BART (Being About Rapid HIV Testing), a new initiative designed to
help community-based organizations provide rapid HIV testing, blows
into Chicago July 1-5 during Chicago Black Gay Pride. Testing is from 1
p.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, go to bartevents.com.
Recently in Healthy Category
When Regina Oliver takes to the lacrosse field later this month in
Prague, she won't be thinking about the statement she's making. She'll
be focused on helping the United States Women's National Team Elite
division demonstrate its title-winning skills.
Oliver is one of maybe four African-American women playing the
sport at this level, and the only one on the 24-member team. The
Pottstown, Pennsylvania, native, who played at Ohio State University on
a lacrosse scholarship, picked up the sport while in middle school.
"It's pretty big in eastern Pennsylvania. My middle school basketball
coach was the assistant lacrosse coach at Pottstown High," Oliver says.
"She suggested I try it to keep myself in shape for basketball."
She demonstrated natural ability. Oliver went on to play in high
school, joining the national developmental program a few years before
graduating from Ohio in 2005. "This will be my fifth year playing with
the national team and my first time playing in a World Cup," she says.
The 2009 FIL Women's World Cup will be played over 10 days, June
17-27. Oliver is excited about the opportunity and thankful for those
who've made it possible. "People like Cherie Greer who played on the
2005 World Cup team--she's a true inspiration f
or me. It's a predominantly white sport, and it can be hard not seeing
anyone who looks like you." Greer is in Pennsylvania's Lacrosse Hall of
Fame.
Even though several who come through the program go on to other
sports or careers, they stick close to lacrosse. Former teammate Jessy
Morgan says her nonprofit organization, Coast 2 Coast Lacrosse, works
with U.S. Lacrosse, the sport's governing body, to encourage minority
girls to pick up a crosse, or stick. The sport was created by Native
Americans and adopted by the French. "That it's more expensive is not
the deterrent to more minorities in the sport," Morgan says. "It's
about exposure."
Many on the national team are fresh from college or are college
coaches. Oliver says with team members holding down full-time jobs,
living in different cities and coming from different schools, it is
important to maintain team chemistry. "The majority of the time we play
together is in the fall. February through May is the college season."
They use pictures and e-mail to keep each other inspired to work
out when they're apart. "I've never been a 'let me go for a run'
person," says Oliver, who lives in Pittsburgh. "I have to have
something to motivate me. My teammates play a large role in that and
the fact that the cup is in Australia right now!"
The public also serves as a motivator for Oliver. While some in
the black community wonder how she got into the sport, many find what
she's doing "awesome," she says. "They say, 'It's a breakthrough for
us. Keep it up.' It gives me the chills when I'm out there."
The positive feelings extend to other athletes on the
developmental and elite teams. "No one treats me like the black girl on
the team. We are 48 women trying to accomplish something great."
--Monette Austin Bailey
Q. I need to lose weight for my wedding in August. Will wearing a vinyl sweatsuit help?
A. Every time I see somebody walking around my favorite park in a
rubber suit, I pull out my CPR card and get ready to hit 911 on my cell
phone. Sweating is good. I sweat early, often and everywhere.
Evaporating perspiration cools us off. That's what it's for.
You can safely and effectively lose one to two pounds per week by
reducing your daily calories and upping your physical activity to
create a calorie deficit each day--calories in versus calories out.
That's the only magic there is. If you start your program today, you
can safely set your goal at four to 18 pounds by August 1. Involve your
bridesmaids and family. Set up a little healthy competition and
support. Have a wedding day 5K walk and fun run.
And if are trying to sweat to avoid retaining water, drink more
water. Your body won't work so hard to hold on to it if it's getting a
regular and plentiful supply.
If you're a frequent flyer, you may know that long airplane
flights increase your risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a potentially
deadly blood clot that usually starts in the legs. But did you know
that where you sit on an airplane also could affect your risk of
developing the condition?
It might, according to a study by Dutch researchers in the British
Journal of Haematology. Researchers compared 80 DVT sufferers with 108
control subjects who'd recently flown for at least four hours. They
found that passengers sitting in window seats doubled their risk of
DVT; no increased risk was found for those in middle seats. Weight
appeared to increase the danger: Obese passengers in window seats were
six times more likely to develop DVT than those in aisle seats.
One explanation for the increased risk: Passengers are more
cramped in window seats. Another is that passengers fall asleep by a
window. In fact, sleeping for several hours at a time during long
flights is known to increase one's risk of a blood clot, which can be
deadly if it travels from the bloodstream to the lungs, causing
pulmonary embolism.
Researchers found that flying business class reduced passenger
risk by about 30 percent. They also found that standard advice from
clinicians and airlines for preventing in-flight DVT--drinking water,
exercising, wearing compression stockings and avoiding alcohol--was
inconsequential or had an opposite outcome.
But one of the study's critics cautioned against reconsidering
preventive advice for passengers. The study sample was just too small.
--Nicole Crawford-Tichawonna
Remember the good old days when you paid between $3 and $5 for
birth control pills? If you get your contraceptives at a health clinic
or on a college campus, affordable birth control may be back. President
Obama recently signed the Affordable Birth Control Act, a provision in
his $410 million 2009 Omnibus Spending Bill, making contraceptives more
affordable.
