
livelihood on these outside sources you will be sorely disappointed and
devastated.
Chapter 6: BENEFITS OF A PLANT BASED DIET
I will continue to mention plant based and raw foods throughout this text so
that you will glean the importance of their integration into your life. As I
have previously stated it is more than imperative to understand that most if not
all of the life forms on earth have emanated from plants. The healing arts and
medicine were derived from plant life. Plants (trees) provide oxygen for our
very existence. If they have done all of these things for us then consuming
plants should be nothing less than top priority in each household around the
world. Unfortunately we live in a meat-eating society which preaches that
the only way to consume protein is through meat. Nothing could be further
from the truth. When we speak of plant-based diets we are referring to fruits
and vegetables. When I refer to a plant based diet I literally mean plant
based. I mean plants should be the bulk of your diet but they don’t have to be
all of your diet. I would be a fool to believe that everyone who reads this
book is going to change to eating a diet of 100 percent plants. I myself am
not a person that consumes 100 percent plant life but I have changed my diet
to the degree that plants are a significant portion of what I consume on the
daily basis. Only you can decide how much you want to incorporate.
Below are 4 benefits of consuming a plant-based diet
1. Micronutrient Power - There are two forms of nutrients of which you
should be concerned. The first category is known as macronutrients. The
macronutrient group includes proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The body
requires a certain amount of macronutrients to function correctly on a daily
basis. The second category is known as micronutrients. The micronutrient
group includes vitamins and minerals. Health experts emphatically state that
micronutrients are the key to life longevity. Micronutrients are only found in
plant life. These guys are packed with enzymes and provide what is known as
phytochemicals which are cancer fighters or popularly termed antioxidants.
Most importantly micronutrients feed your body at the cellular level and aid
your biological clock. For this reason you may notice many vegans and other
plant life consumers who appear twenty years younger than their
chronological age.
2. You Don't Have to Cook - The fact of the matter is that we exist and work
in a society where some people work twelve hours a day. If you don't have to
be bothered with cooking each day after or before work then you will be a
happier individual. Preparing certain foods is a job in itself. Making a
brown bag lunch with a few vitamin packed herbs and a few pieces of fruit
and vegetables takes little to no effort at all.
3. Lowers Cholesterol Naturally - When you consume raw fruits and veggies
you do not have to worry about high cholesterol. We know that high
cholesterol is not a disease in itself but it does mean that something “could”
possibly be taking place in other organs within the body. However, when you
consume a diet rich in meat you have a great chance of contracting a case of
so called high cholesterol. Here is why. Meats are high in fat and fat plays a
major role in high cholesterol. Obviously fat plays a role in obesity and
cancer (burnt animal fats). Plants have little to no fat so you will merely
glean nutrients. Some meat eaters switch to a low-fat diet and fail to see
lower cholesterol results. They fail to understand that a low-fat diet is of no
value unless the meat is eliminated or significantly reduced. Your liver loves
plants because it does not have to work as hard to regulate the cholesterol.
4. They Cleanse the Body - Inside of every organ and body cleanse on the
market you will find herbs. Herbs are the true healers in the plant life regime.
Not only do herbs behave as medicine but they also have a sweeping effect on
the body. To make their case concrete herbs also contain certain vitamins
and minerals. Herbs will get inside of the major organs in the body and dispel
the most vicious toxins. Fiber which also stems from plant life is a cleanser.
If you suffer from constipation you are normally instructed to consume fiber
rich plants in an effort to cleanse your system.
Section 2
Maladroit Dependence on Doctors and Prescription Drugs
Drugs and hospitals are not the answer. We’re not in the healthcare business
in this country. We’re in the disease detection and management business.
That’s what doctors do, that’s what hospitals do, that’s what nurses do. If
you want to be healthy you have to do that on your own. Doctors detect.
People prevent.
Dr. Terry Mason
Chief Operating Officer at Cook County Department of
Health
Chapter 7: DOCTORS ARE HUMANS
Doctors often get a bad rap in the United States. Although many people view
their doctors as magicians that same energy can change at the flip of a switch.
The once beloved magician will become the town villain in a matter of
seconds. To put it bluntly, there is a great deal of pressure on medical
physicians. There are thousands of medical mal-practice lawsuits being filed
worldwide each day. This is not simply an issue with the African-American
race but with the public at large. What separates us so-called American
blacks from the rest of the world? If we are rational then we must be honest
enough to state that western allopathy serves a necessary function here on
earth.
One common way this medical service saves lives is when an individual is
involved in a severe car accident and requires immediate medical attention.
Another good illustration would be if you should need to surgically extract a
diseased cancerous tumor from your body. It is clear that these treatments are
social services that are worth their weight in gold. However, doctors are
human beings. This means that they are prone or bound to make mistakes at
some point or another. For this reason all doctors refer to their profession as
practice. Practice means that you have yet to perfect your respective craft.
If anything goes wrong during their practice they are sued for medical
malpractice. The bad news for human beings is that we have no way of
knowing when a doctor will make a mistake that will cost someone their life.
With this being said it is a gamble each time you lay on an operating table,
take a drug or undergo even a minimally invasive medical procedure.
If you recognize that these are all legitimate concerns, why would you
consciously place your life in the hands of another human being in a
profession where the average lifespan is just under 70 years? Compare that
number against the national life expectancy median of seventy-seven years.
That is a seven year difference! This is not to discredit any medical
professional who may read this text but we cannot deny the facts. This is also
a profession that has a high rate of suicide and alcoholism. Do you know
what the third leading cause of death in the United States is? The third
leading cause of death as published in the Journal of The American Medical
Association (JAMA) is medical doctor directed treatments. Dr. Peter Glidden
author of The MD Emperor Has No Clothes is very passionate about this
topic. Glidden states:
Fifteen thousand medicare patients per month are killed by MD treatments
and nobody goes to jail. A handful of terrorist fly two planes into the twin
towers and thirty-five hundred people die and we go to war. So fifteen
thousand people are killed per month but we don’t bat an eyelash. Most
people in the United States have no idea at all of the history of the evolution of
medicine in the United States.
All of these points were made to help you to understand that we have relied
heavily on people to heal us that have a recorded history of high-mortality
rates statistically speaking. African-Americans are notorious for placing all
of their faith in the hands of their doctor. When something doesn’t work out
they end up bitter or angry at the doctor. The most disappointing yet
common occurrence is that we will earnestly eat, smoke and drink whatever
we want without taking personal responsibility because we falsely believe that
no matter what it is we can get it repaired by a pill that will be given to us by
our doctor.
We seem to lose sight that the medical industry is a trillion dollar industry.
What does this mean for you? This means that each time you have a doctor’s
visit you can expect one of three things; a prescription for drugs, medical tests
(X-rays, blood tests, urine tests) or a co-payment. This is not cruel it is
merely the business. Remember that doctors have children to put through
school, spouses to satisfy and personal vacations that they want to take.
There is truly no difference between them and any other person except the
profession that they chose. While there “maybe” cures available there is no
law requiring doctors to cure anyone. Their job is to treat you and try to
prevent you from getting worse than what you are. Once you understand this
concept you will be less likely to complain about the amount of things that
you are paying and how the business is ran. It is you that actively participate
in your own demise. How do you actively participate in your decline? Let’s
take pain killers for example. To understand this example about painkillers I
must first tell a short story of the role that pain plays in the lives of mankind.
Going through physical pain (along with death) could very well be the most
avoided life situation present. There is something about pain that makes
people run when they think about it. There are two forms of pain. The first
form of pain is mental pain. This form of hurt can actually change a person's
life for the worst if they allow it. A few examples of emotional pain would
be; the death of a loved one, losing a job or going through a divorce. It has
been said that this form of pain is the most dreadful because it governs your
mind. Where ever the mind goes so does the body. The second form of pain
(the most discussed) is physical pain. Physical pain occurs within or to the
body. This form of pain can impede or change your quality of life because it
may cause you to become immobile. Examples of physical pain would be;
breaking an arm or leg, dealing with cancer or being in a car accident that
paralyzes you.
What is the actual purpose of physical pain in our lives? It may help you to
know that pain is one your biggest allies. To further elucidate the critical role
that pain plays in our lives I wish to compare the human body to that of an
automobile. A car possesses what is known as a "red warning light." The
purpose of this light is to shine bright when there are potential troubles within
the car. These issues could range from a busted radiator pipe to a broken fan
belt. Upon seeing this red light a normal person would pull over to the side
of the road and see what is going on. Continuing to drive the car with this
light flashing is cause for further damage to the car such as engine
overheating. Many people like to ignore the check engine red light and
continue driving as if nothing has happened. This is an indication that people
are fully unaware of the potential dangers that lurk or that they are simply
ignorant people.
“Pain is your body's version of the red warning light. When you feel pain in
your knees, feet, organs or wrists, it is your body telling you to discontinue use
of these particular parts until you can get them repaired. What generally
happens is that you visit the doctor and they prescribe you pain killers, muscle
relaxers and anti-inflammatories to help manage your pain. The operative
word here is "manage." You don't need to manage your pain, you need to
eliminate the root (or systemic) cause and heal the situation. It is utterly
asinine for a health care practitioner to prescribe you a pain-killer without
simultaneously repairing the injured body part or organ.” Joel Wallach
In sports, you are taught to fight through the pain for the team. When you
really consider this concept you come to realize that the athlete does not
benefit from continuing to play if there is pain. In the end, athletes, like
normal people will wind up cutting the red light wires. What does this mean?
When you continue to push through pain in a body part you will eventually
wear out the joint ends of the bone, tissue or cartilage. Once you discontinue
the anti inflammatories you will realize that there is no more cartilage or bone
left. In the case of joints the only option left for you will be joint replacement
surgery. If you decide to ignore pain in your organs then the outcome could
potentially be death. What you know as pain is truly your friend. But a
doctor will prescribe you a painkiller knowing the possible implications of
these painkillers over an extended period of time. This statement does not
apply to all doctors but many engage in this form of consistent behavior.
African-Americans as a whole have somehow been tricked into thinking that it
is productive to live their entire lives “micro-managing” diseases through
medications instead of trying to fully eradicate them. To prove my claim I
will challenge you to a small exercise. Set some time aside one day and visit
five of your closest black family members or friends that are over the age of
fifty.
If you do not already know, ask them if they are currently taking any
medications for any illnesses. My hypothesis is that ninety-percent of the
people that you visit will be on a minimal of one medication. Medications do
not cure they only maintain (micro-manage). What you will find is that not
only are they taking one medication but that they are probably taking two to
three separate medications. Have you ever wondered why some people have
bottles upon bottles of medicine in their medicine cabinets? What we fail to
realize is that drugs are not natural. One bottle of medicine usually serves as
a gateway to others. Whenever you take inorganic substances and place them
in an organic vessel (your body), you have no choice but to weaken the vessel.
Is your body made of Tylenol or Advil? If it’s not then we must look for
other solutions to rectify any maladies present within the body temple. Show
me one organ that requires prescription medicine as an essential nutrient for
the body to flourish and be happy. You won’t be able to do so. If a
medicine does not come directly from a plant or an herb then it is considered
an analog. Prescription drugs contain what are known as analogs in
chemistry. In chemistry an analog is a similar substance of a chemical
compound that is found in a plant. As you continue to consume these
“medicines” your body starts to have what are known as side effects. Why
would you take drugs that specifically state, “Side effects may include;
nausea, vomiting, erectile dis-function, heart problems or liver problems?”
Once you begin to experience these side-effects you have to then start taking
another drug to combat that side effect. This vicious cycle continues until
you have five to ten bottles of pills in your home. To add insult to injury
your liver is now flooded with toxins and has a difficult time functioning
properly to remove these poisons. The end result is that if you do not
purposefully detoxify your body these leftover pathogens from the drugs will
remain in your liver for the duration of your life possibly causing your liver to
fail or trigger some painful affliction of the liver such as hepatitis. What is it
within us that encourages us to believe that true healing will come from a pill?
A doctor asks you if you have something that runs in your family and the
moment you answer yes you will leave the office with a prescription for
whatever ailment it was that you agreed to. Your body is the healing
ingredient not the pills. Your body only needs the raw nutrients such as fruits
and vegetables to restore itself to its’ original settings. Naturally I am
over-exaggerating the issue of prescription drug allocation to drive home the
point. The truth is that doctors know that disease is not genetic but more
cultural than anything. When they ask you if diabetes runs in your family
they are asking you because they know that most African-American families
eat the same way throughout generations. This means that because you are
more prone to eat the same unhealthy diet that your parents (or grandparents
ate) then you will probably get the same diseases that they’ve contracted. We
are unfortunately lead to believe that we are doomed to a life of disease
because of a false genetic-disposition theory. If you change your diet from
the way your ancestors ate to a nutrient rich plant based diet (it doesn’t have to
be all plants) then you are less likely to contract the diseases that they
contracted. This does not mean that you are free and clear of all dangers but it
certainly puts the odds in your favor for living a disease-free life. Let’s
further examine the origins of prescription medications so that we understand
what we are putting into our bodies and why we must make a change. Before
speaking on the origins I wish to state that certain medications are necessary
in special instances. If you have unbearable pain and you need to relieve
yourself in order to cope for a short period of time then it is understandable
that you would use it. In other instances it is mandatory for surgeries and
preventing surgical infections. These are the basic and most proper forms of
use of these inorganic substances. Where did the use of prescription drugs
originate? Pharmacy has always been present since the beginning of time.
Imhotep (known to many as hippocrates) is certainly one of the more famous
individuals to be recognized in the healing arts arena. He was famous for
using nutrition as a way of healing and promoting life longevity. The
pharmaceutical drugs that we know of today have become less about herbs
and plants and more about man created chemical compounds. Man-made
Pharmacy came hundreds of years after Hippocrates’ school of thought. This
field of study would require a person to learn what is called medicinal
chemistry. By definition, pharmacy is the art and science of preparing and
dispensing drugs and medicines. Medicinal chemistry focuses on teaching
one how to shape a molecule so that it can be used as a medical treatment for a
human being. The problem with most pharmacists is that they are not taught
nutrition (just as most doctors are not).
Your body runs off of nutrition be it in the form of carbohydrates, vitamins,
minerals, proteins or fats. When you have a person who knows nothing about
nutrition creating a substance that is supposed to help heal human beings it
makes for a difficult situation. The first people to master pharmacy for profit
in the western world were the Germans. This was during the period of the
late nineteen forties and early nineteen-fifties. They were the first people to
realize that they could use analogs to help people during their time of
infirmity. The Germans created the highly potent over-the-counter drug
today known as Aspirin. Remember that analogs are derivatives that mirror
something natural that are found in plants. Aspirin comes from winter green
leaf. How was Aspirin created? To create Aspirin the Bayer Company took
what is known as a salicylate (a naturally occurring molecule in nature) and
tweaked it until they were able to create acetylsalicylic acid which is the
generic name for Aspirin. Once they were able to create this compound they
immediately realized that they could gain profits from this creation because it
was able to relieve pain in several human patients. Here is a thought to
consider. If you can use a derivative of a plant and get this kind of result,
what kind of results could you achieve if you were to use the original plant?
The truth of the matter is that there is no money in a cure. If I was your
doctor and you were cured tomorrow my money stream would cease to exist
as it relates to the specific disease being treated. When you are considered to
be clinically cured you are no longer of any value to your doctor (with the
exception of referrals). This does not mean that your doctor is not altruistic
and does not desire you a great state of wellbeing. This simply means that
there must be another vehicle (patient) present to account for the profits that
will be lost.
To reiterate, this chapter is not about sabotaging any medical professional’s
career. This information is merely provided with the intent of edifying
African-Americans (and all races) of the things that take place within the
medical industry in which we have such a great deal of faith. When we speak
of health and healing our faith must lie in GOD, Mother Nature (plant life),
ourselves and the scientific information that we learn regarding the nutritional
and beneficial properties of plants. In an effort to provide tangible
information that may supply assistance to a serious epidemic amongst
African-Americans, I will provide some of the most crippling diseases in the
black community and examine many of the medical dogmas associated with
these diseases. The information provided regarding these ailments are based
on the expertise, studies and research of myself, Dr. Joel Wallach author of
Black Gene Lies, Dr. Leonard Coldwell creator of Cancer Cures and others.
Chapter 8: ARTHRITIS
This is a disease that is a manifestation of the inflammation of the joints.
Mucous is formed and therefore the inflammation is present (remember the
term mucous and its’ importance for a later chapter). It is a very debilitating
affliction that can cause a great deal of pain and may reduce a normally active
person to a sedentary lifestyle. According to the CDC (The Center for
Disease Control), thirty-five to fifty million baby boomers are going to get it
within the next ten years. Seventy-five to eighty percent of Americans over
the age of fifty will contract some form of arthritis. Black people like to use
the arthritis (as well as the tendonitis) term loosely for painful joints or bones
that are aching but this is a very serious subject. What also is a serious
subject are the methods of which arthritis is generally treated. Below are five
of the most common methods of arthritis treatment and their cons, mentioned
by Dr. Joel Wallach in his famed lecture, Dead Doctors Don’t Lie.
1. Aspirin – Causes gastric bleeding and death in some instances.
2. Tylenol – Causes fifty thousand cases of kidney failure each year, ten
percent of which need kidney transplants.
3. Ibuprofen – Causes liver disease in two to five percent of all users.
4. Methotrexate/Gold Shots – Subdue bone marrow so that you cannot
make normal platelets and white blood cells.
5. Prednizone/Cortisone Shots – Subdues the immune system which
leaves you open for greater arthritis. They also accelerate the loss of
minerals from your bones.
Many African-Americans believe that this disease is a life sentence. It can
and will be a life sentence if you rely on the aforementioned methods of
treatment to restore your health. The next phase of treatment after these
modalities have been rendered ineffective is joint replacement. This is the
point of no return. Once a joint is replaced there is no turning back. The
best thing to do is to prevent so that you don’t have to worry about a cure. In
order to prevent you will need to consume a diet rich in mucous-binding foods
which will be mentioned in a future chapter. In an effort to find natural
measures that might help arthritic patients Harvard Medical School in Boston
did a ninety day study on twenty-nine patients. These were people who were
set to receive joint replacements within the near future. The Twenty-nine
patients were administered a big teaspoon of ground-up chicken cartilage
every morning in a cup of orange juice. Here are the results:
HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL STUDY ON ARTHRITIC PATIENTS
 In ten days all twenty-nine patients had complete relief of pain and
inflammation
 In thirty days they could open pickle jars without experiencing any pain
or discomfort
 In ninety days twenty-eight of the twenty-nine patients were clinically
cured
Why did the chicken cartilage work? The chicken cartilage was efficient
because it contained the necessary nutrients to help repair or rebuild cartilage.
Those three things are chondroitin sulfatin, glucosamine sulfate and collagen.
All of these nutrients are the basic raw materials that are found in the
maintenance or restoration of an injured joint.
Chapter 9: CHOLESTEROL
For much of my youth I consumed a considerable amount of eggs.
Sometimes they were hard boiled, other times they were deviled eggs (made
by my mother with relish) or just simply scrambled eggs. During that time
period no one mentioned anything to me about the dangers of high cholesterol
or only eating the white part of the hard-boiled egg. I seemed to be fairly
healthy during that time as I recall. As I entered my senior year in college I
distinctly remember there being a lot of talk concerning egg consumption and
high cholesterol. All I could say to myself was, “How is it that all of sudden I
have to stop eating the yellow part of the egg?” I recognized that this was a
serious medical dogma of some sort being perpetuated throughout the country.
Why did I need to be worried about my cholesterol? More importantly, why
would my parents not try to save my life by telling me about this affliction
years before? Evidently they could not inform me because they were in the
dark on the whole cholesterol issue. According to Robert Scott Bell of The
Robert Scott Bell Show:
“Making cholesterol the bad guy was simply a matter of the medical industry
saying that they found a way to reduce it so they needed to find a way to sell
it. They needed to make cholesterol a villain. God created us all and God
created cholesterol too. It’s not bad, it’s not evil. The fact of the matter is
it’s very protective. It’s one of those mechanisms that should you have
inflammation of any kind it goes to work. Talk about circulatory
inflammation then the cholesterol will come in to help patch and repair to
start the process of healing. If you are unaware of the inflammation and
what really causes it, you will continue to live a lifestyle that will precipitate
this inflammation long term which will precipitate continual patching and
repairing. Medical professionals come in at the end stages and see the
cholesterol present and blame the cholesterol on the complication never
realizing that the cholesterol saved your life. ”
Based on this statement we can surmise that the creation of prescription drugs
to treat high cholesterol had nothing to do with high cholesterol being a threat
to a person’s state of health. It’s that simple. Cholesterol comes from the
Greek prefix chole which means bile. When you see words such as cholera
and cholesterol just know that they are affiliated with bile. Cholesterol is
generally defined as a soft waxy substance found in all of the body’s cells. It
is necessary for proper membrane and body function. According to doctor
Joel D. Wallach many African-Americans currently take cholesterol lowering
medications because doctors like to blame all cardiovascular diseases on high
cholesterol. They live in fear from what they are told by doctors so they
continue to take the medication. To fully understand cholesterol we have to
start by understanding that there is only ONE type of cholesterol. You are
told that there are two types of cholesterol which is an error. There are three
different types of proteins or cholesterol complexes (which are used to
transport cholesterol through the bloodstream).
3 Types of Proteins Associated With Cholesterol (also known as
Cholesterol Complexes)
1. Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) – This is the protein that is
considered to be unhealthy by medical practitioners. A large portion of
this protein is cholesterol. Its’ function is to transport cholesterol to the
tissues that need it.
2. Very Low Density Lipoprotein (VLDL) – This rarely mentioned
protein is almost unknown to the average individual who does not study
medicine. This protein also contains a significant amount of
cholesterol as well as triglycerides. Its’ function is to transport
triglycerides to the cells that need it. Triglycerides store fat and are
used by the body to create energy and serve as building blocks for the
cells. Although they come from food fats they are made in the liver
from carbohydrates and proteins.
3. High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) – This protein like the other two is
comprised of cholesterol. HDL is considered to be the good guy in this
triad. It picks up the extra cholesterol that is dropped off by the LDL
and brings it to your liver. Your liver will either dispel the extra
cholesterol or repackage it for later use.
Now that you have a basic understanding of cholesterol and what it entails, I
will share some additional pertinent information from Dr. Wallach that could
further help you if you are ever interested in learning more about this so-called
affliction. Wallach states:
“There is not a single disease caused by elevated blood cholesterol
triglycerides. Elevated blood cholesterol triglycerides are a warning signal
like a fever. Fevers don’t cause infections but when you have an infection a
fever may appear as a warning. Elevated blood cholesterol triglycerides
could mean that you have diabetes, hypo-thyroid, nutrient deficiencies or even
liver disease. They (elevated triglycerides) by themselves do not cause
disease.”
The biggest reason to be concerned about high cholesterol is that you must
check all other major organs (starting with the liver) to ensure that they are
functioning correctly. Seeing that high cholesterol scores seem to be a big
issue in the United States, Wallach examined the culture of the Inuit People
(often called Eskimos) who are notoriously known for their astronomically
high cholesterol scores.
“Eskimos have a traditional diet of 98% red meat and blubber. They eat
whale meat, whale blubber, walrus meat, walrus blubber, seal meat, seal
blubber, bear meat and bear fat. There is not a single Eskimo above the
Arctic Circle that has a Mr. Juiceman Juicer or eats organically grown
broccoli. Their average cholesterol ranges from 250 to 350 and yet they are
legendary for not getting cardiovascular disease until they come down to the
lower forty-eight and eat. Then, when they get the cardiovascular disease
they go back home to die up above the Arctic Circle and start eating whale
blubber again and it goes away.”
The moral here is to rely solely on nutrition and understand that there are no
guarantees with medications. When have you seen anyone cured from taking
prescription medications? If they were truly meant to cure you then there
would be no need to spend twenty years taking a specific medication because
you would be perfectly healthy in a short period of time. It is always a good
practice to notice the signs of God. Due to our storied history of past trials
and tribulations many black people claim to be religious and have a strong
belief in God. If this is so we must be vigilant and watch for the signs.
There is a growing epidemic of minorities who have to forgo buying
prescription drugs for an indefinite amount of time in order to pay for their
healthcare. This can be seen as a sign to put more faith in your nutrition.
Nutrition will cost you a lot less per month than what you are paying in
medications.
In 2001 The University of California San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical
Hospital did a survey spearheaded by Michael Steinman MD that was geared
at determining which race of people would be the most affected by lack of
prescription drug benefits. They surveyed 4,900 people over age 70, asking
them, “At any time in the last two years have you ended up taking less
medication than was prescribed for you because of cost?” They asked about
income, assets, insurance coverage, monthly prescription drug costs, and
ethnicity. Eight percent of seniors without coverage said they had cut back
on their medication which represents more than one million Americans doing
without their prescribed drugs. The factors most clearly associated with a
senior taking less of their medications were low income, high
out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs, and African-American or
Hispanic ethnicity. Nearly 21 percent of African-Americans and Hispanics
reported that they had restricted their medications and for some groups in the
study, the risks appear to be even higher, Steinman said. “Our data suggests
that among minority seniors with low income and high drug costs, as many as
43 percent of people without coverage could be restricting their medication,”
he said.
This information tells us one thing. It tells us that we have the common sense
to stop taking prescription medicines if we are economically depressed or
unable to purchase them for any reason. What you will find is that most
people (not all) will continue living just fine without the drugs. There are
usually no deaths associated with the abandonment of prescription drug
consumption. Naturally in the most serious cases, issues can arise
immediately. I provided this study to prove the absurdity in emptying your
bank account just to purchase chemical compounds that will more than likely
convert themselves into poison inside your body temple.
Chapter 10: SALT AND HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
High blood pressure is arguably without a doubt the most talked about
physical health related affliction in the African-American race. The amount
of stress and worry that the average black person endures on a daily basis can
leave a lasting imprint on their health. This does not mean that we are at a
disadvantage but it does mean that our reality (whether self-imposed or not) is
usually slightly different from other races. Securing and maintaining
adequate employment, getting a quality institutionalized education, providing
a stable environment for our families and surviving in the streets of most
urban communities across America is a serious task. We make it look easy
because it’s what most of us have grown accustomed to doing so we generally
don’t lay the circumstances to heart. Couple these factors with poor dietary
habits and you have every essential ingredient for the birth of hypertension,
most commonly known as high blood pressure. The previously mentioned
factors do not happen to all African-Americans but they do affect many of
them. These are not mere excuses but more absolute truths as far as high
blood pressure is concerned in the so called African-American community.
Hypertension (or high blood pressure) is a chronic medical condition in which
the blood pressure in the arteries is elevated. It requires the heart to work
harder than normal to circulate blood through the vessels. We all know that
the life of a human or animal is in the blood. Where blood is absent so is life.
If your body is stressed or pushed to the degree that you are diagnosed with
high blood pressure you MUST take urgent action to lower your pressure
IMMEDIATELY. Managing blood pressure with medications is simply
saying that you are satisfied with living with a disease that can be corrected
nutritionally. At any given moment hypertension can set off a chain of
reactions that will cause your heart to stop beating. Since most of us witness
family members or friends that deal with the perils of high blood pressure we
like to try to avoid the land mines and keep our blood pressure normal. One
of the so called land mines that have injected fear into many Afro-Americans
who struggle with hypertension is salt. Salt is considered to be the
boogeyman for people experiencing blood pressure complications. Here is
where it gets tricky. Unrefined salt is not the enemy. Your body needs salt
to perform several functions. There are three forms of salt of which you
should be concerned.
3 Forms of Salt
1. Iodized Salt – This is a combination of table salt mixed with iodine salts
in an attempt to prevent mental issues and thyroid complications.
2. Table Salt – A crystalline mineral composed of sodium and chloride.
Is very refined and is most commonly used in foods to preserve or
prolong shelf-life. This salt is the most popular kind consumed by
human beings. This is the salt that causes the high blood pressure!
3. Sea Salt – Is processed by evaporating ocean or sea water. This
particular salt is said to be one the best salts (along with Pink
Himalayan Salt) for humans to consume because of the beneficial
health properties associated with it.
Table salt is the primary culprit in high blood pressure. Herbalist D’Jehuty
Ma’at-ra provides a very profound explanation for table salt and hypertension.
Ma’at-ra states,
“Basically the man-made salt causes high blood pressure because it is a toxin.
When the body has a toxin flowing through the bloodstream it’s going to
cause the heart to work harder and faster. The heart is overworking to get
those toxins through the heart and out of the bloodstream at a rapid pace. If
the toxins begin to lodge in the heart you will die. Because of the table salt
the body intelligence is working on our behalf in the form of high blood
pressure. The blood pressure should not be high, it should be normal. But,
when you consume poisons (table salt) under the guides of sodium then you’re
toxifying the body. Man-made salt contains thirty-two ingredients to prevent
it from caking.”
In essence you are being given a version of the truth but not the full truth that
will change your state of health for the better. Real salt is an essential
nutrient which is a combination of sodium and chloride (NaCl). Many people
mistake sodium and salt to be the same thing but they are not. Salt is
forty-percent sodium and sixty-percent chloride.
According to Dr. Leonard Coldwell, “You need salt for each body function
because your body needs electricity. This electricity can only be produced
with enough salt. When a doctor tells you not to consume salt they mean
table salt. Table salt is one-third glass, one-third sand and one-third salt.
The glass or sand scratches the arteries and they begin to bleed. Cholesterol
comes to stop the bleeding so that you don’t bleed to death internally. Then
they say that cholesterol is the cause of the high blood pressure because it
narrows the blood passage ways.”
Dr. Joel Wallach states, “You cannot move water and contain it in the right
compartments such as tissues and cells without sodium chloride. Sodium
chloride is the raw material necessary to make hydrochloric acid for your
stomach. The main cells in your stomach cannot make stomach acid without
it. If you don’t have enough stomach acid you get reflux. This is incorrectly
called acid reflux. Reflux is caused by insufficient amounts of stomach acid
NOT by too much stomach acid as you are commonly told by medical care
providers. What’s the first thing given to an athlete when they are cramping
and dehydrated? A saline solution. The same goes for people who fall out
from a heat stroke. The saline solution is nothing more than salt water.”
My desire is to show you that the correct kind of salt is good for your body. I
will end this section on hypertension by providing an extremely eye-opening
publication that was published in the New York Times provided by The
Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on May 22nd 1996.
(Data gathered by Youngevity Life Sciences)
Epidemiologist and cardiologist Alexander Gordon Logan took fifty-six
existing studies on hypertension and the restriction of salt. He combined the
data from these fifty-six existing studies (which included 3,505 people) and
threw away all of the conclusions and re-evaluated the larger group. Here is
what he found.
1. If you have normal blood pressure and you restrict salt it won’t stop you
from getting high blood pressure.
2. If you have high blood pressure and you restrict salt, ninety-seven
percent of those who restrict salt will not get any measureable benefit.
Two to five percent get measureable benefit but it’s not significant
because they’re only able to reduce blood pressure by 3.7 millimeters of
mercury.
From this study Logan concluded that you may as well “salt your food to
taste” because salt restriction is a meaningless exercise. The use of this study
is not indicative that I am in agreement with Mr. Logan’s findings but it does
show that there will always be some form of evidence available in favor of
proving a theory relating to illnesses (be it detrimental or helpful). What is
not presented in this study is whether or not the patients were given table salt
or sea salt.
Chapter 11: DIABETES MELLITUS
In 2010 the number of diabetics in the United States reached 285 million.
Ninety percent of those diabetics were considered type 2 diabetics.
According to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services The Office of
Minority Health, African Americans are twice as likely to be diagnosed with
diabetes as non-Hispanic whites. In addition, they are more likely to suffer
complications from diabetes, such as end-stage renal disease and lower
extremity amputations. Although African Americans have the same or lower
rate of high cholesterol as their non-Hispanic white counterparts, they are
more likely to have high blood pressure.
 African American adults are twice as likely than non-Hispanic white
adults to have been diagnosed with diabetes by a physician.
 In 2008, African American men were 2.7 times as likely to start
treatment for end-stage renal disease related to diabetes, as compared to
non-Hispanic white men.
 In 2008, diabetic African Americans were 1.7 times as likely as diabetic
Whites to be hospitalized.
 In 2009, African Americans were 2.2 times as likely as non-Hispanic
Whites to die from diabetes.
