May 30, 2008 – There’s a sex crisis in our community and the government doesn’t want us to talk about it. Abstinence-only conversations have ruled sex ed classes at federally sponsored programs and health clinics for nearly a decade.But, Black teens ARE having sex and getting sick from it. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Infection recently reported that its first of its kind study of 14-to 19-year-olds found that Black teen girls had the highest overall prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Nearly half of the Black teen girls they surveyed had at least one STD, and they didn’t get them from being abstinent. What other proof do we need that abstinence-only programs don’t work?
Let’s face it. Our girls are having sex and they don’t know how to protect themselves. Parents, you are the first line of defense. If you don’t know what to say to keep your daughter safe, talk to somebody, or have your daughter talk with someone who does – a doctor, health counselor or other adult your daughter trusts. We also need to stop being so righteous about sex. With all the mixed messages teens are getting from music, videos and their friends, we can’t afford to keep burying our heads in the sand. They’re not getting what they need to stay safe and it’s our fault.
Get off your high horse. Get teens girls information, not just about sex, but about living with dignity. Check out actor Hill Harper’s latest book next week called “Letters To A Young Sister.” It stresses that one the most important sex talks you can have with a teen girl may be about respecting herself. It also tells teen girls to ”define your destiny,” shaping your future to whatever you want it to be. Talk with teen girls about her goals and dreams and about rising above her circumstances, and about delaying sex. But also talk with her about how love doesn’t mean going to bed with someone she THINKS loves her just because he says so, or having sex just to keep a boy. And, most importantly, talk with her about using a condom every time she has sex. Let her know that if the young man she’s interested in doesn’t care enough about her to use a condom, kick him to the curb. For more on STD protection, go to BET.com/Body & Soul.

Oprah and friends do a detox
May 27, 2008 – With summer quickly approaching, Oprah’s got a brand new thing. She’s saying bye, bye to burgers and other animal products for 21 days as apart of a detox fast. Now, it’s not as drastic as the Master Cleanse, or water fast. And, it’s a bit of a misnomer to call it a fast when it seems she’s simply cutting out a few things and transitioning to a vegan diet for three weeks. But, according to People .com, the 54-year-old talk show maven says she and three pals from her production company are banning animal products, caffeine, sugar, gluten and alcohol as part of a detox plan. Spring cleansing, or detoxification, is nothing new. But let’s be clear about what detoxing actually is. According to purists like Chris Strychacz, Ph.D., a research psychologist at the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego, fasting means “water only,” he tells WebMD. He’s been fasting for at least 25 years now, an annual weeklong ritual every spring. “There’s a big difference between fasting and dieting ,” Strychacz says. The effects on the body are quite different, he says. So when Oprah says she’s going to detox, is she really going far enough, or does this sound like a gimmick. Other experts say a seven-day gradual detox, where you go from solid foods to liquids and transition back to healthy foods, is a good way to cleanse your system of toxins that build up over the years and gives you more energy in the long run. They warn against long-term fasts because it can throw your body into shock and make it hard to reset. Before fasting, or considering any extreme diet, it’s best to consult your doctor, particularly if you suffer from long-term health problems, such as high blood pressure, or diabetes, or are on any medication. But whether you chose a seven-day juice fast, or a streamlined diet, if you cut toxic foods from your diet doesn’t it simply follow that you will reap health benefits? What do you think?

May 24, 2008 – So, you think you can swim? That’s what a lot of other people think, until trouble surfaces at a swimming pool or other body of water.

Did you know Black men die from drowning more often than people from other ethnic groups, and Black children are three times more likely to drown to death than White children? 

Think you can swim?

Here are a few more tips to keep you safe around water this summer:

• If you plan to be around water this summer, take a swimming class to learn the basics. It’s never too late to learn to swim.

• Try to swim in areas protected by a lifeguard.

• If you’re swimming in unguarded water, make sure someone with you knows how to swim and is certified in CPR.

• If you’re going boating, wear a life jacket.

• Don’t dive into unknown waters. There could be rocks, shallows or other dangers.

• Whether you can swim or not, don’t jump into the water first to try to save someone if they’re struggling. Get a long stick or pole and reach it toward the drowning person. Tell him to grab it, and pull him to safety.

• Watch out for the dangerous “too’s” – too tired, too cold, too far from safety, too much sun, too much strenuous activity.

• Don’t swim drunk or if you’ve been drinking a lot of alcohol.

• Don’t let children swim unsupervised, particularly young children. African American children ages 5 to 14 die from drowning three times more often than Whites.

For more tips, go to the American Red Cross.

May 22, 2008 – I just read one of the most shocking statistics: Black men have the highest risk of prostate cancer IN THE WORLD. If that isn’t bad enough, Black men also have high risks for diabetes, high blood pressure and deaths from heart attacks and strokes. But that’s not even the worst news. The real tragedy is many of these deaths can be prevented. That’s right. Many of them don’t even have to happen. Take prostate cancer, for instance. A report today shows evidence that if men cut their cholesterol – that’s the fatty artery clogging substance in our blood that builds up from eating too many greasy foods – you can cut your risk of prostate cancer. But how will you ever know if your cholesterol is high if you don’t make it to the doctor? Black men find all kinds of excuses for why they won’t go to the doctor: I don’t have time. It’s too far. I don’t want that doctor poking on me. I’m sure you can think of others. But we all know the real deal: it’s fear that stops you from getting in the door. Well, fear can make you sick. A new campaign hopes to allay those fears and get you in the doctor’s door: Real Men Wear Gowns. For more on the campaign and to watch the video, go to Real Men site. Got a better idea for how to get the men in your life you care about to the doctor, let us know.

