Former FDA Worker Warns About Everyday Foods That's Making Us Sick!

Blood sugar symptoms and mood swings - Your Food is Giving You an Attitude

Stress Management - High Blood Pressure and the African American Woman

I am an African-American woman who was born and raised in the south. My family, like many other southern families, idea of having a good meal is eating smothered pork chops, home made mashed potatoes with gravy, collard greens with ham hock and jiffy cornbread with butter on top. In the south, we love to eat the hog and all of its parts. Southerners are known for eating chitlings, pork ribs, chopped barbecue, ham sandwiches, pork sausage, and bacon.

Everything Good To You Is Not Good For You
My mother cooked and fed her children pork because her parents cooked and fed their family pork. My mother died from too much stress on her heart, as did her mother. They both had high blood pressure and they both died young. I am forty years of age and I have been diagnosed with high blood pressure. Do you see the pattern? Is this a pattern in your family as well?

Eat Healthy
The way that you can manage the stress that is being placed on your heart is by preventing it before it happens. When you eat fried foods and pork products you run the risk of clogging up the walls of your arteries. If your arteries are clogged with build up from grease then you are putting stress on your heart because your heart has to pump extra hard to get the blood to your vital organs. Managing stress starts with your diet by limiting the amount of pork, salt and fried foods that you intake and increasing the amount of fruits,vegetables, whole grains and fiber that you eat. Before you change your diet, you should consult with your doctor. There are also many books out there about healthy eating as it relates to African-American women.

Exercise
You can also reduce the amount of stress you place on your heart by exercising. Your heart is a muscle that is connected to valves which are connected to your arteries. When your heart is pumping blood it moves the valves and when you are inactive there is not enough blood flowing to keep your valves working properly. Walking for about 30 minutes a day is a great exercise for strengthening your heart and keeping your blood flowing properly. You should consult with your doctor before you start a new exercise regime.

Statics show that African American women have a high risk of being diagnosed with high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a disease that can be passed on from family to family but you can also have high blood pressure because of controllable variables such as being over weight, inactivity and having poor eating habits. High blood pressure is a silent killer and can lead to strokes and heart attacks. If you have not done so already, get you blood pressure checked and work on controlling the amount of stress that you place on your heart.

Antionette Tate enjoys helping people to discover their inner peace and joy. She invites you to visit her blog "Inner Peace and Joy: Tips to Help You Maintain Inner Peace and Joy Daily" http://howtohaveasuccessfulday.blogspot.com or email tonietate1@aol.com

African American Soul Food: Changing With The Times

African American soul food comes from a long history of struggle, triumph and survival. There are many reasons it has lasted over 400 years and continues to be one of the most popular cuisines created in America. Born out of slavery, soul food recipes have evolved into a billion dollar food industry today. It continues to survive and flourish because it has the ability to continue to adapt to the changing times and needs of the consumer.

When Southern American slaves needed it to provide nourishment to help them do back breaking labor from sun up to sun down on hot sweltering days it provided. When segregation and Jim Crowism limited the opportunities of African Americans, it provided the comfort food feeling that allowed them to carry on the struggle for equality. And it provided the same qualities during the Civil rights movement of the 60’s and 70’s when the term soul food was first coined. Now over 400 years later soul food continues to evolve to meet the needs of the people who love it.

Today’s soul food recipes have grown healthier. New cooking techniques, lighter ingredients, less fats and more natural seasonings have made today’s southern favorites adaptable to meet the needs of the health conscious consumer. Other changes taking place is the introduction of video to the many recipe sites on the internet. Adding video allows the consumer to reduce the time and mistakes involved in preparing and cooking popular southern dishes.

Yes, as soul food recipes continue to grow more popular they will no doubt continue to adapt to the changing needs of the consumer. As you read this expert cooks work tirelessly to provide quicker, easier and more convenient was to help you make tasty dishes for your family. All this works to keep the popularity of soul food kitchen recipes alive for another 100 years.

By: Roy J. Primm
See top 20 soul food recipes chosen by readers this month. Go to Free Soul Food Recipes

Stress Management - High Blood Pressure and the African American Woman

I am an African-American woman who was born and raised in the south. My family, like many other southern families, idea of having a good meal is eating smothered pork chops, home made mashed potatoes with gravy, collard greens with ham hock and jiffy cornbread with butter on top. In the south, we love to eat the hog and all of its parts. Southerners are known for eating chitlings, pork ribs, chopped barbecue, ham sandwiches, pork sausage, and bacon.