We can see that the numbers do not favor us. There are generally three
different types of diabetes mellitus. Two of the three are more recognized
and talked about. I will cover in depth the two most prevalent and provide a
brief explanation of the least mentioned form of diabetes. Medically termed
diabetes mellitus, is a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism characterized by
inadequate production or utilization of insulin and resulting in excessive
amounts of glucose in the blood and urine, excessive thirst, weight loss and in
some cases progressive destruction of small blood vessels leading to such
complications as infections and gangrene of the limbs or blindness. The least
mentioned form of diabetes is called gestational diabetes. Gestational
diabetes is a form of diabetes that women contract during pregnancy.
Hormonal changes or other unforeseen circumstances can trigger this ailment.
Most women who have gestational diabetes during the pregnancy will not
remain diabetic after the pregnancy is over. This is probably the least spoken
about form of diabetes because it occurs in a small percentage of pregnant
women and it is only a disease that occurs in the female sector. The second
kind of diabetes is Type I diabetes (also known also Juvenile Diabetes). This
is the most severe form of diabetes in which insulin production by the beta
cells of the pancreas is impaired, usually resulting in dependence on externally
administered insulin, the onset of the disease typically occurring before the
age of 15. The third kind of diabetes is called Type II diabetes or adult onset
diabetes. This is a mild asymptomatic form of diabetes characterized by
diminished tissue sensitivity to insulin and sometimes impaired by beta cell
function, exacerbated by obesity and often treatable by diet and exercise.
Notice that the word used by medical professionals is “treatable.” The FDA
permits people from using the word cure but I have seen people wean off of
their diabetes medications for life by changing their diet.
The American Diabetes Association shows us that compared to the general
population Afro-Americans are disproportionately affected by diabetes. The
statistics show that 4.9 million, or 18 percent of all African-Americans aged
20 years or older have diabetes.
The U.S. Budget watchdog revealed that over the course of the life of a
diabetic patient that patient would be worth $500,000 or more to their doctor
through amputations, medical procedures and medicines. If you as a diabetic
patient are worth this kind of money who in the hell is going to tell you to
simply change your diet to help you get better? Remember that medicine is a
business. Having knowledge is an even more complicated business but it is
one worth being in. You should not be disenchanted by the actions of the
medical industry. But it is something that needs to be fully comprehended.
Have you ever noticed that there is not as many benefit walks for diabetes?
The troubling part is that diabetes kills more than AIDS or Breast Cancer but
you will never see as many people walking for diabetes as you do for those
two afflictions. I am of the belief that the medical industry is aware that
diabetes is much easier to eradicate from the body than the two
aforementioned diseases so they don’t feel the need to “find a cure.” One of
the biggest mistakes that I see made in the black community regarding
diabetes treatment is that we rely only on exercise to eliminate the diabetes.
Relying on exercise to eliminate diabetes is like putting a band aid on a
scratch or scar. The scratch will appear to be healed because it is not visible
to the eye. In order for it to properly heal it must be cleaned and allowed to
air out. It must be troubleshot at the root of the issue. When you exercise to
lose weight (in hopes of ousting the diabetes) without providing your body
with the correct nutrients you are giving yourself a false sense of victory.
You will see results because your weight will drop and the pancreas will start
to work better giving your insulin the ability to push the glucose out of your
blood. Why is it that we (the so called African-Americans) are so affected by
diabetes? It is because we eat too much of the wrong foods and not enough
of the right foods. We basically live on refined foods. Here is how most
people contract diabetes. When you consume refined foods (snacks,
condiments, white flour, pasta, etc) it causes an abrupt rise in your blood
sugar. Your insulin begins being produced at a rapid pace in an effort to
remove the sugar from the blood (known as glucose) into your cells.
Unfortunately, insulin is known for regulating fat storage and encouraging
your fat cells to swell. Usually the fat being stored appears around the waist
and stomach area. The more fat you have on your body the harder it will be
for insulin to serve its’ function. This could mean five times more the
amount of insulin being secreted in a fatter person than a skinnier one.
According to Dr. Joel Fuhrman author of New York Times Bestseller Eat to
Live:
Increased insulin means there’s more fat on you than usual. When you lose
the weight the insulin will return to normal levels. If you’re fifty pounds
overweight the pancreas will require more insulin (huge loads). If you keep
forcing the pancreas to do so over five to ten years, it will give out. It starts
to secrete less insulin making it difficult to move glucose from the
blood-stream into the cells. So, the glucose level in the blood starts to rise
and the person gets diagnosed with diabetes.
It is imperative for you to glean Dr. Fuhrman’s explanation on the contraction
of diabetes. This statement alone provides a wealth of information that can
help you to avoid contracting diabetes mellitus. Naturally if you are a type I
diabetic it is a much more complicated situation than if you are type II
diabetic. In any case, keeping your weight in control will prove to be
beneficial. Diabetes is not a disease with which one should try and live their
entire lives. Taking prescriptions for this illness will only exacerbate the
situation. This disease accelerates the aging of the body because it destroys
the kidneys and other systems of the body. It is the leading cause of
blindness in adults and kidney failure. Is there anything that a diabetic could
do to help their cause? In 1959 at the National Institutes of Health an
assistant to the great Dr. Klaus Schwartz made a statement (during a discovery
by Schwartz) that would forever change the fate of diabetics. Klaus
discovered that a trace element called chromium was an essential nutrient in
the role of blood sugar metabolism. Dr. Walter Mertz, an assistant to
Schwartz stated: “Type II diabetes is not a disease. It is the lack of a natural
ingredient, known as GTF chromium.” According to Mertz what we know to
be a disease is not a disease but a mere lack of a natural ingredient. This
statement is monumental! While this information is comforting it is always
best to seek a second opinion regarding serious matters. Dartmouth Medical
School Professor Dr. Henry Alfred wrote that, “the typical American diet,
with about 60 percent of its calories from refined sugar, refined flour and fat
was apparently designed not only to provide as little chromium as feasible, but
to cause depletion of body stores of chromium. Chromium works together
with insulin in providing sugar to the cells for energy. If chromium levels
decrease there is a corresponding decrease in sugar delivery from insulin.
Modern medical terms such as “insulin resistance” and “insulin sensitivity”
should be more accurately replaced with gross chromium deficiency.” It is
apparent that the natural trace mineral chromium can be used in treating
diabetes. From my experience with speaking to hundreds of
African-Americans regarding the treatment of their diabetes, the notion of
using a natural ingredient such as chromium is a foreign concept. It is
generally rejected because of the medical mental programming that they have
endured. As a third point of reference for healthier options to help control
diabetes I will provide commentary from an audio lecture performed by Dr.
Joel Wallach and vegan expert Dirk Twine. This lecture is titled Black Gene
Lies. The lecture covers every major affliction that affects the
African-American community. According to Dr. Joel Wallach’s
commentary in the Black Gene Lies audio:
“African-Americans have a rate of diabetes of thirty-three per one-hundred
thousand compared to a rate of just twenty-three point two in whites. It turns
out that diabetes is a deficiency disease of two trace minerals chromium and
vanadium and twenty-three co-factors necessary for those two trace minerals
to work properly. We can eliminate high blood pressure and adult onset type
II diabetes in the African-American community in ninety days if everybody
were just to supplement properly and eat properly. But the medical
community has the ear of the African-American community because they
elucidate to you that you are going to die if you don’t do what they tell you or
you’re going to die if you don’t take this insulin. They never bring up the
wonderful benefits you can get from a supplement program and changing your
diet and exercising a little bit for diabetes improvement. The rate of diabetes
is going to go up in the African-American community. You’re looking at one
out of three by the year 2010. The reason for this is according to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, one hundred years ago, Americans, including
African-Americans were eating a half pound of sugar per person per year.
Today, one hundred years later, it’s a half pound a day which equals one
hundred and fifty- seven pounds per person per year. That’s because people
live on pop tarts, Pillsbury toaster stroodles, dry cereals, cooked cereals,
instant cereals, soft drinks of all kind, sugar cured sausage and bacon,
bologna and salami all of which has large amounts of sugar in it.”
The information provided on these so called afflictions is available for anyone
to learn if they will only do the research. The one point that I want to stress
to you as the reader is the following. When a person gets ready to attend a
college they take their time and narrow down their list of schools to maybe
three or five (sometimes less). They inquire and investigate everything they
can with regards to the schools of interest. If you put forth this kind of effort
for an institutionalized education that won’t guarantee you anything in life
(but debt most times) then it is reasonable and fair to require you to do the
same as it relates to your health. When a doctor informs you that you have a
certain malady do not be content with accepting it as your fate. Following
the standard course of “treatment” might not be right for you. I am not
suggesting that you be rebellious but what I am suggesting is that you look for
other natural options that may best suit your personal situation. Nothing can
replace nature. Generally speaking, there is usually a standard procedure of
treatment for all diseases. What happens in the end is that the disease is
treated and not the individual person. We are all different and our bodies
react differently to everything. That which makes you who you are is
different from that which makes someone else who they are. In order to take
control of your health you will need an autonomous spirit. Relying on
capsules and other human beings as your primary line of defense against
diseases is not the best practice. Remember, doctors have an average life
span that is seven years less than the national average.
Section 3
Lack of General Knowledge of Body Parts and Their Functions
I finally realized that being grateful to my body was key to giving more love to
myself.
Oprah Winfrey
Chapter 12: EARLY LIFE FOR AMERICAN BLACKS AND THE
REVERSAL OF PRIORITIES
There is a reason that people behave the way they do. Many would like to
believe that the individual is to blame for his or her way of thinking. This
statement is true to a degree. The bigger truth is that we all are the sum total
of everything to which we have been exposed. The vital role that a parent
plays in the life of their child cannot be put into words or expressions.
Roughly everything that you are or ever will be stems from your upbringing
and rearing. The downside to this is that not everyone will grow up in an
environment that is considered hospitable or conducive to efficient growth
both physically and mentally. This statement does not imply that you must
grow up in a perfect environment to be successful. We have evidence of
hundreds of successful so called blacks that rose to prominence from less than
ideal or meager conditions. One of the most common past times in
African-American homes across America is entertainment. The idea of being
distracted or being made to laugh seems to be at the top of the list in many
black communities. Television shows, basketball games, celebrity gossip or
movies usually top our list in forms of entertainment. We can recall our
favorite player’s career statistics from the time they were in college up until
their retirement. If we have to work late some of us will even go so far as to
set our televisions to record our favorite shows that we feel we can’t live
without.
The disparaging part in this entire matter is that if we were to see our favorite
athletes or actors in passing on the streets they would not speak or even know
who we are. I would venture to say that most of them would not be in the
mood to sign an autograph for you or even take a picture. What does any of
this have to do with your knowledge or lack thereof regarding the general
function of your body? The point of emphasis here is that we can recite
scenes from television shows or words from a song but we couldn’t give a
clear explanation for what the function is of our liver or kidneys. Our
priorities are severely misaligned. It goes back to Brian Tracy and his
explanation of the incessant need for people to do what is fun and easy now
instead of what is hard and necessary. The score of the Lakers game is more
important than knowing that your kidneys also contribute to regulating your
blood pressure. Since we now understand that behavior is learned and passed
down through generations we have located a perfectly good explanation for
our need to choose entertainment over things that are necessary for our
survival. Robert Greene, author of The 48 Laws of Power shares a conclusive
theory on entertainment and boredom in his collaboration book with Curtis
Jackson (also known as 50 Cent) titled, The 50th Law. Greene states:
For our most primitive ancestors life was a constant struggle entailing endless
labor to secure food and shelter. If there was any free time it generally was
reserved for rituals that would give meaning to such a hard life. Then over
thousands of years of civilization life gradually became easier for many. In
such moments there was no need to work the fields or worry about enemies or
the elements. Just an expanse of hours to somehow fill and suddenly a new
emotion was born into this world, boredom. During rituals the mind would
be filled with various tasks to accomplish. But alone in one’s house this free
time would allow the mind to roam wherever it wanted. Confronted with
such freedom the mind has a tendency to gravitate towards anxieties about the
future, possible problems and dangers. Such empty time faintly echoes the
internal emptiness of death itself. And so with this new emotion that assailed
our ancestors came a desire that haunts us till this day. It is the desire to
escape boredom at all cost and distract ourselves from these anxieties.
I have provided this reference so that you can see that our patterns of behavior
were created long before we were born. While our lack of general knowledge
on how our bodies function is the norm it is simply unacceptable. Having
little to no comprehension on how your body works is the equivalent of a
mechanic owning an auto-repair shop but he does not know how to repair cars.
It wouldn’t be long before he is out of business accompanied with a tarnished
reputation. In the case of African-Americans and health, our version of out of
business is death or disease. If you are unaware of the nomenclature of the
digestive system then you cannot be sure of what to do to prevent a
breakdown or an onslaught from external toxins. I am of the notion that if
people knew better they would do better. In the event that they would not do
better at least they would think twice before committing themselves to a
heinous act. Based on my interactions with others in the African-American
community some people do not care to know how things work within their
bodies for one simple reason, accountability. In their mind it is better to live
a care-free life and have the option of saying that they didn’t know than to live
making conscious decisions on what they should or should not eat. I
elucidated earlier in a previous chapter that being ignorant of any law is not a
sufficient excuse that will save you from health or life related afflictions. If
you are given a choice to learn some information that can prevent you from
falling into a precarious situation then it is best to do so. I have often
encountered people that have been brazen enough to tell me that they don’t
care about death they just want to be happy while they are here. These are
the same people who burn up your phone line trying to reach you when they
are sick or are in need of some serious health-related information. The reality
is that no one wants to die no matter what they tell you.
Try putting a nine millimeter to the head of someone who has expressed their
lack of interest in living. I promise you their story will change. Unless they
are in a hospice or suffering from a terminal illness of some sort they are
probably just blowing hot air. The million dollar question is, why do I feel
that learning the functions of body parts is important to your survival? Every
bite of food that you consume will impact your organs negatively or
positively. There is no gray area in this arena. Knowing how these things
work will allow you to actively eat to live. You may then purchase foods
based on their properties to rebuild or strengthen a certain organ in the body
because you feel that it is weak or you have knowledge that it is not
functioning correctly. If that knowledge is absent then it is a strong
possibility that you could carry on engaging in your unhealthy habits until you
are no longer alive. These are the times when you get what I like to call
shock treatment. You know that you haven’t been feeling your best and you
go in for a routine check-up and the doctor informs you that you have a
terminal illness. You are told that you have three months to live and that
there is nothing that they can do for you. Your predicament has went from
casual to life ending because you did not know that you were doing certain
organs a disservice with your normal eating habits. Because you live in your
body it is your duty to know everything about it. People have lost their lives
because they have waited until “the last minute” to seek help when they were
not feeling well. It is a common practice in the African-American
community to not get yearly check-ups. The numbers are usually higher in
males than in the female black population. Obviously, women are created
biologically different so they require more special attention with regards to
their body maintenance. Again, I have mentioned that western allopathic
medicine should not be relied upon for your very survival but it does have its
purpose and place in our society. The key is to know when it must be
utilized. Getting a regular check-up would be a great way to detect any
maladies present within your body. However, you must do so with wisdom.
Having a general understanding of what could be going on in your body will
allow you to decipher if a doctor is trying to sell you oceanfront property in
Montana or if they are being sincere about the status of your health. In the
metaphysics community they stress the importance of how you feel in relation
to determining how your life will turn out on a day to day basis. For this
reason you are encouraged to think positively and try to feel good as often as
possible.
This is a great concept when we are dealing with the advancement of the mind
and changing one’s life circumstances. In wellness one should not fully rely
on such a theory. Not because it’s a bad idea but due to the fact that there can
be sinister activities taking place within the body of which you may not be
aware. For example, you could have a certain malady present within the
body system and feel well for a long period of time. You may feel well
because the disease has advanced to a point that your body has gotten
accustomed to the threat so you no longer feel pain or discomfort. This
process leaves you to believe that everything is fine but in essence all of your
cells (in that particular area) have been killed and anything dead will have no
response to foreign intruders. Sometimes you may feel small pains for a
short period of time (like a month) and then the pain dissipates. You carry on
believing that it was a small issue but in reality the damage has been done in
that thirty day time frame. After you live a few months pain-free you follow
up on a routine visit to your doctor for another issue and find out that you have
a bigger problem. A real life example of this taking place would be my
Uncle Walt. Walt Dog (nicknamed by my late cousin Big Ced) has an
enigmatic history that dates back many years. He is notorious for speaking
his mind on any subject whether he is in front of a large crowd or just two to
three people. His level of fear or shame is zero. One day while standing in
front of a convenient store in Greenwood, Mississippi he got into an
altercation with another man about money that was owed to him. In a matter
of seconds the guy pulled a knife a stabbed Walt in the stomach several times.
The irony of this situation is the running joke that I had with Walt about his
stomach. Up until this point I have always known him to be a big eater and a
lover of food. He had a big stomach that was not like the normal big bellied
person. Under most circumstances people with big stomachs have a jelly-like
consistency when you touch their stomach. Walt’s stomach was hard as a
rock. Immediately upon being rushed to the hospital to be treated for stab
wounds doctors found that Walt had a large tumor in his stomach that needed
to be removed immediately. It turns out that the stabbing saved his life. He
had no knowledge of the life-threatening tumor or that he was in any danger.
This is why I believe that relying on how you feel is not always the best
practice. If you consume a diet rich in dead foods then you are prone not to
feel anything (until the very end stages of a disease) because this is your
normal daily activity. In my 2nd book The Top 50 Reasons People Fail To
Lose Weight and Live Healthful Lives I list the “I Feel Good So I must Be
Healthy” excuse as one of the 50 reasons people fall off of the optimal health
wagon. Below is an excerpt from the Top 50 Reasons with regards to this
debilitating habit.
This is a statement that I've heard several times from many people who are
overweight. They associate lack of symptoms with good health. What happens
is they end up getting some horrible disease and they don't find out until the
disease is in its final stages.
Relying on feeling a certain way before you decide to take action to live
healthy is not a good practice. I once was watching a cartoon that taught me
a valuable lesson in life. One of the characters was being accused of stealing
a personal item from a friend. When the item could not be located at the
residence of the accused, the accuser stated, ¨the absence of evidence is not
the evidence of absence.¨ His message implied that the inability to see
something did not mean that this something does not exist.
Always get checked out and stay ahead of the curve. Preventing an illness is
a lot easier than curing one. Unfortunately, most individuals are caught
behind the eight ball and are forced to make difficult decisions after they have
become ill.
Knowing and learning about your body will help you to side step last ditch
efforts to save your own life. There is a slight issue within our community
that I wish to address here and now. This is the issue of treating your health
maintenance as a necessity and not as a burden. Black folks always complain
when it’s time to buy something that is going to save their lives. We cannot
view the purchasing of health supplements or other wellness related
expenditures as a nuisance. People purchase junk every day and have no
problems doing so. There is a statement that was made by celebrity herbalist
D’Jehuty Ma’at-ra that has never been truer. In one of his lectures he said,
“Black people pay for what they want and beg for what they need.” We know
that he is not speaking about every single black person in America but his
statement is extremely accurate for the general black population. We have to
be willing to invest in ourselves. Your health has to be viewed as a monthly
recurring bill.
By definition to invest means to put money to use either by purchase or
expenditure in something that is going to possibly yield profitable returns.
Those profitable returns can be income, interest or appreciation in value. In
this case your body (and its’ components) will receive an appreciation in
value. In any undertaking in life of which you are affiliated and seeking a
profitable gain you must invest in that specific area. If you want to make
money you need to work for it. If you want great health then you need to
invest in the things that give you optimal health. This doesn’t happen
through osmosis. If you want to be the best athlete or businessman then you
must invest time in studying your craft and enhancing technical skill in order
that you may receive profitable gains. Your craft is your body and its’
functions. The biggest problem that I have with people is that they do not
want to invest in their health. They want something for nothing. Yet they
live in a society that is strictly constructed on the quid pro quo concept. That
is the exchange of goods or services where one transfer is contingent upon the
other. In order to get something you have to give something. When I did
lectures strictly for African-Americans with Dr. Joel Wallach I had the
opportunity to keenly understand black people’s thoughts on investing in their
health. I was saddened and dismayed by some of the things that I witnessed.
He gave two hour comprehensive lectures and answered questions on high
blood pressure, diabetes, cancer and all other relevant diseases. When the
lectures were finished he instructed people on what supplements to purchase
to help their specific ailment. During this time I watched people complain
about prices, say they didn’t have the money or even say that they would look
for a less inferior product at a different location. Some of these people had
already contracted an illness but were walking into the lecture facility putting
out burning cigarettes. Didn’t they realize that cigarettes cost seven dollars
per pack? To me these were all excuses. They could buy packs of cigarettes
but they couldn’t purchase the things that would give them life. This spoke
more about the overall mindset of our people than it did anything else.
Organic fruits and vegetables cost too much for us but we can buy 24 inch tire
rims for our cars. What good are your tire rims if you die from cancer?
Some other family member is going to take over chauffeur duties of your
luxurious car when you’re gone. No matter how many times they were
instructed to do so during the lecture our people did not want to stop eating
fried foods or consuming high amounts of burnt meats. I noticed that there
was a large unwillingness to compromise. Dr. Joel and I were bad guys for
telling people to make sacrifices in order to save their lives. These small
sacrifices are also forms of investments all be them economically feasible
ones (because they don’t cost you anything). The thing about investments is
that they can go either way. If you’re constantly consuming the refined
foods, burnt meats and fried foods then you are investing in the decline of
your health. This would be the equivalent of a stock broker placing all of
your money in a negatively producing mutual fund. Sure it’s an investment
but it’s not one that will produce a profit in the direction that you desire.
Think of it this way. If you’re in a business you need to invest money. If
you want a clothing store you must pay monthly rent for a building. If you
want to sell hamburgers on the street you must pay for the equipment to make
hamburgers and a state vendor’s license. If you’re caught selling hamburgers
with no license you will be fined and removed from the streets. So, what
makes us believe that we have to invest in everything else less our health? If
you need to spend one thousand dollars on your health to improve yourself
then that is what you must do. Without your health you are essentially
paralyzed (figuratively) or non-existent. You may live to be eighty-five or
one hundred years of age but if you are confined to a wheelchair at fifty
because of a diabetes related amputation, how qualitative will your life be for
those remaining thirty-five to fifty years? These are things that you must
consider. Quality is more important than quantity. If you have to live a life
that is cumbersome for your family or painful for you then it is not worth the
trouble. Why suffer through such a situation if you can avoid it by taking a
few extra dollars and investing in yourself? I understand that life presents
situations where people have accidents or unforeseen illnesses that forever
change their lives. However, I am speaking of things that we can control
with our decision making and knowledge of the temple in which we live, our
body.
As part of the solution to our growing problem I will provide some of the most
common organs (or body parts) and their functions. I am hopeful that by
providing this small amount of information that you will be encouraged to
start a quest of your own to seek more information on these organs and how
they work to keep you alive and well. At the moment the spermatozoa enters
the zygote life begins. To be specific that’s where your life began. Your
body came with a builder’s manual encoded on how to build and operate
every part that cannot be comprehended nor understood by anyone on earth.
The manual builds and operates our body that is made of 100 trillion cells.
The fact remains that we all began as the size of a period at the end of a
sentence. Your body is comprised of DNA. DNA, short for
deoxyribonucleic acid is a three dimensional molecule that is self-replicating.
Each molecule is able to make an identical copy quickly and efficiently. God
created DNA to detect and correct errors. After the DNA there are special
proteins called enzymes that travel up and down the DNA molecule looking
for errors to make repairs on a minute by minute and second by second basis.
These are just very small parts of a greater system that is arguably the most
well put together and complex system of all time.
Chapter 13: ORGANS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS
It only seems appropriate that I would start this section speaking about the
largest organ present on the human body, the skin. The skin is your body’s
protection against injury, infection, heat and cold. It also stores water,
vitamins and fats. The skin care product industry is a highly competitive
multi-million dollar arena. Cosmetic products are being created each day
with claims of being natural and organic. While some companies may have a
few natural ingredients in their products it is important to know that whatever
goes on your skin will ultimately go in your skin. With that being said you
must be aware of certain offending agents that can cause your body a great
deal of harm. Your skin is the biggest organ that you have and is also partly
responsible for the elimination of wastes from your body. If you clog your
pores or put the wrong ingredient on your body you may spend an
unnecessary extended period of time trying to rectify the wrong doing.
Remember when our mothers used to put Vaseline on our face when it was
cold outside? They didn’t know that they were putting gasoline on our faces!
We forgive them because they did not know that they were doing harm to our
skin. Above all we must have understanding. When you fail to eliminate
wastes through the proper eliminative channels your skin is the safety net used
to eradicate all those toxins that your digestive tract could not expel. Why is
it of the utmost relevance to focus on your skin? Unlike your skin when you
consume food your body possesses enzymes in your saliva and stomach to
help break the food down. The moment you decide to apply something to
your skin there is no filtering system available to break down the chemical
agents present in the substance that you used. Consequently, the substances
enter directly into your bloodstream and organs.
It is almost equivalent to taking prescription drugs in the aspect of the side or
after effects of the poisons that remain in the body for years after the
consumption of the drug. One of the most common errors that people make
when they have skin issues is that they believe that topical skin products are
the answer. In using these skin products under the auspices of healing they
end up doing more harm than good. These products normally contain hidden
offending agents that enter the body. What are some of the top hidden agents
of which people are not aware?
Below is a list of three toxic agents found in skin care products.
1. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. This chemical is the leading ingredient used in
virtually all soaps, shampoos and cleansers. It has been known to cause skin
irritation and eye irritation. You may also find SLS in several of the
industrial cleaners and detergents.
2. Sodium Laureth Sulfate. Very similar to SLS but it is considered a little
less calamitous. This substance also irritates the skin but has been known to
have carcinogen dioxane (pre-cursor for cancer) and provoke hair loss.
3. Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate. This is the third surfacant variation most often
put into cosmetic products and cleansers to make foam. Whenever you foam
up with your shampoo just remember that your foam was produced by ALS.
Do not be alarmed when you have skin issues. Skin issues mean that your
body is eliminating toxins. When you can't use the toilet your skin is the next
available eliminatory channel. The principal lesson here is to realize that
having clean blood equates to having clear and clean skin. Diseases cannot
exist in clean blood. The moment you notice a rash or skin issue present just
understand that your blood needs to be cleansed. This is not the moment for
artificial topical agents to be used. If they’re natural they will assist but they
will only be a temporary fix for a more serious problem.
Here is a list of some of the most commonly used skin products.
1. Lipstick or Chapstick
2. Lotions and Creams
3. Shampoos or Conditioners
4. Oils
5. Lanolin - Waxy substance from wool bearing animals
6. Facial cleansing agents
7. Deodorants
Using artificial skin products is a quick way to invite illnesses. You willingly
allow chemicals into your bloodstream thereby poisoning your organs. Often
times you will get sick and not know the cause. It can be rather confusing
because the last place that you would expect to get sick would be through your
beloved cosmetic products. Choosing all natural cosmetic products is a better
route. The rule is if you can't eat it then it should not be used on your skin.
That simplifies the entire situation for those that may have an issue figuring
out what they may use from this point on. Jojoba oil, marula oil, avocado,
coconut, aloe, shea butter, olive oil and cocoa butter are some of the best
natural ingredients that people can use as cosmetic products. We know that
black folks love their skin care beauty products but let’s try to do it the natural
way and avoid afflictions of the skin and possible internal organ conflicts.
As of 2010 heart disease was the number one ranked killer in the
African-American community. According to the American Heart and Stroke
Association 44.4 % of non-Hispanic black men and 48.9 % of non-Hispanic
black women ages 20 and older have cardiovascular disease. To be more
specific, the AHA states that in 2009 cardiovascular disease caused the deaths
of 46,334 black males and 48,070 black females. Due to the severity of this
crisis in the black community I will provide more substantial information
regarding the heart organ than I will for all other organs. The function of the
heart is to pump oxygen rich blood throughout your body and oxygen poor
blood to your lungs to be removed from the body. Your heart is located
between your lungs which helps it to create such a synergistic relationship
with the lungs. The most interesting part about the heart is that it is constantly
without rest because it is made from a cardiac muscle. Unlike other muscles
in the body the cardiac muscle never gets tired. If it did you would die from
cardiac arrest. Although it is only one organ your heart serves as a double
pump simultaneously.
 It carries oxygen poor blood away from your heart and releases
carbon dioxide then brings oxygen rich blood back to your heart.
 While the above task is taking place the heart also delivers oxygen
rich blood to the entire body.
Over the last seven years I have been fortunate to learn information from one
of my personal mentors in the health and nutrition industry named Dr. Joel
Wallach. I have mentioned him several times in this publication. It is
because I have learned great truths regarding health and wellness while
studying with him. Wallach has made many big strides while working in the
health industry for more than 50 years. During my time studying under
Wallach I have been able to accumulate a wealth of information concerning
heart ailments and things that we can do to "hedge the bet" and keep our hearts
as healthy as we can. In life there are no guarantees but we can surely put our
best food forward and do our part. According to the National Heart Lung
and Blood Institute, A heart attack happens if the flow of oxygen-rich blood to
a section of the heart muscle suddenly becomes blocked. They continue by
saying, "Most heart attacks occur as a result of coronary heart disease (CHD).
CHD is a condition in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up inside
of the coronary arteries. These arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to your
heart."
The body is composed of several parts but you are only given one heart. That
is the problem for most people. You have two eyes, two kidneys, your liver
has the ability to regenerate itself but the heart is only one. Knowing that this
is true it is safe to say that the heart may just be the most important part of the
human anatomy but yet as African-Americans in general we do not care for it
as we should. One reason could be is that people are not well educated on
what to do to maintain healthy heart function. Many nutritionists and
advanced doctors will tell you that all diseases that plague the heart are
"nutritional deficiency diseases." Joel Wallach states,
“When a baby is born with a heart defect, that is caused by a nutritional
deficiency early in the pregnancy when the embryo's heart was forming. It is
to say that the mother was missing one or more of the essential micronutrients
which are very necessary throughout the development of the embryo.
Examples of these micronutrients could be zinc, Vitamin-A, copper or
selenium. If a baby is born with a perfect heart but does not continue to get
the nutrients that it needs then it does not take long for the heart to start
breaking down. As life progresses and the children become teenagers they
start to participate in athletics and lose astronomical amounts of sweat. If
they do not supplement properly it is very easy for them to encounter a sudden
death situation.”
As you continue to age and become less active your diet becomes more
critical to your heart health (as well as overall health). Once you become
middle aged it is a dire requirement that you supplement with the proper
nutrients. You are doing yourself a disservice if you typically eat like many
of the African-Americans in the southeastern part of the United States who eat
large quantities of fried foods. The reason is that fried foods contain "free
radicals" which damage the lining of the arteries and result in coronary artery
blockages. The consequence of a blocked artery is a heart attack.
Remember to refer back to the statement from the National Heart Lung and
Blood Institute says about how a heart happens. Wallach continues by
stating, "Heart diseases have nothing to do with cholesterol. They have to do
with free radical damage to the lining of the arteries of the heart, the brain and
the larger arteries of the chest or belly cavity." If you don't protect yourself
with antioxidants and all of the known essential nutrients required by the
heart, you can end up dead even though you are doing everything else right.
Did you know that you can have over twenty-five different heart diseases? A
stroke, which is listed as one of the top heart diseases can disable or kill you.
A blood clot or a thrombosis type of stroke is actually caused by an essential
fatty acid deficiency. If you don't have enough Omega 3's in your diet (it
should be about 3% of your total calories) you might expect a blood clot or a
thrombosis type of stroke. Most heart issues whether they are strokes, heart
attacks or cardiovascular disease are avoidable by proper supplementation and
avoidance of free radical consumption according to Wallach. The biggest
sources of free radicals are margarines, cooking oils and fried foods. Why do
so many African-Americans suffer from heart problems? Simply put heart
disease, the prevention of heart disease and possibly the reversal of certain
heart ailments can happen by “totally eliminating free radicals from the diet.”
The free-radicals are giving the so called blacks the flux. According to
holistic health expert Dr. Curtis Duncan, “Cardiovascular disease has only
been around for the past 100 years. Human beings have been around for the
past 300,000 years. Heart disease was not around until the past 100 years of
our existence.” Our ancestors outlived us because they were cooking with
creams and lard. Cardiomyopathy is a very important heart disease that you
can sometimes survive. The flipside to surviving this disease is that doctors
will have to put in a pacemaker or a stint and put you on drugs to control the
rhythm of your heart. We know from the previous chapter what drugs do to
the body. Often time people die suddenly from Cardiomyopathy disease
complications. Every year between 75,000 and 100,000 athletes under the
age of thirty die while exercising. Outside of vegetable oils and fried foods,
two of the most common causes of a heart attack is burnt meats (which are
common sources of free radicals) and the deficiency of the trace mineral
called selenium. Burnt meats contain what is known as heterocyclic amines.
