I am a professional Biologist with a background in nutritional biochemistry. I am also African American. I wrote this "Knowledge Link" in response to the predominance of "diet related" disease in America, which are the PRIMARY disease killers in the US. Diet related diseases are also destroying African Amercians! I've lost friends and relatives to heart attacks, strokes, breast and prostate cancer. I have friends and relatives struggling with some form of diet related illness as of this writing. Some of the folks I lost were as young as thirty years old.
This Knowledge Link is thus an outgrowth of my personal and professional experience. It is intended to provide you with insights into the causes of diet related illness, and how these diseases have their deadly effects. By reading this knowledge Link, you will obtain the power, and hopefull the incentive, to prevent such illnesses from interrupting the lives of you and your loved ones.
THIS Black History Month, let's RESOLVE to RESERVE future Black History Months for collective CELEBRATION, as opposed to allowing the second month of the year to degenerate into a period when folks just loosely recollect the presence of a once great peoples in the US, that had their roots in Africa.
Since the diet related diseases affecting us are based on OUR own dietary habits, only WE can reverse the adverse diet related health conditions currently plaguing us.
INTRODUCTION
Diet related diseases are those that are in part caused by what you habitually eat, or that can largely be PREVENTED by dietary manipulations. Such diseases include high blood pressure; atherosclerosis; Type II diabetes, and certain forms of cancer, including cancer of the breast, prostate and colon.
Atherosclerosis can lead to high blood pressure and heart attacks. High blood pressure can cause strokes, which can involve the rupture of blood vessels around your brain. Diabetes can lead to nervous system damage, kidney failure and blindness. Cancer needs no clarification. African American women have the highest mortality rates for breast cancer than any other ethnic group. They are also less likely than white women to survive five years post-diagnosis. Clearly, we are talkin' some pretty serious diseases related to a simple thing like your diet.
Further, OBESITY is a condition that's also considered a disease by many experts. It obviously has a dietary component and is a significant risk factor for ALL of the other diseases. Still further, note that just being OVERWEIGHT is a risk factor for obesity, as well as some of the other diseases and disorders mentioned above. The incidence of overweight and obesity is higher among African Americans than almost any other group in the US.
The aforementioned illnesses are the primary causes of DEATH in the United States. Since they all have a DIET related component, clearly, our dietary habits are part of what's killing us.....
THE MAIN PROBLEM
Though only 12% of the US population, African Americans are affected MORE FREQUENTLY and MORE SEVERLY by many different diet related illnesses. For instance, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, high blood pressure, which is the most commonly diagnosed health disorder in America, and is a serious risk factor for fatal cardiovascular disease, is MORE common, develops at an EARLIER age, and is more severe for African Americans. Further, cardiovascualar disease mortality is 20% greater for black males than white males; and 31% greater in black women (vs white women).
According to the National Cancer Institute, black women are the second highest group in the US for incidence of colon cancer; and black men have the highest rate of prostate cancer in the world!
Why this is all so has not been clearly and completely established. Some aspects of this problem involves the availability of health care. Still, the regular intake of high levels of fat, sodium and refined sugars, and the under consumption of complex carbohydrates, dietary fibers, essential fats, and protective amounts of vitamins and minerals, are CLEARLY practices that help make diet related diseases such a scourge among African Americans. THE WAY WE EAT IS, PURE AND SIMPLE, MAKING US SICH AND KILLING US!
The Main Cause of the Main Problem.
In general, contemporary lifestyles dictate food intake. Work and school thus significantly affect where and when we eat, and many of us live a great distance from where we study, work and play. A whole industry has thus flourished to provide us with foods that conveniently fit into our contemporary lifestyles. Convenience food manufacturers therefore compete for our business by appealing to our tastes. The manipulation and concentration of sugars, fats and salt in our foods is one way food manufacturers attract and keep our business; that, and how easily their products can be prepared, consumed or stored.
Problem is, there is waaay too much sugar, of a simple, easily absorbed form in our convenience food diets. There is also waaay too much salt. And despite the decrease in cholesterol and saturated fat in modern convenience foods, there is still waaay too much fat in the diets of Black Folks.
