Every year people across the country think of the new year as a new beginning, particularly for their health. Many of my patients take the same approach. “I’ll stop smoking at the beginning of the year,” or “I’m going to start a new diet after the holidays.” These are all reasonable approaches, even though many people fail to follow through with their “New Year’s Resolutions.”
Your New Year’s Resolution: Your Health
This year, I’m suggesting that the Black community take an initial step by simply providing itself with a home health reference for its family. A book that can be grabbed in an instant to address many of the health issues confronting the Black American family.
Why do I have poor energy?
How can I avoid a heart attack?
Why did Uncle John have heart failure?
Why do I keep getting sinus infections?
And on and on and on . . .
Why a Black Health Book?
As humans, we were raised to believe all health-related advice is valuable and beneficial. And in fact, most is. But because of small genetic differences, we cannot all have a toast of champagne at midnight on December 31st.
That one champagne will cause an uncomfortable flushing reaction in almost half of people of East Asian descent due to a genetically based absence of the ability to properly digest the alcohol. Alcohol consumption in this group is unusually low for this reason. Lactose intolerance is prevalent in Black Americans (4 of 5) and is also genetically based.
We Have Differences!!
And these differences are acknowledged on multiple levels in the human experience, except when it comes to our health or healthcare. Why is that? The answer lies in how physicians and hospitals treated minorities in the US. We were purposely treated inferiorly in almost every way. That then prompted a drive to treat us “equally” instead of inferiorly. That “equal treatment” across the board has now unveiled nuanced differences in outcomes (some to our disadvantage) based on these very same genetic differences.
Vitamin D Deficiency in Blacks is a Major Health Problem
Vitamin D deficiency in African Americans is associated with a host of common health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure, immune system problems (HIV, COVID, STDs), prostate cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, and much more. Researchers have repeatedly suggested that vitamin D deficiency may drive many of the health disparities we see in the African American community. The main way to get vitamin D is from the sun, and with most Blacks living in urban cities, lying or working in the sun rarely happens. Vitamin D deficiency is the consequence of where we live and work. The ONLY reasonable way for African Americans to get the proper amount of vitamin D is to take a supplement.
Why Haven’t I Heard This Before?
It is very surprising to me the number of people I meet on a daily basis who have never heard that vitamin D deficiency is so prevalent in the Black community and linked so closely to many of the health disparities we complain about.
Some would suggest that there is some sort of conspiracy on why African Americans don’t take vitamin D supplements even though we suffer from diseases directly linked to vitamin D deficiency. I don’t believe there is a conspiracy.
It’s a Lack of Awareness
The lack of awareness we see in our community about these nuanced differences is purely related to a lack of publicity; no one is writing about the nutritional needs of African Americans (except me), and writing about it and talking about it drives awareness.
“Better Black Health” is over 400 pages of health information dedicated to raising awareness of the many differences in our health needs. As early buyers have said, “it is a MUST HAVE for EVERY Black family’s home.
For $9.99, you can have the eBook at your fingertips. Check it out HERE