Some heterocyclic amines (HCAs) found in cooked and especially burned
meats are known carcinogens (cancer causing agents). Research has shown
that cooking certain meats at high temperatures creates chemicals that are not
present in uncooked meats.
For example heterocyclic amines are the carcinogenic chemicals formed from
the cooking of muscle meats such as beef, pork, fowl and fish. Selenium is a
trace mineral and strong antioxidant which is thought to protect our body from
free radicals. In 1997 The Harvard School of Public Health did a study (I
mentioned this in an earlier chapter) that showed that the people of the
southeastern part of the United States have a lifespan that is shorter than the
people in the upper midwest. Do you know how the people who live in the
upper midwest prepare their food? They did everything with the exception of
fry their foods. To get more specific it is important that you stay away from
vegetable oils if you desire to keep your heart healthy. There are many health
experts (including myself) who recommend certain oils as being "ok to use"
but there are no oils that are ok to use unless they are taken in capsule form. I
only say ok to use because I know that people will continue to cook with oil so
I have to provide the best alternative possible. For the sake of this
conversation I will shed light on which oils are "less harmful than others." I
realize that no one is perfect and that we all have a taste for something very
tasty occasionally, so let's examine what the lesser of the evils are. When
choosing a cooking oil it is best to choose one that is comprised of 72 to 75%
omega three fatty acids. If you must deal with oils, flax seed oil, olive oil,
coconut oil, avocado oil and macadamia nut oil are all great examples of oils
that contain a large amount of omega three fatty acids. You must know that
consuming oil from a bottle (a bulk source) is not good because the moment
the oil is taken from the original source (ie. olive) it starts to oxidize causing
free radicals. According to Dr. Joel Fuhrman,
“When oils are heated, the EFA’s chemical structure is changed to create
toxic derivatives known as lipid peroxides and other toxic cancer causing by
products. Olive oil is empty calories and provide very minute nutritional
value. The nutrient per calorie density of your diet is lowered when you use
oil. All oils including olive oil do not contain the original nutrients that were
in the complete original source.”
Even if you decided to freeze or refrigerate the oil it would still oxidize but
only at a slower pace. On a side note, it would be wise to consume your
essential fatty acids in a capsule that is flooded with nitrogen so that the oil in
the capsule will not oxidize. There are many natural health food stores that
have them available to you. Not enough Omega 3 in your diet can cause
several diseases. The best natural sources of Omega 3 are walnuts, flaxseed
and tofu. The American diet already has an influx of omega 6 (from veggie
oils and animal products). The higher the Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio the
higher the risk of heart disease, diabetes and inflammatory illnesses. Peanut
oil, Olive oil and Avocado oil are different from the polyunsaturated oils (corn
and soybean oil) because they usually have one, maybe two open bonds in
them (which makes for a lower melting point) and they are "less likely" to
cause damage when you cook with them but are not completely 100% safe.
Using oils for cooking or salads are just not safe. Around the time of the
1940's we saw the emergence of two food items that would forever change the
face of health as we knew it. When cooking oils and margarines emerged in
the 1940's that is officially when heart problems and other health issues began
to skyrocket. Since that time doctors have insisted that we use cooking oils
and margarines. We have had a huge epidemic of heart disease and strokes
because these sources of fats are more likely to produce free radicals.
According to Dr. Wallach, “Butter is the safest fat for cooking because the
carbon chains are only four to eight carbons long. There are no unsaturated
bonds in butter that’s why butter can sit around for a long period of time
without spoiling. If you cook with butter at low temperatures it cannot harm
you. It actually becomes a good fat that your body uses.” Here is another
fun fact about butter. Olive oil packs more calories per pound than butter.
Olive oil contains 4,020 calories (per pound) where butter contains 3,200
calories (per pound). That is a difference of 820 calories! We should
understand that the most dangerous fats for both heart disease and cancer are
saturated fats and trans fatty acids which are listed as partially hydrogenated.
Avoid these at all cost. Trans fatty acids may raise breast cancer risk by
forty-five percent. Heart problems do not just happen out of the blue. There
is a perfect science to everything. In order to rectify any problem you must
understand how the entity functions. I wish to remind you that fried foods,
cooking oils, margarines, burnt meats, lack of supplementation, the deficiency
of the trace mineral selenium and its’ co-factors are all contributing factors in
the heart disease epidemic.
When it comes to detoxifying the body we must begin with the liver. This is
the heaviest internal organ and one of the largest that you possess. This organ
removes toxins from the blood, regulates blood sugar levels, builds proteins
and produces bile. Your blood cholesterol triglycerides are produced here
from processing your food fats. According to the U.S. Department of Health
chronic liver disease is the eighth leading cause of death among
African-Americans. Two of the quickest ways to ruin this organ are from
doing drugs or consuming alcohol. In most urban communities across the
country you will notice an infinite number of convenient corner stores that
have alcohol available. There is no blame being placed here but mere facts
that need to be shared. Although alcohol plays a major role in liver cirrhosis,
the African-American community has numbers that are similar to the national
median according to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
(SAMHSA). It may appear that we consume a great amount of alcohol
(which we do) but the amount of alcohol consumption is no different from any
other ethnicity residing in the United States. The fact still remains that
Afro-Americans as a collective group suffer greatly from chronic liver
disease. Although we do have the good fortune of having a vital body part
that can rejuvenate itself if given the necessary raw materials, the liver is still
an organ that is very susceptible to succumbing to bacteria if bombarded with
high amounts. Because of the resilience of the liver most cases of liver
inflammation are not clinically diagnosed but in severe liver disease cases
there is usually a serious interruption of important liver functions. The liver
contains a special group of microorganisms known as hepatic cells. Hepatic
cells make up 60% of the liver tissue. If your hepatic cells should get
infected the majority of your liver function is going to be threatened. Here’s
why:
HEPATIC CELLS
1. Change most of the nutrients you consume into forms usable by the
body.
2. Convert sugars, store and release them as needed, thereby helping to
regulate blood sugar.
3. Breaks down fats and produce cholesterol.
4. Remove ammonia from your body and produce blood proteins.
5. Detoxifies drugs and alcohol.
What’s the first thing to go on an alcoholic’s or drug user’s body?
Depending on the circumstances it may be a heart attack. On the surface we
could say the heart but generally the problem will manifest in the liver first
and spread to other organs such as the heart. Unfortunately you can’t live
longer than 24 hours without your liver. Abusing substances cause the liver
to weaken because of the amount of work that it has to do in terms of
cleansing or filtering toxins and residue from those substances. When the
liver weakens to the degree that it allows intruders, people contract the
affliction known as hepatitis. There are differing levels of hepatitis ranging
from mild to life threatening. The basic cause of this ailment is the
inflammation of the hepatic cells. What makes the liver so important is that it
is partially responsible for helping to repair other major organs of the body by
sending out nutrients to those specific parts. If the liver is in danger then
other parts are thought to be in danger as well. For this reason you have to
think of your body as one functioning unit and not be content to live with
certain parts not working. It is certain that if one thing is not working
something else is picking up the slack for that retarded thing.
It wouldn’t be fair to mention one important detoxifier without mentioning the
most often mentioned of the two. Here we are speaking of the kidneys. You
have two kidneys but they work together simultaneously as one unit. Your
kidneys are located at the bottom of your ribcage in the back of your body.
Their job is to make urine from waste products and excess water found in your
blood. At any time during the day you will encounter one-fourth of your
blood supply passing through your kidneys. The kidneys have certain
functions that are virtually unknown to the average person. When your
kidneys detect your blood pressure dropping they secrete an enzyme called
renin. This enzyme triggers a chain of events that makes your kidneys
reabsorb more salt leading to an increase in blood pressure. When you refer
back to the section on methods of treatment for arthritis in chapter two you
will see that pain relievers and anti-inflammatory pills cause fifty thousand
cases of kidney failure each year, ten percent of which need kidney
transplants. Kidney disease in African-Americans is very prevalent. Based
on information provided by the American Kidney Fund, non-Latino blacks in
America are more at risk for kidney failure than any other race. More than 1
in 3 kidney failure patients living in the United States are African-American.
That is more than 150,000 people. The American Kidney Fund contends that
there are two very good reasons for this crisis. They feel that diabetes, high
blood pressure and access to health care play a major role. Let’s look at a
brief explanation provided by the AKF.
Why African-Americans Are More at Risk for Kidney Disease (by
American Kidney Fund)
1. Diabetes is the #1 cause of kidney failure. It causes almost half of all
cases in the United States. Diabetes is a serious problem for African
Americans:
African Americans get diabetes more often.
 African-Americans are almost twice as likely as whites to have
diabetes.
 About 1 in 9 (11.4%) African-American adults have diabetes.
 Over the last 35 years the number of people with diabetes has
doubled.
Diabetes affects African-Americans differently.
 African-Americans with diabetes develop kidney failure more often
than whites.
 Diabetes causes heart disease and other problems in
African-American more often than whites.
Many African-Americans don’t know they have diabetes.
 About 1 in 3 African- Americans with diabetes does not know he or
she has it.
2. High Blood Pressure is the #2 cause of kidney failure. It causes about
1 out of 4 cases in the United States. High blood pressure is a serious
problem for African Americans:
African Americans get high blood pressure more often.
 Almost half (over 42%) of African American adults have high
blood pressure.
High blood pressure affects African Americans differently.
 African Americans are six times as likely to get kidney failure from
their high blood pressure than whites.
3. Almost 1 in 5 African Americans is uninsured. If diabetes, high
blood pressure, and kidney disease are caught early, they can usually
be managed. However, almost 1 in 5 African Americans is not
insured. As a result, their health care choices may be limited.
If you’re like me then these statistics are disheartening. I cannot stress the
importance of you embracing the concept of living disease free as opposed to
living while micro-managing a disease. Many of these statistics are not
unavailable to the African American community so they simply have not been
presented to us. We seem to think that diabetes and high blood pressure are
harmless diseases that can be taken care of with prescription medicine. High
blood pressure does not just affect the heart as diabetes does not simply affect
your blood sugar. Your kidneys are in danger of failing when you contract
these ailments. During my studies of the kidneys I learned a very valuable
lesson. Sometimes when you go on dialysis you are lead to believe that your
kidneys are damaged and will no longer function.
What happens is that the blood vessels (or connective tubes) to the kidneys are
damaged and it results in the “appearance” of ill functioning kidneys. It is
also known as the hardening of the arteries. When in actuality, if you were to
clean the clogged blood vessels (hardened arteries) the blood flow to the
kidneys would return to normal and everything would work just fine. In
essence there are people who are on dialysis under the pretenses that their
kidneys are not functioning. Again we are dealing with people being told “a
version of the truth.” I encourage you to always seek second and third
opinions with at least one of them being from a well-respected naturopathic
physician or a holistic healer. It’s always best to look at a bodily affliction
from two or three separate lenses.
Seeing as though I could carry this chapter on forever in an effort to cover
each organ in the body, I will stop at the last body part of which I wish to
speak. It is none other than the colon. The omission of other vital organs
such as the brain, gall bladder and prostate gland is not a sign that I de-value
the importance of caring for these organs. It merely means that this book
would be one thousand pages if I attempted to elaborate on them all. I have
attempted to cover the few organs of the body that appear to be blatantly
abused within the so called African American community. If we are
conscious then we would realize that the entire body and each of its’ parts are
pertinent to the overall well-being of everyone. According to the science
dictionary, the colon is the longest part of the large intestine, extending from
the cecum to the rectum. It is approximately five to six feet long and takes
anywhere between eighteen to twenty-four hours for food to pass through.
Be honest with yourself. Did you know that the colon possessed that kind of
length and took that long to pass food? It is little facts like these that will
help you reconsider your diet. In his famous book titled The Mucusless Diet
Healing System, Author and Professor Arnold Ehret shares one of his
important findings in relation to the colon and optimal health achievement.
Ehret states:
“Experts in autopsy state that they have found from 60 to 70 percent of the
colons examined have foreign matter such as worms and decades-old
feces-stones. The inside walls of the over-intestines are incrusted by old,
hardened feces and resembles in appearance the inside of a filthy stove- pipe.
I had fat patients that eliminated as much as 50 to 60 pounds of waste, and 10
to 15 pounds alone from the colon, mainly consisting of foreign matters,
especially old, hardened feces. The average so-called “healthy” man of
today carries continually with him, since childhood, several pounds of never
eliminated feces.”
Water and electrolytes are absorbed, solidified, and prepared for elimination
as feces in the colon. The colon also contains bacteria that help in the body’s
absorption of nutrients such as mineral digested material. Science and
nutritional experts inform us that eighty-percent of all disease that manifest
within the body has its’ beginning point in the colon. There is no one specific
reason why one could contract an illness of the colon. However, there are
certain contributors that are consistently present where there are maladies of
the colon. Genetics do not necessarily play a part in this disease unless you
are consuming the same foods as your predecessors. The amount of fat you
consume, red meat consumption, alcohol and obesity seem to be a few of the
visible factors in colon health decline. As far as African Americans are
concerned with colon issues, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) provide the most current states available.
Among all men, black men had the highest rates of colorectal (colon) cancer.
62 out of every 100,000 black men were diagnosed with colorectal cancer in
2007. White men were second at a rate of 51.5 per 100,000. Although men
and women had significantly different rates, black women had the highest
rates of colorectal cancer of all women. 47 out of every 100,000 black
women were diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2007 as well. White women
were second at 38.5 followed by Hispanic women at 32.6.
Based on these numbers we are leading the country in colon cancer. Whether
it is colon cancer or any other form of cancer, the results are jolting as they
relate to African-Americans. African American men are 35 percent more
likely to die from cancer than Caucasian men. African American women are
18 percent more likely to die from cancer than Caucasian women. This is not
a race but numbers don’t lie, people do. We’re not here to compete with any
other ethnic groups but I am here to call your attention to where we rank
health wise in the colon department. With the exception of natural disasters
and unforeseen accidents we have every reason to live longer and healthful
lives. Why do our health scores remain at the bottom of the charts? We will
examine this in great detail of the next chapter on the foods that we regularly
consume. This chapter was simply to open your mind to the functions of our
organs and how badly we nurture the things that are responsible for our
existence. See you in the next chapter!
Section 4
The Meat, Dairy and Sugar Curse
I made a commitment to completely cut out drinking and anything that might
hamper me from getting my mind and body together. And the floodgates of
goodness have opened upon me spiritually and financially.
Denzel Washington
Chapter 14: BLACK FOLKS LOVE THEIR MEAT EVEN IF IT KILLS
THEM
I can remember several years ago learning some information about eating
meat and trying to share the information with my family members. Naturally
a prophet is not respected in his own home but one would expect people to at
least listen. During this time I was visiting my grandparents in Mississippi
when I suggested that they not eat meat for a while. My grandmother was
very kind in her dismissal of my idea by saying, “We done ate meat all us life
and it ain’t hurt us yet. We may as well keep on doing it until we gone.”
My grandmother was a true southerner that spoke the down south dialect that
you would only here from people that grew up in the “sho-nuff country parts”
of the south. My grandfather on the other hand was not bashful in showing
his disagreement of my suggestion. His reply was quite open and direct. He
stated, “You mean you want me to eat a meal without no meat? A meal
without no meat is no damn meal at all boy.” It’s ironic that he has spent the
last three to four decades working as a butcher at a local meat packing factory.
I actually lived with them for a year and I saw meats placed on the dinner
table that I didn’t know existed. Tripe (cow’s stomach), turtle, cow’s tongue,
bull testicles, deer meat, squirrel, rabbit and a few other sources of meat that I
cannot recall were just a few of the things that he ate while I resided in
Greenwood, Mississippi. It wasn’t that I was trying to get him to stop eating
meat altogether, I just wanted to see if it would help his and my grandmother’s
state of health. More than 95 percent of the African-American community
share the same view as my grandfather does when it comes to reducing the
amount of meat in their diet. Why are black folks around the world so stuck
on meat? One theory is that we naturally have a taste for meat. If that is the
case then why aren’t people eating meat without seasonings? When we
critically analyze this meat craving we find that people are more addicted to
the taste of meat with seasonings than they are with the meat itself. So we
basically have a world (not just African-Americans) of people who love the
taste and not necessarily the actual meat. Using the protein excuse does not
fly either because many of our people do not know the function neither the
importance of protein in the diet. My grandfather is not thinking about
protein when he consumes meat. In light of some of my newer studies on
meat consumption as it relates to African-Americans, I have come to one
conclusion. Over cooked, large amounts and frequently consumed animal
flesh will simply not be good for the human body. I am not a vegan neither
am I a vegetarian but I have recognized the detrimental effects that meat has
on the body when consumed under the conditions that I have previously
stated. Let’s dig a little deeper on what meat is doing to us as a people.
Over the last century eating meat has increased at an exponential rate. If
meat consumption has increased then African-Americans are at the front of
the line in consuming meat. A 2002 study done by Forrest Stegelin assistant
professor for the Department of Agricultural and Applied economics at the
University of Georgia confirmed the previous statement.
By comparison non-Hispanic white households allocated 15 percent of their
household income for food (10 percent at home; 5 percent away from the
home). Meats composed 22.5 percent of Hispanic households’ expenditures
on food eaten at home. African-American households allocated 26 percent
towards meat consumption, whereas non-Hispanic whites allocated only 18
percent of their food expenditures to meats.
According to information provided by The Journal of Food Distribution we
purchase more meat than any other ethnic group. Sticking to the subject at
hand we find that heart disease has also ballooned in the past 100 years but
heart disease has more to do with fats from meat, methods of cooking the meat
and clogged arteries than it does with meat alone. As I mentioned before in a
previous chapter, meat alone does not cause heart disease for if it did we
would have experienced a cardiovascular epidemic some thousands of years
ago and not only in the last 100 years. It is very difficult to convince most
people to have a meal without a piece of meat on their plate. It is true that
breaking the meat-eating habit would be a difficult task for most so called
African-Americans who have been consuming animal flesh for the bulk of
their lives. While meat may "taste good" we have to be aware that consuming
the dead carcass of an animal has more cons than pros. In fact, most of these
cons lead down a road of sickness or in severe cases even death. Let's begin
by stating the biggest mistake that so-called meat eaters make. In order to
glean the nutrients that you desire from animal flesh you must consume the
animal flesh closer to the side of raw than cooked. When you make the
decision to cook animal flesh you have eliminated most if not all of the
nutrients that you believe that you will receive. The nutrients that people
seek through meat consumption are protein and B-Vitamins. It is true that
some nutrients get released after cooking the meat because the molecular
walls have been broken down. However, it is best to consume meat on the
medium side of rare. Cooking the meat not only changes the molecular
structure but it turns your body into a cemetery because you now become a
tomb for a dead carcass. If you're going to be a true carnivore then you had
better watch the lions and tigers on the discovery channel. In order to get
complete protein from animal flesh you have to consume the entire entity
crude in its complete package. You cannot eat a wing or a breast and think
that you're getting the complete necessary protein and other vitamins. A fried
chicken wing has already been damaged by vegetable oil and processed
cooking flour. Protein is most commonly found in complete (whole) forms
not in portions or sections. Now that I have covered the biggest mistake
involved in meat-eating I will share a few known health hazards associated
with the ever popular excessive meat consumption. The first known con
involved in meat-eating is the high acid content. A fairly healthy human
body is roughly 7.3 on the ph scale (I will cover ph, acid and alkaline later in
this chapter). Anything below the number seven is considered acidic. On the
contrary, anything above that number is considered alkaline. The more acidic
you are the more health problems you are bound to have. The more alkaline
you are the better your health will tend to be. When you consume meat you
are pushing your body toward the acidic zone. When meat enters your body
without the proper amounts of calcium present your bones are forced to
release calcium in order to neutralize the acidic environment that is triggered
by the meat. Most African-Americans do not consume enough calcium in
their diet so this poses a big problem for them if they consume meat on the
regular basis. Do you or anyone you know have osteoporosis, arthritis, gout,
bone spurs or bunions? It’s probably because of excessive meat
consumption. Remember that acid as it relates to your health is nearly
equivalent to sickness (unless it is digestive stomach acid). The next issue
affiliated with meat-eating is the cancer that it can cause. Remember I am not
speaking of the meat alone being the problem. I am speaking of the cooking
methods and quantity as well as the rate (daily, weekly or monthly) of the
meat being consumed. That would be the equivalent of saying money is evil.
A five dollar bill sitting on a table will not kill anyone. When it reaches the
hands of the wrong individual or when it is desired by evil people then the
negative stigma becomes attached. Meat has been consumed from nearly the
beginning of time without any serious detriments taking place. When you
barbeque, fry or pan cook your meats well done you are asking for a problem.
Independence Day cookouts (4th of July), fish frys and holiday dinners impact
us more than any other group of people in the United States. Well done and
fried meats are heavily associated with cancer. The burnt part of the meat
contains acrylamides and heterocyclic amines which are very popular
carcinogens. Acrylamides are simply animal carcinogens. Heterocyclic
amines are carcinogens created by cooking meats at high temperatures. Red
meats and fried foods are loaded with both of these chemical compounds.
If you can avoid or drastically minimize your meat consumption you may
have a great chance of lowering your risks of contracting cancer. The last
con to the meat-eating puzzle is that meat is primarily fat. Your liver is
responsible for regulating fats and cholesterol. When you consume fat from
meats you are making it difficult for the liver to perform its job efficiently.
Yes you need fats but you need to right kind of fats. For this reason it is
encouraged that people consume more fruits, vegetables and nuts. Plant life
contains little to no fat so there is no risk associated with liver damage when
you consume the correct kind of fats. Never forget that live foods promote
life and dead foods promote death. Once you cook meat it is virtually dead.
Fruits, herbs and vegetables are considered live foods. There are so many
questions that go into consuming meat. You need to know where the meat
came from, how it was processed and what was it fed.
So is meat eating good for you or is it bad for you? For each story that I have
reviewed about the benefits of eating meat I have read triple the amount of
stories on the pitfalls to eating meat. I have a theory called the common
sense theory as it relates to eating meat. The common sense theory basically
states that, When God created the earth he gave man dominion over
everything that moveth about the ground, water and air. With that being said
it appears that eating meat and vegetables are equally permissible. There is
also an adage that states, “While everything is permissible for you to do not
everything is expedient.” What I am aiming to say is that meat can be
consumed but it doesn’t mean that it is going to benefit you to do so each day.
The issue here is that I am not at liberty to say if you should or shouldn’t eat
meat. Our people (black folks) love to run with one piece of information and
use that as a crutch to engage in activities that they know are unhealthy for
them. If I say it’s not a problem with eating meat there will be thousands of
people gorging on large amounts of meat and contracting illnesses from it
because it is too difficult for their bodies to process. What I can say is that if
you will dedicate yourself and cut down on your meat intake by sixty to
seventy percent you may see significant improvements in your health. For
those who will continue to eat meat after reading this chapter there is a portion
that I failed to cover. It is the kind of meat that people are consuming. All
meats are not fit for consumption. The simple fact is that certain animals
have a diet that consists of other unclean animals that may contain diseases.
These animals have the potential to pass on bacteria if they are eaten. There
are certain animals such as pigs that are considered to be filthy and bottom
feeders that are also not wise to consume. Sure the taste may be good but the
level of cleanliness of the pig leaves much to be desired. Here is an excerpt
on pigs from my first book The Ancient 20:
In the Islamic society, pork is not permitted, as is in the Hebrew-Israelite, or
Jewish religions. Dr. E.A. Widner, in his article “Pork, Man and Disease”
states, “Pork although one of the most common articles of diet, is one of the
most injurious. God did not prohibit the Hebrews from eating swine’s’ flesh
merely to show his authority, but because it was not a proper article of food
for man”.
Fish like wild caught salmon would be the better of all choices but you must
be concerned with where the fish was caught or if it has a chance of being
poisoned with mercury. These are chances that you take with meat
consumption. I need to dispel a myth that has been circulating around the
world since before I was born. That is the myth that fish is not meat. I have
had people tell me that they are vegetarians but they eat fish. Fish is flesh!
If it has a mother, father and bleeds then it is considered to be meat. If it has
a face and a tail then it is considered to be flesh. In the seafood arena shrimps
and catfish are the equivalent of pork. I know this will shatter the diets of
millions of African-American people but we are taking truth as the authority
in this publication. Shrimp is nothing more than an ocean cockroach.
Catfish are scavengers that will eat anything at any time. Never believe for
one moment that you are consuming clean flesh when you decide to indulge in
either of these meat types.
Processed lunch meats are a big taboo in the health field. In my home we
used to pack lunch for school sometimes and make spam sandwiches with
mustard or salami sandwiches with mayonnaise. The taste was nothing short
of spectacular. These are meats packed with nitrates and nitrites which are
also not good for the body. Bacon, salami, bologna, spam, sausage links, hot
dogs and sausages are all examples of meats that contain additives to enhance
the taste and improve their shelf life. Below are some brief findings on men
who participated in the Nutrition Cohort Study. This study was performed to
find out the impact that poultry, red meats and processed meats had in causing
prostate cancer in black and white men. Black men reported a significantly
higher consumption amount of cooked processed meats like bacon and
sausage than white men did. Here is what the results revealed:
We further examined the relation between individual meat items and
prostate cancer risk by race. Black men in the highest category of
processed meat consumption had higher risk of total incident prostate
cancer than those in the lowest quartile (RR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.2-4.9; Ptrend =
0.008). This increased risk of prostate cancer among Black men was
associated solely with consumption of cooked processed meat (bacon, hot
dogs, and sausages; RR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.3-5.3 for the highest versus lowest
category; Ptrend = 0.008) and not with consumption of lunchmeats (ham,
bologna, salami, and others). Consumption of any unprocessed red meat
was also associated with higher risk of total prostate cancer among Black
men, but no significant trend was observed with increasing intake. Among
White men, processed or unprocessed red meat consumption was not
associated with risk of total incident prostate cancer; no association was
seen when octiles of intake for White men were used to create more extreme
comparisons (data not shown).
The Nutrition Cohort Study is yet another piece of proof that we have to turn
away from consuming unhealthy and processed meat. For black men it is
critical to make a change. If not you may have difficulties with your prostate
in the near future!
The last and most critical issue (in my opinion) on meat is the amount that is
eaten. People like to use what was done in the name of survival by our
ancestors as their defense for eating meat. First, if we are speaking about the
ancestors who took part in the Trans- Atlantic Slave Trade, we have to know
that they ate scrap parts of meat that were completely unhealthy. My second
rebuttal is that our closest ancestors (grand-parents and great grand-parents)
didn’t eat half of a chicken in one sitting! Restaurants today offer the option
of eating half of a chicken or a quarter of a chicken with your meal. I failed
to mention that this amount of meat comes with two or three side dishes and a
biscuit. In what world can you expect to be healthy consuming food this
way? Our predecessors consumed their meat in smaller portions. The
obvious reason is that they were not at liberty to consume large amounts of
meat due to their economic circumstances. There was not a surplus of animal
flesh for them as it is for us today. When and if they consumed meat they did
so maybe once or even two to three times per week.
During their era families were comprised of anywhere from four to fifteen
children. My father has twenty-one siblings and my grandmother had
fourteen siblings. I clearly recall stories from my father about him getting
home late (in a home of fifteen children) and there not being any meat leftover
from when his mother cooked. So who on earth was going to provide meat
three times per day for that many children during that time? The current
generation has families composed of two to three people so we have become
accustomed to consuming meat with every meal in large quantities. That is
approximately three to four times per day that we consume meat. In a sense
all Americans are spoiled. And to the detriment of the current
African-American population we now face unfathomable rates of heart
disease. I want to be clear as to my view on meat consumption. In my
estimation meat should not be consumed every day. If you decide to
consume meat you must do your homework on the meat you are consuming.
You would be wise to consume the meat in small portions and prepare it the
correct way. Of course if you were to cook fried meat 12 times per year it
wouldn’t kill you. The problem is that we don’t do things sparingly. We
love to go overboard. As a general rule, one should only eat the amount of
meat that is equivalent to their day of work. If you work an office job and
don’t move around much then you should probably not eat the same amount
as the construction worker who has spent the entire day outside laying
concrete. A quarter pound of meat at least two to three times per week
should be good enough. Giving your digestive system a chance to rest is
always a great thing. I do not encourage totally banishing meat from your
diet. Balance is always a good thing. Leaning more on the side of not
consuming meat will result in a noticeable change (for the better) in your
health.
Always remember that common mistakes of those who consume meat are;
overcooking the meat, the kind of meats that they consume and the amount of
meat eaten. Heart disease, cancer (of all kind), osteoporosis and obesity are
afflictions that are caused by meat consumption (by way of preparation,
amount consumed and quality of livestock care). This means that you could
possibly see great improvement in the function of your entire digestive
system, heart and bones/joints. Before I continue speaking about milk and
sugar and their impact on the black community I will elaborate on three terms
that is and forever will be tantamount to the well-being of every
African-American or human being who reads this book. Understanding these
three words alone could be enough to help you improve your state of health.
Chapter 15: THE IMPORTANCE OF ALKALINE, ACID AND PH TO
YOUR HEALTH
Often times you hear the words alkaline, acid or ph thrown out as they relate
to health or nutrition. Who really understands these terms? If you were to be
held at gunpoint and told to give the definition of acid, alkaline or ph could
you confidently do it? If you are a chemist or botanist then you would have
the good fortune of comprehending these commonly used terms. These terms
may sound very basic to the ear but they hold extreme value in the area of
healing and nutrition.
 ACID - As it relates to chemistry is any substance that produces
positive ions or accepts electrons from a base substance to form
covalent bonds. Still sounds foreign right? A better way to help you
comprehend the meaning of acids would be to address food items that
contain acid or that are acid forming. A common acidic food item
would be soda pop. It contains carbonic acid. For this reason it is
considered to be "a carbonated drink." If you know anything about
home remedies then you know that soda pop can be used to unclog
stuffed toilets and remove rust from a car battery. If carbonic acid can
perform these tasks then it is safe to say that it can cause some level of
damage to your internal organs. Meat as I have mentioned earlier is
also acid forming and causes a calcium deficiency. Wherever there is
acid present in the human body there must be calcium to help digest or
breakdown the acid. I must repeat, where your health is concerned,
acid is the bad guy unless we are speaking of stomach acid that is
necessary to help you digest foods.
 ALKALINE - If I had a dollar for the amount of times that I heard
someone say alkaline or alkaline water I would be rich. Alkaline
comes from the Arabic word alkali. Alkaline can be defined as a base
substance that rates higher than a seven on the ph scale. In the world
of health people strive to be more alkaline than acidic.
 PH (Potential Hydrogen) - Acid and alkaline are measured on a scale
known as PH or potential hydrogen. Ph is nothing more than a plant's
ability to attract hydrogen ions. Plants need hydrogen to function. If a
plant does not have hydrogen then it will not survive. The ph's
involvement with plants is focusing on the relationship between the soil
and water. If the environment is too acidic then the plant will not
thrive. On the other hand if the environment is saturated with
hydrogen then the plant will still not thrive. The ideal score for a
plant's environment or a human body on the ph scale is seven (7.3 to be
exact).
How do all of these things relate to you and your nutrition? Most individuals
consume a diet rich in acid or acid forming foods. What can they do to get
their bodies back alkaline? The best thing to do would be to consume a diet
rich in plant life. Once you have embarked on your plant-based diet you will
want to incorporate things like drinking rain, distilled, reverse osmosis or
alkaline water. Alkaline water will be a crucial piece to your health
improvement. After birth, the human body becomes extremely acid over time
due to our diet. Alkaline water along with the fruits and vegetables will
provide a great cleansing and healing infrastructure necessary to build optimal
health. Once your body is back to normal you will not have to consume
alkaline water as much just so long as your diet is alkaline. Lastly do not be
afraid of consuming citrus fruits that are said to be acidic. It is true that citrus
fruits are acidic but what is often omitted is that they are only acidic outside of
the body. The moment acidic fruits become digested by the body they
transform into an alkaline-like residue which is great for your body. If you
are consistent in the application of these basic concepts you will have every
honest expectation at feeling great and living a healthful life!
Chapter 16: BUT THEY TOLD ME MILK AND CHEESE WAS GOOD
FOR MY BONES
Pizza, cheeseburgers, macaroni and cheese, lasagna, grilled cheese, milk and
cereal, canned milk, cheese cake, cheese n crackers and cornbread are just a
few of the things that African-Americans consume that contain milk. Cheese
is a byproduct of milk so when I refer to milk I am essentially including
cheese as well. Based on Joel Fuhrman’s book Eat To Live, “Cheese is the
number one contributor of saturated fat in the American diet. Compared to
lean meat and fowl cheese has 8 to 9 grams of saturated fat per ounce vs. lean
meat which has 2 to 3 grams of saturated fat per ounce.” We know that meat
is very acidic and can cause problems for us but cheese is even worse.
