The Health crisis in the African American community
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Ever wonder why the African American community have many health problems? This article provides the explanation.
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In the African American culture, soul food has been passed on from generation to generation, and is the center of social interactions. It is usually associated with family reunions, church gatherings, and is often eaten as Sunday dinner. Traditional soul food includes fried foods, chitterlings, pig's feet, and other fatty meats that are high in calories and saturated fats. Because of its unhealthy content, soul food runs counter to nutritional guidelines. Nutritionists recommend that 30 percent or less of calories be from fat. They also recommend that there should be limitations on consuming refined grains, concentrated sweets, whole dairy, and red meats (Belle, 2014; Lucan et al., 2012).
The disproportionate amount of African Americans afflicted with nutrition-related problems is directly related to the unhealthy preparation of soul food and in the choice of foods used to prepare it. Sugary fruit drinks or sweet tea are often served with soul food, which is also a contributing factor to health issues seen in the African American community. Sweetened drinks are loaded with dangerous amounts of sugar and calories. This is why African Americans have the highest obesity prevalence in the United States, in comparison to the white population (Johnson et al., 2014). Obesity causes hypertension, diabetes, and atherosclerosis, which makes African Americans more susceptible to diabetes, a stroke, congestive heart failure, and kidney disease (Windham, D & Jones, K., ...
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