The new law undoes the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 that caused
the price of birth control to spike for clinic patients, college
students and Medicaid-eligible women, to the tune of $30 and $50 per
month. Many women found they had to make a choice between paying for
food and their birth control. While many pharmacies and clinics started
offering lower cost, generic versions, several contraceptives,
including NuvaRing, were unavailable in a generic form.
While the law goes into effect immediately, you might not see the
savings at the pharmacy for several months. Most clinics on college
campuses will have to sell off their existing supply at the current
higher pricing before they renegotiate lower-priced contraceptives next
year. Check with your health center or pharmacy to find out when you
can expect to see the savings. --Andrea Collier
It all started with our hospital tour. My husband and I, as wide-eyed
with excitement as first-time expecting parents can possibly be, followed the nurse leading the tour. We
dutifully took notes about where to check in, what paperwork to bring
and, as we stopped by the nursery where tiny bundles of newborn life
lay in innocent sleep, we began to imagine how we might feel when the
life tumbling inside me pushed into the world. Then, breaking us out of
our sentimental reverie, the nurse told us we'd have to select our
pediatrician and start making decisions about our baby's vaccination
schedule with the doctor before our due date. All my calm joy
disappeared in that hospital corridor, and my wide eyes no longer
signaled excitement, but a growing sense of dread.
As my second trimester progressed, more than the specter of mercury-laced vaccinations began to grip us. News reports about lead in children's toys surfaced. Suddenly, every purchase of a Teddy bear or playmat required a burdensome meticulousness. I had to negotiate a twinge of fear with every trip down the baby aisle. That twinge grew to an impossible-to-ignore twang when we headed out to register for our baby showers.
My college friend and mother of two young boys, Aisha Salmon, volunteered to help us register. I figured Salmon would be an excellent source of information for things like which stroller is best for the subway and which baby carrier would enable me to nurse with dignity as I negotiate the crowds of New York City. I got more than I bargained for when she warned me to register only for bottles labeled Bisphenol A, or BPA, free.
--Eisa Ulen
As my second trimester progressed, more than the specter of mercury-laced vaccinations began to grip us. News reports about lead in children's toys surfaced. Suddenly, every purchase of a Teddy bear or playmat required a burdensome meticulousness. I had to negotiate a twinge of fear with every trip down the baby aisle. That twinge grew to an impossible-to-ignore twang when we headed out to register for our baby showers.
My college friend and mother of two young boys, Aisha Salmon, volunteered to help us register. I figured Salmon would be an excellent source of information for things like which stroller is best for the subway and which baby carrier would enable me to nurse with dignity as I negotiate the crowds of New York City. I got more than I bargained for when she warned me to register only for bottles labeled Bisphenol A, or BPA, free.
Huh?
And then, the discovery that changed everything popped up in my
e-mail. Carter's (yes, Carter's!) fall 2007 tagless clothing line,
including onesies, had produced second-degree burns on the backs of
about 400 newborns. Though the company's official site calls the
reactions "allergic" not burns, I saw Internet pictures of baby's backs
that made me shudder as hard as a Braxton-Hicks contraction.
Thimerosol, lead, BPA--oh, my! They were enough to make any young
mother go gray. And now I also had to second guess Carter's, the
clothing I grew up wearing! Exactly what kind of world will I be
bringing my child into?
My husband and I decided it would be an organic one. As much as
possible on our average American budget, we are going to create a green
nursery. Conflicting information didn't make this easy. I received an
e-mail from Kimberly Seals Allers, author of The Mocha Manual to a
Fabulous Pregnancy, that said: "A few months ago the FDA tried to tell
us we were just hysterical moms with nothing to worry about when it
stated Bisphenol A was safe at the levels where it appears in most
consumer products.... Another government agency, the National Toxicology
Program, concluded there is 'some concern' that BPA alters development
of the brain, prostate and behavior in children and fetuses."
I get nothing but similarly conflicting reports as I surf for
credible, authoritative information regarding vaccines and autism. And
Carter's never actually recalled those tagless clothes, as it claimed
the items affected less than 1 percent of its customers. And what
happened to the big hullabaloo over lead in toys? Allers has helped me
negotiate this maze of contradictory information. "As black mothers,"
she says, "we know better than most not to rely solely on the
government to tell us what's safe."
So we registered for organic products, from crib sheets to infant
soft books to chlorine-free diapers to Seventh Generation cleaning
products like detergent and dishwashing liquid. We look forward to
having a frank, informed discussion about vaccinations. We'll use
BPA-free bottles, and when I shop, I read labels to check where
products are made. We're also checking out NexGen Cosmetics African
American Baby Care organic product line (africanamericanbabycare.com).
I can breathe deeply and not inhale a load of toxins knowing I'm buying
green products for our baby's nursery while also supporting black-owned
businesses. --Eisa Ulen
As a teenager, New York State First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson
learned firsthand how important physical fitness and healthy eating can
be to mental health and self esteem. "When I went through puberty, I
started gaining weight and going through depression," Paterson says.