Cheese comes from milk which many people consume. Past the age of five
people have problems digesting milk. We may not realize it but it’s true. If
your skin contains melanin then milk will not be beneficial for you past the
age of five. Up until that point only your mother’s milk would be best suited
for nourishment. Shortly after your fifth birthday your body starts to
become void of lactase. Lactase is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of
lactose to glucose and galactose. In other words it helps to break down the
lactose which is a sugar found in milk. If you don’t have the lactase to break
down the lactose you become labeled as lactose intolerant. For this reason
you notice that cheese eaters and milk drinkers have excess gas, upset
stomachs and live on the toilet. The black community is known for making
jokes in reference to being lactose intolerant but it is your body’s way of
telling you that it is rejecting these so called food items. These symptoms
are dead giveaways that you should discontinue the consumption of milk and
cheese products. This is also a reason for the high rates of arthritis,
osteoporosis, diabetes and heart ailments. If the lactose cannot be broken
down it remains in the system all the while causing disruptions. Cow’s milk
is something that you want to avoid because the enzymes and nutrients that
are in the milk are made specifically for cows. Cow’s milk is made for cows
and goat’s milk is made for goats. If you should desire milk you will want to
consume milk that comes from nuts such as almonds. Cow’s milk is
processed in different stages. Yogurt and cheese are nothing more than fancy
names for rotten milk. The first stage of rotten milk is called yogurt.
People consume this under the expectation that they are receiving good
bacteria. It does contain some good bacteria but it is nothing more than milk
that has formed into a concrete like mucus when left out over- night. The
next stage of rotten milk is called cheese. What happens here is that milk
passes several stages of rottenness to arrive at cheese. The color of cheese
that you see in the store when you purchase it is not its’ natural color. The
natural color would be white because cheese is a byproduct of milk. If fresh
unpasteurized cow’s milk sits around for an extended period of time you will
notice a yellow film rise to the top of the milk. That film is partly where
butter comes from. Although the film is slightly yellow in hue it is not strong
enough to sustain itself through the vigorous pasteurization process and
impact the entire product with its color. In order for stores, manufacturers
and cheese suppliers to make cheese aesthetically pleasing to the eye they
have to add different types of dye. The most common form used in cheese is
called annatto. I became aware of this special dye while visiting a grocery
store with a friend of mine in Texas. She informed me that the natural color
of cheese was not yellow but that it was white. I could not debate the issue
with her during that time because I had no knowledge of this foreign
ingredient. It turned out that she was correct in her statement. Annatto
makes your cheese orange or yellow. This started in Europe many years ago
and filtered its way down to South American and the Caribbean. It is most
commonly used in South America because of the herb from which annatto
takes its origin. The herb is called achiote. The achiote is used in Colombia
for microbial infections. The achiote is nothing more than a naturally
occurring pigment that possesses a few medicinal properties. The benefits of
the achiote are drastically lessened the moment you combine them with other
unhealthy agents involved in the cheese manufacturing process.
According to a study published in the "Journal of the National Cancer
Institute," cheese and other dairy products may actually raise the risk of breast
cancer. A study published in "Nutrition and Cancer" also came to the same
conclusion. Other studies link cheese to lymphoid cancers and lung cancer.
The Physicians Committee on Responsible Medicine warned in "The New
York Times" that cheese can contribute to the development of colic allergies
and digestive problems. The Center for Science in the Public Interest warns
that the consumption of cheese is giving heart attacks to many Americans
because of its high-fat content. The saturated fat in cheese seems to be the
biggest problem. It is a problem because your body can produce saturated fat
on its own so there is no need to introduce more into the body. The more you
consume saturated fat from outside sources the more you run the risk of
contracting harsh diseases. Many times the saturated fat from cheese is burnt
(cheese burgers, lasagna or macaroni and cheese) which complicates the
situation and makes life difficult for your arteries. If there is a clog or block
in the arteries then blood cannot be transported to and from the heart. Over
time you have a build-up of free radicals, clogs and breakdowns in your blood
vessels causing you to have cancer, heart attacks or heart disease.
In order that you may fully grasp the severity of this chapter I must explain the
primary negative consequence of consuming milk, cheese, meat and sugar. It
is a common denominator in most nearly all disease. It is that of
inflammation. But what causes the inflammation? The aforementioned
foods that most African-Americans consume cause the inflammation by
attracting mucus to the various sites within the body system. Mucus plays an
immeasurable role in the life of every human being alive today. There is
good mucus and there is the mucus that is present when there is a problem
within the body. By definition mucus is a viscous, slimy mixture of mucins,
water, electrolytes, epithelial cells, and lycocytes that is secreted by glands
lining the nasal, esophageal, and other body cavities and serves primarily to
protect and lubricate surfaces. Everyone has a certain amount of good mucus
in their body until they turn to the unhealthy foods such as milk, cheese, meat
and sugar. As you become accustomed to consuming more of these things
you begin to notice that your body is producing more mucus and often times it
is a different color with a thicker coat. Clear mucus implies that there are
probably no infections taking place within the body. Dark colored mucus
with a yellow or green hue typically indicates that you are fighting a bacterial
infection or some form of fungal malady. This form of mucus is also known
as phlegm. If it escalates to a reddish brown color then you are dealing with
serious issues that may involve blood. Nevertheless heavy amounts of thick
mucus (also known as snot) usually cause the inflammation in different parts
of the body. This is the point where mucus-created diseases begin to affect the
body. Herbalist D’Jehuty Ma’at-ra skillfully elucidates on the connection of
inflammation, mucus and disease. Ma’at-ra states:
All diseases ending in the suffix “itis” simply denote inflammation.
Inflammation is the act or process of inflaming. The pharmaceutical industry
makes a fortune making different drugs for what in reality is the same thing
just located in a different part of the human body. Insalubrious mucus is the
cause of inflammation within the body. It is your diet that causes this form of
mucus buildup. Meat in the forms of beef, pork, chicken, turkey and fish
create mucus. Meat is going to breakdown into uric acid in the body. The
liquid meat known as dairy products is equally terrible at creating mucus.
Ice cream, butter, dairy, and yogurt all cause the unhealthy mucus to form in
your body. Dairy products break down into lactic acid. Lactic acid makes
the tissues very stiff. The mucus created from these things in turn produce
inflammation which is your biggest problem.
We have now identified the role that dairy products play in causing mucus
which then causes inflammation and leads to disease. When you experience
diseases such as arthritis (inflammation of the arthro or joints), meningitis
(inflammation of the meninges covering the brain), hepatitis (inflammation of
the liver) or tendonitis (inflammation of the tendons) you now know that
eliminating the inflammation by discontinuing the consumption of certain
foods can lead to your relief. In order to effectively complete such a task you
will need to have a list of foods that are acid forming and acid binding (or
alkaline foods). If you desire to have this information you can do so for free
online by entering any search engine and downloading a free copy of Arnold
Ehret’s book The Mucusless Diet. Physiological chemist, Ragner Berg’s
mucus/acid food list will be located from pages 106-110 of The Mucusless
Diet book. There are other sources that have a list of these foods as well.
Dairy products can cause a great deal of inflammatory diseases but what else
are they known for doing? According to Robert Cohen, author of Milk The
Deadly Poison, sixty percent of cows in America have “Leukemia Virus” and
eighty percent have what is known as “Para tuberculosis.” Para tuberculosis
causes Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which affects 4 million American women.
Another interesting fact is there are 4,000 mammals with over 500,000
hormones, but the irony in this is that, only one growth hormone in all of
nature between two mammals are identical and that hormone is between
human and cow. The captivating part is this same growth hormone can be
found in milk! This hormone is the most powerful growth hormone in the
human body. If you are a person with cancer and drinking milk daily, you
have just “DOUBLED” the only hormone that makes breast cancer grow.
Cohen goes on to say that “the number one protein in milk is called casein.
Eighty percent of the protein in milk is the same in the glue that they use to
put a label on a bottle of beer. The same glue that holds your wooden
furniture together is also derived from this very same protein. So, in essence
you are drinking glue.” The greatest controversy in the history of the FDA is
the genetic engineering of milk. Did you know that protein inhibits calcium
absorption? Milk is nothing more than liquid protein as stated by D’Jehuty
Ma’at-ra. You can get your calcium intake from “leafy green vegetables”, so
it is not mandatory that you drink milk to have strong bones like so many of us
have believed for so long.
Here are three facts for you to consider.
Fact one: The food that newborn mammals receive from their mothers is
extremely necessary for its’ survival. When they are grown, mammals stop
drinking milk and follow other diets. An adult cow will die from its’
mother’s milk. Conscious doctors will tell a woman to breastfeed her
children up until 2 years or more if it does not cause her too much discomfort.
Maternal milk is very healthy, tasty and nutritious when it comes from our
own species. We are however, the only species who continues to drink milk,
well into our adult years.
Fact two: Cow pus, mucous, and “snot” are all in milk but it is very difficult
to fully eradicate all of the bacteria. Surprisingly, the FDA still allows
companies to sell it.
Fact three: According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, lactose intolerance is affecting 95 percent of Asians, 60 to 80
percent of African-Americans and Ashekenazi Jews, 80 to 100 percent of
American Indians and 50 to 80 percent of Hispanics. If you are lactose
intolerant, this alone, is a red flag of your body, screaming at you that you
should not drink milk or consume any dairy products. These products all
stem from milk. Your body has built-in mechanisms to alert you, if
something is going wrong with your body. Most of us have a tendency to
ignore what our body is trying to tell us. Stay alert and watch for the body's
signs. Pain is a good thing because it lets you know that something is wrong
and it needs to be fixed.
If you desire more in depth and fully detailed information on dairy and meat
consumption it is recommended that you read T. Colin Campbell’s best-seller,
The China Study. This book was completely dedicated to providing
bulletproof answers on why people should stay away from dairy products and
meats. The study was completed in 65 counties throughout China. It
included 6,500 adults (who took blood tests and completed paperwork).
When they were done they had more than 8,000 statistically significant
associations between lifestyle, diet and disease variables. The results of The
China Study also revealed two things. “People who ate the most
animal-based foods contracted the most chronic diseases. Secondly, people
who ate the most plant-based foods were the healthiest.”
Chapter 17: IT’S TIME TO HAVE YOUR SWEET TOOTH PULLED
I spoke about the binge eating habit known as pica or cribbing in an
independent article that I wrote for a well-known website. Whenever there is
a lack of nutrients in the body it causes one to eat junk food or snacks
continuously without ever quenching the appetite. Snacks, sugar or sweets
can only be things that you have an appetite for. You will never hear anyone
say, "I am hungry for ice cream." They may say "I have a taste for some ice
cream.” What makes us love sugar so? One of the biggest reasons we are
addicted to sugar is that sugar is a part of nearly everything we eat. Ketchup,
barbeque sauce, sugar cured meats, cakes, pies, cookies, pop, bottled juice,
candy, canned foods, pasta sauces, frozen foods and so much more. It is
difficult not to crave sugar when you are unknowingly consuming it with
virtually every meal. Sugar taste great but the effects that sugar has on the
body are equally if not worse than drugs. It has previously been established
by naturopath and author of African Holistic Health Dr. Llaila Afrika that the
definition of a drug is a substance that is isolated and concentrated away from
its’ original source. By this definition sugar is a drug because it is isolated
and concentrated from the sugar cane. Where do the sugar issues begin?
One day back home in Detroit around 11:45 am on a Tuesday I decided to
make a quick run to the supermarket. I was preparing my lunch but I realized
that I had run out of a few necessary ingredients. It was the first of the month
so I knew what to expect as far as the wait in line. For some reason I thought
that I could beat the odds, slip past everyone and get back home in time to
finish cooking and get some work done around the house. I was wrong.
While waiting in line at the local supermarket on the east side of Detroit I
noticed an African-American woman who appeared to be in her mid-fifties
with a grocery buggy spilling over the top with items. The majority of her
basket was filled with sugar laden snacks.
I was not intentionally staring
but the size of shopping cart was such that I had no choice but to notice.
There were potato chips, reeses cups, gummy bears, ice cream, pop tarts,
cookies and a few other items that I cannot recall. Who was she buying all of
this for? I assumed that she probably had some grandchildren that she was
shopping for and being that we all were kids at some point in our lives we
know that kids love snacks and sweets. It was then that I realized that our
infatuation with sugar began when we were very young. To give you an
example of how programmed we are I want you to think about what was
available to you when you went to visit your dentist as a child. At the cash
register there was usually a small bowl filled with several flavors of bite-sized
candy. If you behaved well at the dentist’s (or doctor’s) office they gave you
candy on your way out of the door. When you celebrate the pagan holiday
Halloween you are given a hand full of candy at each home you visit during
the trick-or-treat ritual. You have been programmed to associate good
behavior with candy. Haven’t you ever heard people say things like, “she is
such a sweet person” or “how are you doing sweetie?” This is deep
programming, albeit on a subconscious level but it is nevertheless
programming. Why would a dentist who just fixed a cavity in your mouth
give you a piece of candy? That is insanely out of control. So, our love of
sugar is a long history that has to be abolished if we are to rise up from this
state of ill health as a people. You generally wouldn’t see a person who
consumed very little sugar in their youth turn to a life of sugar consumption
unless they consume alcohol (which many don’t know is processed as sugar
by the body). Have you ever noticed that snacks or candy will never get you
full? They have never satisfied my hunger. They do however give people
diabetes, enhance attention deficit disorder in children, provide desirable food
for cancer cells to grow and cause organs to malfunction. The snack industry
companies know that their sugar laced snacks will have such a great impact on
your taste buds. For this reason they can confidently tell you what will
happen after you take the first bite of their product. Think about the Lay's
potato chip commercial. They say "You can't eat just one." The funny part
is that they are generally correct especially if you are a nutrient deficient
person. Although the chips taste good the fact that you want to eat more of
the chips has to do more with the artificial sugars and ingredients in the
products and also with science and nutrition. The issue here is that when you
are not eating a nutritious diet and you snack excessively on sugary products
you are suffering from what is known as "pica" or "cribbing." These are not
diseases per se but these are the technical terms for "the munchies" that were
coined by veterinarians (cribbing was coined by veterinarians). The
definition of cribbing is an injurious habit in which a horse bites its manger
and as a result swallows air. Pica on the other hand is more related to the
human species. It is defined as an abnormal appetite or craving for
substances that are not fit to eat, as chalk or clay, common malnutrition. I am
not aiming to say that we are animals but we share many of the same
characteristics that animals possess when we have cravings. These cravings
are signs that you have been consuming a great deal of unnatural sugar and
that you suffer from mineral and other nutrient deficiencies. Anytime you are
deficient you can eat an entire bag of potato chips in one sitting or a gallon of
ice cream the same way. Pregnant women are the best examples. Many
times a pregnant woman will wake up at three o'clock in the morning craving
ice cream.
She is not craving the ice cream because she is hungry she is craving it
because her child is pulling nutrients from her and she has become deficient
and thinks that something sweet like ice cream will satisfy her. So in an
attempt to satisfy the munchies she finds herself eating a pint of butter pecan
and still wondering why she is hungry. This all the while putting the baby at
risk because of the abnormally high amounts of sugar that is being consumed,
depending on if the baby is passing though the formation stage. The food that
one eats while they are binge eating or craving things is not in the least bit
healthy. All of these snacks or foods are loaded with carbohydrates, sugars or
other bad elements. It is during these times that one will experience the
weight gain. Sugar is one of if not the leading cause of obesity. The United
States is ranked number one in the world in obesity followed by Mexico. It’s
interesting that both of these countries consume large amounts of sugar. Dr.
Joseph Mercola provided the following information on sugar linked to obesity
in America.
Mercola states:
Sugar is loaded into your soft drinks, fruit juices, sports drinks, and hidden in
almost all processed foods—from bologna to pretzels to Worcestershire sauce
to cheese spread. And now most infant formula has the sugar equivalent of
one can of Coca-Cola, so babies are being metabolically poisoned from day
one if taking formula. No wonder there is an obesity epidemic in this
country. Today, 32 percent of Americans are obese and an additional
one-third are overweight. Compare that to 1890, when a survey of white
males in their fifties revealed an obesity rate of just 3.4 percent. In 1975, the
obesity rate in America had reached 15 percent, and since then it has doubled.
Carrying excess weight increases your risk for deadly conditions such as
heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes. In 1893, there were fewer than
three cases of diabetes per 100,000 people in the United States. Today,
diabetes strikes almost 8,000 out of every 100,000 people.
The more sugar you put in your body the bigger the chances that you will gain
excessive weight and contract a life threatening disease. It is simply a
difficult task for the body to breakdown sugar because it requires much more
work and essential nutrients that the body needs.
According to Dr. Jennifer Daniels author of the audio lecture, Slave Quarter
Cures,
"White sugar when not accompanied by B-Vitamins and minerals enters your
body and pulls fluids from all over your body dehydrating your organs and
pulling B-Vitamins from the brain making you forgetful while also pulling
minerals from your bones giving you osteoporosis.”
Dehydration is defined as an abnormal loss of water from the body, especially
from illness or physical exertion. The less water your blood has the thicker it
will become. If your blood becomes thick then it cannot move about through
your body to do its’ job. Sugar can also cause problems such as malnutrition.
Many people associate malnutrition with helpless children from Africa who
appear on commercials without any food to eat. Of course that is one way of
looking at it but the truth is that there are many Americans who do not look
that way but are malnourished. Malnutrition is the lack of adequate nutrition
resulting from insufficient food, unbalanced diet or defective assimilation.
When you suffer from malnutrition your body is lacking the raw materials it
needs to flourish so it settles for a "partial death" (like skin rashes, kidney
problems, sinus infections, etc) and consequently the immune system is forced
to make a decision on which organ or system will not get fed that particular
day. As a result there is a breakdown somewhere in the body because if one
part of the system is not getting fed then that means that someone else is
pulling a double duty which ultimately leads to a glitch or collapse in the
system causing a malfunction.
When you ingest refined foods you are making a conscious decision to do
yourself harm. I realize that refined food is a very broad category. For the
sake of giving a concise explanation of what they are I will divide refined
foods into two groups. The first group is called refined food items. I refer to
them as items because they are not what the average African-American would
consider to be real food. Refined food items are condiments, snacks, soft
drinks, ice cream, candy, etc. Most black people are cognoscente that they
are consuming a large amount of processed sugar with these items but they
feel that it is harmless because they do it sparingly like three to four times per
week. I will ask that you also consider the large amounts of sugar being
consumed in caffeinated (or de-caffeinated) drinks by people who work in
corporate America and use coffee, cappuchino or other forms of caffeinated
drinks as a stimulant. The first group of refined foods are publicly known
vessels that carry sugar. It’s no secret that a candy bar contains sugar. The
second group of refined foods do a great deal of damage within the
African-American community because we are unaware that these foods are
converted by the body as sugar.
This group is what I call refined true foods. Refined true foods are foods that
are consumed with the intention of gleaning sound alimentation. Although
the intentions are good these foods are a silent killer within the black
community when consumed in the wrong way. Foods such as white rice (I
speak about this later), white potatoes, white flour, white bread, pasta and
bagels are the most common forms of refined true foods. Here is the problem
with these foods. Your body monitors your blood sugar levels by releasing
the hormone insulin into your blood whenever there is a rise in blood sugar.
Refined true foods that are made from certain flours are digested quicker than
other foods. The speed at which pasta and other refined flour products are
digested influences your blood sugar levels and contributes to the sugar highs
and lows that deplete energy and cause hunger. Consuming these foods
consistently over long periods of time can cause health-related afflictions as
well as obesity.
Chapter 18: WHITE RICE – SOMEWHAT A MYSTERY
There is a caveat regarding white rice. I have been warned by health food
experts to avoid consumption of white rice at all cost. While a large portion
of white rice in the world undergoes a certain level of processing there is
something that must be put into proper context with regards to this food. Ask
yourself one question. If we are living in a world with a just God, why would
God make white rice into something that is detrimental and unhealthy when
over half of the world’s population depend on rice as their primary food
source? Does that sound fair? There are people who live in Asia, the
Caribbean and South America who eat rice strictly for survival. The
oxy-moron here is that the Japanese consume more rice than Americans yet
they outlive us by five to seven years. So what is in this rice? White rice is
just milled rice meaning it is crushed. The husks, bran and germ are removed
as well. Most people are worried about the bran because the bran is
considered to be a healthy part that is found in brown rice. Hence,
nutritionists recommend that you consume brown and jasmine rice instead of
white rice. By removing the ingredients from the white rice you increase the
shelf life of the rice. If it were not for the removal of the bran and other
nutrients previously wheat mentioned there would be no difference between
white and brown rice. The bran is a source of (grain) which ultimately helps
you in the form of fiber. White rice is a member of the complex carbohydrate
family with its composition being 85 percent carbohydrate, 7 percent fat and 8
percent protein. When I mention carbohydrates to many so called
African-Americans they get nervous. It’s as if someone has informed them
that carbohydrates will kill them. The common response is that protein is the
primary source and that we should avoid carbs. Protein is very important to
the human diet but please understand that your brain functions primarily from
carbohydrates. If you are not consuming carbohydrates your brain is not
being properly nourished! Here is the part that is left out. If you are an
athlete or lead a very active lifestyle your body will need more carbohydrates
than the average person. The carbs will give you the fuel that you need to get
through your workouts without feeling that you may faint from low blood
sugar.
If you lead a sedentary lifestyle then consuming carbs like rice could present a
different set of circumstances for you. When you are not burning the
complex carbs that are in the foods you consume then you are essentially
leaving an open door for a spike in your blood sugar. The biggest factor in
determining the effect that white rice will have on your blood sugar is the
amount you consume. The second biggest factor will be the method of
preparation. The third and final factor is the level of processing and
refinement that the rice has undergone. I will not deny that white rice can be
injurious if consumed incorrectly. Why does white rice harm most
African-Americans health wise? Two of the previously stated facts can
answer this question. When we consume rice we do so with extra amounts of
butter, table salt and seasonings. Secondly, we eat large servings
accompanied by meat! I do not have conclusive facts to give a sound answer
on if the brand of white rice that most of us consume is heavily refined or
minimally processed. What I do know is that these two reasons are enough to
make us change our approach towards white rice altogether. If the Asian
culture can consume more rice than us and have less disease and longer
lifespans then white rice can’t be the boogeyman. Sure you could use the
rationale that the rice that they consume is minimally processed. The truth is
that most of the rice that the world consumes is produced in Asia and exported
to the respective country. I want to take a look at a few facts in relation to
Asians and rice.
White Rice in Asia
 In Asia white rice is 60 percent of the food source
 Southeast Asia produces 95 percent of the rice that the world consumes
 The healthiest country on earth is Japan. The average lifespan for
females is 86 years and for males 79 years.
 Many Japanese eat rice with EVERY MEAL including breakfast
 The Japanese consume six times the amount of rice per day than
Americans but yet they have a 3 percent obesity rate versus the United
States that has a 32 percent obesity rate.
After digesting these facts and doing more independent due diligence you will
have to ask yourself if rice can truly be considered harmful (in the form of
sugar carbs) as the other complex carbohydrates. According to several
Japanese diet studies, the key to eating white rice and maintaining a high level
of overall health is that the Japanese consume it in small amounts and with
very little to no meat. They tend to substitute meat for green vegetables
(stir-fry) and occasionally fish. The Japanese as well as other Asian cultures
drink large amounts of green tea which has several conclusive studies
available that show it’s affects in reducing cancer risks. I will reiterate that the
Japanese do not use butter or cooking oil to cook their rice. Like the
African-American many Caribbean countries like the Dominican Republic
prepare their rice with oil which when accompanied with a carb such as rice
could have a double-negative effect. This is why many of the black people in
the Caribbean suffer the same diseases as black Americans.
Based on this information it is my assertion that the preparation of rice seems
to be an integral factor of the benefits or detriments one will receive from rice
consumption. In the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Cuba and
Jamaica white rice and beans are eaten every single day without fail! Natural
logic tells me that too many people in the world rely on white rice as their
only means of survival for it to be a bad food. When your monthly salary is
200 US dollars you do not have the option of paying 4 dollars for one pack of
small brown rice that won’t last you more than one meal (because of the size
of your family). Seeing that GOD is a just GOD I have to surmise that this is
a good food when prepared correctly and eaten in proper context.
I will now provide some specific detriments involved with white sugar
consumption that you may be dealing with but did not know existed. This list
is no indication that these things will happen to you but these are known
byproducts of too much sugar. Nancy Appleton, PhD and author of “Lick
The Sugar Habit” has a few interesting findings about sugar.
SUGAR CAN
 Lead to alcoholism.
 Throws off the body’s homeostasis (which means the condition of the
body to seek a condition of balance).
 Subdue your immune system and impair your defenses against
infectious disease.
 Upset the mineral relationships in your body causing chromium,
vanadium and copper deficiencies and interferes with absorption of
calcium and magnesium.
 Produce a significant rise in total cholesterol and triglycerides.
 Contribute to and cause appendicitis, varicose veins, gallstones,
hemorrhoids and food allergies.
 Increase fasting levels of glucose and can cause reactive hypoglycemia.
 Cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
 Increase the size of your liver by making your liver cells divide and it
can increase the amount of liver fat.
 Be higher in people with Parkinson’s disease.
Appleton goes on to list many more facts about sugar that affect the human
body in a negative way. It is understood that sugar is a big part of most of
our lives. We can change the way in which we intake sugar by changing the
actual “sugar source” when we want something to be sweeter. Below are
more sugar related statistics provided by Dr. Joesph Mercola that chart the
growth of sugar consumption in America over the past four hundred years.
The numbers will leave you in shock.
Sugar Consumption Over the Past 400 Years
 In 1700, the average person consumed about 4 pounds of sugar per year.
 In 1800, the average person consumed about 18 pounds of sugar per
year.
 In 1900, individual consumption had risen to 90 pounds of sugar per
year.
 In 2009, more than 50 percent of all Americans consumed one-half
pound of sugar PER DAY—translating to a whopping 180 pounds of
sugar per year!
Remember that consuming a bag of white sugar is not the only way that
people consume sugar. Many are doing so with no knowledge of the act. In
departing I wish to inform you about “artificial sweeteners.” Many people
use artificial sweeteners while believing that they are making the healthier
choice. I will not name call but many sweeteners claim to replace the sugar
taste without actually giving you “the sugar.” If it sounds too good to be true
then it is. Steer clear of these items because they have been known to have
serious health repercussions. The most common artificial sweetener
ingredient that you should beware of is called aspartame. D’Jehuty Ma’at-ra
of dhealthstore.com states:
Aspartame is a toxic man-made chemical that can be found in chewing gum,
soda pops and other crap on the market considered to be food. But here is
what I want you to think about. At 86 degrees aspartame automatically
converts into formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is used as an ingredient or agent
in embalming fluid. In other words at 86 degrees aspartame converts into
embalming fluid. What is the natural human body temperature? It is 98.6
degrees. That means that anytime aspartame is consumed and enters the
human body it’s going to convert into formaldehyde. People have the nerve
to ask me why I considered people in the western world who consume junk
food to be “the walking dead.” Most of us are walking around here dead
hence the walking dead.
Besides honey, another safe natural sweetener is STEVIA. Stevia is a plant
primarily grown in Paraguay and Brazil. Stevia is made by crushing or
distilling, the leaves of the plant to a powder or syrup. If you should choose
to use Stevia remember to use only a small amount, as it is sweeter than other
sweeteners. Beware of another so called natural sweetener called agave
nectar as it is marketed as a natural sweetener. Natural is a word that is not
legally defined by United States food regulators so it is left to the product
manufacturers to decide what they feel is natural. The American Diabetes
Association lists agave along with other sweeteners (table sugar, honey, brown
sugar, molasses, fructose, maple sugar, and confectioner’s sugar) that should
limited in diabetic diets.
Chapter 19: SODA POP ANOTHER FORM OF SUGAR
You have just finished reading one of the reasons to avoid soda pop but I will
elaborate a little more on how these drinks harm us. We have heard many
different reasons on why we should not drink carbonated drinks. All of them
are very relevant to maintaining good health but there is really one important
reason why we should avoid carbonated drinks at all costs. According to
wisegeek a carbonated drink is a beverage that contains the characteristic of
carbonation. It creates bubbles and fizzing in a carbonated beverage due to
the presence of carbon dioxide gas. I'm quite certain that when Englishman
Joseph Priestly created the world's first artificially carbonated drink in 1767 he
did not have any idea that his creation would spiral out of control and grow
worldwide in epic proportions. The primary reason that we should avoid
carbonated drinks is that the carbonation from the drinks will neutralize your
stomach acid. If you do not have enough stomach acid you cannot
adequately absorb key minerals, vitamin B-12 or digest proteins. Tami
Winfrey Harris, author and writer for Clutch Magazine Online sheds light on
the soda pop crisis in the African-American community in her article titled
“America, We Have a Soda Problem.” Harris reveals, “African Americans
consume more sugar-sweetened beverages (or SSBs) compared with whites of
the same ages, says a report by the African-American Collaborative Obesity
Research Network (AACORN). And black women’s (ages 31 to 50) average
daily consumption of calories from SSBs is double that of white females in the
same age range.” The article stressed the importance of choosing clean water
as a viable substitute for sodas. AACORN (African American Collaborative
Obesity Research) historically known for their dedication to the advancement
in health of African Americans did a study on black youth and soda
consumption. The AACORN study called, “Impact of Sugar-Sweetened
Beverage Consumption on Black Americans’ Health,” reported that black
adolescents’ intake of sodas and other sweet beverages is increasing, possibly
due, in part, to disproportionate targeting by advertising. Because the
consumption of SSBs is higher in adolescents and young adults I chose to use
the above statement speaking of target marketing. Whatever the reason is for
our over consumption of carbonated and processed drinks, we are in dire
straits.
As you continue to drink pop (a Midwest word) you disrupt and slowly
eliminate the acid levels of your stomach. There are many doctors who will
tell you that you don't need your stomach acid and they will prescribe you
different medications (eg. antacids) that eradicate stomach acid. How many
times have you had a stomach ache after eating too much food at your family
cookout? When you complained to someone in the house what was the first
thing they told you to do? I’m sure it depended on the kind of pain but I’m
willing to bet that they instructed you to go and drink some Coke, Ginger Ale
or 7-up. The reason that anyone would tell you to drink soda pop is because
the carbonation from the soda will provide you with relief by neutralizing your
stomach acid and helping to ease the pain of the upset stomach. This is
actually a good thing if you do it a few times per year. If you grew up on
tough times then you may have seen one of your parents or your local plumber
use pop in place of Drano for a stuffed toilet. The acid content is powerful.
If you are like many African-Americans who drink carbonated drinks several
times a day then you are going to be in trouble in the long run. I have
personally seen young adults complaining about back problems due to their
soda pop addiction. Think of how difficult a job your kidneys have trying to
remove toxins from the soda pop. You may be looking at various nutritional
deficiency diseases in the future because your body is being fed very little
nutrients if any at all. Harvard Medical School did a study on carbonation
and the affects it has on teenage girls that were freshmen and sophomores in
high school. The study did not specify whether these girls were
African-American or not but I am using this as a point of reference to inform
you of the perils associated with soda pop for people in general. What the
study showed was that those girls that drank one non-cola carbonated drink
per day enhanced their risks of getting osteoporosis and fractures by three
hundred percent. Those who drank a cola carbonated drink per day increased
their chance by five hundred percent. Remember this is only in teenage girls
who have much more bone matrix (they have 40%) than adults do (adults have
25%) so it is easier for them to recover from bone related injuries. The moral
of the story is to curtail and eventually eliminate soda pop consumption if you
value your health.
As far as the United States is concerned, non-Latino blacks are the only group
of people who do not have a firm food culture of which to relate. The
Italians, Greeks, Chinese, Polish and Japanese all have their own respective
communities within the United States as well as restaurants. I would even
venture to say that many African-Americans are not wanted in some of those
communities (not all but some). The African-American on the other hand has
to rely on these communities to provide for them or consume the European
processed foods that are purchased from the store. Examples of these foods
would be Vienna Sausage (from Vienna, Austria), Carbonated Soda (from
Birstall, England), Hamburgers (from Hamburg, Germany), Sandwich (from
London, England) and French Fries (from Namur, Belgium). So here we
have a nation of people descending from the land of Africa but contracting
European diseases because of the European diet that they follow. People
from other communities within the United States are not frequent consumers
of the closely associated African-American cuisine known soul food. The
moment that we can return to eating foods that are organic and similar to what
our ancestors consumed in Africa, we will be on the road to recovery. Even
though we may not have direct access to foods that were consumed thousands
of years ago we can begin to change our diet with the natural resources that
we have available to us in the present. God will always provide you with an
answer that will be in your best interest. In this next segment I will provide
small things that helped me to transition from unhealthy foods to foods that
enhance my well-being.