Everything Good To You Is Not Good For You
My mother cooked and fed her children pork because her parents cooked and fed their family pork. My mother died from too much stress on her heart, as did her mother. They both had high blood pressure and they both died young. I am forty years of age and I have been diagnosed with high blood pressure. Do you see the pattern? Is this a pattern in your family as well?

Eat Healthy
The way that you can manage the stress that is being placed on your heart is by preventing it before it happens. When you eat fried foods and pork products you run the risk of clogging up the walls of your arteries. If your arteries are clogged with build up from grease then you are putting stress on your heart because your heart has to pump extra hard to get the blood to your vital organs. Managing stress starts with your diet by limiting the amount of pork, salt and fried foods that you intake and increasing the amount of fruits,vegetables, whole grains and fiber that you eat. Before you change your diet, you should consult with your doctor. There are also many books out there about healthy eating as it relates to African-American women.

Exercise
You can also reduce the amount of stress you place on your heart by exercising. Your heart is a muscle that is connected to valves which are connected to your arteries. When your heart is pumping blood it moves the valves and when you are inactive there is not enough blood flowing to keep your valves working properly. Walking for about 30 minutes a day is a great exercise for strengthening your heart and keeping your blood flowing properly. You should consult with your doctor before you start a new exercise regime.

Statics show that African American women have a high risk of being diagnosed with high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a disease that can be passed on from family to family but you can also have high blood pressure because of controllable variables such as being over weight, inactivity and having poor eating habits. High blood pressure is a silent killer and can lead to strokes and heart attacks. If you have not done so already, get you blood pressure checked and work on controlling the amount of stress that you place on your heart.

Antionette Tate enjoys helping people to discover their inner peace and joy. She invites you to visit her blog "Inner Peace and Joy: Tips to Help You Maintain Inner Peace and Joy Daily" http://howtohaveasuccessfulday.blogspot.com/ or email tonietate1@aol.com

Greasy Foods - The Holy Grail Of African American Diet

I do not know about you, but when I was growing up, my mom cooked fried chicken (no, not oven "fried" chicken, we are talking about southern deep fried chicken), macaroni and cheese topped with tons of butter and mounds of cheese, collard greens cooked in chicken fat, hot buttered biscuits and brown gravy for dinner - at least twice a week.

Yes, I know you are salivating right about now. Here is another past time favorite to which I am sure you can relate - deep fried catfish, red beans and rice soaked in oil, candied yams with tons of butter, sugar, and cinnamon and deep fried pork chops.

I can relate. I grew up in a family of 9 where food portions were humongous. I mean we are talking about a 9-year-old whose plate was filled to the edges that was even too much for an adult! Years later, with the same poor dietary habits intact, I ballooned up to 213 pounds!

My Food History Repeated Itself

So there I was 20 years later weighing 185 pounds. I thought I could control it. The smallest I had ever been was 140 pounds. But my weight went up and down my whole life. Finally, I crossed the line where I could not stop eating. I was addicted to fried foods, white flour and sugar, but I did not know that until 3 more years of food agony and an additional weight gain of 18 pounds.

My Health Deteriorated

I come from a long line of strokes, heart attacks, diabetes and high blood pressure. At age 29, severely overweight and a heavy smoker, I was headed down the same path as my ancestors.

My Aha Moment

There was a voice inside me that said, "Shalisha, you are lost when it comes to food. Get help." I did. I was introduced to a food plan that was abundant, healthy, delicious, and made me lose 90 pounds in 6 months. This was no diet. It was a lifestyle change. So here are the top 5 reasons I think the African American diet is in dire need of an overhaul:

1.The African American diet is extremely high in fat
2.The African American diet is extremely high in sugar
3.The African American diet lacks fruit
4.The African American diet lacks vegetables
5.The African American diet is extremely high in sodium

If you want to start eating healthy and lose weight:

1.Stop deep frying and start broiling
2.Cut out sugar and white flour
3.Include at least 5 servings of vegetables daily
4.Include at least 3 servings of fruit daily
5.Drink plenty of water (8-12 cups)
6.Take the salt shaker off the table

One more thing - dare to be different! Demand that your neighborhood Key Food supermarket carry Fage Fat-Free Greek Yogurt. Demand that your friendly neighborhood Met Food supermarket carry organic fruits and vegetables.

