Posted Nov. 24, 2008 – The tragic death of MC Breed shows how vulnerable we are to kidney disease, and how important it is not to get it. Best known for the 1993 hit “Gotta Get Mine” that featured Tupac Shakur, the Michigan hip-hop artist died in his sleep of kidney failure over the weekend at age 37. He’d been on a kidney transplant list since collapsing earlier this year.  But it’s a well-known fact that Blacks suffer from higher rates of kidney disease and failure than other ethnic groups.

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 Posted Oct. 22, 2008 – Staph infection, which I mentioned earlier is increasingly becoming a problem nationwide among young athletes and fitness enthusiasts, has most likely ruined the promising career of a popular University of North Carolina-Asheville basketball player – the nation’s tallest b-baller Kenny George. The young 7-foot-9, 375-pound center who received acclaim for his size and play last season, had part of his right foot amputated due to a rare staph infection. The senior from Chicago, who last year lead the nation in blocked shots per game, had at least two surgeries and other procedures after his right foot became infected at a summer camp for big men in Las Vegas. But the surgery that disabled him also saved his life, doctors say.

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Posted Aug. 19, 2008 – As the untimely death of singing legend Isaac Hayes shows, stokes can strike anyone at any time, even if you are doing the right things to stay healthy. It was incredibly shocking that Hayes would die as he was working out on a treadmill, but without knowing any of the details of his overall health his death becomes a reminder not that death can come no matter what you do to stay healthy, but that life is lived to the fullest if you do all you can to stay healthy.

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Stress-and-lifestyle-related heart disease is preventable, one doctor told the NAACP
Stress, unequal treatment in the U.S. healthcare system and couch-potato/video-game lifestyles are killing Black Americans, health professionals told an audience at the NAACP on Saturday.

“We have a heart-obsessed society, but not a heart-healthy society,” Dr. Pamela Redden, former chief of staff in the Huron Hospital, a part of Cleveland Clinic Health Systems, said during a health symposium at the 99th Annual NAACP National Convention downtown.”It’s the organ that keeps us alive, but it’s the No. 1 killer in America.”

As you know by now Black Americans — particularly Black women — are more likely to die from heart-related illnesses, such as coronary heart disease, than all other Americans. But what’s different about the message at the NAACP convention is that many of the medical professionals pointed out that stress – worrying over whether you’ve got enough money to take care of your kids, or how you’re going to get done all you need to do, or whatever – is one of the things that’s killing us. Dr. Fleda M. Jackson found that a leading cause of infant mortality was elevated stress levels of Black women.

“We need a revolution. We need a radical change in the way we view our health,” said Dr. Marilyn Gaston, former U.S. assistant surgeon general and one of the panelists Saturday. “These are preventable. They’re not just statistics … They represent us when we fail to make a change.”

And, of course, one of the number one solutions for that stress: GET FIT. That doesn’t mean losing a bunch of weight all at one time, or trying to run a marathon. What the medical experts urged was just start gradually to do something for your health, whether it’s taking a walk after you eat or popping in a 20-minute workout video before you go to work, or taking a boxing class. They drove home the point that women should put their own health first (instead of the well-being of others); determine their own risk factors, like family history; practice prevention; get fit and manage their stress levels.

Find out more about what’s happening at the NAACP Convention here.

Posted July 10, 2008 – O.K., parents, if your child is overweight, it’s not cute any more. Too many little children are getting adult-sized illnesses because they’re eating too much of the wrong foods and not doing anything physical. And playing video games, other than the Wii Fitness doesn’t county. The problem has gotten so bad that now the Feds are telling doctors to begin prescribing statins – those cholesterol fighting drugs grownups take – to children. That’s not a good idea by any measure. First, no one knows what the long-term effects of taking a statin drug will have on young people. Also, in this pop-a-pill-for-every-problem society, why would we put a child on drugs without first figuring out whether changing his or her diet and activities would bring down the catastrophic cholesterol rates in children that can lead to heart problems and diabetes later on. Is that too much like work? I say, get those kids off the couch, stop using the TV as a babysitter and stop substituting fast food for a healthy home-cooked meal. If you can’t cook, there are plenty of fast-frozen vegetables and add-a-meat meals in the freezer section that make for quick, no effort dinners or lunches. Here are some other ways to eat healthy on a budget. Also, BET.com’s Body & Soul has some ideas.

Posted June 16, 2008 – He was a gregarious person of big heart and persona. He was also my boss in my other life as an NBC Washington Bureau freelance producer. But when Tim Russert, 58, NBC’s Washington, D.C., Bureau Chief and respected host of Meet The Press, fell ill while taping promos for his Sunday show, it was a stunning blow to the gut. By all accounts, he’d been following doctors’ orders after being diagnosed with coronary artery disease, in which plaque deposits block the blood flow to the heart. He’d been exercising on a treadmill, watching what he ate more carefully and taking cholesterol-lowering medication. He’d also recently passed a stress test. But he died suddenly on Friday after suffering a heart attack, when a clot burst in an artery, blocking blood flow to his heart. It was not only an example of the quirkiness of life, but a wake-up call. It shows how the fallacy of medicine, the quirkiness of life and, more importantly that you can’t take your health for granted. Stress, lack of sleep and a diet on-the-go also can take their toll, particularly for people with a history of heart disease. African Americans die more often from heart disease than Whites, and Black men are particularly at risk. Unfortunately, we also disproportionately suffer from all the major risks that lead to heart problems – greater instances of diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure. There’s no doubt that once you are is diagnosed with heart disease, you have a better chance of surviving it if you change your lifestyle. But, the better way to avoid a heart attack is to head it off all together, especially while you’re young. If you’re getting a little heavy around the middle, see your doctor about losing weight right away. If you’re not getting enough sleep or exercise, change up. Doctors say that even if you’re making the prescribed lifestyle changes – eating better, working out and staying on your meds – you’re still at risk if you don’t get your rest or cut fatty, cholesterol clogging foods from your diet. And there’s new evidence that the greater your girth, or the more expansive your waist line, the more stress you are putting on your heart – and that can heightening your chance of having a heart attack. On the other hand, there’s evidence that the cumulative affect of exercise over the years can help.The death of this consummate family man, master interviewer and astute political observer [ he was one of the first to recognize the tenacity of Barack Obama's run for the White House] is a great and tragic loss. But was also a wake-up call to me. It’s not like I hadn’t had enough examples of people in my life who died way to young from a heart attacks to know that if I take exercise more seriously, get more rest and cut the fat from my diet I stand a better chance at living than dying. But there was something about the death of giant in my own profession dying way too young and so suddenly that drummed home the point that maybe it’s time for me to take my own health more seriously. How about you?

I’m starting an occasional series of postings called “exercise hints.” These are tips on ways to get more exercise while doing your daily tasks.

The federal government recommends at least 30 minutes of “moderate intensity” aerobic exercise 3 to 5 times a week, with muscle-strengthening exercises 2 to 3 times weekly. Oh, don’t forget to stretch daily.

These suggestions alone won’t fulfill that quota, but they will add minutes to your regimen. More importantly, they’ll make you aware of the need of regular exercise.

My first tip comes from a secretary at a local elementary school, here in Cleveland. Several times a day, she bounces up from her chair, to run down the stairs and open the front door for visitors. Whenever she has to leave her office, she picks up a pair of two-pound weights.

“It strengthens my arms, ” she explained.

I’m planning on trying variation: I’m going to strap on one-pound wrist weights when I clean up the house. I’ll keep track, but the aim is to wear the weights for 30 minutes while mopping, dusting, etc.

Try this, and let me know whether it works for you. And if you have any tips of your own, post them to the comment section.