Chapter 20: IS THE OIL IN YOUR CAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN
THE BLOOD IN YOUR BODY?
The good thing about growing up in a home with a father who loved manual
labor was that you had the opportunity to learn many things. At the time I did
not consider any of this to be a benefit because I was more focused on
athletics and becoming great in sports but many of these things helped me in a
great way. Repairing things around the house, doing yard work and of course
working on cars were the three main areas of focus in my home. Of these
three arenas my father just so happened to be a master mechanic. He
graduated from an auto-mechanics school in Detroit called MO-TECH. If
you had a problem with your car he could fix it or tell you where to go to get it
fixed. The very first thing he showed me how to do was change the oil in my
car. He stressed that keeping clean oil and changing the oil in your car would
be key ingredients to the overall maintenance of the motor vehicle. Not
changing your oil (or coolant) is the worst thing you can do to an engine.
This is why it is recommended that you change the oil in your car every 3,000
miles. Here’s what happens when you don’t change the oil in your car. Dirt
will begin to accumulate in the oil. The filter will remove the dirt for a while
but eventually the filter will clog and the dirty oil will automatically bypass
the filter through a relief valve. Dirty oil is thick and abrasive so it causes
more wear.
Additives in the oil like detergents, dispersants, rust-fighters and friction
reducers will wear out, so the oil won't lubricate as well as it should.
Eventually, as the oil gets dirtier and dirtier, it will stop lubricating and the
engine will quickly wear and fail. Everything I have just explained to you is
very similar to how blood functions in your body. Replace the word engine
with heart and replace the word oil with blood and you have virtually the same
mechanism. If you will change the oil in your car every 3,000 miles why
wouldn’t you do the same for yourself? You can always buy another car but
your body is only one. As a race we have not been taught to cleanse or
detoxify our bodies to produce fresh blood. Those of us that do know do not
view the process as something that is urgent or necessary. Colonics, enemas
and cleanses are simply not at the top of our lists. That is until we get
threatened with a disease and are forced to take action. All great things
usually happen in gradual stages. No undertaking of infinite value can be
accomplished overnight. Anything worth having is certainly worth waiting (or
working) for. When you desire to experience a physical change in
appearance or health transformation you must know that universal law is
applicable as well. This brings me to what I feel is an important first step to
health improvement which is detoxing. Full body detoxing in laymen's
terms is cleansing the entire body of all pathogens and toxins that have or may
cause damage to it. One of the most cost-effective ways to detox is to fast.
To fast simply means to give up food(s) for an extended period of time.
During this time you will be tested mentally because your body is accustomed
to eating unhealthy foods and the cravings for those foods may set in and take
over if you are not strong willed. Religious people are most known for
fasting because they have stated that it allows them to have open
communication with God and have clarity on certain life issues while allowing
them to cleanse the body. The good news here is that many African
Americans know the benefits of fasting because of their devotion to their
religion.
There is an important aspect to fasting that must be addressed. A
considerable amount of people who fast often time start feeling sick after a
few days of the fast and often mistake the "feeling of sickness" with "being
sick." This happens because they are going through withdrawal. During the
fasting process the body is cleansing itself which feels to them like sickness
but it is not genuine sickness. When this happens they break the fast and
return to eating the bad foods. The feeling of sickness dissipates leaving
them with a false sense that the unhealthy foods impeded the sickness.
Anytime the body cleanses itself you will experience a period of discomfort.
Once you get through the period of disquiet you have done the hard work.
The most common form of full body detoxification used is called cleanse.
Cleanses are usually products that are comprised of natural herbs that are
taken with water and accompanied by a raw foods diet. The type of cleanse
that you choose will depend largely upon your desired results. There are
cleanses that clean certain organs and there are cleanses that detoxify the
entire body. Cleanses are very effective because of the strength and potency
of the herbs that provide certain benefits to several systems of the body. The
best kind of cleanse would be a specialized full body detox. When you full
body detox you are cleansing yourself from head to toe. It usually takes 21
days to full body detox. Now that you understand the two most common
forms of detoxing let's explain why this is the first and most vital step to
health transformation. In order for you to rectify any malady within the body
you must first take out the trash. Have you ever tried coming home from a
workout and putting on deodorant without showering? That would be the
equivalent of trying to change your diet without detoxing. Putting nutrients
over trash will not work the way it would if the body were clean. From the
time you were born your organs have accrued poisons from prescription
medicines and foods that remain in the system until you purposefully remove
them. After you remove them through the full body detox then it is safe to
introduce the raw nutrients that can go to work and enter the bloodstream
without any impediments. The entire idea behind this is to help you to have a
fresh start. In essence you will be starting over. The best news is that the
human body rejuvenates itself every seven years just so long as it is fed the
proper nutrients. Getting back on the health track in life is a step-by-step
process.
It is simple in that the steps are very comprehensible but not easy. In order
for a task to be completed with great efficiency it is essential that the blueprint
provided for the project be clear and concise. If the directions are not clear one
can expect a plethora of wrongdoings. After you have cleansed the body by
undergoing a full body detox your next step to great health is to begin the
restoration of normally functioning organs, cells and microorganisms. The
most organic and accelerated method used is that of consuming ample
amounts of plant life on the daily basis. Plants are comprised of multicellular
organisms that produce their own food from a process known as
photosynthesis. Basically all life forms on earth stem from the green of a
plant through one way or the other. The thing that makes plants ideal is that
they don't have parents so there are no lives claimed (unlike with animal
products) in order that we may consume plant life. When I speak of the terms
plants or plant life, I am primarily referring to fruits and vegetables. Nuts are
considered plant life as well because they are viewed by botanists as dry fruit
with one seed. Nuts are great because they like plants are excellent sources
of protein but they also contain significant amounts of essential fatty acids
which are necessary for a normal functioning body. The basic premise for
eating plant life will be to glean large amounts of minerals, vitamins and other
nutrients that plants contain. Fruits and vegetables work together in unison but
they provide two different functions. Both are rich in micronutrients that
assist the body but they have separate jobs in a minute sense. Fruits are
generally sweeter than vegetables and are more commonly consumed because
of their taste. The fibers in fruits are known for helping to cleanse the body
and it's organs of different waste products. In a nutshell (no pun intended)
fruits will work to help clean your colon and flush your system. Don't believe
me? Try eating grapes, raisins, apples, bananas, prunes, pears or watermelon.
Call me after you have went through four rolls of toilet paper! They (fruits)
are extremely high in Vitamin C which is necessary for a strong immune
system. The sweeping function that fruits provide is a great natural source
for maintaining a clean digestive system. They surprisingly have decent
amounts of protein. Mangoes, dried apricots, prunes and avocados are fruits
with respectable amounts of protein.
Vegetables are not the greatest tasting food items on earth but they are worth
their weight in gold! Vegetables are going to repair your body. Veggies are
naturally built to fight cancer and other sinister diseases that threaten the
human body. The best vegetables to consume are those that are green. Any
vegetable that is green will be sure to pack a hard punch in protecting and
strengthening your body temple. What are some of the best veggies to
consume? In his widely popular book Eat to Live, Dr. Joel Fuhrman states,
"Green leafy vegetables like romaine lettuce, Swiss chard, kale, collard greens
and spinach are the secret to longevity." These foods contain some of the
strongest antioxidants in existence. Plants are programmed to go to the
injured or diseased area in your body and immediately begin to repair the
afflicted site. Your body will repair itself. You only need to provide the fuel
(raw materials such as plant life) to do so. If you should fail to remember
anything from the aforementioned paragraphs please remember this: If you
truly want to experience authentic healing and health enhancement you must
consume at least ONE big green salad each day. The green salad should be
void of all commercial brand salad dressings that are loaded with calories. If
you eat a green salad that is topped with calories then you have defeated the
purpose of your salad! You can squeeze a lemon over your salad, use
avocados or possibly make a home-made vinegar dressing. As a beginner’s
guideline you may want to incorporate Joel Fuhrman's GOMBS method.
GOMBS is an acronym for; Greens, Onions, Mushrooms, Beans & Berries
and Seeds. Notice that meat is not present. If you can manage to select your
daily foods from these categories of plant life you will have no choice but to
be nutritionally well fed and heal from afflictions of the body that you are
experiencing. Again I am not telling you not to consume meat but I am
stating that when you are trying to improve from a health condition meat
should not be a big part of the diet if at all.
The last part of this process is maintenance. In my neighborhood I grew up
watching guys who used to wash, vacuum and wax their cars every week! At
first I thought they were just showing off or wanted some extra attention but
as I grew older I realized what they were doing. They were keeping the value
of the car up by taking care of the car. By cleaning the car weekly they
would be sure that it remained at a level that would allow the car to run
smoothly. They knew that good looking cars attracted attention. You have
to think of your body as a top of the line vehicle. When you buy a car from
BMW or Mercedes it comes with specific instructions on what kind of fuel
should be used. Usually these kinds of foreign vehicles require premium
grade gasoline. You cannot put regular unleaded gas in them and expect
things to function well. The cars may start and function but they won’t ride
as they were intended to by their manufacturer. God intends for your body to
run smoothly. Your choices of fuel will determine whether your car breaks
down early or whether it goes the distance. Maintenance of your body will
merely be making daily nutritional decisions that equal more wins than losses.
This does not mean that you will be perfect or even close to it. However, you
will have the necessary information to re-start your engine if your car should
cut off for any reason. If you have a favorite food that you enjoy and you
know that it is not the healthiest food to consume then plan one day out of the
week or every two weeks to consume that food. The day following you can
consume certain fruits, herbs or vegetables that have properties which will
expel the toxic food that you consumed.
Chapter 21: PERCENTAGE OF RAW FOODS YOU SHOULD CONSUME
DAILY
One of the biggest joys of writing this book is me knowing that at least one
person will benefit from this text if the contents are applied by the individual.
I am a firm believer that the more knowledge you have the more prone you are
to make informed decisions. We now have many African American celebrity
vegans and vegetarians sharing the benefits of changing their diet to one of
raw foods and less dairy consumption. In prior conversations with other
members of the black community if I mentioned consuming more raw foods
they would frown upon the thought of doing so. The primary response was
something along the lines of, “You want me to eat raw broccoli?” I could not
blame them because I was the exact same way prior to learning the facts.
Raw foods are rapidly becoming popular in today's culture. People who have
been accustomed to consuming cooked foods are suddenly aware of the
benefits involved with consuming raw foods. Questions still remain with
regards to the amount of raw foods that are necessary each day for a person to
be considered healthy. Not everyone will convert to raw foods but I believe
that a healthy combination of raw and cooked foods would benefit anyone.
The amount of crude foods you consume will depend solely on your specific
objectives. If you have any form of sickness present in your body then it
would be best to consume about ninety to one-hundred percent of your diet in
raw foods. This is the quickest way to recover from an ailment. You can’t
be on the fence or indecisive when it comes to health recovery. Naturally
there are other options that may produce good results but many of the methods
are questionable and lack lasting results. When you are sick and you
consume raw foods you increase your chances of gleaning all of the necessary
nutrients that are critical for the repair and restoration of the body's systems.
Anytime a fruit or vegetable is cooked it automatically loses its' nutritional
value because heat changes the molecular structure of that food item and
forces it to break down. By consuming the food raw you are not tampering
with the nutrient content and the plants can perform their intended tasks. If
you are a person that considers themself to be in a moderate state of health
then you may be fine with consuming fifty-percent raw and fifty percent
cooked foods. The deciding factor of the impact of the crude foods will be
which foods you decide to eat raw and which ones you decide to cook. Certain
foods such as tomatoes (lycopene), mushrooms (carotenoids) and carrots
(beta-carotene) are nutritionally superior when they are cooked. If you
decided to cook broccoli, spinach and kale then you might not benefit as much
as you wanted because these veggies are known to be very powerful in their
raw states. A very important piece to the puzzle of raw foods will be juicing.
I recommend juicing as an option for you to consume your fruits and
vegetables. Marketing geniuses have made people who do not have juicers or
blenders feel inferior without them but I have a differing opinion. When you
consume raw foods in their original form nothing can replace them. When
you juice you remove certain fibers and other ingredients that accompany the
nutrients that you desire. With that being said nothing can replace eating a
piece of fruit or vegetable on an empty stomach in its’ original state. Your
body is a juicer and it prefers to consume foods that are already juiced because
the digestive duties are greatly lessened. Studies show that when you chew
your food more than fifteen times before swallowing you solve your juicing
problem. If you are a radical health nut and want to maintain your wellness
at a supreme level then you may want to consider eating eighty percent raw
and twenty percent cooked. I am aware that there are those in our society that
are one-hundred percent raw and loving life. If you have the fortitude to go
completely raw I take my hat off to you for your efforts. I like to keep a
balance in life so I am more on the seventy-thirty side. I am more focused on
eating to live so I cannot classify myself with any food religion. I am nothing
and in being nothing I am everything. Sometimes a good vegetable soup can
be beneficial in breaking the monotony of your raw foods diet. Vegetables
are vegetables so a cooked soup will not do you any harm. Of course the soup
should contain organic ingredients. In truth I am not saying that cooked
foods are harmful. However, the ones that are routinely consumed by
African Americans are hazardous for your health.
Although I have stressed raw foods to a high degree there are still people that
will read this text and not consume raw foods. For the simple fact is that
people will be people. We live in a world of free will and I respect that. In
light of this reality I want to provide another option that will be feasible for
non-raw foodists. I’m going to share my opinion on consuming cooked
vegetables. Every individual has a different biological structure which makes
their physical situation very unique. I have often heard of people who cook
vegetables and eat them but do not feel or see significant results. There is an
old adage that states, “It’s not what you do but it’s how you do it that makes
all the difference in the world.” When you desire to eat right, the preparation
of your food means just as much as what you are eating. In a perfect world
the simplest form to eat vegetables would be in the raw state. We must take
into account that everyone has different taste buds and some people do not
like the taste of raw broccoli, cauliflower, carrots or mushrooms. Many times
people overcook their vegetables which basically renders them useless in
terms of nutrient output. We tend to walk a fine line because we want our
veggies to taste great but we also want them to provide tangible benefits. If I
were to conduct a survey around the world with results that revealed that
vegetables are useless and have no nutritional content I would bet that most
people would stop consuming veggies. This is to say that generally speaking,
people eat vegetables for the health benefits not because they taste good.
There are three things that you must keep in mind in order to glean the
maximum amount of nutrients while cooking your veggies.
Boil your water first. As a teenager I made the mistake of putting the
vegetables into the water and putting them on the stove and walking away. I
later learned that it is best to boil the water first before putting the vegetables
inside. This assures you that your veggies will begin cooking right away
once they hit the water. If you fail to do so you might end up with soggy and
soft vegetables which do not taste well.
Keep the cook time down. Another fatal mistake that people make is that
they allow their veggies to cook for too long. There are some vegetables that
need to cook for a long time like turnip greens, yams, and beans. Most fresh
produce like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, and spinach do not
need to cook for longer than 7 to 8 minutes. This allows your veggies to cook
to the point that they are edible but yet still packed with nutrients.
Drink the juice after you cook your veggies. This may sound extreme but
many vegetarians recommend that you drink the juice (or broth) from your
veggies. You will be 100% certain that your nutrients have gone to the right
place instead of down the drain where many people pour them. Have you
ever purchased vegetable broth from the store for a soup or other meal that
you were preparing? The only difference between that broth and the organic
broth that you make is that the store bought broth is full of unhealthy additives
and agents that harm your body.
Study this chapter as it will be a great starting point for everything you need to
know about changing your physical body’s circumstances. This chapter
represents only a small part of health recovery but this small part is
responsible for most of the deaths in the African-American community.
Section 5
Using Illegal Drugs and Alcohol for Relief
If they took all the drugs, nicotine, alcohol and caffeine off the market for six
days, they’d have to bring out the tanks to control you.
Dick Gregory
Chapter 22: THE INABILITY TO GET PAST MENTAL TRAUMA
ORGANICALLY
There are many things that have happened to the so called African-Americans
over the course of hundreds of years for which we are not to blame.
Subconsciously many of these events have had a residual effect on the
African-Americans of today. Unwillingly being brought to a foreign land and
exploited for more than 500 years of free labor, being indoctrinated with
religions not our own, systematic installation of drugs into the communities
and subliminal message programming that undermines and disrupts the black
family unit are just a few examples of the things of which black Americans
had no control over. What we do have control over is the reaction to these
things. The corporation known as The United States of America has a great
deal to do with these issues within the African-American community. At
some point in life you have to be willing to accept the reality for any
unfortunate circumstances that may have happened to you in the past and then
move forward. You cannot cling to one event that happened when you were
10 years old and blame that event for the reason why your life is the way it is.
Do not confuse my candidness for lack of empathy. There are very serious
situations that happen in life which can cause a person to experience grave
psychological repercussions.
These are events in which one needs prayer, counseling and time for healing.
Losing a parent or sibling unexpectedly at a young age would be an example
of a serious life situation which would require time for healing. In any event
we have two choices. Allow the situation to hinder us for the rest of our lives
or take the necessary time we need to heal and use the situation to derive
strength to push forward. When you are unable to accept or face reality you
tend to look for options of escape. Natural methods of escape would be
constructive distractions such as exercise, reading, playing sports or possibly
work. There are many people who take part in these actions if they feel
stressed or troubled about an issue. I only wish that more would do so.
When you feel that these mediums of relief are not suitable for you, you turn
to controlled substances or alcohol. Controlled substances are defined as any
category of behavior-altering or addictive drugs, as heroin or cocaine, whose
possession and use are restricted by law. To help familiarize you with
controlled substances (often referred to as illegal drugs), here are the
following names of some illegal drugs that result in legal prosecution.
Psilocybin (mushrooms), Cocaine, Peyote (Cactus plant used by Native
Americans), Mescaline (psychedelic drug), LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide),
Marijuana and Heroin. Not only do these drugs ruin the emotional and
spiritual health of the individual but they damage their livers and kidneys as
previously mentioned in this book. There have been innumerable movies and
TV series that have displayed the level of abnormally high drug usage in the
black community spanning from the 1970’s until present day. Whether these
movies have played a part in furthering the drug quandary is of no relevance
in this moment. This chapter is focused on accountability and reversal of the
need to rely on drugs and alcohol for what appears to be relief or assistance
for coping with a personal issue. These external mechanisms have been a
thorn in the side of the black community for quite some time.
My examination of substance abuse amongst our people does not mean that
we consume more than other races. It only means that my present primary
concern lies with the so called African-American. That is less of
discriminative statement and more of a goal oriented one. Often times there
are people within the black community that mistake concern for their
well-being as hating or harping on them. In retaliation they project the
subject matter onto other ethnic groups by saying that they too may have this
same habit or worse and so nothing gets accomplished. A prime example of a
serious habit within our community would be that of smoking marijuana
(daily) recreationally which is affectionately called weed, ganja, Mary Jane,
cannabis, the herbal essence, trees, the green lady and many more names.
Why do we take part in self-degradation when this is something that was
already done to us by the people that brought our ancestors to this foreign
land? The answer is found in the first paragraph of this chapter and the
environmental issues that many African-Americans face each day. Your
throat is not a chimney therefore smoke is not made to enter be it tobacco
smoke or otherwise. I am an old school guy that puts all forms of drugs into
one box and I classify them as dope. That is a harsh word I know but if they
result in some form of jail time or criminal prosecution (without medical
permission) that’s how I view them. Here is a great explanation provided by
Master Raw Foods Vegan Chef Aris Latham of what marijuana does to you
each time you decide to smoke it. Latham says:
Ganja is a word that comes out of India where it has been used spiritually for
many years. I am speaking of THC which gives us the sensation of us
thinking that we are high. When you take ganja or any other herb that you
make into a tea and you apply heat to it you're extracting some toxic elements
present in the herb. For this reason we generally do not boil our tea. We
place it in a little hot water and quickly remove it to draw out the medicinal
qualities. The medicinal qualities of ganja are very intense. However when
you activate it by rolling it in paper and setting fire to it you are activating not
only the medicinal qualities but the toxic elements as well and you are
drawing them into your lungs. Your lungs are supposed to expel toxins not
ingest them. When you inhale toxins through your lungs they hit the blood
instantly. The brain is 90% blood circulation so the toxic blood is in the
brain in no time. We get this toxic irritation on the brain when we smoke
these ganja leaves and we call that being high. It is not being high it is
merely a toxic irritation. During this time there is a destruction of brain cells
taking place. As a consequence the body automatically goes into self-defense
to protect the brain. You will notice that most ganja smokers run to eat a big
meal shortly after smoking this herb. Immediately after eating this food the
blood rushes to the digestive system to digest the heavy load. So the blood
comes off of the brain and the body protects the brain so that it doesn't short
circuit. It does so by getting the toxic blood away from the brain as quickly as
possible. This is why people say that they don't like to smoke because it
blows their high. If you do not do something to get the toxic blood off of the
brain you will end up having damaged brain cells. You can eat, have sex,
play sports or do many other things.
I recommend using ganja in its' original form. It's just like any other green
leaf. Yes the herbs are for the healing of the nations but as Bob Marley
would say "Fiyah Burn." Fire would kill the nation. So we have an
understanding that it's not about the herb but it's about the fire that destroys.
Not only does the fire destroy the nutrients and bring out the toxins in
cannabis but it also will kill us as well. If you want true medicinal benefits
from cannabis you have to get that fresh young green leaf and juice it just as
you do the wheatgrass and take a teaspoon of that. This way you will get all
of the oxygen, chlorophyll and all of the healing qualities of the herb without
the toxic effect.
I do not knock people for doing what they do because we all have vices but I
do feel the need to help by way of speaking out on what these things do to our
overall health. In ancient times natural herbs like marijuana was used by the
Native Americans and many other tribal cultures. My mentioning of
marijuana use affecting the black community is centered around what it does
to our brain cells and the amount of youth that are incarcerated as a result. It
has beneficial properties that are great when used under the correct
circumstances. When you are so hooked on a substance that you lose your
job over a positive test result then it’s time to make a change. Being in
professional sports I have seen players be banned for two years for testing
positive for weed. I have seen college teammates lose their scholarships for
engaging in the act. I could care less how many people present articles in
favor of weed. If it has this kind of negative effect on our people then we
need to curve this habit especially if it gets in the way of us making money!
Marijuana has been a controversial subject since the beginning of time.
People of all races have long used this agent with hopes of achieving a
euphoric state. It is practically illegal to consume in most of the continental
United States. Yet, there are people who feel the need to use marijuana under
the guides that it is an herb and is something that is beneficial for the body.
The biggest claim is that it "can cure" cancer. The issue that I find with that
statement is that I have yet to see anyone with cancer be cured from smoking
marijuana or consuming marijuana enriched products. Cannabis smokers
love to cling to the fact that it is a natural plant. My thing is that if you really
want to get high just say that. It’s time to stop stating things like you come
up with ideas and become very creative when you smoke. Most if not all of
those great ideas are ever manifested. We find that the plant is frequently
used more for recreational usage than for medicinal purposes. Again, I
recognize that this plant has the potential to be tremendously helpful in several
medical situations.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (also known as THC) is the main
active ingredient in marijuana. It is responsible for being the catalyst for
altering the mind. As far as health is concerned there does not seem to be
any benefit for people who have no diseases but consume this substance
frequently. With the exception of appetite enhancement, analgesia in cancer
patients and glaucoma management I have not been privy to any other serious
benefits to marijuana consumption. This does not mean that there aren’t any
it simply means that I must do more research. One of the biggest issues with
gleaning the few benefits (and toxins) of smoked cannabis is that one is
required to constantly use the plant to experience a tangible effect. By doing
so it causes you to be high the majority of the time. It is not necessary for
your cognitive functions to be consistently altered for you to receive such
minute or insignificant results that can be achieved through alternative means.
I repeat, the technical definition of a drug is anything that is isolated and
concentrated from its’ original source. In its purest form I'm quite sure that
marijuana is much more beneficial than critics give it credit for. Once you
begin to add and subtract substances from the equation under the auspices of
fortifying the plant things can get tricky. My other issue is that unless you
grow it you don’t know what has been used in the process. If you are a so
called health nut then you should treat your weed the same way you treat your
food but you don’t.
Healthy people love to ask questions about their food but when it comes to
their weed they mostly take it and smoke it. For all they know it could be
laced with embalming fluid and then you face possible life changing
consequences depending upon the chemicals that were used. I know several
people who consumed laced weed or a drink that was slipped a mickey and
they are mentally not right until this day. Let's name a few of the side effects
of cannabis consumption for those who believe that marijuana consumption is
a healthy thing. The moment you consume marijuana your heart rate speeds
up and the bronchial passages begin to relax. Blood vessels in your eyes start
to swell making your eyes turn red and slightly close. Secondly, the THC in
cannabis alters the mind's ability to process information because of the affect
it has on the hippocampus. The hippocampus is section of the brain that is
responsible for processing memory information. As you grow older and
continue to consume the weed the neurons of the hippocampus begin to die
making it harder for you to recall things from your memory. Lastly, if you
begin consuming marijuana in your teenage years it will have a harsher effect
on you. Studies show that consumption of cannabis in these early years can
lead to dropping out of high school, lowering cognitive abilities, pushing you
into stronger drugs and lower IQ scores. Unless you have cancer, glaucoma,
a severe degenerative disease or some other medical condition that requires
cannabis consumption you are wasting your time. If you are just simply
along for a euphoric ride then you must recognize the facts associated with the
overconsumption of the drug. With the exception of physical harm to the
organs (which for marijuana consumers is extremely minimal) drug use poses
an even bigger problem for us. Not only do we lose in health but we lose in
freedom which eventually damages our spiritual and emotional health which
then leads back to our physical health.
According to the federal government's own yearly research surveys,
African-Americans use and sell drugs at similar rates as whites -- yet
African-Americans are arrested for drugs at 13 times the rate of whites.
While it is clear that drug misuse of both illicit and legal drugs can ruin lives
and cause incredible pain it is also clear that the drug war causes even more
damage than drug misuse itself -- especially in African-American
communities.
More than 1.6 million people were arrested in 2010 on nonviolent drug
charges and the vast majority of these arrests were for low-level possession,
not selling or trafficking. Almost half of these arrests -- 750,000 of them -were for marijuana possession alone. Black youth are arrested for drug
crimes at a rate ten times higher than that of whites. But we have positive
information. New research shows that young African-Americans are actually
less likely to use drugs and less likely to develop substance use disorders,
compared to whites, Native Americans, Hispanics and people of mixed race.
If we can show the youth newer more constructive ways of coping with pain
or problems we can save lives both physically and spiritually. These methods
of relief are a doubled-edged sword in the form of jail time, unemployment
and in many cases sickness or death.
Naturally most of the drug and alcohol consumption in the African-American
community is not as harsh on a national scale as it seems. If you live in an
urban community that is economically challenged you may see a great deal of
the consumption of alcohol and controlled substances. Unfortunately that is
life. It seems as if every black community around the entire country behaves
this way but nothing could be further from the truth. According to Alcohol
Alert African-Americans show the lowest prevalence of lifetime, annual,
monthly, daily, and heavy drinking, as well as the lowest frequency of being
drunk. What we generally see and hear about within the black community is
our reality. The fact is that we make up such a small percentage (12 percent)
of the United States to effectively lead in any of these categories. This goes
back to the first chapter on media presence and impact in the black
community. If you rely on television and the radio to give you the news then
you will believe everything you hear about the African-American community.
If you live in the same community for twenty years and this is all that you see
then this will be your reality. Although blacks are not leading the field in the
alcohol consumption or drug use arena they are still subjects that have a great
negative impact on our community and they need to be addressed. Ironically
enough, we do lead in incarcerations from drug trafficking and possession as
you’ve previously read. There is certainly some issues that need to be
addressed with relation to the over prosecution of blacks for the same offenses
that other communities are equally guilty of.
Without veering from the subject I want to address alcohol and the power that
it has had in the destruction of the lives of people within the
African-American community. I realize that drug abuse causes you to steal
from family members, ruins certain organs in your body and can literally leave
you on the streets in shame but alcohol in my mind is an entirely different
beast. First of all alcohol is legal which is still a head scratcher. Alcohol by
definition is whisky, vodka, gin or any other intoxicating liquor that contains
this liquid. It is the intoxicating principle of fermented liquors, produced by
yeast fermentation of certain carbohydrates as grains, molasses, starch, or
sugar. What makes alcohol so deadly is that you can function in society and
still be an alcoholic while killing yourself slowly. What’s worse is that you
ruin the lives of family members because they want you to get help. Most
alcoholics feel that they don’t have a problem. If not that then they are too
busy masking their pain or problem that they are not concerned about others
or what they think. When you are intoxicated (which many of us call drunk,
bent or twisted) you are an entirely different person because you are literally
out of your mind. I recently lost a neighbor who died from liver
complications because of his alcohol addiction. He had some things go
wrong in his life when he was younger and the bottle became his solace.
After years of steady drinking he moved from drinking to drugs. That
combination seemed to be too much for his already declining liver. He died
within 2 months of doctors informing him that he had liver complications.
The thing about drugs is that they are more so used in silence or behind closed
doors because of the illegal sticker that is attached to them. You could leave
work on Friday and stay drunk until Sunday night and come to work the next
morning without anyone knowing of your addiction or issue. For this reason
it makes alcohol a bit more dangerous. Which enemy is more dangerous, the
invisible one or the one that is standing directly in front of you? People can
spot a person who does crack on the street and sometimes even a cocaine user
(if they have issues with their nose and sitting still). The immediate toll that
drugs take on the body leave little to no room for a heavy drug abuser to work
an eight hour shift each day without being spotted for suspicious activity.
Alcohol on the other hand is used at social functions, house parties,
celebrations, graduations and many other social gatherings. Often times an
argument or disagreement of some sort stemmed by alcohol brings life or
death to the event depending on the situation. I would like to know, when did
it become cool to lose your mind under the guides of having a good time?
More innocent people have been killed by drunk drivers, women have been
raped and babies have been mistakenly made because we wanted to have a
few drinks. There is nothing wrong with enjoying yourself and drinking
responsibly if you should choose to do so but getting pissy drunk on an
everyday basis is not kosher activity. The most important question is why do
we feel the need to turn to these means of relief? From my experience many
of the issues within the African-American community are inter-related as
witnessed by the chapters of this book. Usually stress, money problems or
personal relationship problems lead to this way of life. It has nothing to do
with being a good person or a bad person because we are all susceptible to the
same things that happen to the next individual. When problems face us we
are historically known for two things. Denying that we have an issue and
getting help for that issue. Even something as little as being tired and falling
asleep will be denied by a black person. I am often guilty of falling asleep on
the couch and having someone say to me, “You are sleep, go and get in the
bed.” My response is always, “I’m not sleep, I’m just resting my eyes.” Of
course I was sleep but for some strange reason I didn’t want to admit to being
sleep because that may denote some kind of weakness or vulnerability. If I
would do this for something as small as falling asleep then what would I be
capable of when a bigger issue arises? No one wants to admit to having a
problem and seeking another person out for help because it makes them
appear to be weak. Seeing that they feel that there is no one to truly help
them with their problems they feel it best to drink or smoke to forget about the
problems, hoping that they will disappear. But guess what. The problems
are still there when they sober up. Money does seem to complicate things.
Let’s be real, money might not be everything but it is right up there with
oxygen. As of 2010 white households earned a median income of $54,620,
Hispanic origin households earned $37,759 and African-American households
earned a $32,068. That’s a difference of $22,552 between
African-Americans and whites as well as a $5,691 difference between
Hispanic homes and blacks!
It’s difficult to live comfortably when you are struggling to pay for your living
expenses. This is not an excuse but it is an explanation for why someone
would seek temporary relief in alcohol or a substance. Seeing that these
problems never go away by themselves it’s best to seek a new solution.
Everyone has something that they used to do when they were younger. I have
found that choosing a real hobby that you like will help when you have issues.