To make matters worse, many of the vitamins and minerals required to properly metabolize the carbohydrates, proteins and fats we eat are quite vulnerable to beign depleted from our foods. As such, all the processing used to make foods appealing can actually destroy many of the nutrients we need for healthy immune and endocrine (hormonal) system function. Even home cooking can diminish some of the vitamins and minerals our bodies need daily.
Derangement of immune and endocrine system function, by inadequate dietary intake, contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers in African Americans.
HOW WE GET SICK
Ahterosclerosis is probably one of the most common diet related diseases. After finding cholesterol and saturated fat in the atherosclerotic lesions of the blood vessels of heart disease victims, scientists put the word out that cholesterol and saturated fat will kill you. Indeed, walking around for years with high levels of LDL cholesterol (the so called "bad" cholesterol), is considered by some to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
Convenience food manufacturers thus reduced or eliminated the saturated fat and cholesterol in their products. Despite that, cardiovascular disease is still the NUMBER ONE disease killer in the US! Recall that African Americans experience a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease. Further, the incidence of breast and prostate cancers are increasing slightly in the US population.....
WHAT DA PROBLEM IS?!
Fats, Vitamins and Minerals.
The convenience food industry led the charge in replacing saturated fats and cholesterol in foods, with polyunsaturated fats, goo gobs of 'em. Hell, they taste just as good, especially when fried! Unfortunately, these fats, commonly found in all the vegetable oils we ingest, can be a particular problem because they are MORE likely to be damaged while circulating in our blood, especially when carried in our bloods LDLs.
That's right, LDLs are just carriers. They don't actually constitute cholesterol, they just carry it through the blood to the cells and tissues that need it. LDLs also carry other lipids, which includes saturated and unsaturated fat. The main point here is that lots of extra UN-saturated fat in the diet can be a problem, 'cause these fats lack elements that can protect them from being messed up by the infamous process of "oxidation". Not only can the oxidation process mess up fats in our blood's LDL carriers, it can affect vulnerable unsaturated fats in our body's cells and tissues. Oxidation of cellular fat is one possible cause of breast cancer.
Note: Oxidation is, very basically, the breakdown of parts of the body by the natural by-products of metabolism. The process can be likened to you getting sick from a car's exhaust, which is, in a sense, a by product of the car's "metabolism". Our bodies have natural defenses against oxidation, but those defenses REQUIRE dietary antioxidant vitamins and minerals as backup. Fruits and vegetables also give us elements, in addition to vitamins and minerals, that can act as antioxidants. African Americans just DON'T get enough vitamins, minerals, fruits and vegetables, to decrease the risk of many diet related diseases. Somehow, that's got to change....
Fats that get oxidized in LDL carriers can further mee up the LDLs themselves, leading to the production and release of cellular toxins. Since these LDL carriers can move through our blood vessel walls, the toxins they develop after being oxidized can mess up the wells of the blood vessels through which they pass. This can lead to injury and inflammation, which involves immune cells, and the deposition of cholesterol and fat filled patches into the damaged area.
HDLs, on the other hand, are naturally protected against oxidation. That's why they are called "good" cholesterol. In reality, HDLs also only carry cholesterol around and does not actually constitute cholesterol itself.
Further, choleserol is neither good nor bad. It's just that the more lipids you ingest, the higher your LDL carriers are likely to be. LDLs carry cholesterol, saturated and unsaturated fat. They are however, more likely to be corrupted by oxidation of the UN-saturated fat. When the blood vessels are exposed to heavy amounts of oxidized LDLs, immune cells move in to gobble those bad LDLs up. Unfortunately, the toxins from the oxidized LDLs can even kill the immune cells, at which point they will spill out the cholesterol and saturated fat from all the LDLs they ate. The inflammation and fatty pile up can get big enough to fill up our blood vessels, blocking blood flow in the process. This is how folks develop conditions that lead to heart attacks.....
Though the above events may seem rather vigorous, you don't feel any of it happening, and the process occurs in a great many people. When you do feel the results of that process, you'll likely be on your way to the hospital - or one hear beat away from the morgue.....
The safest way to avoid that unpleasant free ride is to cut down on ALL fats, not just saturated fat and cholesterol. Many folks have gone off with using vegetable oils, thinking that as long as it was not saturated fat, it was OK to use goo gobs. Ain't so.
