The world is moving in a direction where so many people are so busy blaming other people for their troubles that they fail to take responsibility for their own actions. Do you want to take control of your health? Do you want to lose weight? Is your weight holding you back? What is your “Why?” If you don’t like where you are right now, choose to create something different. Here are some helpful tips on how to create the life you want.

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African Americans may be vulnerable to COVID-19 because many suffer from underlying health conditions, including asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity. Details of racial disparities came after data revealed the majority of New York’s more than 5,489 deaths due to coronavirus were among men, and 86% of all deaths were among people who had underlying illnesses, such as hypertension and diabetes.

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Communities of color have long faced disparities in the health care system, in part because of discrimination, poor health, and insufficient insurance coverage. There have been many reports of racial bias in medicine, often called ‘implicit bias’, and that black patients receive inferior medical care to white patients. For instance, pain is undertreated in blacks because of the thought that blacks have less-sensitive nerve endings, or that that our blood coagulates faster or more quickly, or it’s just thought that black pain is rated lower than whites. Blacks are more likely than whites to receive drug testing when prescribed long-term opiates, even though whites show higher rates of overdose. Blacks are also thought to be responsible for their own state of health and are blamed for their own health conditions, while whites are thought to be victims of their own state of health and resources should be given to help those ‘victims’. As such, black people are now being blamed for dying from COVID-19. I would like to point out that NO ONE was blamed for contracting and dying from COVID-19 until it was pointed out that black people were contracting and dying from COVID-19 at higher rates than their non-black counterparts.

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When we talk about COVID19 and health disparities, we must also talk about the Social Determinants of Health. The Social Determinants of Health are the conditions under which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. The factors that strongly influence a person’s health include access to medical care, access to healthy foods, of which there are many food deserts and food insecurity in low-income and minority areas, environment, which can include access to clean water and clean air, socioeconomic status (SES), employment, and social support networks.

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For those who don’t know what COVID-19 is, it is a respiratory disease caused by a new coronavirus, and it spreads from person to person by inhaling the virus particles or by touching contaminated surfaces. The disease has been named “coronavirus disease 2019” (abbreviated “COVID-19”). COVID-19 has is overwhelming our health system. COVID-19 is 10 times more lethal than the flu. It’s a new disease, and with that comes new issues. There is no real treatment such as Tamiflu for the flu, no vaccines, and no real understanding of what is actually working with various treatments, etc. The unknown is what makes us more cautious. With all of this to consider, it is time for us to maximize our health as much as possible.

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I want to remind people that, COVID-19 is still here and overwhelming our health care system. COVID-19 is 10 times more lethal than the flu. It’s a new disease, and with that comes new issues. There is no real treatment such as Tamiflu for the flu, no vaccines, and no real understanding of what is actually working with various treatments, etc. The unknown is what makes us more cautious. With all of this to consider, it is time for us to be thoughtful as we exercise our right to protest, and to maximize our health as much as possible. Below is a list of questions and some key points to consider if and/or when you decide to protest. I will also include some immune system-boosting tips that I not only use myself, but that I often recommend to others.

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Dioxins are mainly byproducts of industrial practices. Dioxins may affect the environment and your health. Dioxins were manufactured as insulator fluids in heat-exchangers and transformers, as hydraulic fluids, and as additives to paints, oils, and caulks. They are produced through a variety of incineration processes, including improper municipal waste incineration and burning of household trash, and can be released into the air during natural processes, such as forest fires and volcanoes. These chemicals may also be released during chlorine bleaching of pulp and paper, or manufacturing or processing of certain types of chemicals, such as pesticides. Almost every living creature has been exposed to dioxins or dioxin-like compounds (DLCs).

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Yoga is an ancient and complex practice, rooted in Indian philosophy. It began as a spiritual practice but has become popular as a way of promoting physical and mental well-being. Yoga typically combines physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation or relaxation.
If you’re thinking about practicing yoga, here are 6 things you should know.

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A blood pressure monitor (BP monitor), or sphygmomanometer, uses an inflatable air-bladder cuff and a listening device or pressure sensor to measure blood pressure in an artery. This monitoring can be performed by using either of two methods: a manually inflated cuff with a stethoscope for listening to arterial wall sounds (the auscultatory method), or a blood pressure monitor that contains a pressure sensor for sensing arterial wall vibrations (the oscillometric method).
Knowing your blood pressure can save your life. This is because you will have the opportunity to detect problems early. High blood pressure or very low blood pressure is fatal. If you have high blood pressure, this is called hypertension. This condition can cause conditions like strokes, and heart attacks, and many other diseases. It can also worsen diabetes!

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High blood pressure increases the risk for heart disease and stroke, two leading causes of death for Americans. High blood pressure is also very common. Tens of millions of adults in the United States have high blood pressure, and many do not have it under control. High blood pressure should be treated earlier with lifestyle changes and in some patients with medication – at 130/80 mm Hg rather than 140/90.

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Your immune system protects you from germs and other foreign substances that could make you sick by making parts of your body become inflamed (or heat up and swell). However, sometimes the reaction can be overwhelming (or it goes too far). Sometimes inflammation can become chronic as a response to stress, junk food, or other lifestyle triggers.
This chronic inflammation is associated with many serious health issues, including diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, arthritis, fatigue, and depression. To reduce your risk, you may need to change your diet and other daily practices.
Start with these ideas for following an anti-inflammatory lifestyle.

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July is International Group B Strep Awareness Month. Group B Streptococcus (group B strep, GBS) are bacteria that come and go naturally in the body. Most of the time the bacteria are not harmful, but they can cause serious illness in people of all ages. In fact, group B strep disease is a common cause of severe infection in newborns. While GBS disease can be deadly, there steps pregnant women can take to help protect babies. Rates of serious group B strep (GBS) infections are higher among newborns, but anyone can get GBS disease. Below are some important facts about GBS disease in babies, pregnant women, and others.

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The Flint water crisis is one of the worst examples of environmental injustice in recent U.S. history. Since the early days of the Environmental Justice Movement in the 1980s, many studies have revealed a pattern across the country: certain communities are excessively burdened by environmental pollution and health risks. Like Flint, those places tend to be locations where poor people and people of color are concentrated.

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