One of the most powerful things that I have ever heard come from the mouth
of basketball great Michael Jordan was his outlook on how he deals with
stress. He said that whenever he has a problem in life the basketball court is
his escape and he goes to shoot around and take his mind off of life’s
dilemmas. It relaxes him and he is able to clearly think on a situation when
he returns from the court. Surely there has to be something that you have that
you like to do. The excuse of not having any money is unacceptable. Here’s
why. It cost $14.00 dollars for a pint of Jack Daniels, a 40 ounce beer is
$3.00, a dime bag of marijuana is $10.00, one ecstasy pill is $10.00, a gram of
cocaine is roughly $50.00 and a small rock of crack costs between $10 and
$20 dollars. Based on these numbers you are paying for your own demise
each time you take a sniff, hit or drink from these inorganic substances. If
you can spend the money to do these things then you have the money to do
other constructive things including get help. Make no mistake about it you
are harming your physical and mental body when you consume drugs and
alcohol. Think about how kids are affected by this. Your son or daughter
has to grow up without their parent because you chose to deal with your
problems through expensive and unhealthy habits. We are human and we
make mistakes. The one thing that we must do as African-Americans is make
a change once we become aware of the right thing to do. When you know
right you have to live on it. You won’t be perfect but at least you will have a
core from which to draw strength. We all deal with different circumstances
so there is no one specific answer to this issue. I am certain that we have to
be able to move from pain and worry to vitality and peace. In the spiritual
sense, you cannot actively have the proper communication with God (or the
universe) if your head is filled with mind altering agents. You will
experience outer worlds but they won’t be of the organic form. Your
experiences will be artificial because of the man-made substances that assisted
you in your quest to seek a high state of nirvana. Authentic and organic
mental relief can be found through meditation, exercise, hobbies and speaking
about your issues with another individual. If you decide to go the route of
speaking with someone whether they are a professional or not it is always best
to speak with someone who has overcome an issue and can serve as an
example for you. I’m not knocking professional psychologists or
psychiatrists but many of them treat their patients based on their schooling and
what they read from a book. There is no better teacher than real life
situations to give you the necessary lessons to help you advance in life. One
of my mother’s favorite phrases that was passed down from my grandmother
is “there is no lesson like a bought lesson.” This means that when you have to
pay for things yourself and endure the reality of the situation no book or
lecture from a parent can replace that real life experience. This is why I
encourage people to seek guidance from others that have been down the same
path and have triumphed. Nothing can replace talking with someone who
knows exactly how you feel because they too have lived the same experience.
Chapter 23: GAMBLING – THE SO CALLED FINANCIAL RELIEF
DRUG
Yes I know that gambling is not listed as a drug or alcohol but it destroys
families, people’s personal lives and has taken several lives due to violence
associated with gambling. There are two ways of looking at gambling. The
first is the activity or practice of playing at a game of chance for money or
other stakes. The second way is the act of risking the loss of something
important by taking a chance or acting recklessly. At its’ core gambling is a
distorted form of investment. At least with stocks and conventional forms of
investments you have facts for which to gauge or predict the future
performance of your investment although there are no guarantees. The form
of gambling of which I speak correlates with the first explanation of gambling.
That method of gambling is the most common kind by having the hope of
winning money from risking the money that you have. In life sometimes you
have to take chances and risks in order to advance so the second form of
gambling cannot be applied to this chapter.
How is it that we as African-Americans can gamble consistently but complain
about not having money? Of course not everyone that is African-American
gambles. Just like not every African American fits the stereotype of liking
fried chicken and collard greens as insinuated by professional golfer Fuzzy
Zoeller. By now you are aware that my statements are generalizations based
on my personal experiences and conversations with others to reach a broader
audience of black people who can relate to this subject. We have a large
group of people in the black community that rely on forms of gambling like
the lottery to take them from a state of economic depression to endless riches.
I’ve heard people including my parents say things like, “Once I hit the lottery
I’m going to move out of the hood” or “I’m waiting to hit the mega-millions
so that I can buy a new home or car.” Nothing is wrong with that if you can
afford to do it and you are not relying on this to deliver you out of your
current situation. I usually let them know their chances of winning the
lottery but nevertheless I wish them luck. My biggest concern is why not put
that energy into a sure thing like the development of yourself instead of
playing the odds on something that was not created to put money into your
pocket in the first place. This is a social issue that affects several aspects of
life of the black American. Many so called blacks feel hopeless due to their
financial status as you’ve witnessed the median salary of the
African-American homes in America versus whites and Hispanics. I do not
blame them because most people simply don’t recognize that there are other
ways to gain wealth. Maybe they recognize them but they want wealth right
now. Truth be told, I do as well. When you’re throwing dice, playing cards,
betting on a game, playing bingo or the lottery, you don’t have any guarantees
on past performances because each day presents a special set of circumstances
even for great sports teams (injuries, suspensions, etc). When you speak of
gambling there will always be a mention of money. The money is what
defines the word gambling otherwise it would be called playing. When you
play for fun there are no risks or attachments. Money has a special power to
change many situations on all levels. Money changes personal relationships,
sports and friendships. Things go from light-hearted to serious because
people need money to survive. Think about a guy (or girl) that plays amateur
basketball on the daily basis in their respective gyms for fun. They get
invited to a tournament where there is a cash prize of $20,000.00. In your
local amateur games when you drove to the basket you made it without
anyone touching you or blocking your shot.
Now that you are in a money tournament your drives to the basket are now
met with hard fouls or elbows that result in a bloody nose. You are still
playing the game of basketball but the difference is the money that is at stake.
I have had my life threatened while playing basketball in money tournaments.
That is just the way of the world. For this reason you have a large segment of
the population claiming that money is evil. But money is not evil. It’s the
people that handle the money or the intentions of the individual that desires or
actually has the money that determine the outcomes attached with that specific
money. Money is a tool for purchasing that allows you to do a variety of
great things for others. Money by itself is not evil. It is something that is
very tangible. A five dollar bill sitting on a table alone cannot pull a gun and
kill someone. So we’ve established that money changes the situation. When
you have people that gamble for a living what they’re essentially saying to
God is that they lack and that they don’t have enough. More importantly they
are saying that they want something for nothing in terms of not working for it.
Taking a risk to win two or three million dollars each day is worth it. The
odds are that you will not be very lucky. However, I have classified
gambling into three stages.
3 LEVELS OF GAMBLING
o 1st level is called the infant stage. During the infant stage you are
playing for the joy of the game or for extremely small amounts of
money that won’t affect you. I used to play card games at school for
.10 or .25 cents. If I lost that was a big deal because lunch was .20
cents during that time. When you lose during this stage you live to see
another day and you learn to cut your losses and move forward. This is
the point where you begin learning all of the nuances of whichever
game you play. Your mind begins to think about greater sums of
money and how you could win more.
o 2nd level is called the featherweight stage. During this stage you may
shoot dice in the streets, do card parties and even play the lottery
occasionally. My mother likes to play her set of lottery numbers and
she would send me or my brother to the gas station to play them before
12 pm noon. If you didn’t make it to play the numbers on time you
might not hear the end of it. When you enter this level you notice that
more money is on the line. You don’t rely on this for your survival but
this is where your gambling habit starts to gain momentum and
depending on your environment you begin to attract negative energy. I
remember shooting dice at a friend’s house one day after high school
and having a guy show his gun because of a miscommunication
between me and him over a side bet.
o 3rd level is called the grandmaster stage. On this level you are basically
forgoing your rent and having personal and possibly health related
problems because of your addiction. Remember all of this started
when you were harmlessly playing games as a child. At this point you
have failed to realize that you can’t beat a casino or win the lottery by
playing ten tickets per day. There is one rule that was taught to me
about gambling as a child. The house never loses! Casinos and state
or national lottery systems were not created for you to win. Although
you may win occasionally your win will never result in a loss for them.
Your gambling is now a full blown addiction. They know you by first
name at the casino or the liquor store where you play your lottery. It is
no longer funny. Your house is being repossessed, your spouse has
threatened to leave you and you spend all of your extra time plotting
ways to win.
When I resided in the Dominican Republic I had no means of income and thus
chose to attempt to earn income by placing bets in local betting centers called
bancas. I would spend hours online the night before the games at websites
such as wagerline.com and sportsnetwork.com to find out which teams were
favored to win. I placed bets based on my knowledge of basketball and what
some of the prognosticators revealed. My experience with gambling in the
Dominican Republic taught me one of my life’s greatest lessons. No matter
how much you think you know about how something will turn out you can
never be sure of the end result. One day I placed a bet that the thriving
Boston Celtics would beat the Toronto Raptors and cover a five point spread
on their home turf in Boston. If there was a sure bet to make it was this one.
Not only did Boston not cover the spread but they lost on their home floor! I
had bet 500 pesos on that one game alone because I was certain of the result.
Five hundred pesos was the equivalent to 15 dollars. It may not have seemed
like much but when you have no income coming in it is a big deal. I shared
my personal life experience to let you know that gambling shows that you feel
a lack and that you are not confident enough to go out and earn your money on
your own. One of the worst things about gambling is that people do so
because they need income. When you do things out of need or desperation
they tend to elude you. When you play a slot machine or a game of bingo
with no attachment to an end result you end up winning. It’s strange how the
world works. Try calculating the same way as we did for drug and alcohol
habits with that of gambling. If you play the lottery every day you are
probably spending approximately 3 to 5 dollars each day. Multiply that over
the course of a month and you have a minimum of $90 dollars and a
maximum of $150 dollars. Taking the average of the two we end up with 120
dollars. If I were to do a calculation for casino goers, poker players or street
gamblers the numbers would quadruple at worst. If you were to take that
$120 dollars and invest in buying books on whatever business you would like
to enter or simple books on finance and investing, you could change your life
around in less than one year’s time. To become an expert in any field you
merely need only to apply yourself and read on the topic. Just one month of
book purchasing would probably be enough books to last you for two to three
months depending on the speed at which you read. I know it’s easier to cast
lots because I did it. But when I realized the money and energy being thrown
away I greatly curtailed my behavior. I was by no means on the grandmaster
status but I knew that I could be doing something better with my time. If you
have a gambling addiction the same rule that applies to a substance or alcohol
abuser would apply to you. Seek real professional help or seek help from
someone who has been down the road you are traveling but has now changed
their life for the better. It’s simply not something losing your home, family
and children over.
Chapter 24: PASS ME MY CIGARETTES
I can still hear my beloved grandmother’s voice calling me from outside and
asking me to bring her pack of Benson and Hedges brand cigarettes to her
while she sat outside on the porch. “Dameeeeeeeeeeee brang grandma her
cigarettes” in her strong Mississippi accent she would always say. My
grandmother is no longer here but that cigarette company and many others are.
People believe that smoking calms their nerves and makes them relax. Let
me ask a question. If on every box of cigarettes there is a warning from the
Surgeon General explaining to you the dangers of cigarette smoking, why
would you willingly smoke them? For those who may have seen this warning
but are not aware of what a surgeon general is I will provide clarity. The
surgeon general is the head of public health service in the United States while
also serving as the senior officer of medical service in one of the major
branches of the military. To put this in perspective, you have the chief of
health in America giving you a fair warning that you should not smoke
cigarettes. Yes I know that cigarettes contain addictive substances that
behave worse than illicit or prescription drugs but the fact is that we have
become content smoking cigarettes. Any one of these statements below are
REQUIRED BY LAW to be placed visibly on any pack of cigarettes sold in
the United States:
WARNING: Cigarettes are addictive.
WARNING: Tobacco smoke can harm your children.
WARNING: Cigarettes cause fatal lung disease.
WARNING: Cigarettes cause cancer.
WARNING: Cigarettes cause strokes and heart disease.
WARNING: Smoking during pregnancy can harm your baby.
WARNING: Smoking can kill you.
WARNING: Tobacco smoke causes fatal lung disease in nonsmokers.
WARNING: Quitting smoking now greatly reduces serious risks to your
health.
Out of every sentence I see above the least frightening statement is that
cigarettes are addictive. Even that is grounds to discontinue smoking.
According to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention here are just
some of the diseases that smoking cigarettes can cause:
Disease and Afflictions Caused By Cigarette Smoking
 Lung Cancer
 Lung Diseases (emphysema, bronchitis, chronic airway obstruction, etc)
 Infertility
 Stillbirth
 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
 Cancers (Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Pancreatic Cancer, Kidney Cancer,
Bladder Cancer and Stomach Cancer)
 Coronary Heart Disease
 Heart Attacks
Let’s talk about the main ingredient in cigarettes that’s giving black
Americans and all others such a difficult time. The main ingredient in
cigarettes is what is called tobacco. Tobacco is any of several plants
belonging to the genus Nicotiana, of the nightshade family, especially one of
those species, as N. tabacum who’s leaves are prepared for smoking or
chewing as snuff. Tobacco can be used as a pesticide but it is most
commonly used as a drug. For those who do not know, tobacco is a drug.
Remember to refer back to Dr. Llaila Afrika’s definition of a drug. Tobacco
is a green leafy plant that is grown in hot climates. The killer part (literally)
to the cigarette saga is that there are over 4,000 chemicals in cigarettes and 51
of them are known to be carcinogenic (cancer causing). In other words if you
are smoking a pack of cigarettes per day as your way of coping with a
problem then it’s time to get a new coping mechanism. The tar in a cigarette,
which can be as much as 22 mg in a high-tar cigarette to 7 mg in a low-tar
cigarette, exposes smokers to an increased risk of lung cancer, emphysema,
and bronchial disorders. I decided to save cigarette smoking for the last part
of this chapter because African-Americans have greater access to cigarettes
than they do any of these other drugs. It’s much easier to ask someone for a
cigarette than it is to ask them for a drink. People give cigarettes to friends
every day. The market has grown so rapidly that neighborhood liquor stores
and gas stations sell cigarettes individually. In the early 90’s that was
unheard of. So you can understand that it is easier to pay 25 cents for a
cigarette than it is to pay $3 dollars for a 40 ounce beer. The adverse health
effects from cigarette smoking account for an estimated 443,000 deaths or
nearly one of every five deaths, each year in the United States. Please focus
on the next statement and commit it to your memory. More deaths are
caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle
injuries, suicides, and murders combined. Smoking causes an estimated
90% of all lung cancer deaths in men and 80% of all lung cancer deaths in
women. An estimated 90% of all deaths from chronic obstructive lung
disease are caused by smoking.
CHEMICALS IN CIGARETTES BY DR. JOEL DUNNINGTON,
TOBACCO ALMANAC
Familiar Chemicals in Cigarettes
Chemical
Found in:
carbon
monoxide
car exhaust
nicotine
bug sprays
tar
material to make
roads
arsenic
rat poison
ammonia
cleaning products
hydrogen
cyanide
gas chamber poison
cyanide
deadly poison
acetone
nail polish remover
butane
cigarette lighter fluid
DDT
insecticides
formaldehyde
to preserve dead
bodies
sulfuric acid
car batteries
cadmium
used to recharge
batteries
freon
damages earth's
ozone layer
geranic acid
a fragrance
methoprene
a pesticide
maltitol
a sweetener not
permitted to be used
in foods in the U.S.
Sources: Dr. Joel Dunnington,
Tobacco Almanac, Revised, May
1993.
I have left out a crucial ingredient in cigarettes that adds to the addiction of
cigarette smoking. It is called nicotine. This ingredient is found within the
tobacco, adding strength to the immense addictive properties that it already
possesses. Nicotine is a colorless, oily, water-soluble, highly toxic, liquid
alkaloid, found in tobacco and valued as an insecticide. Have you have
noticed or heard other African-Americans talking about a nicotine patch?
There is a perfectly good reason for needing a patch. The nicotine inhaled in
tobacco smoke moves from the lungs, into the bloodstream and up to the
smoker's brain within 7 to 10 seconds. That is a rapid pace. Once there,
nicotine triggers a number of chemical reactions that create temporary feelings
of pleasure for the smoker, but these sensations are short-lived, subsiding
within minutes. As the nicotine level drops in the blood, smokers feel edgy
and agitated -- the start of nicotine withdrawal. I know you have been
around some folks who go ballistic when they don’t have their cigarettes. I
have seen people start shaking until they had their smoke. So, in order to
relieve the discomforts, smokers light up another cigarette......and then
another…..and another. And so it goes -- the vicious cycle of nicotine
addiction. One cigarette is never enough, a fact that every smoker knows all
too well. This is why you can see a person go through one or two packs of
cigarettes per day especially if they lead a sedentary lifestyle. The nicotine
patch will curve the need for cigarette smoking until you are able to decrease
the dosage of the patch eventually not needing them at all. Even if you were
not a health nut and you knew nothing about the dangers of smoking cigarettes
you could read the chart provided by the Tobacco Almanac and understand
that rat poison and gas chamber poison are not things that should be consumed
by human beings. From my experience with people that have stopped
smoking cigarettes many people need a replacement to help them transition
into something that will totally eliminate their desire to smoke. I have heard
of natural ways like acupuncture as being a legitimate source of weaning off
of cigarettes as well as consuming herbs. Different strategies will work for
different people. Some people have even kicked the habit by simply deciding
that they didn’t want to smoke any-more and from that day they have never
picked up another cigarette. Statistics show that only a small percentage
(approximately 7%) of people who try to quit smoking without support are
still smoke-free a year later. Those with a quit program in place that includes
education about nicotine addiction and a solid support group do much better.
Section 6
Toxic Relationships
The heart of marriage is memories; and if the two of you happen to have the
same ones and can savor your reruns, then your marriage is a gift from the
gods
Bill Cosby
Chapter 25: PHYSICAL ATTRACTION IS JUST ONE PIECE TO THE
PUZZLE
As human beings we are naturally inclined to be attracted to that which is
aesthetically pleasing to the eye. At a young age you learn what you like
physically in a man or woman and you generally stick with those prerequisites
for the remainder of your life. There may be special cases where you feel the
need to make an exception but nevertheless you will generally stay within
your taste as far as who you date. Body parts such as breasts, legs, butt ox,
eyes, hair, mouth, lips and waist play a major role in your decision making.
Although you are taught to appreciate someone for who they are it is the
physical part that initially attracts you to them. You wouldn’t see a person
that you don’t know and walk up to them and say, “I like your personality can
we go out for lunch?” You must be attracted to something about them in order
for you to approach them or desire to get to know them. There are
exceptional yet overlooked circumstances where a person may not look the
best or have everything that you like physically but the way they carry
themselves is something that attracts you to them.
You might notice two people that are together and one is seemingly attractive
while the other person may appear to not be on their level. Deep inside you
ask yourself how that happened. The most logical answer is that the other
person has “something extra” that attracted that individual. Whether that
something is money, personality, character or other benefits, it seems to be
strong enough to keep them attractive to the opposite sex (or same sex in the
case of homosexual persons). As African- Americans we are very visual and
physical people. Not only are we those things but we are also expressive.
If you live in a black community watch how people make passionate gestures
with their hands and body when they speak and you will see what I mean.
These two traits are very good under the correct circumstances. Sometimes
our expressive and physical nature can work against us especially in
establishing a quality personal relationship. Many times we act on feelings
(commonly called emotions) and what we see instead of thinking things
through. The result of our actions may be a lifetime situation that we did not
intend on being a part of. Depending on the magnitude of the act it could be
a terminal disease or the conception of a child. When your decisions about
who you date or marry are solely based upon the physical appearance, your
rate of success is going to be very low. Your love life is often riddled with
pain and misery to go along with confusion. This kind of decision making is
normally fortified in your late teens to early twenties. It is natural to want
what looks good. The problem for us is that we usually only want the part
that looks or feels good and not the rest of the package. I am speaking in a
general sense from a black male’s perspective of course. As you continue to
engage in low vibrational sex acts with your so called significant other time
continues to advance. One day you wake up and realize that you have been
arguing every day and having problems because you have nothing in common.
It did not register to you at first because you were so caught up in the physical
pleasures of the relationship. Now a year of your life has passed you by and
you return back where you started at being single. You tell yourself that you
are young so you have time to get it together. You don’t realize that you need
to work on yourself so the cycle continues until you are in your thirties. If
you are a woman you start to become concerned because in your mind “your
clock is ticking.” One of the saddest things in life is to see a person who has
to settle because they have been a part of so many toxic relationships and they
have come to the end of the road and do not want to be alone.
In an effort to be married or be with someone they settle for the closest
individual. The definition of toxic is pertaining to, affected with, or caused
by a toxin or poison. Toxic as it relates to relationships is a collection of
negative variables that take place within a union between two people that
harm the spirit, physical and emotional health of one or both parties. The part
that makes it so deadly is that you don’t know that you are in a toxic
relationship until someone tells you or after you have left the union. In the
African-American community it’s difficult to tell someone that they are in a
toxic relationship for two reasons. The first reason is that the person involved
in the relationship may think they you are trying to break-up their happiness.
They look at you as someone who is envious of what they have. I have seen
or heard of multiple occasions where a friend or a relative encountered the
spouse of their loved one with another individual and they did or said nothing
about it. To avoid denial or negative reactions many people just stay silent
and watch from the sidelines. The truth is that many people are miserable by
themselves and they secretly do want to see their friends in the same boat.
I’m sure you have heard the adage about crabs in a barrel. The second reason
is that many black folks don’t want to be caught in the middle of anything.
They feel as though it is not their place to get involved in the personal affairs
of anyone else even if it’s a family member. These people are from the
school of thought that everything will be revealed to the person in due time.
If we are in our right minds then we know that many of the relationships that
we have been in were doomed from the beginning. What do I mean? They
say you never get a second chance to make a first impression. If this is a true
statement then our first impressions of the relationship would tell us
everything we need to know about the other individual. They may be small
things but they speak volumes. How could you think that you will have a
successful relationship that was built on a lie? You established a relationship
with your mate while they were married or dating someone else but yet you
believe that things will go well with you. After they leave the one that they
were with you begin a “monogamous” relationship and after a while things
fall apart because they were caught cheating. The relationship was toxic from
the start. I’m no relationship expert or guru of any sort on marriage but there
is a universal truth that anything built on a lie will not withstand the test of
time.
If this person deceived their spouse to get with you what makes you believe
that they wouldn’t do it to you? These are things that must be evaluated
before we make decisions to move ahead with people. Again, it goes back to
us thinking physically and emotionally when we make these decisions. Once
sex is added to the equation things get complicated because you have
exchanged energy in the spiritual and physical sense. The exchanging of
energy denotes a connection. Sometimes you mistake that physical energy as
true love or genuine feelings and it makes you overlook the evil that is taking
place within your eyesight. Your mate might cheat you on you, physically or
verbally abuse you and even disrespect you in public. Your mind thinks that
it is normal or that it is no big deal. Many people have been guilty of it at one
point or another. It doesn’t make you any less of a man or woman for doing
so. It simply makes you human. In many cases we have ourselves to blame
for toxic relationships. Yes we live in a world of deception in which people
have become master deceivers. It is not possible to be 100 percent accurate
on everything but if your decisions are based on logic and what you feel deep
within the spirit body you are subject to have a higher success rate. The
painful part about watching others go through toxic relationships is that they
blame others for their relationship failure. If you ask a person that is
currently single what happened in their previous relationship you will hear a
line of excuses blaming their ex. Think about how many times you have
heard someone say, “We’re not together because I cheated on them” or “I was
not doing what I needed to do so we broke up.” It’s rare that you will hear
that, much less from a black person. From the beginning of time man has had
an innate characteristic to shrug or not accept responsibility for his actions. It
is a lot easier to say that it was someone else’s fault than for you to take blame
in a given situation. To take blame indicates that you are wrong and us black
folks don’t like being wrong at all. Because you deny that you had any
wrongdoing you build in your mind that all men are dogs or all women are
bitches. What you don’t realize is that you carry that energy into the next
relationship and the person that you are with ends up fulfilling that image that
you have of the opposite sex. Here we have the haunting of the mental
programming from the time we were young. Comments like “Men are from
Mars, Women are From Venus” or “Men are Dogs” are some of the mental
conditioning mechanisms used to divide and separate genders. I’m not sure
who invented the phrase, “You Get What You Expect” but they have never
been more correct. Everything that happens to you in your relationship is a
representation of a culmination of thoughts that you have had over time.
Unfortunately many of us take the image of how we should be with our
significant others from television. Currently, there are several degenerate
reality TV shows that are being aired via cable that represent
African-Americans in a negative light. Cat fights, acts of infidelity,
buffoonery, cooning, money driven divorce settlements and irresponsibility
are just a few of the characteristics that are praised on these shows. With
ratings as high as these shows have you have to know that we are being
laughed at and not with. Yes the African-Americans that take part in these
shows are being compensated but at what price? I am happy that they are
making money to support themselves and feed their family members but it still
paints an undesirable portrait for American blacks as a whole. Adults of all
ages and the youth watch these shows digesting these behaviors as the gold
standard for achieving success and having great relationships. Remember
mental programming happens on a subconscious level. What I have found to
be true is that much of our issues with toxic relationships stem from two
sources; the presence and instruction from our parents and upfront
communication. I have stated that everything that you are and everything that
you ever will be has a large part to do with your parents. Whether you had
one or both parents growing up your thoughts were shaped by the rearing or
lack of rearing that you received as a child. When you are not taught certain
things you have to learn these things on your own through trial and error. If
you’re lucky your errors won’t cost you your life. In the next section I will
address the role of our parents with relation to us having a successful personal
life.
Chapter 26: BEHAVIOR IS LEARNED – YOU HAVE TO BE AROUND
THE RGHT PEOPLE
About a year ago I had a conversation with a friend about the high divorce rate
in the world now as opposed to seventy to one hundred years ago. For
African-Americans divorce was not something that was commonplace. Let’s
consider one important thing. If you are in a country where you are not
allowed to vote, drink at the same water fountain, have equal opportunity to sit
where you want on the public bus or be equally employed as a white
American then you sure as hell will not be thinking of divorcing your spouse
no matter what the case may be. I’m not saying that this is right but only that
those were the circumstances. The set of problems that blacks faced many
years ago were of a different more complex nature. Of course you could get
divorced but where would you go? If you were in the South the problems
you experienced as part of a couple would multiply tenfold if you were single.
For this reason you find that many black women that were born in the early to
middle 1900’s are very devoted to their families and have a strong sense of
morals. They frequently gave birth to six or more children and the ruled with
an iron fist. Even if their husbands had children outside of the marriage they
stayed in the marriage and made it work. Back then, once you were married
divorce was not a part of your vocabulary. The world is very different now.
There are more rights and hence more resistance to less than satisfactory
behavior on either part in a civil union. These days the smallest things can
ignite a divorce process. According to a study performed by Douglas J.
Besharov and Andrew West called African American Marriage Patterns,
blacks had higher rates of successful marriages in the middle 1900’s.
In the 1950s, after at least seventy years of rough parity, African American
marriage rates began to fall behind white rates. In 1950, the percentages of
white and African-American women (aged fifteen and over) who were
currently married were roughly the same, 67 percent and 64 percent,
respectively. By 1998, the percentage of currently married white women had
dropped by 13 percent to 58 percent. But the drop among African-American
women was 44 percent to 36 percent—more than three times larger. The
declines for males were parallel, 12 percent for white men, 36 percent for
African-American men.
African-Americans of today have slightly different numbers when it comes to
marriage and divorce. The divorce rate is most certainly higher. According
to the pamphlet African- American Healthy Marriage Initiative,
African-Americans of today have a divorce rate of 12 percent, which is 2
percent higher than that of whites. To the untrained eye a figure so small
may not seem that bad but take into account the fact that only 42 percent of
blacks get married in the first place. So why is the divorce rate so high when
the marriage rate is so low? It’s a difficult question to answer. On one hand
it could be the issue of socioeconomic differences but some studies show that
even wealthier blacks have higher divorce rates. The reasons for divorce are
complex but the effects of divorce are well known. Studies show that after a
diagnosis of cancer, married people are most likely to recover, while the
divorced are least likely to recover, indicating that the emotional trauma of
divorce has a long-term impact on the physical health of the body. Men and
women both suffer a decline in mental health following divorce but
researchers have found that women are more greatly affected. Some of the
mental health indicators affected by divorce include depression, hostility,
suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts. So what is going on in today’s society
that leads people to the point that they feel the need to divorce? I have
provided these aforementioned facts on marriage rates to bring home my point
about toxic relationship ingredients. The biggest issue that causes this
problem is a broken home. When there is no example for which to model
yourself after you create things on your own. You look for what you think
are good qualities in a human being. Many times the qualities that you think
are good are nothing more than shallow traits. Being left alone as a kid to
think about what an ideal mate should be will lead you into bad relationship
after bad relationship. Think about this. If your spouse stays out all night
and does not call you, are you going to think that everything is just fine?
Naturally you are going to think the worst until you find out what is exactly
going on. When the mind is idle and left alone it wanders into no man’s land
which usually results in a terrible outcome. Actress Halle Berry made a
comment that sums up my point. She said, “If my father was around I would
have been much better off in my love life. Because he was not there to guide
me in my decision making, I made decisions in choosing men based on what I
thought was good. I needed a man there to guide me and show me what the
right thing to do was. As a result I made poor choices in men.” This is a
statement coming from a woman who was once considered one of the most
beautiful women in America. The lack of her father being present has led her
into failed relationships that were plagued by infidelity and physical abuse.
There are thousands of Halle Berry’s in the African-American community.
Most are unfortunately not as wealthy as Halle and they may be left with a
child to take care of. They stay in the relationship in hopes that the child will
make things better but the relationship simply gets worse. There is a
common belief among women and men in the black community that they
should stay in toxicity because of a child. It is indeed a tough call to make
but a good idea would be to remove yourself and your child from the situation
completely for a short period of time to see if your mate changes their ways.
You cannot see a situation clearly if you are inside of the situation.
Sometimes things change and you are able to return to the relationship. We
live in a world where there are several forms of communication. We have
cell phones, landlines, text messaging, internet messengers, email and so forth.
There is no excuse not to be clear about what you want before you get
involved with a person. Establishing this at the beginning will save you a
great deal of heartache and heartbreak. I understand that people change over
time. But if you know that a person does not want children before you get
involved with them then why get involved in the first place? These are some
of the things that I see happening in the African-American community on the
daily basis. It’s the whole idea that we believe that we can change a person.
If that person lacked ambition before you became romantically involved with
them then they will probably continue to lack ambition throughout your
relationship. For you to get involved and expect anything else says that you
are not rational and that you want to control someone else’s life. By nature
we all take part in things that will benefit us but when it comes to other people
you have to look at them as a “what you see is what you get” case. You
either accept them as they are or move forward. During my travels to more
than 40 countries I discovered a great truth about men and women. No matter
what culture or country you are from no one wants to live in poverty. We
would like people to think the way that we do about being with people for
who they are rather than for what they have but the truth is wherever there is
poverty people will look for economic stability. You can’t blame them you
can only understand their plight. I have noticed grown men in Caribbean
countries purposely establishing relationships with European women twice
their age in hopes of getting a visa to leave their respective countries.
Women do this as well. Another contributing factor to a toxic relationship is
committing to someone for material gains. The guy with the flashy car or the
girl who has a great job is only a momentary flash in the pan. Basing your
relationship on what someone else has will be about as authentic as Nike
shoes purchased from Payless Shoe Store. The idea that deception is taking
place is one thing but the bigger problem of concern is the underlying idea that
you are chasing money. This means that you will go wherever the money
goes or in other words to “the highest bidder.” When the money runs out
then you run out. When you are attached to money you put up with different
forms of degradation because you need the money. Do you think prostitutes
grow up saying they want to be a prostitute? No one in their right mind
grows up saying that. Certain circumstances lead them to the life that they
live in order to survive. You pay for a service and you get to perform
whatever sex acts you desire as long as the service fee is paid. You can be
sure that many of those women do not want to do such things. But based on
their personal situations they are obligated to do so in order to fulfill their
contractual agreements. In essence you or I are no better than them. In fact
they have more respect because they are not hiding behind a cloth pretending
to be something that they are not. On a spiritual level you have been with so
many people physically and mentally that you lose a piece of yourself with
each person and pick up their energy. Not only do you take on their energy
but the energy of the people that the people that they were with had. You
start behaving in ways that are not characteristic of you and you wonder why
all of this is happening. It is a result of the lifestyle that you have been living.
You try to change your lifestyle but you have done things a certain way for so
long that it’s hard to live straight. In metaphysics it is said that once you
experience greater it is tougher to go back to the lesser. You may meet
someone who is a genuinely nice person but because they don’t have the
finances that you are used to you have a hard time being around them or
considering them as someone who you could possibly consider being with.