The polyunsaturated fats in our convenience foods, on our salads, and on our shelves mainly consit of a type of fatty acid identified as either n6 or omega 6. Though these fatty acids are actually mildly effective at reducing blood cholesterol, goo gobs of them may actually enhance the excessive release of inflammatory signals. Excessive inflammation can help push the aforementioned atherosclerotic process along. An over-reactive inflammatory response can even contribute to the development of breast and prostate cancer, something that Black Folks don't need.
So, in order to protect our hearts and the other parts mentioned above, we have to lower our intake of of all fats, to about 25-30% of total daily calories. Within that 25-30%, we have to INCREASE our intake of the ESSENTIAL omega 3 fatty acids, another type of fatty acid to be discussed more shortly.
The daily intake of the appropriate vitamins and minerals is also an ESSENTIAL protective strategy for African Americans, since those nutrients help reduce the oxidation of the the unsaturated fats in LDLs and body tissues.
Vitamin E and beta carotene are actually incorporated into LDLs and help protect those carriers from being so easily oxidized. Zinc helps to protect blood vessels from being messed up by oxidized LDLs.
Beta carotene and other carotenes are found in colored fruits and vegetables, particularly those that are colored orange and red.
Vitamin E is available in nuts, whole grains, soy products and meat.
Zinc is associated with the proteins in foods such as meat, fish and nuts.
A diet that emphasizes convenience foods that are highly processed or deep fried will NOT give you the nutrients you need to help protect you from cardiovascular disease and cancers. Processing and frying of foods destroys much of those protective nutrients.
Further, the more unsaturated fats and oils you use, the more vitamin E, beta carotene and zinc you need to ingest. This is necessary to protect the extra unsaturated fats from being subjected to oxidation.
Note: You may see on the label that some vegetable oils contain vitamin E. But realize that the E in those vegetable oils can get used up by exposure to the air once you open the bottle. So, don't think you're all good with your vitamin E intake just 'cause the label says there's some E in the oils you buy.
Also note, for the ladies, a number of studies have associated a daily intake of beta carotene with a reduced risk of breast cancer.
Still further, for guys, vitamin E can help protect the family jewels from being messed up by oxidative processes. The testicular cells make the living sperm that provides your half of the genes to your children.
Also guys, if you drink liquor, cut down or stop. Many folks think only women are reproductively vulnerable to alcohol. Not true. Liquor messes up cells in the testes AND prostate, partly by depleting vitamin E and zinc in those cells.
Speaking of the prostate, zinc can help to inhibit an enzyme that adveresly affects the prostate gland. High activity of this enzyme can lead to prostate swelling, and even cancer as men get older.
Also brother, did you know that you lose some zinc from your body every time you ejacuate?
In view of all the above, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, in order to protect our health against statistics that say we have the highest rates of prostate cancer in the world; and the highest mortality due to breast cancer in the country, we have to be sure to get healthy, reliable sources of zinc, vitamin E and beta carotene, along with vitamin C and the B complex vitamins (which will be addressed later) EVERY day. That should mainly be done through foods, with a good supplement as backup. We also have to decrease our intake of ALL fats to 25-30% of total daily calories, and increase our intake of the essential omega 3 fats within that 25-30% range.....
Sodium
Sodium is in everything> Sodium is a natural part of many foods. It's also added to convenience foods to improve shelf life and enhance taste. We also dump soduium on our foods until those foods suit our often exaggerated taste requirements.
Unfortunately, HIGH intakes of sodium leads to changes in hormones that regulate body fluids and blood pressure in our bodies. Basically, what happens is that a hormone from the pituitary increases water retention, in order to dilute all the excess salt we get from our diet. The heart then works hefer, in order to push more blood to the kidneys, where the xcess sodium can be filtered out. In order to reduce the strain on the heart, other hormones kick in, which act to constrict blood vessels, so that theri narrowed diameters will increase the force of blood being flushed into the kidneys. Unfortunately, this all results in an increase in blood pressure. Continuously ingesting goo gobs of salt will NOT give this provess a chance to cool out.
Though there is a lot more to the development of hpertension than what's described above, some folks are particularly vulnerable to a permanent derangement of their pressure regulation onder the influence of a high sodium intake. African Americans are a gruop of folks whe ARE at increased risk. African Americans also consume a lot of sodium. A daily sodium amount considered to be safe and manageable for the average person is 200 mg.
