Category Archives: African American

To Perm or Not to Perm: Affects of Hair Chemicals on Young Black Girls

Posted on July 17, 2011 by continuum wellness| Leave a comment

Self acceptance is a beautiful thing.  In actuality it is easier said than done.  Are buttons are oh, so pushed, in one way or the other.  There are often associated risks with manipulating our given beauty to fit the idea of someone else.  When it comes to surgical procedures for example a certain percentage may not pull through.  Why take an unnecessary risk? But when we want something, damn the risk…right?

It is not news that many Black women, with beautiful, thick, curly, nappy hair often agonize over their hair. It is all about making the decision how one will care for it.  Should it be straightened with heat or with chemicals (perms) or worn in a healthier, natural style? Long live nappy hair, yea!  Well, for Moms who want to take the chemical  route for their young daughters, it may have health implications, resulting in earlier menstruation.
The chemicals in the products may affect a young growing girl’s hormones. With the overwhelming use of chemicals in our society, perhaps this is one to leave behind. Read on for the article abstract.

Childhood Hair Product Use and Earlier Age at Menarche in a Racially Diverse Study Population: A Pilot Study

Purpose

Previous studies suggest that hair products containing endocrine disrupting chemicals could alter puberty. We evaluated the association between childhood hair product use and age at menarche in a racially diverse study population.

Methods

We recruited 300 African-American, African-Caribbean, Hispanic, and white women from the New York City metropolitan area who were between 18–77 years of age. Data were collected retrospectively on hair oil, lotion, leave-in conditioner, perm, and other types of hair products used before age 13. Recalled age at menarche ranged from 8 to 19 years. We used multivariable binomial regression to evaluate the association between hair product use and age at menarche (<12 vs. ?12), adjusting for potential confounders.

Results

African-Americans were more likely to use hair products and reached menarche earlier than other racial/ethnic groups. Women reporting childhood hair oil use had a risk ratio of 1.4 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1–1.9) for earlier menarche, adjusting for race/ethnicity and year of birth. Hair perm users had an increased risk for earlier menarche (adjusted risk ratio = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1–1.8). Other types of hair products assessed in this study were not associated with earlier menarche.

Conclusions

Childhood hair oil and perm use were associated with earlier menarche. If replicated, these results suggest that hair product use may be important to measure in evaluating earlier age at menarche.

Source: Annals of Epidemiology, volume 21, issue 6

Posted in African American, wellness

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Minorities hit hardest by arthritis

Posted on April 15, 2010 by continuum wellness| Leave a comment

If the following article, below, is true, then don’t wait to be a statistic. What are willing to do, to make a difference in your life? Start now to change your diet, begin now to exercise more and walk more. Surround yourself with people who also want to live healthier, create a support team. Claim your power to live in ways that produce well-being.

Minorities hit hardest by arthritis

The burden of arthritis is greater for African Americans and Hispanics, despite lower prevalence among these groups according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report published in the May issue of Preventing Chronic Disease. According to the Arthritis Foundation, these findings suggest a critical need to expand the reach of effective strategies aimed at arthritis prevention and management, particularly among groups bearing a disproportionate burden.

The report finds that the prevalence of activity limitation, work limitation and severe joint pain are significantly higher among African Americans and Hispanics. These two groups are nearly twice as likely as whites to have severe joint pain and work limitations and 1.3 times as likely to have activity limitations.

“Arthritis is a debilitating disease that profoundly impacts the lives of millions of Americans on a daily basis,” said Dr. Patience White, vice president of public health for the Arthritis Foundation. “The effects of the 46 million Americans with arthritis on the economy are enormous; the direct and indirect medical costs of this disease are estimated to be $128 billion each year.” With the aging of the baby boomer population, the prevalence of arthritis is expected to rise significantly from 46 million Americans to 67 million Americans by 2030, adds White.

