In my
observation I realize a lot of ‘strange’ health attacks in my community. Diseases I used to read of in newspapers or
learn of on TV, and some I was just not aware they existed. In my black community health conditions were
somewhat divided according to age. I
grew up knowing that diseases like diabetes, heart attack, high blood pressure,
gout etc. were for old people. Young
people suffered from fever/cold headache, and related sicknesses. If it were to be something severe, it would
be asthma or TB on very rare occasions.
Back in the
days there were just those diseases that you knew only affect white people:
cancer, heart conditions etc. Black people
never used to even have medical aids. Besides
being poor...as it were, we just did not need them. One of the few things I treasure from being
poor is good health and strong physic.
Being poor
encouraged us to be an active society.
We didn't own cars and so we were forced to walk long distances. We had less access to money which required us
to do things with our own hands – like crop food in order to eat. We were healthy because we could only plant
vegetables & fruit, getting enough fiber from our own unprocessed raw
foods. We were free from the diseases
discussed above as we were not exposed to too much meat, spices & sauces
that kill our food.
At this
stage you might be thinking I probably miss being poor. Not at all, I really like the life we live
and appreciate the journey that took us to where we are now. However, I think we should be mindful of the “change”
without “change”. When we were poor we
suffered a lot from diseases of malnutrition-infectious diseases, poor hygiene
etc - Those were without a doubt “black people diseases”. Now we are economically liberated and know how
to make our own money, have access to just about everything that our beautiful
country can offer. We have therefore
joined the white community and suffering from cardiovascular diseases, which I
call “Diseases of Prosperity”. Can we
really win as black folks?
I am sure we
all know that we need to strike a balance before we fall victims of our own
freedom. We are naturally a nation of
pride and confidence. This can work both
in and against our favor. You don’t have
to order sushi every time you meeting someone of “status”, we know you can afford
it but the mercury in it is not entirely good for your health. You don’t have to cook meat everyday – this won’t
make your bank account any lesser than it is.
Sometimes it’s OK to just take a walk to that nearby shop and leave your
Maserati in your garage, you’ll find it there when you come back.
I am
bringing this topic on a women’s blog because mostly, it’s us females who
prepare food in our households. I
personally have stayed away from using spices and opted for herbs. It is a great adjustment but it is not worth
our health. Our breakfasts are feasts every
time - have too many options that our hearts cannot take. We are raising overweight kids, all in the
name of wealth.
The statistics of young
infertile women is on the rise year on year.
Our past generation used to give birth to healthy children even beyond
40yrs. An average fertile female to date
has 1 in 8 chances of miscarrying a child between ages of 22-30yrs, and 1 in 5
females have one to non healthy eggs.
Our health is seriously in danger!
Our men are suffering from non-production and low sperm counts due to
too much alcohol intake, diabetes etc. distressed from lack of sexual drive, premature ejaculation
& other Prosperity Diseases.
Indirectly, this becomes our problem too as their wives and
girlfriends. Take it upon yourself to
own-up to your family’s well being.
Let us enjoy
our freedom and success but that will not be for long if we don’t take care of
our health.
Until next
time, watch what you eat!
Tamara Booi
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