Healthy eating is the key factor in offsetting many diseases plaguing African-Americans.
Maintaining healthy eating habits and consistent exercise routines prevents the onset of many life-threatening diseases. Although many of the hereditary diseases impacting African-Americans are incurable like AIDS, others can be controlled by a shift in lifestyle regarding food, diet and exercise.
Sickle-Cell Disease
The University of Maryland Medical Center claims that sickle cell disease is present in one in every 500 African-American births. According to the website ucsfhealth.org, "sickle cell disease is caused by variant hemoglobin that changes the shape of the red blood cells" and occurs as a genetic mutation in the 11th pair of chromosomes. Sickle cell disease patients suffer anemia (low red blood cell count), severe pain in the chest, arms, and legs, jaundice, and stroke. The primary way to detect this disease is via blood testing. Treatments for this condition are blood transfusions, antibiotics, and bone marrow transplants.
Prostate Cancer
Genome.gov claims that for every 100,000 African-American men, close to 181 will have prostate cancer, and 54 will die from the disease. This disease primarily attacks men over 65, but can be contracted at any age. Prostrate cancer symptoms include: weak urine flow, blood in the urine, lower back pain, and erection difficulty. Screening for this disease consists of prostate-specific antigen testing and digital rectal examination. This cancer can be present for years without showing symptoms, so it is best to be screened as early as your physician recommends. Active surveillance, surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy are a few of the treatments recommended for victims of this disease.
Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular disease kills more people in America than any other sickness, and African Americans are at the greatest risk of obtaining the disease, according to the African American Community Advisory Committee website. High blood pressure, where the blood is not pumping sufficiently through the blood vessels, causing damage to the heart, is a common precursor to heart attacks. Reducing salt intake, lowering your cholesterol, drinking less alcohol, and losing weight are all effective ways to avoid cardiovascular disease. Signs of a heart attack are pain in the neck, arms, and shoulders, and chest discomfort or tightness.
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