Fortunately, there are simple steps everyone can take to prevent and decrease the pain and disability of arthritis. Small amounts of weight loss and physical activity can make a big difference. For example, for every one pound of weight loss, there is a four-pound reduction in the load exerted on each knee. In addition, safe and effective self-management education programs are available. People living with arthritis can benefit from participating in one of the Arthritis Foundation’s exercise or self-management programs, such as the Arthritis Foundation Walk With Ease Program, Arthritis Foundation Aquatic Program, Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program, and Arthritis Foundation Self-Help Program.

Posted in African American, arthritis, Health, health disparity

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Down South: Blacks Have Increased Risk of Strokes

Posted on March 1, 2010 by continuum wellness| Leave a comment

UAB Study Shows African-Americans Have Highest Stroke Rate, Southerners More Likely to Die

February 26, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – African-Americans age 65 and younger are more than twice as likely to have a stroke compared with Caucasians in any region, and people who have a stroke are more likely to die in the South than elsewhere, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health.

The findings are from UAB’s Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, one of the largest ongoing health studies that includes more than 30,200 U.S. participants.

This new report is among the first to show major regional and racial disparities in stroke rates. It also underscores the need for targeted stroke-prevention and care strategies in those at greatest risk, said Virginia Howard, Ph.D., a UAB associate professor of epidemiology and a REGARDS co-principal investigator.

The study was presented Feb. 26 at the International Stroke Conference in San Antonio.

“This is the first study to take national data and really lay it out on the table,” Howard said. “We found in the 45-54 age group that blacks have a 2.5-fold greater stroke rate compared to whites, which is startling.”

The study also shows a stroke rate greater than 12 percent higher in eight Southeast states known as the Stroke Belt – Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina and Tennessee – with the highest stroke rate in the coastal states of Georgia, North and South Carolina.

“These are stroke-incidence data. It doesn’t tell us how to fix the problem, but it gives us our clearest stroke picture to date in this country,” Howard said.

In the new study, REGARDS researchers reviewed data on more than 26,500 participants with no history of stroke. They kept in periodic telephone contact with the participants for nearly five years and documented 299 strokes to which they applied a rate formula. In the 45-54 age group, the stroke rate is 192 percent for African-Americans compared with 74 percent for whites.

“That disparity in the incidence rate evens out and changes as you monitor stroke in older Americans. In fact the racial differences reverse, so by the time they reach about age 80 and older, whites have a higher stroke rate compared with blacks,” Howard said. It is not clear why the differences change with age, but it may have to do with different types of strokes occurring in different age groups.

The bottom line is that certain subgroups are at greater risk and need to pay closer attention to their stroke-risk factors, said George Howard, Dr.PH., a UAB professor of biostatistics and a REGARDS co-principal investigator. Stroke-risk factors include family history, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, tobacco use and other variables.

The new study was collaboration between UAB, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Vermont in Burlington, Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Funding for this study comes from NINDS.

About the UAB School of Public Health

The UAB School of Public Health is a community of scholars and professionals working and teaching in varied arenas of public health with the goal of fostering research and best practices crucial to the health of our nation and its peoples. The school offers more than 20 areas of study and manages dozens of research and community-service centers.

Posted in African American, Health, health care, health disparity, heart, heart attack, minorities, stroke

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Healthy Eating Often Overlooked in Diabetics

Posted on September 10, 2009 by continuum wellness| Leave a comment

A research study with over 2,500 participants diagnosed with type 2 diabetes discovered poor eating habits often remained unchanged. Even when participants had healthier food in the refrigerator the preferred foods eaten had too much salt, sugar and saturated fats. Read the abstract below.