All it takes is one person to lead the way. Be a power of example and show other African Americans in the community that it is not only okay to eat healthy - it is a matter of life and death. By making those 6 small dietary adjustments, you will go a long way to improving your health and losing weight.


Shalisha Alston is an African American weight loss consultant. She lost 90 pounds in 6 months and you can do the same.

Black Single Women & Males at Free Black Dating Services

We have seen too many black single women and males online at free black dating services. Thousands of black relationships and love are created from these free black dating sites. Seeking black singles online is easy to anybody today because we are living in this computer day. Black single women seeking black single males online are common in recent years. Some free black online dating services allow guests to search for any profile. When you decide to contact with any single woman or single man, you must be logged in. It means that you need to have a profile to contact other singles. Members should create a good detailed personal ad. You also need to upload your pictures.

When you search for other members, you would prefer to search for profiles with photos. Other single black people will do the same thing. In order to get contacted from other members, then you need to have a photo attached with your profile. Looking for black dates at free black dating sites is easy. All you have to do is to join these totally free black dating services. Looking for a date at the bars or nightclubs is traditional, which does not work out well. If it works, then it is just for short term. Online black dating services offer the means to find long term compatible relationships. Think about it this way, know exactly who you contact with after you read that person in detailed. You know what that person matches with you.

At the bars, you do not know anything about a single person you contact with, only the outlook. The inside beauty is more important. Long term relationships created by the inside beauty, not outlook. So, single black people meet each other online. After they know exactly the person they like, they will meet in face to face. Single black people seeking Internet dates at free black dating services have been spreading globally. Because of its convenience, singles can find a date for just a few simple clicks. Black singles save a lot of money and time when looking for love online. In the recent years, there are more single black males and black women registered their personal ads at these dating online services.

The main point is that black singles want to find a date online. You know for sure that these black singles who registered their personal ads at these free black dating services are available for a relationship. They are looking for dates. Can you flirt with someone you meet at the market or shopping center? The answer is no. The main reason is that you do not know if this person is single or not. That is why there are single black women looking for black men and black men seeking women at these black dating sites. Black dating singles should join free dating services to find love and romance online. Million of black online singles are waiting their partners. You need to join these totally free black dating services to meet that special dream mate.

By Amy Woodside

Uncle Tom & Aunt Tammy: What about em?

On election night 2008, Ralph Nader said about Barack Obama, "To put it very simply, he is our first African-American president, or he will be. And we wish him well. But his choice, basically, is whether he is going to be Uncle Sam for this country or Uncle Tom for the giant corporations," according to Wikipedia, the free Internet encyclopedia. So the question of the day is, what type of character must you have to be an Uncle Tom or an Aunt Tammy (for black females)?

Wikipedia defines Uncle Tom as "a pejorative (words that imply disapproval or contempt) for a black person who is perceived by others as behaving in a subservient manner to White American authority figures, or as seeking ingratiation with them by way of unnecessary accommodation. The term Uncle Tom comes from the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, although there is debate over whether the character himself is deserving of the pejorative attributed to him. Stowe never meant Uncle Tom to be a derided character, but the term as a pejorative has developed based on how later versions of the character, stripped of his strength, were depicted on stage."

Depending on the background you grew up, any black person who attended college, moved out of a predominately black community into a white one, married someone the opposite of his or her race, and spends time with primarily the white race would be considered an Uncle Tom or Aunt Tammy. So if Barack Obama had a white woman on his arm instead of a black woman then he may have been labeled as an Uncle Tom. As you just read an attempt was made to label him as such. I personally feel that in order to get the label of Uncle Tom put on someone by me, you would have to totally isolate yourself from the black race in almost every decision that you made, gone above and beyond the call of duty for every white person that you met, and did things to your face, hair and skin to make yourself look more European looking. You see to be an Uncle Tom or Aunt Tammy for me, you would have to be willing to play the part in everyway as far as I'm concerned. Although I have personally met some terrible actors in my life's journey. They talk the talk with me, "Hey girl...What??...Dat one...No dos...dis one..." Then when they get around another race, "No, I would prefer that one. Maybe this one with a side order of those." These terrible actors are the same ones who will report you if you are late for work, talk about how you are not up to par as an employee behind your back with someone different than his or her race usually or another Uncle Tom or Aunt Tammy type, and roll their eyes right along with whoever they are trying to impress about you. Then come to you and act as if they did or said nothing, "You know how she is girl..." No, I know how you are!