Did you ask for a pressure check?
With Black American women 50 percent more likely to have diabetes as other women, it’s a safe bet that most of us are in some way affected by the disease. So, I know you only want the best care for diabetics, regardless of where you get that care. But today, a new study finds that doctors only check diabetics for high blood pressure half of the time at VA Hospitals. And when they do, they don’t follow up to see if their blood pressure may be abnormally high. High blood pressure is known to cause all kinds of complications for diabetics and the rest of us, including an increased risk for strokes and heart attacks. High blood pressure is treatable and controllable. (See BET.com/Body & Soul’s High Blood Pressure feature for tips.) And, with this being National High Blood Pressure Month, it only makes sense that if you’re diabetic or know someone who is, make sure you remind the doctor to check your blood pressure to see if it’s too high. After all, high blood pressure usually has no symptoms. To avoid serious problems later, particularly if you’re diabetic, don’t be afraid to ask the right questions today. As for why doctors aren’t taking the time to check blood pressure opens another can of worms —too busy, too indifferent, too… you fill in the blank. Whatever the reason, we don’t have to buy into it. Ask the questions that will keep you healthy. Demand good care!

You might have seen or even played the new Pos or Not game that recently hit the Internet. Created by MTV’s college network and the Kaiser Family Foundation, it tests your impressions of who “looks” like he or she could be HIV positive or negative. It’s meant to be an instructive exercise in what NOT to do to keep you safe from HIV. It’s also meant to remind you that you really can’t tell by looking at someone whether he or she is HIV positive. Problem is, in the real world we THINK we can really tell the difference without even asking. If there’s no condom available when the mood hits, we’ll say to ourselves, “He LOOKS safe.”  I can’t help but think that that same thinking has contributed to African American women accounting for the majority (67 percent) of the new HIV cases, according to the U/S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. We simply don’t insist enough that our men use condoms if he’s FINE and protests. What the heck? HE LOOKS safe. So go ahead. Play the PosOrNot game. But in real life, playing such games is like playing roulette. It could get you sick, or worse. BET.com/Body & Soul has more on protecting yourself.  What do you think? Please, tell us your story.

Exercise Fights Breast Cancer
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that there are untold benefits from working out at least 30 minutes three times a week. So it should be no surprise that a new study shows exercise is not only generally good you but, if you start young and do it at least three times a week, you cut your breast cancer risk by 23 percent. In the Nurse’s Health Study II, which included information from almost 65,000 women who completed questionnaires about their physical activity from age 12 until age 35, women who walked about 13 hours a week or ran 3.25 hours reduced their risk of getting breast cancer before age 50 by 23 percent. That might not seem like much, but it’s nothing to sneeze at, considering that Black women die from breast cancer far more often than Whites. Because we die sooner from the disease, we ought to be doing all we can to prevent it. Plus, another study released this week says exercise also can help you cut your risk for hypertension and stroke (See the BET.com’s feature “Pressure Point” for tips on controlling blood pressure). So throw away the excuses. Both studies indicated it doesn’t matter what exercise you did as long as you do something on a regular bases. So, let’s get moving!

A consumer advocacy group is asking the government to prohibit the sale of the Ortho Evra birth-control patch, according to a story from the Associated Press.

The group, Public Citizen, said the patch is “a poor choice for women,” when it filed it’s petition with the Food and Drug Administration on May 8.

The problem is blood clots, according to the story. Although blood clots are a side effect of many estrogen products, studies have shown that women using Ortho Evra have a much higher risk of developing clots because the patch releases more estrogen into the body than pills to.

Public Citizen also charges that the patch is no more effective than birth control pills are when it comes to preventing pregnancies.

First, big ups – I mean large ups – to Joy, who commented on the posting “Three little steps to weight loss.”

She send me to fitday.com, which helps you track your daily intake of carbs, calories, fat, etc. It’s free and registration only takes a minute.

I haven’t been on the site long, but I’m already impressed. The forms are easy to fill out. Now, if you don’t like facing the truth – like the real deal about that fried chicken sandwich I got at McDonald’s – you might not want to sign up. But remember this: you can plan your intake. So tonight, I’m having a salad, maybe some baked chicken and some steamed veggies to balance the calorie count for the day.

Thanks again, Joy.

Crystal’s response to the “Good health on a budget” posting sent me browsing through web sites and thumbing through books. She wrote that her weight was “too hard for me to lose.”

I feel her pain. I’m trying to drop 10 pounds by the end of the summer and, quite frankly, exercising is not my thing. So for Crystal, myself, and others who are trying to get the weight off, I’m posting these tips I’ve gleaned over the years. Many of them come from Weight Watchers. I’ve joined off and on numerous times. I’m not presently a member, but their advice is great.

1. Take it slow. That weight wasn’t gained in a day and it won’t be lost in a hurry. Aim to lose 1 to 1.5 pounds each week, so they’ll go off and stay off.
2. Watch your portions. I can’t say this enough. Portion distortion is a major obstacle to weight loss. It’s also difficult to judge the correct sizes, especially if you eat fast food or at chain restaurants. I’ve recommended a book “Eat This, Not That!” Read it and weep. Then change your habits.
3. Drink water. (I’m talking to myself here; coffee is my best friend) Eight glasses a day -roughly the equivalent of three 20-ounce bottles of pop – will fill you up and keep you hydrated.

Those are my three steps. If anyone has anymore, I’ll be happy to post them.