Abstract
Background

Little has been reported regarding food and nutrient intake in individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and most reports have been based on findings in select groups or individuals who self-reported having diabetes.
Objective

To describe the baseline food and nutrient intake of the Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) trial participants, compare participant intake to national guidelines, and describe demographic and health characteristics associated with food group consumption.
Methods

The Look AHEAD trial is evaluating the effects of a lifestyle intervention (calorie control and increased physical activity for weight loss) compared with diabetes support and education on long-term cardiovascular and other health outcomes. Participants are 45 to 75 years old, overweight or obese (body mass index [BMI]?25), and have type 2 diabetes. In this cross-sectional analysis, baseline food consumption was assessed by food frequency questionnaire from 2,757 participants between September 2000 and December 2003.
Statistical analysis

Descriptive statistics were used to summarize intake by demographic characteristics. Kruskal-Wallis tests assessed univariate effects of characteristics on consumption. Multiple linear regression models assessed factors predictive of intake. Least square estimates were based on final models, and logistic regression determined factors predictive of recommended intake.

Results
Ninety-three percent of the participants exceeded the recommended percentage of calories from fat, 85% exceeded the saturated fat recommendation, and 92% consumed too much sodium. Also, fewer than half met the minimum recommended servings of fruit, vegetables, dairy, and grains.

Conclusions
These participants with pre-existing diabetes did not meet recommended food and nutrition guidelines. These overweight adults diagnosed with diabetes are exceeding recommended intake of fat, saturated fats, and sodium, which may contribute to increasing their risk of cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases.

American Dietetic Association

Posted in African American, diabetes, diet, wellness, Western diet

The True Journey from the Farm to You: A Review of Food, Inc.

Posted on July 9, 2009 by continuum wellness| Leave a comment

Food Inc: Michael Pollan and Friends Reveal the Food Industry’s Darkest Secrets

The new film Food Inc. is a shocking look at the health, human rights and the environmental nightmare that lands on our plate each meal.

It turns out that figuring out the most simple thing — like what’s on your dinner plate, and where it came from — is actually a pretty subversive act.

That’s what director Robert Kenner found out while spending six years putting together the amazing new documentary, Food Inc., which features prominent food writers Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) and Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation).

Warning: Food Inc. is not for the faint of heart. While its focus is not on the gory images of slaughterhouse floors and filthy feedlots, what it does show about the journey of our food from “farm” to plate is not pretty.

The story’s main narrative chronicles the consolidation of our vast food industry into the hands of a few powerful corporations that have worked to limit the public’s understanding of where its food comes from, what’s in it and how safe it may be.

But it’s also a larger story about the people that have gotten in the way of the stampeding corporate herd — like farmer Joel Salatin (also profiled in Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma), who has bravely bucked the trend to go corporate.

Read the rest of the interview here

People think if they can’t do it all the time they don’t have to do anything. Change one meal. But then we have to stop subsidizing food that is making us sick, we have to change the national school-lunch program. If we supported local farms and got that to the school systems and spent a dollar there, we’d save a a fortune in medicine and train kids to eat right, and we’d have better communities.

To see Food Inc., find a theater near you.

Posted in African American, causes of allergies, FDA, food, Health, healthy eating

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Living Well Holistic Health Fair 2009 Pictures

Posted on April 1, 2009 by continuum wellness| 1 Comment

The event was inspiring to all. Our speakers were dynamic and diverse.

Mark your calendar for the last Saturday for February 2010, when we do it again. If you have an interest in participating send an email.

Posted in African American, Living Well Holistic Health Fair, self-care, self-healing

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Reversing Diabetes – Raw for 30 Days

Posted on March 11, 2009 by continuum wellness| Leave a comment

Diabetes is considered irreversible by conventional medical authorities, yet if you review the literature of various holistic therapies such as homeopathic and various diet therapies it has been done. The first key is the desire to want to heal the diabetic condition and its causes. If you only want to “manage” it, over time its disastrous consequences will most likely manifest.

Reversing diabetes requires professional guidance and a compassionate doctor who will work you. Here is a clip of some folks who found help by using a raw food approach.