I met alot of these Uncle Tom and Aunt Tammy types on the east coast. They would have been the ones telling on the rest of us to the master while eating the good piece of chicken and we would be eating the crap letover from the pig. They are the teacher's pets of society and that's okay if you are trying to better us and enable all of us to get ahead, but usually they are doing nothing more than bringing us down. I saw my share on the west coast too. You walk by them and they don't want to make eye contact or speak, so afraid of what they might hear come out of your mouth. "Oh she is one of them...I know her type." The funny thing is that they know nothing about any type, but themselves. There interest "money" bottom line. Don't invite a west coast black to any functions unless you have something worthwhile to give them, because these blacks out here are about social classes. How much money do you make? That's all they want to know. If the money is right, you are in, but if the money ain't right, "do I know you?"

Uncle Tom and Aunt Tammy you may have seen them in your family talking and the rest of your family said things like, "Listen to her talking white...look at the way she cook, what is it that he is wearing..." If they are giving back to you and the community you live in, shut up! They are just educated they can't help themselves, they are conditioned by a society that told them to act and dress a certain way and by acting that way they have been able to get ahead to help you! One day they will wake up and find their true selves, so leave them alone. But if you don't see those other members of your family but once in a blue moon and when you talk to them they act like they have an attitude, that includes those on your job too, watch your back and don't share any details about your life to them, they might be looking for a warrant for your arrest so that they can capitalize off your capture, better yet they may see that you are on your way up and they know there isn't too much room at the top, so they might make it difficult for you to get there!

As for that statement about Barack Obama, only time will tell.

Written by Nicholl McGuire

Soul Food

The history of American soul food can be traced all the way back to the days of slavery. More often times than not, the slaves were given the most undesirable part of the meal, the leftovers from the house. Pairing this with their own home-grown vegetables, the first soul food dishes were invented. After the slaves were freed, most of them were so poor that they could only afford the most undesirable, inexpensive cuts of meat available to them. (The leftover, unwanted parts of a pig such as tripe, tongue, ears, and knuckles). As in the days of slavery, African-Americans used their own home-grown vegetables and things they could catch or kill to complete their meals. In the modern United States, soul food has truly evolved. It has become part of the African-American culture, bringing family members together on all occasions from birthdays to funerals, to spend time together preparing meals.

The history of soul food is mainly an oral one; recipes were never really written down so while two families may be preparing identical meals, chances are that they don't taste very much alike. Different ingredients, cooking methods, and techniques go into preparing soul food meals, causing the end results to come out differently. One of the most obvious and widely-recognized characteristics of African-American soul food is the fact that hot sauce and more intense spices are incorporated into meals as often as possible. For this reason, soul food is not for those who can't take the heat or are prone to heart burn!

Another characteristic of true African-American soul food is that nothing is ever wasted. Having originated from the leftovers of just about anything. Stale bread was quickly converted into stuffing or a bread pudding. Over ripe bananas were whipped up into banana puddings, and other ripe fruits were put into cakes and pies, and leftover fish parts were made into croquets or hush puppies. Sunday dinners are definitely the times when soul food is most commonly seen on tables. Sunday dinners are a time for African-American families to get together to prepare and partake in a large meal. Sunday dinners normally take up the entire day (normally following a church ceremony), and family members come from far and wide to partake in this meal together.

Sunday dinners took place in the form of potlucks, also, where various family members contribute a dish or two and form a big, fine meal. Collard and mustard greens, kale, ribs, corn bread, fried chicken, chitlins, okra, and yams are all excellent examples of African-American soul food that might be found at a Sunday meal. Soul food is not generally a healthy option for a person that must monitor their diet. Fried foods are generally prepared with hydrogenated oil or lard, and they usually tend to be flavored and seasoned with pork products. Since this may be what contributes to such a high percentage of African-Americans that are significantly overweight, soul food preparation methods are now slowly starting to be refined, bringing a lot more healthy options to the table. Rather than the increasingly unhealthy pork products, use of turkey-based products is becoming more and more popular as time passes. The fried foods that are so beloved of the culture can now be prepared using a lower fat canola or vegetable oil.

About the author: Troy Pentico
Visit The Tasty Chef for more great tips, techniques, and insights pertaining to cooking and recipes.

NOTE: If you have read this article, feel free to contact Nicholl McGuire for a chance to win a free DVD on Soul food!!! The contest ends February 1, 2009.