"Then I started eating healthy and running, and it changed my life.
Exercise really helped me feel better and more confident about myself."
Paterson's love of
healthy living is one she'd like to share with her state's young
residents, particularly those living in urban areas where there are few
opportunities for organized physical fitness. So when her husband,
David, became governor, she decided to launch a state-sponsored
version of her Healthy Steps to Albany program.
Paterson first created
a local version of the obesity-fighting program while living in New
York City. "I was bothered by the gro
wing number of overweight and obese kids," she says. "I wanted to do
something to motivate and educate them about what happens when you eat
whatever you want and don't exercise." A statewide version of the
physical fitness contest, which challenges middle school students to
increase their fitness by competing with each other to walk 4 million
steps over a six-week period, launched in March. Participating
classrooms receive activity recommendations and materials for tracking
their progress. Winning classrooms lunch with the governor and first
lady, take a trip to a local organic farm and receive other prizes.
The Healthy Steps
challenge will engage 26,000 middle school students in 2009, but
Paterson plans to expand it next year. "I want to grab them in the
middle school years," she says, "so we can help them develop a healthy
lifestyle that will stay with them throughout adulthood."
--Shawn Rhea
Lowering your cholesterol means limiting the grams of fat you eat
(particularly saturated and trans fat), cutting back on protein foods
like meat and dairy, and cutting cholesterol consumption by eating more
complex carbs. Here's Heart & Soul's shopping list for your next
trip to the store:
Fresh fruit and veggies. Oranges, apples, pears, grapes, bell
peppers, broccoli tomatoes, dark leafy greens, kale, celery, zucchini,
squash
Poultry and fish. Boneless and skinless chicken breasts and tenders, ground chicken or turkey, salmon, tuna, tilapia, trout
Limited dairy. Skim or 1 percent milk, nonfat or 1 percent fat
yogurt (plain or with fruit), soy-based cheeses or yogurts, egg
substitutes or egg whites
Nuts. Walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds
Salt replacements. Onion powder, cloves, paprika, bay leaves, basil, oregano
Snacks. Brown rice cakes, whole grain pretzels, plain or light microwave popcorn
Beans, grains, complex carbs. Lentils, kidney, pinto, black beans, brown rice, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, whole-grain breads
-Kennedy Spencer
Scratch another old myth: A recent study released by the
University of Chicago proves it's the lack of sleep that's actually the
cousin of death. The findings, published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association, confirm what nagging mothers and teachers have
told us for years--not getting enough shut eye at night can make you
sick.
That, however, is an
understatement. According to the study, which followed the sleep
patterns of men and women between the ages of 35 and 47, almost 30
percent of the participants who caught less than five hours of restful
sleep every night developed plaque in their heart vessels. On the other
hand, only 11 percent of patients who got the recommended five to seven
hours and 6 percent who racked up more than seven hours of Zs showed
any signs of calcium buildup in their arteries, which can create the
plaques that cause heart attacks and strokes. The results confirmed a
suspected connection held by the medical community for ages.
"Disorder of sleep is
now considered a risk factor over and above traditional risk factors,"
says Richard Staudacher, M.D., a cardiologist at ProHealth Care Medical
Associates in New Berlin, Wisconsin. "The surprising part about the
study was that [plaque accumulation] happened in a re
latively short period of time."
The upside to drawing
the parallel between a good night's rest and good heart health (besides
an excuse to snag more sleep)? "Plaque volume is reversible with proper
diet," Dr. Staudacher advises. "In general, if somebody has coronary
disease with plaquing, there can be a reversal with modification of
risk factors like quitting smoking, losing weight and controlling
diabetes and cholesterol."
--Janelle Harris
HIV/AIDS
Center for Special Studies
New York City
A part of New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia
and Cornell, the Center for Special Studies provides specialized care
to meet a wide range of needs, including
spiritual, emotional and social, for people infected with or
affected by HIV/AIDS. In addition, CSS established the Starfish
Project, a collaborative program that provides training, education,
support and medications to two hospitals in Nigeria.
Plastic Surgery
The
Johns Hopkins Center for Facial
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
and the Wilmer Eye Institute
Baltimore
The Center for Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery performs
cosmetic procedures, including botox and major and minor surgical
enhancements. Kofi Boahene, M.D., world renown for his work with ethnic
skin, helps patients create the look they want. The Wilmer Eye
Institute is ranked one of the premier eye care centers in the nation
and is a leader in laser vision correction.
Breast Cancer
The Nellie B. Connally Breast Center
Houston
The center is one of the largest in the country and offers
comprehensive treatment for all forms and stages of breast cancer, as
well as surgical reconstruction options. One of the key initiatives is
the Young Breast Cancer
Survivors' Program, which caters to women younger than 45, including those who are pregnant.
Reproductive Health
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston
The hospital is a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and has been recognized as
a world leader in both routine and complex
obstetrics/gynecological care, as well as gender-specific health
maintenance. It has extensive outpatient services and clinics equipped
with state of the art diagnostic and treatment technologies.
For a list of the top 15 hospitals in the country, pick up a copy of the February/March 2009 issue of Heart & Soul.
--Kennedy Spencer