Posted in African American, alternative medicine, diabetes, diet, food, healing philosophy, Health, health beliefs, health benefits of food, health care, healthy body, healthy eating, integrative medicine, men, self-healing, Western diet, women, women's health

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Living Well Holistic Health Fair

Posted on February 24, 2009 by continuum wellness| 2 Comments

We’re having a holistic health fair. The why is simple, there is a need. From time to time I do informal research into if an individual is aware of natural therapies or alternative forms of healing or how to care for themselves beyond the “give me a pill approach”. Perhaps, it doesn’t come as a surprise that a lot of people may not have access to other approaches to healing. But it was a surprise to me!

Chronic disease rates continue to climb and the latest twist shows more individuals with more than one chronic condition. Disease is managed. It offers a measure of relief, at least for some, yet there is a need for more choice. It helps simply to know that there are options. How deeply one chooses to explore is, and should be a personal matter. In the spirit of empowerment…bring on the healing at the:
Living Well Holistic Health Fair, 28 February 2009.  This event will provide an opportunity to hear lectures through out the day, chat with the practitioners and shop with our conscious vendors.

Posted in African American, family, women's health

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Research: An Alternative Approach to Asthma

Posted on January 26, 2009 by continuum wellness| 1 Comment

It is estimated that asthma and other allergic diseases affect 20% of the world’s population. The number of sufferers in the United States exceeds 15 million. In the last 20 years, the number of asthma hospitalizations has increased by 50%. In the past ten years the number of asthma death cases has doubled! Dr. Ilan Zamir, one of the pioneers of homeopathy in Israel, has recently reported successful treatment of asthmatic patients with his own homeopathic methods.

Asthma is on the rise. Eight years ago, it was determined that 10% of all new IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) recruits had suffered from asthma at some time in the past, while 6% were current asthma sufferers.

Asthma, shortness of breath and spastic bronchitis are basically the same phenomenon, caused by the sensitivity and super-reaction of the respiratory system, leading to the contraction of the system muscle from any small irritation. In addition, at the time of the spasm of contractions, inflammatory cells are detected in the respiratory system. Some physicians believe that these are responsible for the spasms, coming out in a form of coarseness, whistles, cough and lack of breath – which can lead to death by asphyxia.

Environmental pollution agents, such as household dust, which increase the presence microscopic insects living in bed linen and in other parts of the house, only aggravate the problem, as do the presence of cockroaches, pets, and smoking (including passive smoking). High humidity and sport activities which dry out the respiratory system also serve to aggravate the problem. Mental and psychological stress may also exacerbate asthma symptoms.
Conventional treatment consists of medication to expand the bronchi by means of inhalation or swallowing, imitating the effect of adrenalin in the body. In severe cases, medicines containing steroids are given as preventive treatment to break down the inflammatory process. The generally accepted opinion is, however, that there is no known cure for asthma.

According to Dr. llan Zamir, the basic problem in dealing with asthma is that it almost always starts after an infectious disease, such as ear or throat infections or bronchitis, for which the patient is prescribed antibiotics. (continue)

Posted in adolescents, African American, allergies, alternative medicine, asthma, complementary medicine, healing philosophy, Health, health beliefs, health care, healthy body, holistic medicine, Homeopathy

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Blacks Tend to Have Higher Mortality Following Liver Surgery

Posted on September 20, 2008 by continuum wellness| Leave a comment

Results

The study consisted of 3,552 observations representing 17,794 patients undergoing major hepatectomy. Unadjusted analyses revealed that African-American patients had a two-fold increased odds of surgical mortality relative to Caucasians. Even after adjustment for other risk factors, African Americans had a two-fold increased odds of surgical mortality relative to Caucasians.

Conclusions

In-hospital mortality after major hepatectomy varies substantially by race. African-American patients have two-fold higher population-level odds of surgical mortality than Caucasian patients do. Our analyses suggest that clinical factors, insurance status, and hospital factors do not account for these differences. Additional studies to clarify the nature of this disparity and identify targets for intervention are warranted.

Posted in African American, Health, health care, surgery

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