The contributing factors in toxic relationships vary especially within the
African-American community. There is a new complaint within the black
community that there are women who believe that because they have jobs that
they can speak and behave towards men with little to no respect at all. I am
not on either side but I must state what I notice. Having money or not having
money should not determine how a person is treated. I myself have
encountered women who believe that in order for them to be in a relationship
with a man he must make more money than them. I fully comprehend that
women love security as does everyone. Consequently, they are finding it
harder to marry with so many bullet points on a checklist. People refer to
black women who have college degrees, a house and a car as strong
independent black women. The reality is that those things are all normal
things in life that most everyone who has a job and a college degree will
possess. I’ve seen quite a few single white females in my lifetime and I have
never heard the phrase, “strong independent white female.” You have to be
vigilant enough to ask yourself where do such things originate. I have told
you that mental programming by the oppressor has completely destroyed the
mind of many African-Americans. To have the media sensationalize
something as small as that contributes to the growing problem of failed
relationships within the black community. Do African-Americans control the
television or radio airways? In answering that you can also answer who these
mental programming messages are targeting. And like simpletons we grab on
to the foolishness and allow it to guide or lives. Without discrediting any of
my present sisters that may read this book, I have to say that Harriet Tubman,
Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells and Rosa Parks were strong black women.
How can anyone label someone as strong for doing normal things within
society? Again, this is part of the programming. It happens with males as
well. Many black males believe that because they have a certain amount of
money that women are at their mercy and that they can be treated like slaves.
Man made the money, money never made the man. If we are to get back to
having sound relationships we have to start with what matters the most,
character. If our grandparents and great-grand parents used the same criteria
to choose their mates none of us would be here. Everyone was poor back
then so they could not elect a life partner for material gains. The result of that
time period is lower divorce rates and stronger family structures. That is why
they have had everlasting relationships until death did them apart. If you
have children you must instruct them and guide them so that they make sound
decisions that will allow them to meet quality people. A big part of avoiding
hazardous relationships is your surroundings.
The current generation enjoys hanging out at clubs and reaping the fruits (or
poisons) of the nightlife. Nothing is wrong with this form of entertainment
but when you use it as a means to find your better half then something is
wrong. This is yet another example in being guided by the right people.
Nine times out of ten you are not going to find a person of dating material in a
discoteque. It’s not that I have anything against club goers (because I went in
the past) but the odds that you will find what you are looking for in a bar is
slim. That is unless you are looking for low vibrational sex. In that case you
will be in the right place. This chapter was not comprised with the idea that
people are supposed to be angels and display impeccable behavior. Of course
you should date and enjoy life on the way to finding the right relationship that
God intended for you. Meeting new people is the only way for you to find
out what you want in a spouse. The objective here is to show you that many
of the relationships that take place within the African-American community
(and world) are toxic and are killing us. In every relationship whether
romantic or platonic, there has to be the ability to discern between natural and
normal. Anything that is natural means that it exist in or is formed by nature,
opposed to artificial. Natural also means organic. When you shop for food
the best kind of produce to purchase is organic, correct? So natural is a great
thing and happens with the assistance of nature. Normal means conforming
to the standard or the common type, usual. In laymen’s terms to be normal
means to be like everyone else. We have been taught that fitting in and being
normal is the safest way to get through this world. Instead of doing what you
feel is the natural thing to do, you would rather be normal. It doesn’t matter
if the normal thing to do is unhealthy and detrimental. This is why many
African-American teenagers from inner city neighborhoods get teased
growing up and labeled as a so called nerd. They get good grades and talk
“proper English” so they are made to feel inferior for doing so. In order to fit
in, many of these kids stop getting great marks in school and alter their
English to be with the in crowd. There is nothing wrong with adaptation.
But when adapting comes at the expense of what is right for you then you are
no longer being true to self. It’s not natural to be in a relationship that
involves violence once per week. It’s not natural to be in a civil union where
your spouse does not come home every night because they are out with
friends. It is not natural to be verbally abused each day and turn the other
cheek. All of these things may be normal from your neck of the woods but
these abnormalities are not in line with nature. If you can make your love life
decisions in accordance with nature you will drastically improve your chances
of being involved with someone who values you on all levels.
Section 7
Loss of Spirituality
Religion is the organization of spirituality into something that became the
hand maiden of conquerors. Nearly all religions were brought to people and
imposed on people by conquerors, and used as the framework to control their
minds.
John Henrik Clarke
Chapter 27: THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF SOUND SPIRITUALITY
We all strive to be healthy at some point or another in our lives. When you
are a teenager you give no mind to what you are eating or how you pass your
time because most of your customs are passed to you by your family. As you
grow older you feel the need to focus on your health because you have come
to understand that doing the wrong things to your body can lead to death.
What things are necessary in order for you to have superior physical health?
Eating nutrient dense foods, consuming water according to your body weight
and keeping a good resting schedule are great building blocks. Failure to
tactfully implement any one of a number of vital daily habits can land you in a
precarious situation. What things are necessary to have supreme spiritual
health?
Meditation, prayer, reading and great exercise are normally associated with
being spiritually sound. The issue that we have today is that many people in
the African-American community have completely lost sight of or have never
mastered their spirituality. They either have a somewhat decent diet and no
spiritual base or they have a sub-par spiritual base and a lackluster diet or they
have neither of the two which is completely hazardous. Our struggles lie in
the fact that most of us don't realize that we are spiritually deficient. How
would you know if you were lacking in nutrition?
Weight gain, white or gray hair, constipation or a drop in your immune system
would indicate that something is missing from your diet. The spiritual part to
this equation has more to do with individuals bettering themselves and having
a concept of what life is about. When you are spiritually fed there are certain
things that do not trouble you because you have a great concept of the bigger
picture. Below are some warning signs that let you know that you are in need
spiritual nourishment.
1. You change according to your environment. The incessant need to
fit in with the crowd at any expense is a give way that you need help. A
person who is spiritually sound will always remain themselves in any
environment.
2. You have no conscious. You are not troubled by wrongdoings toward
mankind because you are only concerned about your gain be it ill-gotten
or otherwise. Robbing, killing or harming does not register in your
mind. How many of us within our community are robbing and killing
each other? Families arguing over money, friends sleeping with their
best friend’s wife and people putting their parents in adult homes all the
while never visiting them are just small things on a large scale that
indicate the need to revert back to sound spirituality practices as our
ancestors did.
3. Blatant envy. There was a day when good news was revealed in a
black community that everyone would be happy. Now there is no
genuine happiness for others. When you hear that someone else has
improved their lot in life you are not happy for that person. If someone
finds a so called soul mate or receives a job promotion you will always
have something negative to say regarding the situation. The frustration
from seeing others do well trickles over into your life and has a negative
impact on your health.
Life is about balance and in order to live a healthful life there must be a
healthy correlation between the spirit body and the physical body.
Overfeeding one and neglecting the other is a recipe for imbalance and a
disease plagued life. Unfortunately, many so called African- Americans have
grossly neglected their spirituality which was once the backbone of the
African-American culture and served as a pillar of hope and triumph during
years of challenging times. In this chapter I want to fully concentrate on how
and why I feel that there has been a loss in spirituality within the black
community.
Chapter 28: BEING INDOCTRINATED
I have a very important question to ask you. If someone would physically
enslave you, what makes you think that they wouldn’t mentally enslave you?
Do you think that they would just leave the mental enslavement part alone and
simply settle for the physical enslavement? If you believe that, I’ve got some
oceanfront property in Montana to sell you. When one speaks about the spirit
they are speaking about something that is the principle of conscious life; the
vital principle in humans, animating the body between body and soul. So
when you are spiritual you are dealing with something that is clearly
distinguished from physical nature. In my humble estimation the biggest
contributor to the loss of spirituality in black Americans is religion. I am not
speaking of religion in the sense of being scrupulously faithful to something.
If you rise at 5 am every morning then you are religious in that effort. I am
speaking of religion with respect to doctrines, temples and churches. In this
case the word religion that I speak of is defined as a set of beliefs concerning
the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as
the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional
and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the
conduct of human affairs.
Religion has done such a great deal of harm to African-Americans because it
has transformed us into robots and to not be independent thinkers as we were
created to be. If you will re-read the definition of the word religion you will
notice the word phrase “set of beliefs.” Where did these set of beliefs come
from and who gave them to you? Spirituality & Health Magazine states,
“Religion is often about who’s in and who’s out, creating a worldview steeped
in “us against them.” Spirituality rejects this dualism and speaks of us and
them. Religion is often about loyalty to institutions, clergy, and rules.
Spirituality is about loyalty to justice and compassion. Religion talks about
God. Spirituality helps to make us godly. The two need not be at odds.
Religion at its best is spirituality in community.” It seems that we have
forgotten about this throughout the entire current indoctrination process.
Many of the books given to African-Americans for the further advancement of
current western world religious doctrines are derived from Ancient Egyptian
texts, which is on the continent of Africa. The problem is that these texts
were altered and taught in a way that would be to the disadvantage of every
African descendant currently residing in the Americas. Consider this point.
If I capture you as my slave and bring you to my country, is it logical that I
would allow you to remain with your native language and religion? Would I
want to give you an advantage for you to remain spiritually strong and
possibly continue instilling your core values in your children? Or would I
strip everything from you and replace your religious doctrine with mine as
well as any texts related to my religion? Remember that ambiguity is the
mother of all deception. Mixing truth with lies is the best recipe for mental
programming. After all, in order for me fully conquer you and make the
transition smoother I must give you all of my beliefs so that you live in
harmony with me and my family. That is exactly what has happened.
Whatever you think you believe it was given to you. You did not create nor
were you present during the creation process of religion. For us to
wholeheartedly trust and believe in something of which we have no idea of its
origins says a lot about us as a people. If you have no historical facts to
corroborate what you believe in then it’s a shaky situation at best. Religions
should always line up with world history. Otherwise you are basing your
total existence on folklore, fictional characters and most commonly allegories.
If this has worked to help you achieve the life that you want then it has served
its’ purpose. But to put it bluntly, how many African-Americans are not
living in fucked up situations? The numbers are slim. You have seen the
statistics on household income for African- Americans not to mention the
diseases that plague black communities across America.
One has to reason and say that people are not using their religion to their
benefit or the religion is impotent. The late Malcom X had a quote that
should be posted on the bathroom mirror of every African- American home in
the United States. Malcom stated, “When you have a philosophy or a gospel,
I don’t care what it is, a religious gospel, a political gospel, an economic
gospel or a social gospel, if it’s not going to do something for you and me
right here, right now then to hell with that gospel.” I acquiesce the
sentiments of the late Malcolm X. How can artifacts and tombs from Egypt
which is one of the oldest civilizations on earth be located but other prominent
religious figures have not? I’m not suggesting anything but I often ponder
thoughts of this nature. The truth is that many of the current religions that
black Americans follow have many sound principles. The problem is not the
principles. The problem is the mind of the people that are supposed to be
following the principles coupled with the allegories that are presented with
many of these principles. People walk around believing in things that are not
humanly possible. Black Americans are considerably more religious than the
American population as a whole. A 2007 US Religious Landscape Survey
cited that 87 percent of Black Americans (versus 83 percent of all Americans)
are affiliated with a religion. This survey also revealed that 79 percent of
blacks (versus 56 percent of the overall population) say that religion is very
important in their life. To be more specific 83 percent of African-Americans
(during the time of this study) were Christians. Before I continue let’s look at
a quote from a study performed by The Journal of American Medical
Association titled, Religion/Spirituality in African-American Culture. This
quote confirms my previous statement on the origin of the texts (books) of
many of the world religions in which African-Americans participate.
Historians note that African-Americans religion originated in the regions of
ancient Africa, e.g., Cush, Put, Egypt, and was subsequently influenced by the
institution of slavery and colonialism. Therefor it is argued
African-American religion, to a large extent, is a re-worked Christianity that
has its’ own character and style.
Primarily most of the things that you know to be prominent in this world have
their origins in Africa by one way or the other. This is not a rant or a push for
black power but merely information to alert you that the religions of today are
a distorted version of the rich culture from whence so called
African-Americans came. To avoid sounding redundant I will provide a clear
example of excerpts from ancient African texts that are currently used in the
religion known as Christianity. I grew up in a Baptist family and my
grandparents raised my mother on biblical principles so I am not attacking the
bible but merely providing concrete facts. Let’s examine the text called the
42 principles of Ma’at and the Holy Bible. The 42 Principles of Ma’at was
written at least 2,000 years before the Ten Commandments of Moses. The 42
Principles of Ma’at are one of Africa’s, and the world’s oldest sources of
moral and spiritual instruction. Notice the words moral and spiritual. Not
religious. Ma’at, the Ancient Egyptian divine Principle of Truth, Justice, and
Righteousness, is the foundation of natural and social order and unity.
Ancient Africans developed a humane system of thought and conduct which
has been recorded in volumes of African wisdom literature, such as, these
declarations from the Book of Coming Forth By Day (the so-called Book of
the Dead), The Teachings of Ptah-Hotep, the writings of Ani, Amenemope,
Merikare, and others. Below you can see striking similarities in the text. A
valuable point to keep in mind is this. If Moses existed and he was adopted
by an Egyptian royal family then he would have been familiar with these
principles. Never forget that the 42 Principles existed 2,000 years prior to the
bible so it would be impossible for it to be copied from the bible.
Comparing the 42 Principles of Maat (Ancient Africa) with The 10
Commandments of Moses provided by Xenophilius at Wordpress
42 POM – Thou shalt not steal or take that which does not belong to you.
10 Commandments – Thou shall not steal.
42 POM – Thou shalt not kill nor bid anyone to kill.
10 Commandments – Thou shall not kill.
42 POM – Thou shalt not commit adultery or rape.
10 Commandments – Thou shall not commit adultery.
42 POM – Thou shalt not bear false witness nor support false allegations.
42 POM – Thou shalt not lie, nor speak falsely to the hurt of another.
10 Commandments – Thou shall not bear false witness.
42 POM – Thou shalt not take God’s name in vain.
10 Commandments – Thou shall not take the Lord’s name in vain.
42 POM – Thou shalt not covet they neighbor’s goods.
10 Commandments – Thou shall not covet they neighbor’s wife, house or
possessions.
42 POM – Thou shalt remember and observe the appointed holy days.
10 Commandments – Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.
Here we have eight striking similarities between an Ancient African text and
the Holy Bible. Ancient African religions base their infrastructure on
spirituality and the development of you as an individual with the recognition
that God is within you if you will only recognize such a thing. There was a
set time for prayer and devotion to God as there is today but the main focus
was the cultivation of the individual while giving God credit for all
happenings. When times were difficult you would cling to your spirituality
and belief in what God can do through you as his vessel (not a religion) to
provide you with strength. Spirituality was essentially your religion because
it was your way of life, not the other way around. Tuskegee Institute’s
Manning Marble gives an excellent illustration via Jean Paul Sartre of the
mindset of many of our ancestors involved in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
In the American experience, Blacks found themselves in the position of being
characterized, their African culture negated, and their spirituality redefined.
During slavery, the Black man sought continually to “lay claim” as Sartre
suggest, “to this being which I am or more exactly, I am the project of the
recovery of my being.” The slave’s religion was often the only link between
the individual Black slave and that person whom he sought to be. The Black
man’s spirituality created a collective pride and racial solidarity which defied
the indoctrination of the slave masters.
What happened to our spirituality creating a collective pride? It seems more
like religion has divided us and made us into the very things in which we look
down upon. How many people do you know that go to the Mosque or to
church but speak ill of their neighbor? If you are an African-American have
you witnessed so called religious people that constantly judge others? Let’s
keep it real, of course you have. African-American religious zealots mistake
being in a building or attending a service once a week as being spiritually
enlightened. It’s good to read your respective religious text book but if it
does not build your character then it means that you must make a change.
Not a change in religion but a change within yourself. Again, the books are
not the problem, it’s us. How many black homes own a bible? How many
people of those homes have read the entire bible? I don’t have those answers
but I believe that the numbers are dismal. Most homes have bibles that do
nothing more than collect dust bugs. If the bible or the Koran is supposed
provide the answers then why are we struggling? I use the bible in my
examples because more than 80 percent of African-Americans are Christians
and only one percent of blacks in America have stated that they are of the
Muslim faith. We struggle because we are not working on our inner self.
We put everything outside of ourselves and say that God will bless us. I can’t
tell you how many times I have heard the phrase, “blessed and highly
favored.” I have a question to those who say that they are highly favored.
Who are you highly favored over? The word favor implies that you are being
shown favor over another individual. This implies that God favors or loves
you more than the rest of us which we know is not true. There are times that
we receive things from God and we have no clue what we did to receive them.
In that aspect I am in agreement in the idea that grace has played a major role.
Thank God for grace. However, from a day to day basis you will reap what
you sow. This means that what you call highly favored is a reward from God
that is a manifestation of the work that you have put in. With the exception
of an occasional blessing due to the grace of God, if you do nothing you will
get nothing. Zero plus zero will always give you zero no matter where you
are on earth. This moves me back to spirituality which if you were focused
on would give you a greater sense of what to do and how to develop yourself.
A greater sense of spirituality is a big reason why African- Americans were
able to achieve great feats during slavery and the early to middle 1900’s.
They had strong personalities and characters. There was simply no way to
conquer many of the insurmountable obstacles during that time period without
an inner sense of God as well as an authentic connection to the highest being.
Compare the accomplishments of black Americans now to those of the 1800
and 1900’s. You will find that their achievements were of more sustenance
than those of today.
Making millions of dollars playing professional sports, having a great music
career and having successful businesses are indeed great things but they’re not
in the same category as inventions such as the traffic light (Garrett Morgan),
blood plasma function and blood banks (Charles Drew), civil rights legislation
(Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X) and the modern clock (Benjamin
Banneker). Instead of being focused on self-enhancement and earnest
dealings with their fellow man, the present day African American has his
mind wrapped around materialism, paganism, religious dogmas and false
doctrines as a vehicle of providing them with afterlife salvation. We follow
vain pagan traditions and holidays without knowing their origins and who
created them. We question nothing but do everything that we are told.
Places of worship have become banks. Religious leaders are worshipped
instead of being respected for the message that they provide and
understanding that they are human. It is not their fault that people cling to
them and hold them in such high esteem. As long as you are on earth you are
always under Murphy’s Law. This means that anything that can go wrong
will go wrong. This law is not a respecter of persons. With that being said
there is no need to be upset at religious leaders for mistakes that they make.
The black community loves to make statements like, “My pastor said” or “I’m
going to ask Reverend Johnson what I should do.” Have you not realized that
these people read from the very same book that you are supposed to be
reading from? I previously mentioned that God does not play favorites. We
are all his children. Do not mistake not playing favorites for God not
chastising you for your errors because God will always do so. Your faith is
to go in God not in man. We have this concept in reverse. We like to say
that we follow God but we do not. It is natural to be partial to the head of
your church if he is exceptional at his craft. It is not natural to live by his
words because he (or she) is man and man is flawed. Anyone can make
mistakes.
I’m not speaking against the heads of religious sects, I’m simply stating truth.
If you’re going to attend service then let it be that. There is no problem with
compensating a man who has put in hours of work to study and deliver a
message to the congregation. Some people are perturbed by this issue but I
believe that a workman is worth his hire. I also believe that the congregation
should give what they can to help keep the lights and gas on in the
establishment. Where religion turns into business for me is when there are
five different financial offerings. Some of these things are not necessary.
However, if people are going to continue to try to buy their way to salvation
then let them do so. It’s time for black Americans to grasps the concept that
they (just as all ethnicities on earth) are spiritual beings undergoing a physical
experience. It’s not the other way around. When you deal in spirit you are
closer to God (because God is a spirit being) and you find it easier to live
because you recognize the God within you. The communication lines
between you and God are open. As you continue to grow in your spirituality
you will only see the possibilities. You will not focus on other people or
negative situations. Your food has a large impact on your spirituality. I
know your eyebrows are raised and you are wondering how. When you fail
to eat foods that take their roots from the earth you become disconnected with
the earth. On a metaphysical level you cannot receive messages from the
earth to your mind such as intuition, gut feelings, confidence or certainty that
God is always present in your life. When you consume foods that are
processed and packaged your character becomes as those foods; shallow,
unhealthy and looking good on the surface but having no real benefit. Eating
foods like fruits and vegetables that are from the earth will give you the
opposite reaction of the processed foods. You become a benefit for everyone
that you come in contact with and people will always seek you. Like those
plant based foods that you consume people will notice that you are a deep
rooted individual and only want what is right for them even if it may cause
them initial pain. Spiritually sound people do not consistently engage in
activities that are not beneficial for them or others. If they do engage in these
activities it is probably a rare thing or they don’t know that they are doing
something that could potentially be detrimental. Your life depends largely
upon your spirituality.
You will have a strong sense of right versus wrong. A prime example of you
having a spirit that resonates with the Most High God is when you do
something wrong to someone else. You don’t have to read a book for you to
know that what you did was wrong because you feel it inside and that is what
activates your guilty conscience as people like to say. You were built with
God programmed into your makeup. Here is a simple way to explain the
importance of you fulfilling your spiritual being. If you are driving in the
desert in a car that has air conditioning for a day without turning on the air
conditioning, do you think that you will be comfortable? You will probably
make it through the ride but you will be extremely uncomfortable. This is the
same as you going through life without actively improving your spirit. You
may live long but your years will be plagued with difficulties that you could
have avoided had you been willing to develop your inner being. No church,
no mosque and no person will be responsible for your spiritual development.
They may assist you but ultimately your independent desire for knowledge,
self-growth and self-discovery will be the deciding factors.
Section 8
Soul Food: The Survival Cuisine of Those Who Were Enslaved
It's just about learning and educating people and teaching them why (to eat
healthy). So if the grandparents are feeding a child something unhealthy the
parents can explain why that's not a good idea.
Sina English
Chapter 29: AUTHENTIC NUTRITIOUS AFRICAN CUISINE VS. WHAT
WE CONSUME TODAY
In present day Western Africa there is a solid alimentation infrastructure in
place that includes a base of considerable vegetable consumption with each
meal. For hundreds and possibly even thousands of years it appears that
African culinary customs have remained intact. That is with the exception of
the African descendants of the enslaved people that were brought to the
United States of America. Excluding the increased amount of meat
consumption, the typical Western African diet of today closely mirrors that of
five hundred years ago. This time point is relevant because the ancestors of
today’s American black people came to the shores of America around this
period. If you believe what you watch on TV then you have already made up
your mind that the entire African continent is void of proper nourishment. If
you are a truth seeker you will find that many African cultures have a diet rich
in vitamins. I refer to West Africa when I speak because that is where
roughly many African descendants in the present day Americas originate
from. Many Angolans were shipped to Brazil hence the strong similarities
between the two cultures. In fact Brazil holds the highest number of African
descendants outside of the African continent than anywhere on earth. It was
reported that 3.5 million slaves were shipped to Brazil. Ironically, Brazil is
also the home of the biggest world carnival on earth. Where do you think all
of the dancing and costumes originate? Surely you didn’t believe that it was
a European or South American thing. I digress. Africa is a continent very
rich in world tradition including sound nutrition. What were the foods that
were consumed by our ancestors before setting foot on American soil?
Common foods were black eyed peas, okra, egg-plant, yams, sweet potatoes
and squash. For meat they consumed large amounts of fish, goat, mutton
(sheep meat) and chicken. The amount of meat consumed back then was at a
rate far lesser than that of present day Africa. There were not large outbreaks
or epidemics of diet related ailments like they are today. Diseases back then
had more to do with environmental factors than they did with nutrition.
Things were simpler and they focused on eating organically grown foods.
Let’s fast forward to the African-American diet of today. Collard Greens,
neck bones, hush puppies, poke chops (pork chops), chitterlings (chitlins), ox
tails, cornbread, cat fish, hog maws, chicken gizzards, ham hocks, salt pork,
cracklins, pinto beans, turnip greens, mustard greens, crowded peas and
buttered beans, fat back and fried chicken are some of the foods most often
associated with the African-American community. This long list of foods is
what we refer to as soul food. The term soul food is defined as traditional
black American cookery which originated in the rural south of the United
States. It originated there because that is where most slave plantations where
based. As civil rights began to change many blacks migrated north, west and
east. The term soul food was first tabbed back in 1964 during the ascension
of the black power movement which was a byproduct of the fight for civil
rights for African-Americans. The term soul food really took off because
many aspects of the African-American culture-including soul music were
celebrated for their contributions to the American way of life. Soul food
celebrated the ingenuity and skill of cooks who were able to form a distinctive
cuisine despite limited means. Who were these cooks? The original cooks
were slaves! Why would these means be limited? They were limited
because they were leftover foods and animal parts that slave owners did not
have a use for so they gave them to their slaves and bid them to make due if
they wanted to survive. Just as blacks have always done they not only
survived with the scraps but they made them tasty. In the mind of the slave
owner it would cost too much to feed them as they fed their family members
so this was a cost effective move. I certainly don’t believe that they planned
on things working out the way that they did. Naturally these recipes were
passed down and in many cases tailored to fit the desires of each cook. In
short the soul food diet was born out of slavery. What are we doing
consistently consuming dishes that were created out of necessity by the
ancestors of African-Americans? I come back and repeat. If your ancestors
who were slaves had a choice of consuming grilled fresh -water fish, green
vegetables and egg-plant (just as they did in Africa) or pig’s intestines, ham
hock flavored collard greens and cornbread, which one do you think they
would choose? The answer of course is the meal with the fresh water fish
because it was a part of their staple diet that they were accustomed to eating in
Western Africa. Not to mention it is the healthier selection. In fact when
African’s come to America and eat the standard soul food diet of
African-Americans they get sick. They contract nutritional deficiency
diseases such as high blood pressure, arthritis and diabetes. In a study
performed by Scientific American, Dr. Joel Wallach presents fascinating
numbers with relation to the differences in diet between African Americans
and blacks that live in Africa.
Scientific American sent a group of genetic and DNA scholars to Nigeria.
They went out in the forest of Nigeria and their task was to find one black
tribesman who had normal genes for blood pressure. They were going to
take his blood and genetically engineer it and make a vaccine and come back
to America and inject every black man with this vaccine to get everybody’s
blood pressure down to normal. When they got to Nigeria they were shocked
to find out that only 7 percent of the people had high blood pressure and 93
percent were normal. They were just shocked because in Chicago the
number of the percentage of people who had high blood pressure that were
genetically related to Nigeria from the old slave days was 33 percent. That
number was only 7 percent in Nigeria. That instantly tells you that it is not
genetic because your position on earth does not determine how a genetic
disease will manifest itself. If it was genetic the percentages would be the
same regardless of the location. The fact that the numbers were not the same
tells you immediately that it was not genetic. The answer was found in the
diet, gardening and food preparation methods.
We can see that even the Africans that remain in Africa today have lower rates
of nutritional deficiency diseases than we do. Today’s black Americans
glorify soul food as if it is something great that happened to us. You’re
happy about eating a meal that includes pig scraps and some refined flour? I
want us all to understand something. We are not slaves. Many of us may be
mentally enslaved but we were not active participants in the Trans-Atlantic
slave trade. I refer to our ancestors as slaves because they were enslaved not
because they were actual slaves. In the general sense of the word located in
the Webster’s dictionary they fit the term slave. However, I use the word
slave so that you may understand of whom I am speaking. They were
intelligent people who lived well from their land and were taken against their
will to a distant foreign land and forced to work. In truth they were African
people who were enslaved. They were not already slaves before they were
brought to America. I realize that I’m being very technical here but you must
understand that there are present day black Americans who don’t believe that
the African culture was rich before we came to the United States. Do you
know that Africa is full is diamonds and oil? It is probably the richest land
on earth. Africans are unable to live from their natural resources because of
European influence and corrupt government. The only image that most black
Americans have of Africa is that of slavery. If this is true then the excessive
consumption of soul food should be reduced to a minimum. If you wish to
separate yourself from the African culture then you have to separate yourself
from all aspects of slavery. This includes the elimination of soul food which
is killing black Americans. There are some foods like black eyed peas, okra
and sweet potatoes that still remain in the African-American diet but they are
generally prepared in unhealthy ways. One of the major concerns of
consuming soul food is preparation. Most of it requires the usage of a great
deal of cooking oil of some sort. In former times an important aspect of the
preparation of soul food was the re-use of cooking lard. Slaves did not have
money to continue to buy cooking lard (or shortening) so once they were done
cooking they allowed the grease to cool and poured the cooled liquid grease
into a container or anything that could serve as a suitable storage contraption.
After cooling completely the grease re-solidified and could be used again the
next time the cook required lard. Used cooking lard was simply a way to
re-use an ingredient. I’m willing to bet that if you are an African-American
that was born any time before the year 1990, your parents have cooked with
old cooking oil. Don’t get upset because they were only doing what was
taught to them by their ancestors. That oil may not have been the same as the
lard or shortening that was used years ago but it was re-used. As I reflect on
the 1980’s and 1990’s I can remember the kitchen in my house smelling like
burnt cooking oil. I can also remember getting into a great deal of trouble if I
poured the grease into the garbage because I thought that it was burnt or no
good. My mother’s voice is still in my ear saying, “Boy don’t you throw
away my good grease. You better use a strainer and pour that grease in a
can.” She brought all of her southern reared ways with her from Greenwood,
Mississippi to Detroit, Michigan. Grease storage was no exception. I hated
to put the grease in the can because it meant that I had to wash the skillet. If
it was night time you had to wait a while for the pan to cool down before you
could pour the grease into the can. My brother is five years younger than me
so all chores primarily fell on my shoulders. It was a double-edged sword
because if you were tired and went to bed while leaving the grease in the
skillet overnight then your parents would be upset that you didn’t clean the
kitchen and you left a grease smell. Some nights I didn’t care and I just went
to sleep and mentally prepared for the trouble that the morning would bring.
Knowing what I know today about cooking oil and soul food I cannot believe
the harm that I did to my body. Do you realize how many cancer causing
agents are left in old cooking oil? People are a bit more educated now so
they generally do not use oil that was previously used for cooking purposes.
You have the opportunity now to consume better foods so why not do so?
When you consistently consume soul food here is what you are doing. Let’s
say you were a visitor in a European country on vacation. During your time
there you were a part of an unfortunate political situation and you were
captured by army guerillas that held you as a P.O.W. (prisoner of war) for two
years. During the entire time that you were captured you were fed cheese and
crackers as your staple diet. Upon your release you were taken to a restaurant
that had food of every kind and asked what you wanted to order for your food
and you stated that you wanted cheese and crackers. That is the equivalent of
what African-Americans are doing when they consume a diet largely
consisting of soul food. It is one thing to consume certain dishes once in a
while but it’s another to eat this stuff each day and be proud of eating it
knowing where it came from. You can honor your ancestors in other ways.
Many people use the excuse that soul food helps you to remember your roots.
You won’t be remembering those roots for very long if you continue to live by
the soul food diet. In fact you will become a root that goes six feet deep.
The Chinese, Italian, Polish, German and Turkish people are not eating foods
that were born out of war or slavery. The foods that they consume are
country dishes that they are widely known for preparing. But then again none
of those countries have foreign descendants that were taken to a distant land
against their will. Nevertheless we are more than happy to be eating slave
food that makes us sick.
If we’re claiming to honor our culture through food then we must research
all of the foods that were consumed then and now. Your African ancestors
didn’t eat bologna, salami, pig intestines, sausage links, pop tarts or sugar
laced cereals. It’s no wonder you are sick. You aren’t eating anything
that was consumed in the mother land. We’re not genetically built to
consume these toxic foods.
On a metaphysical level we are connecting with foods that were given to
so-called slaves. Foods carry energy just as humans do. Could it be that
many of us are mentally enslaved because of the foods that we are consuming
from the slave diet? Soul food is literally “soul food” in one aspect. It will
take your soul if you consume it daily. Here is something to consider.
Slaves were people that worked the fields day and night in the blistering heat.
As a result they needed a diet that would provide high amounts of
carbohydrates as well as calories for them to survive from day to day. God
certainly provided them with the necessary foods to get them through during
such a difficult time. Present day African-Americans are not confined to a
field nor do the majority of them pass their time working in the scorching
heat. In this case it is not necessary for them to be eating such a diet. The
sedentary lifestyle coupled with soul food consumption provides the ideal
avenue for disease to set in. Jessica Harris author of High on the Hog: A
Culinary Journey from Africa to America explains, “Slaves ate a high-fat, high
calorie diet that would allow them to burn 3,000 calories a day working.”
The fact that they worked so hard provided a little more room for nutritional
error in those times. This did not exclude them from dietary diseases but at
least they were physically exerting themselves to burn fat and remove excess
waste from their organs. Sweat also expels toxins so they were naturally
ridding the body of offenders. I’m not sure I have ever seen a picture or a
movie with a slave that was obese. The environmental conditions coupled
with the amount of daily worked required wouldn’t allow such a thing.
Activist Dick Gregory has a very truthful perspective on the term soul food.
During a movie directed by African-American Byron Hurt titled Soul Food
Junkies, Gregory was asked about his thoughts on soul food. Gregory
stated, “The word soul started off as a good word but they should have called
this death food because it will kill you.” I would be remiss if I did not admit
that certain articles within the soul food diet have various health benefits.
