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African Americans and Proper Nutrition for Good Health - Where do
you stand?
By Makeisha Lee, Health and Nutrition Consultant
www.CleanseFormula.com and
www.GuideToCleansing.com
Columbus, OH (BlackNews.com) - Everywhere we go and everything we do
requires us to take some sort of action to get what we want or what
we need. This is just the normal process of life. We're constantly
getting reminders at the doctor’s office or at work or sometimes on
television ads about the need for proper nutrition accompanied with
adequate physical activity. Not only for a desirable weight; but
also more importantly, the many health benefits.
In fact, if you have internet access you can be instantly inundated
with loads of information about nutrition and physical activity,
such as what you should be doing, all the statistics you can stand,
but yet those stats don’t seem to reflect much change for the
better.
What’s more if you found some legitimate answers you still have not
achieved any sustainable results in either of those departments; in
fact you end up being confused and overwhelmed by not knowing which
approach you should be using.
For some African Americans we're seeing some consistent trends that
may perhaps present a challenge to getting what we need to sustain
good health through proper nutrition and regular physical activity.
Two factors commonly overlooked are our behavior with respects to
our health habits and our environment with respects to where
we live. Some of us that recognize that proper nutrition is
absolutely critical for good health will choose to consume
nutritional foods that support and enhance personal health. This
accounts for 23% of consumers in the US. There are 12% that focus on
vitamins, minerals and herbs to support health, but are less
concerned with nutritional value of food. Most in this group are too
preoccupied with weight loss and discounts. Still we have 18% that
are just neutral about the nutritional content of the food they eat
and are price-sensitive when grocery shopping; only splurging when
they eat out.
Lastly, 21% choose taste over nutritional health value. They know
they should eat healthier and take supplements, but don't, and of
course those in this category are highly price sensitive.
We must take a hard look at ourselves, with our way of thinking and
our own behavior patterns to determine where we stand individually.
Then, we must collectively as African Americans take ourselves out
of the lower percentage brackets and become more proactive about our
health.
Even though we may not have the ideal environment conducive for
regular, consistent physical activity, we still have other options.
For those of us in urban settings, instead of being deterred by
taking walks or jogging in the neighborhood with no sidewalks or
high crime, we may increase our physical activity in other ways.
Some activities may include group bicycling, or putting extra effort
in household chores.
For those in suburban areas who are spread out in isolated
subdivisions which make it difficult to walk or bicycling can change
venues. They may decide to join a gym or a swim club or a weight
loss support group as they may provide emotional support to get
overall good health even if they are not obese.
Even the CDC-Center For Disease Control states that proper nutrition
along with regular physical activity is critical for good health. So
whatever you decide just take immediate action to take back control
of your life. Join a positive call to action and decide where you
will stand from today and from now on!
Makeisha Lee is a health and nutrition consultant. For more
information about cleansing and detoxifying your body, contact her
at 614-595-1425 or makeisha@cleanseformula.com or learn more at
www.CleanseFormula.com
To download the African American Guide To Cleansing, visit:
www.GuideToCleansing.com
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