But damn near no one eats as little as that.
One 16 oz bag of chips has 1000 mg pf sodium! SOme TV dinners, such as Hungry Man 1.5 lbs, has 2840 mg sodium! Even TV dinners such as Health CHoice, Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers can contain from 500-700 mg sodium.
Further, pre-prepared, take out fast foods can slam your daily sodium intake over the limit with just ONE serving. Even the Subway sandwiches, which slim on TV supposedly lost alll that weight while eating, can have as much as 1750 mg of sodium in one sandwich!
Unless you just eat one of the above sodium loaded foods per day, you are fooling with a risky daily intake of sodium. But note that trying to eat only one meal a day to decrease sodium intake and lose weigh can lead to malnutrition. The best bet is to find other foods, such as baked or broiled meats and fish; whole grains, and fresh fruits and vegetables, to replace at least two of the three or more shots of high sodium foods per day.
The most important point here is to be aware of how much sodium you're getting daily, then try to keep your intake at or below 2000 mg a day.
Eating multiple servings of take out fast foods, as well as chips and TV dinners, plus slinging the salt shaker, can put your daily sodium intake up as high as 7000 mg! That's too damn much for anybody.
Since African Americans are at increased risk of hypertension, and the disorder is often associated with a high sodium intake, PLEASE be aware of your daily sodium intake. The panels on the side of food packages tell you how much sodium per serving a food has.
Also, at the end of this page, there is a website link through which you can look up how much sodium and fat there is in common fast foods. Check it out. Assording to the Centers for Disease Control, hypertension is the most commonly diagnosed disorder in the US. The disorder can lead to stroke and damage to internal organs.....
SUMMING UP
Of all the diseases you can think of, diseases with a DIETARY component drop more folks in the US than all other diseases combined. They cost us more money. They force you to stay home from work when you can't afford it. For business owners, outside of colds a flu, you are losing more employee attendance to diet related disorders than anything else.
African Americans are hurt worse than many other groups by atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, diabetes, obestiy and cancers of the breast, colon and prostate. All of these diseases have a dietary component. They are associated with a high intake of fat, sodium and refined sugars; and a low intake of comlex carbohydrates; dietary fibers, and essential fats, vitamins and minerals.
Speaking of the ESSENTIAL fats, they are just that - essential. These fats are called omega 3 fatty acids, and they are different from the omega 6 fats mentioned above. Our bodies can't make these fats, but we DO need them. They are obtained from green, leafy vegetables, walnuts and certain types of fish. These fatty acids are very important to nervous system function, and actually help to down regulate infalmmatory signals that contribute to the development of atherosclerosis, arthritic conditions and diet related cancers.....
CLOSING OUT
Clearly, as modern day peoples in American society, we have the same need for convenience foods as any other busy group of students or professionals. Unfortunately, most of the hyped and popular convenience foods are high in fat, salt and sugar, and low in vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. Adding that to the fact that convenience foods are cheaper; and the fact that Black Folk have regularly preferred such foods as fried chicken with hot sauce, pork chop sandwiches and the like, which are high in stuff we don't need and low in nutrients we need, and we've got some important things to think about, with regard to our dietary habits and our health.....
Unfortunately, many of us accept certain diseases as a normal part of life. From friends, relatives and acquaintances who aren't sick, I hear the old saying, "You gotta die from somthin", while they slam down a bucket of hot wings with extra hot sauce. I tell them sure, you will die from something, but that fact don't mean you have to help death along. "Death don't NEED no help!
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I had a friend who reminded me that indeed he did have to die from something. This guy ate meat loaf, port chops and mashed potatoes with gravy for breakfast. In his mid thirties, he had a heart attack alone in his house, and to this day, can't remember how he got to the hospital. He did remember the pain involved. When his doctor told him the way he had been eating is what nearly killed him, and that he could avoid a future, similar event by eating better and taking certain supplements, he started tippin' over the fact that a simple thing like eating gave him all that pain and nearly killed him.
He changed his diet.
Today, he's fine. He lost 80 lbs, runs and lifts three or four times a week.....
Though all of us are not 80 lbs overweight or eat pork chops for breakfast, the fact that African Americans, as a group, have more problems with certain diet related diseases than other groups, is STILL a cause for serious concern.
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