Black eyed peas and pinto beans are great sources of protein, essential
vitamins, fiber and minerals. Pinto beans are consumed every day in
Caribbean countries such as the Dominican Republic. The fact that they are
inexpensive and provide health benefits makes them an ideal candidate for
those who love soul food. The beans or peas are not bad but when you add
sugar cured or salted pork products along with grease then you have a
dilemma. Collard greens (which are a big part of my family’s soul food diet)
are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, B6, and
C, manganese, iron, calcium, folic acid, fiber and small amounts of omega 3
fatty acids. Remember that they are green so they will provide you with
some form of benefit. They also contain heavy doses of phytonutrients which
are thought to play a role in the prevention of ovarian and breast cancer.
Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of beta carotene and trace minerals as
well and have come to be classified as an "anti-diabetic" food. Recent animal
studies have shown that sweet potatoes can stabilize blood sugar levels and
lower insulin resistance. You’re not going to stabilize your blood sugar
levels by eating sweet potato pie. When I mention the beneficial properties
of sweet potatoes I am speaking from the aspect of the potatoes being
prepared the right way. Baking or boiling seems to be the simplest way of
preparing this food.
The moment you add brown sugar, vanilla extract, pie crust and any other
refined food products, you have taken away or greatly lessened all beneficial
properties. As I have stated in the chapter on nutrition, we first must begin
with reprogramming our minds. The same way a person erases all of the data
from their personal computer is the same thing that we have to do with our
mental computer. It’s a step by step process. I understand that it is a lot of
effort for a person to undo decades of programming but if you want to
improve your physical and mental health then these things must be done.
Anything worth having is going to require a sacrifice of some sort. Living
life under a strict code can be strenuous enough so for that reason I
recommend that you engage in your favorite soul foods every once in a while
if that is what you desire. I will not use the word moderation because that
word can be left open for interpretation. This is a word that is often used by
people who want an excuse to do things that are unhealthy. Nevertheless
there are certain foods that wouldn’t do you any harm if you just took the time
to research healthier recipes. The fact remains that a big portion of soul food
are vegetables. They may be vegetables that are soaked in grease, artificial
flavorings or flour but they are vegetables. I have mentioned vegetables as an
important part of healing and health maintenance. If we can remove the bad
stuff and be flexible enough to replace those things with healthier options then
we will be taking a step in the right direction.
Section 9
Helpful Reminders Regarding Life and Health
There are a few random things that I feel the need to share with you in order
that you may actively and accurately make a change for the better in your life.
Even if you feel that you already have a perfect life it is always good to build
on what you have. We all have room for improvement in at least one area of
our lives. In my professional basketball career I learned that the very most
important things in life are the little things. This may sound like a cliché but
it is true. Free throws, open layups, turnovers and rebounding were not
aspects of the game of basketball that would make the crowd go wild but they
would lose the team a game if they were not executed. Here are a few extra
things to help you in your contribution to the overall improvement of the state
of health of African-Americans.
Chapter 30: BEING CONSISTENT PAYS IN YOUR WELLNESS,
PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE
The word consistent is one of maybe ten words that will be responsible for
making or breaking your life. Being consistent or placing the prefix “in” in
front of the word and making it inconsistent is something that is a guaranteed
factor in determining your future. Since the beginning of time there has
always been something innate inside of mankind that wants to shrug
responsibility. These traits seem to be magnified within the
African-American community. I’m quite sure that some of these stories are
inflated but from my personal experiences with people we do not like
accepting responsibility for wrongdoing or being held accountable for
inactiveness. Many times you will find that people are blamed for many of
the things that a person should have done or could have done but didn’t. I
have heard many folklore stories about guys who could have been pro athletes
or big business executives had they not gotten romantically involved with
certain people or if a certain person would have helped them. I call these
things folklore because there is no one else present to verify their story so I
have to rely on their word. I have always wanted to make sure that I live my
life so that you could see my works. You won’t have to rely on stories about
me because I will be a part of history. At least that is my intention. From
the stories of the bible even Adam did not want to take responsibility for what
took place in the Garden of Eden. He blamed the fall of man on his wife.
Eve was quite straight forward in her answer to God and took the blame by
saying that she was indeed deceived by the serpent. It is easier to place
blame on other people but when you begin to take control of your life you
start to realize that anything that happens to you is your fault. This is why
actively being focused on spirituality is tantamount to the evolution of
mankind. As you internalize this realization you come to a point of necessary
daily actions that must take place for your advancement. In order for you to
advance you must be consistent. As African-Americans we can be consistent
in many things that provide no real value but when it comes to things that are
good for us we seem to get bored and stop doing the necessary things. We
can drink alcohol everyday but we can’t read one chapter of a book that will
help our financial situations. One day about 15 years ago I was working out
in my neighborhood gym playing a game of one on one basketball with a good
friend. His name is Rashad Phillips. Phillips just so happens to be the
all-time scoring leader in the University of Detroit Men’s Basketball history.
After the game we sat and spoke about basketball and what it took to make
championship teams and great players. Phillips had been to two consecutive
NCAA tournament appearances with the University of Detroit with big
tournament wins over schools like the Baron Davis led UCLA Bruins and a St.
John’s University team that featured future NBA players Ron Artest, Eric
Barkley, Felipe Lopez and Zendon Hamilton. Phillips looked me in the eyes
after our game of one on one and said;
“You know what Swiney, I would rather have a guy on my team that gives me
12 points per night than a guy who scores 40 points one night and then 5
points the next. Because with those 12 points I know that I can rely on him
and I can make a game plan around his 12 points. But what good are you if
you score 30 points one night and I’m looking for your 30 the next night but
you drop down to 4 points? You have ruined my entire game plan and the
chemistry of the team.”
Phillips’ quote stuck with me over these last 15 years. It was this mentality
of consistency that allowed him (a guy no taller than 5’9) to have two seasons
of more than 22 points per game in college. If there was someone that could
teach about consistency it would be him. What I came to realize is that you
get results in life based on your consistency. Go deep within yourself and ask
yourself if you have been consistent with doing certain things when you have
had roller coaster-like results? Do you say to yourself, “I don’t feel like
doing it” when you know that something needs to be done? You will find
that you probably slacked off of something for a day or two and the
consequence of your lapse in action was a drop in great results. It’s really
that simple. Then you have those people that are always successful and
always seem to be doing great things in life. You wonder how is it that they
are able to constantly be on top. It remains a mystery to you because you
have not comprehended the principle of consistency. Consistency means to
constantly adhere to the same principles, course, form, etc. Your life will be
based on what you do.
If you’re putting in the work you will always get great results. If you don’t
put in the work then you will drop down. This is what brings the roller
coaster effect in a person’s life which ultimately creates stress. While all of
this takes place it does not register that if we were more consistent in our
actions we would get better results. Whether it’s your relationship, your diet
or your job the concept remains the same. As the book of revelation says in
the bible, “every man will be paid according to his works.” I once saw a
commercial a few years ago featuring Michael Jordan.
During the commercial he was apologizing because he felt that he lead people
to believe that it was easy for him to accomplish so much. Meanwhile he
reiterated the importance of what a consistent work ethic could do for you. It
was the consistent workouts that allowed him to make things look effortless
while they were difficult for others. I began to see why people were where
they were in life because of their mind set of inconsistency. They work only
when they feel like it. In college my coaches used to say, “Be at your best
when your best is needed.” Even if you don’t feel like coming or showing up
to the game you still should be there and be ready because you’re not going to
feel good every day but you need to be consistent. I always follow the
progression of certain rappers, entertainers and athletes. I can tell based on
their career where their level of consistency and dedication to their craft is.
For example, rapper 50 Cent started rapping and was awarded with a platinum
selling album for his excellent works then he created G-Unit (a subsidiary rap
group) next he had a G-Unit Clothing Line then he moved to his own
headphone collection and now he has made millions for trading stock shares in
the beverage brand known as Vitamin Water. These actions denote that he is
dedicated to constant improvement hence he has become a multimillionaire
several times over. If you make one hit song and disappear then your hit
song must have been luck. Sometimes you may be putting in the work but
your thoughts are not in the right place. Or you can be thinking the right
things but not putting the action behind the thoughts. There is nothing better
on earth than being in the presence or being in a relationship with someone
that is consistent because you know that you can depend on that person.
Their word is their bond.
You know that if they tell you that they will be somewhere at six o’clock then
you should be there at six as well. Can they depend on you to show up at six
or are you a person that says six o’clock and arrives at 6:15? Remember little
things tell a big story. Everything is a habit. You don’t allow a person to
change your habits because of what they are accustomed to doing. So what if
they are used to arriving at meetings late. It does not mean that you should
do the same. You have to stay true to who you are and be the example.
There is nothing better on earth than a person that has a reputation for
consistency and can be depended upon.
When you have this reputation you come to the attention of people of power
and you will always have a sizeable means of income whether it is in the form
of a job or your own business. If you are consistently inconsistent then
expect nothing from your life. Maybe one year you will have a significant
other and the next year not. Your employment status will be shaky at best.
You gain weight and lose weight at an equal pace. These worldly
manifestations reveal that you have serious deficiencies within your character
that must be repaired. It can’t be everyone else’s fault in every relationship
that you have been a part of. Everybody can’t be wrong all the time. If
you’re going to master being consistent you are going to have to do so
completely. Doing things when you feel like it or when you don’t feel like is
part of mastery. It won’t be the times that you feel good that are going to
make the difference. It will be the times that you feel bad and push through
those moments that will make you master this area. It’s almost comparable to
doing pushups. I used to do 50 pushups every day for a week. Then I
moved up one or two repetitions each week. As you strain to do the pushups
you are getting stronger because your strength comes from the negative not
the positive portion of the exercise. The more you struggle the more your
muscle is being worked. Eventually your muscles no longer struggle with
that amount of repetitions and you can move up to doing more reps. I was
once told that the largest room that you will ever be in is the room for
improvement. Improve your life by doing things each day and your overall
health will be improved as well. Your soul will be satisfied that you are
actively contributing to your purpose on earth.
Chapter 31: DO NOT ALLOW PEOPLE ACCESS TO YOUR MIND
When you’re born into this world you have options. We all begin with an
empty data bank which is called the mind. It’s almost as if your mind is a
brand new computer and you have to download and add all of the necessary
programs that you want. Let’s say I gave 3 separate newborn babies at birth
an empty cup. I filled the first cup with water, in the second cup I put
gasoline and in the third cup I put freshly squeezed fruit juice. Think of your
mind as the cup. Could anyone survive by drinking gasoline? It wouldn’t be
long before they died. You would ruin internal organs and die because gas is
not made for you, it is made for motor and engine powered objects such as
automobiles. If you drank all fruit juice it would help you a great deal and be
beneficial for you just as the water would be. However, sometimes you may
need to drink the fruit juice and water combined because they both provide
things together that will promote overall well-being. But if you were to try to
live solely on one of them you may run into some difficulties later on. What I
am aiming to say is that whatever you fill your mind with is what will be
produced in your life. If your mind is full of clean information and clean
thoughts then you will live a clean and organic life. If you put pollution and
filth into your mind then you can expect a life filled with dirt and
uncleanliness. For this reason you can’t give people and harmful things
access to your mind. Never forget that the mind controls the body and
whatever starts in the mind will permeate throughout the entire body. I was
taught that basketball is 90 percent mental. I reflect on many of the older
guys from my neighborhood that I competed against while growing up. They
would try to talk you out of your game and push you in an effort to rattle you
and make you take it as a personal challenge which would take away from
your team. Many times it would work because I was not wise enough to
understand that they were doing so to get me to react the way that I did. My
team almost always lost when this took place. I soon got smarter and realized
that if I remained calm and continued to play that they would have to abort
their psychological warfare tactics. A mind that has been infiltrated is subject
to any form of assault. Think about when someone calls you to speak via the
phone. When they call you what is the first question that they ask? They
generally ask what are you doing, correct? Or they may ask what you did
that day. They want to know where your mind is and if you were thinking of
them. People generally don’t call you to ask if you ate something that day
unless you have a mitigating circumstance that requires special attention.
People want to gain access to your mind because gaining access means
control. This does not mean that all people are evil. Many of them do this
subconsciously. Let’s face it everyone wants people to do things the way
they want them to do them. You have a relationship with your friends and
lovers because they provide something that you feel is convenient for you. It
can be in the sense of material things or intangible things like feelings.
Human beings will always naturally do things that will benefit them. Having
control of someone else’s mind on a subconscious level or not is still control.
People desire this control on a deep level so you cannot allow this to happen
in your life. I am not saying that you should be defiant but it is wise to be
aware. This should be kept in mind even when you are speaking of your
personal goals and aspirations. Many times within the African-American
community whenever you share a goal or a dream with another individual they
will secretly despise you for your aspirations. They may either believe that
you cannot accomplish your objective or that they don’t want you to rise
above your environment so they wish bad things upon you. This is sad but it
is true. You don’t need any negative vibes or negative energy vibrations on
your goals. Giving people access to your thoughts gives them access to your
life. Learn to be action oriented. When you’re action oriented no one can
get in your head. People will see what you’re thinking through your actions.
You have to first be careful about what you put into your mind. What you
watch on television and what you listen to should always be monitored. You
become your dominant thoughts. People control others through mental
programming. Repetition of a message constitutes mental programming.
Chapter 32: CAN YOU DO EVERYTHING IN MODERATION?
You can do everything in moderation. I have heard this term thrown around
for people who want to continue to do things that they know they should not
be doing. Let’s break down the word moderation. Moderation means
avoidance of extremes or excess. Synonyms of moderation would be
constraint, restraint, equanimity and balance. When we are speaking of
moderation as it refers to life I would like you to picture something. Do you
want to be paid from your job in moderation? Will you go to work in
moderation? Can you use crack in moderation? The answer to these
questions will probably be no. Some people have actually gone to work in
moderation which is why they are not currently receiving a paycheck. When
it comes to the precepts of man African-Americans love to use the term
moderation. “You can do this in moderation it’s not going to hurt you.”
Man in general is used to making excuses to accommodate himself or his
shortcomings. Moderation is a way to validate the wrongdoings under the
umbrella of “harmless scarce activity.” People want the best of both worlds.
They love the luxury of being able to live clean but still dabble on the dirty
side occasionally. That is fine if that’s what people choose to do. The
problem (as I’ve mentioned before) is that they take things overboard with the
moderation. The moderation becomes four to five times per week instead of
twice per month. I previously stated that moderation can also mean balance.
The world does not want to be all the way righteous so they have to leave
room for evil at some point. It’s only a protection blanket at best. Do you
come home to your spouse and your children in moderation? Do you restrain
or use balance when it’s time for you to come home at night? If you
answered yes to either of the aforementioned questions then that relationship
is probably not very good one. Nothing of a serious nature can be done in
moderation. It has to be one way or the other. As they say in sports there is
no gray area. You have to pick a side and stay there. I don’t know where we
get our nutritional concepts from as they relate to moderation. You can’t
smoke cigarettes in moderation and think that nothing is going to happen to
you. Whether your health declines in relation to a cigarette related affliction
or not that cigarette will have some small form of a negative impact on your
health. Whether you have an aneurysm or not from doing heroin that drug is
still doing something to your body. In these cases moderation cannot be an
option. Show up to work in moderation and I can guarantee you will not be
employed for very long. If we know that moderately doing these important
things in life will yield undesirable results then why do we choose to do this
with the state of our nutrition? It may sound drastic but desperate times cause
for desperate measures. You don’t have to think that long and hard about
something you just do it. We love to do things with constraints and restraints
because there is no discipline. Where there is lack of discipline there can be
no lasting success or triumphs. The days seem to be long gone where there
was an abundance of people who stood for something and would stand firm in
their rituals whether they were successes or failures. No one wants to pay a
price anymore. There is an unwarranted sense of entitlement. No work is
done but people want the rewards that are associated with certain kinds of
work. If you have an illness that you want to improve from you cannot be a
fence rider. You have to be all in on the dedication side of things. Being
dedicated means doing everything necessary and consuming the proper
nutrients that will ultimately compute to you being healed. It’s like a poker
player pushing all of his chips up to the table. He is giving it everything he
has to take home a hefty prize purse. In the case of your health you can’t lose
by being fully dedicated to your healing. You can only get better as long as
you are doing the right things. You can’t continue to eat ice cream in
moderation twice per week if you have already had one leg amputated because
of diabetes. Moderation in the nutritional sense has to do with people having
food and food additive addictions. I’m saying that because no one in their
right mind will want to continue consuming the very thing that was
responsible for the amputation of one of their lower limbs. It’s not logical
that a clear minded person would desire anything of this nature after having
experienced such a life changing event. I recognize that we are human and
that we all have free will but I have to leave you with one thing. If you’re
going to commit to doing something then do it. Otherwise don’t confuse
your body and force it to endure constant change. Once you have conquered
your affliction and you are equipped with fortified knowledge then it may be
safe to consume things that you occasionally crave. The operative words are
“fortified knowledge and conquered.”
Chapter 33: PHYSICAL SIGNS THAT INDICATE A NECESSARY
IMMEDIATE CHANGE IN YOUR DIET
Whether we know it or not our bodies will give us signs when things are not
going right. Where we have been derelict in our responsibilities is being able
to identify the signs from the body. One of the very first signs that indicate
an immediate need for a diet change is bad breath. When your breath smells
that is an indication that something is going on inside the body that needs to
be fixed. The white film on your tongue means that you have hydration
issues or your body is having difficulties in the digestive process. I know that
many people are using tongue scrapers in the morning before brushing their
teeth. They are probably not putting to mind that the film on their tongue
should not be white but on the clear side. If your tongue is not pink then it is
safe to assume that you are not eating the correct foods. Naturally this is if
you have not consumed a fruit or food that leaves color residues after you
consume them. Whatever goes on within the body eventually manifests itself
on the outskirts of the body. Another sign that you need a change in diet is a
constant upset stomach, burping heart burn and flatulence. This is your
body’s way of letting you know that it is rejecting everything that you are
eating and trying to get it out. Sometimes people are not as smart as they
should be in that they are glorifying these unhealthy acts. When you buy
TUMS for heartburn you are killing the symptom. You are not eliminating
the systemic issue. Coughing is a symptom. So when you cough and you
eliminate the cough you are doing your body a grave disservice. Coughing
allows you to dispel bacteria. When you belch or have flatulence you are
releasing. In the African-American community many people are offended by
these actions but they are very important for the survival of all individuals. If
you know before-hand that you are lactose intolerant and that your stomach
will be upset by drinking milk then why would you drink it? What’s worse is
after you drink the milk you purchase an over-the-counter medicine to
eliminate your symptoms. If you can avoid it try not to eliminate your
symptoms. The third thing that you should watch out for is skin breakouts or
acne. Your skin is the biggest organ on the body. Whenever you have an
issue it will most likely manifests itself on your skin if it cannot be eliminated
through your primary eliminatory channels. We know that psoriasis, eczema
and rashes are due to conditions of the blood. If your blood is dirty then that
means that your food is dirty. Dirty food produces dirty blood. Dirty blood
then filters through the system and onto the surface of the skin in an attempt to
clean itself. People grow out of acne because of the change in diet that they
undergo not because they get older. Luckily for us as we age our diet goes
from candy, popsicles and potato chips to solid foods that are rich in nutrients
such as fish, vegetables and fruits. People that put things on their skin to fix
external issues do not understand that the issue is inside. The last indicator
that your diet needs to change is when you eat and get sleepy. AfricanAmericans like to call this “the itis.” They joke around with the itis but it
really is no laughing matter. We have already established in previous chapter
that a car does not shut down when you put fuel in it. We only slow down
because of the heavy refined foods. You should eat and be re-fueled you
shouldn’t eat and get sleepy. If you eat and are energized after the meal then
that is a signal that you are eating correctly.
Chapter 34: DEALING WITH UNHEALTHY FAMILY MEMBERS OR
SPOUSES
When you’re seeking a change for the better you are bound to face certain
obstacles. Unfortunately many of those obstacles are found in your own
backyard. You are transforming from an individual that you have been for
most of your life to a healthier being. It’s not that people don’t want to see
this it’s just that they’re not used to seeing it from you. They view you as an
unhealthy eating weight gaining person just as they are. When someone
leaves the nest for greener pastures it does not feel so good to them. The
truth is that they don’t understand what you are going through so to mask their
ignorance they reject your truth and attempt to make you feel inferior for the
sudden change. Again they’re not evil (most of them aren’t) they just lack
the knowledge that you have recently attained. People fear what they don’t
understand and hate what they can’t conquer. To have a successful transition
to a healthier lifestyle while living amongst family members you have to be
firm in your belief. In 1998 I started out with just making a transition from
pork bacon to turkey bacon. As you can imagine my family are big pork
consumers being that they come from the Mississippi Delta. Bacon was my
favorite food so it was a difficult transition in the beginning. The next thing
was pork chops. I was the captain of frying pork chops seasoned with lemon
pepper, Lawry’s salt and a few other spices. These things were my two
biggest challenges but I knew that I needed to break the vicious cycle if I was
going to achieve my goal of living a healthful life.
There will be times where you feel the urge to regress and engage in some of
your old habits. This is due in large part to the fact that you reside in a home
with people that continue to cook and consume the foods that you once loved.
The great smell of fried foods can cause you to fall off of the wagon if you’re
not strong. The more that you continue to stick to the script the more your
family will begin to respect you and your dietary lifestyle. I have found that
people do not respect double-talkers or hypocrites. You cannot say one thing
and do another yet still expect people to give you respect. Actions speak
louder than words. You’re going to get your respect by doing the right
things.
By doing the right things the people who are nearest and dearest to you will
begin to be convinced that your way of living may be beneficial for them as
well. They will notice the changes in you. You can’t arrive to this point
without facing cynics or criticism. It’s all a part of the show. I can only
speak from the perspective of a so called black American because that is who I
am. You know that the African-American family members can be harsh
when they see you sitting at the table and passing up foods that they deem to
be great. “You mean to tell me that you’re not going to get some of this cat
fish? Don’t forget to put ham hocks in your collard greens.” I actually used
to consistently eat all of these foods. That is until I educated myself on
nutrition. I earned my respect with my family because I stood my ground.
Now when we have family outings they prepare my foods free of pork, shrimp
or any other unclean animals or substances. The same thing applies with
your spouse. If you feel the need to have two separate refrigerators to get
your point across then that is what you must do. People don’t care how much
you know until they know how much you care. You have to show that you
care about what you are doing. This is not easy but it is simple. The only
way for you to help others is for you to be permanent in your course of action
without wavering. Black people are moved by results. If you can show that
what you believe in can produce results we will be sold. If you want your
husband or wife to lose weight then you have to lose weight. People will
only respect what they see. I call this the Muhammad Ali Theory. Ali was
criticized by a reporter about his fancy attire when he went to the inner cities
to give speeches to other African-Americans.
The reporter basically asked why Ali felt the need to wear gold jewelry, nice
shoes, fur coats and expensive clothes when speaking in these neighborhoods.
Muhammad’s answer was very brilliant. He informed the reporter that he
was not wearing these things for himself. He was wearing these things so
that he could command the attention of the people who came to see him speak.
He knew that if he came to speak wearing normal clothes and with an average
demeanor then they would not respect him. He knew that black people
respected people who were visibly affluent and could show something for
their wealth. We would like to believe that this world is built on inner beauty
and the appreciation of a person for what is inside but it is not. This world is
cosmetic and aesthetic. Whatever people see on the outside is what they will
judge you from. Everything is perception.
So Muhammad Ali’s logic was that he needed to be what the people wanted to
see in order for him to get his message across to them. That is exactly what
you will need to do. You have to be someone that can capture the attention of
others. By losing weight your spouse will see the results and begin to feel as
though they do not want to be left behind. They will like the new you and if
they care anything for you they will want to look good for you as well. Once
you have their attention you can give them advice. It’s never wise to receive
instruction from some one that is worse off than you. In closing if you are
persistent in your actions people will have no choice but to respect your
efforts.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
 Afrika, Llaila. African Holistic Health (EWorld Inc., USA: 2004).
 Appleton, Nancy. Lick The Sugar Habit (Penguin Group, USA: 1988).
 Campbell, T. Colin, PhD and Campbell, Thomas M. II, MD. The
China Study (BenBella Books, Dallas, TX: 2006).
 Cohen, Robert. Milk The Deadly Poison (Argus Publishing, Inc.,
Eaglewood Cliffs, NJ: 1997).
 Ehret, Arnold. The Mucusless Diet Healing System (Ehret Literature
Publishing Co., Inc. Ardsley, NY: 1953)
 Fuhrman, Joel, M.D.. Eat To Live (Little, Brown and Company,
Boston, MA: 2011).
 Glidden, Peter, BS, ND. The MD Emperor Has No Clothes (Peter
Glidden, USA: 2010).
 Greene, Robert. The 48 Laws of Power (Penguin Books, New York,
NY: 2000).
 Harris, Jessica B.. High on the Hog (Bloomsbury, USA: 2012).
 McSwine, Damien. The Ancient 20 (Private Eye Health Group LLC,
Detroit, MI: 2011).
 McSwine, Damien. The Top 50 Reasons People Fail to Lose Weight
and Live Healthful Lives (Private Eye Health Group LLC, Detroit, MI:
2012).
 Wallach, J.D. and Ma Lan, M.D. and Daniels, Jennifer, M.D.. Black
Gene Lies: Slave Quarter Cures (Wellness Publications, LLC. Bonita,
CA: 2006).
 Wallach, J.D. and Ma Lan M.D., Dead Doctors Don’t Lie (Legacy
Communications Group, Inc., Franklin, TN: 1999).
 Widner, E.A.. Prok, Man and Disease: Good Health, Volume 69, no.1
(Article).
WEBSITES
Chapter 4
 “The study finds life expectancy closely mirrors dietary factors….”
http://www.who.int/en/
Chapter 9
 “Making cholesterol the bad guy was simply a matter of the medical
industry…”
http://www.robertscottbell.com/
 “At any time in the last two years have you ended up taking less
medication…”
http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2001/05/4895/lack-prescription-drug-benefits-serio
usly-affects-minority-seniors-we
Chapter 10
 “Basically the man-made salt causes high blood pressure because it is a
toxin. When the body has a toxin flowing…”
http://www.dhealthstore.com/
 “You need salt for each body function because your body needs
electricity. This electricity…”
http://drleonardcoldwell.com/
 “If you have high blood pressure and you restrict salt, ninety-seven
percent of those who restrict salt will not get any measureable benefit.
Two to five percent get measureable benefit but it’s not significant….”
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=402918
Chapter 11
 “African Americans are twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes as
non-Hispanic whites. In addition, they are more likely to suffer
complications from diabetes, such as end-stage renal disease…….”
http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/content.aspx?ID=3017
 “Compared to the general population Afro-Americans are
disproportionately affected by diabetes. The statistics show that 4.9
million, or 18 percent of all African-Americans aged 20 years or older
have diabetes…”
http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/complications/african-americans
-and-complications.html
Chapter 13
 “According to the American Heart and Stroke Association 44.4 % of
non-Hispanic black men and 48.9 % of non-Hispanic black women ages
20 and older have cardiovascular disease….”
http://www.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/
downloadable/ucm_319568.pdf
 “Most heart attacks occur as a result of coronary heart disease (CHD).
CHD is a condition in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up
inside of the coronary arteries. These arteries supply oxygen-rich
blood to your heart….."
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
 “Cardiovascular disease has only been around for the past 100 years.
Human beings have been around for the past 300,000 years. Heart
disease was not around until the past 100 years of our existence.”
http://www.drcurtisduncan.com/
 “Chronic liver disease is the eighth leading cause of death among
African-Americans….”
http://www.hhs.gov/
 “Non-Latino blacks in America are more at risk for kidney failure than
any other race. More than 1 in 3 kidney failure patients living in the
United States is African-American. That is more than 150,000
people….”
http://www.kidneyfund.org/kidney-health/are-you-at-risk/african-americans.ht
ml
 “Among all men, black men had the highest rates of colorectal (colon)
cancer. 62 out of every 100,000 black men were diagnosed with
colorectal cancer in 2007. White men were second at a rate of 51.5 per
100,000….”
http://www.cdc.gov/
Chapter 14
 “By comparison non-Hispanic white households allocated 15 percent of
their household income for food (10 percent at home; 5 percent away
from the home). Meats composed….”
http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/27642/1/33010179.pdf
 “We further examined the relation between individual meat items and
prostate cancer risk by race. Black men in the highest category of
processed meat consumption had higher risk of total incident prostate
cancer than….”
http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/15/2/211.full
Chapter 16
 “Cheese and other dairy products may actually raise the risk of breast
cancer…”
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/disadvantages-eating-cheese-5796.html
Chapter 17
 “Sugar is loaded into your soft drinks, fruit juices, sports drinks, and
hidden in almost all processed foods—from bologna to pretzels to
Worcestershire sauce to cheese spread. And now most infant formula
has the sugar ……”
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/20/sugar-dangers.asp
x
Chapter 19
 “African Americans consume more sugar-sweetened beverages (or
SSBs) compared with whites of the same ages, says a report by the
African American Collaborative Obesity Research Network
(AACORN). And black women’s (ages 31 to 50) average daily….”
http://www.clutchmagonline.com/
 “Black adolescents’ intake of sodas and other sweet beverages is
increasing, possibly due, in part, to disproportionate targeting by….”
http://www.aacorn.org/
Chapter 22
 “According to the federal government's own yearly research surveys,
African Americans use and sell drugs at similar rates at whites -- yet
African Americans are arrested for drugs at 13 times the rate of
whites…..”
http://www.alternet.org/story/153240/drug_czar_says_african_americans_are_
more_affected_by_the_'drug_problem'_--_here's_why_that's_propaganda
 “African Americans show the lowest prevalence of lifetime, annual,
monthly, daily, and heavy drinking, as well as the lowest frequency of
being drunk. What we generally see and hear about within the black
community is our reality. The fact is that we make up such a small
percentage……”
http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/journals-and-reports/alcohol-alert
Chapter 24
 “According to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention here are
just some of the diseases that smoking cigarettes can cause…”
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/effects_
cig_smoking/
Chapter 26
 “In the 1950s, after at least seventy years of rough parity, African
American marriage rates began to fall behind white rates. In 1950, the
percentages of white and African American women (aged fifteen and
over) who were currently married…”
http://media.hoover.org/sites/default/files/documents/0817998721_95.pdf
 “African Americans of today have a divorce rate of 12 percent, which is
2 percent higher than that of whites…”
http://www.divorcequestions.info/divorce-rates.html
Chapter 28
 “Religion is often about who’s in and who’s out, creating a worldview
steeped in “us against them…”
http://spiritualityhealth.com/articles/what-difference-between-religion-and-spi
rituality
 “Cited that 87 percent of Black Americans (versus 83 percent of all
Americans) are affiliated with a religion. This survey also revealed
that 79 percent of blacks (versus 56 percent of the overall population)
say that religion is very important…”
http://www.thearda.com/newsearch.asp?searchterms=Religion+landscape+sur
vey&c=ABCDEFGHIJKLMN
 “Historians note that African Americans religion originated in the
regions of ancient Africa, e.g., Cush, Put, Egypt, and was subsequently
influenced by the institution of slavery and colonialism. Therefor it is
argued African American religion, to…..”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2594329/?page=1
 Comparing the 42 Principles of Maat (Ancient Africa) with The 10
Commandments of Moses provided by Xenophilius at Wordpress….
http://xenophilius.wordpress.com/2008/03/11/42-principles-of-maat-2000-yea
rs-before-ten-commandments/
 “In the American experience, Blacks found themselves in the position
of being characterized, their African culture negated, and their
spirituality redefined. During slavery, the Black man sought
continually….”
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1347694?uid=3737816&uid=2&uid=4
&sid=21102154950821
Chapter 29
 “Scientific American sent a group of genetic and DNA scholars to
Nigeria. They went out in the forest of Nigeria and their task was to
find one black tribesman who had normal genes for blood pressure.
They were…..”
http://www.scientificamerican.com/
URBAN KRYPTONITE
THE FORMIDABLE HEALTH DECLINE OF
AFRICAN DIASPORA DESCENDANTS
LOCATED IN AMERICA
“No matter who puts you in a box, it is up to you to get
out of that box. The responsibility of living a diseasefree life now belongs to the person in the mirror-and
that’s you.”
COCHISE TARAK-SAA
(DAMIEN M.)
DON’T FORGET TO FIND US ON ONLINE!!
@UrbanKryptonite
“Urban Kryptonite Films”
Get Your copy of the documentary at
www.urbankryptonitefilms.com