Black Americans and HIV

By: AIDS Action Committee

Black Americans have been disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS since the epidemic's beginning, and that disparity has deepened over time. Blacks account for more new HIV infections, AIDS diagnosis, people estimated to be living with HIV disease, and HIV-related deaths than any other racial/ethnic group in the United States. The epidemic also had a disproportionate impact on Black women, youth, and gay and bisexual men, and its impact varies across the country. Moreover, Blacks with HIV may face greater barriers to accessing care than their white counterparts. Today, there are approximately 1.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States, including 545,000 who are Black. Although Black Americans represent only 12% of the U.S. population, they account for 44% of new infections in 2009 and 46% of people living with HIV diseases. Blacks also account for almost half of new AIDS diagnoses in 2009.

READ MORE

Heart Disease

What is it, and what can be done to prevent it?

By: Crystal Russo, Copy Editor; Photo by Jack Rummel

We’ve all heard songs and stories about hearts breaking, aching, or bursting with love, but what does it really mean to have heart disease? Heart disease is the leading killer across most racial and ethnic minority communities in the United States. In 2007, one in every nine adult natural causes of death was due to heart disease. African Americans and the Hispanic community have greater statistical likelihood of death from heart disease than other groups due to connections to high obesity rates and high blood pressure in these communities.

READ MORE

The Detox Truth

By: Dawna Jones, M.D. Bella Natural Health

There seems to be more dialogue on toxicity in our environment. It has been documented that we may be exposed to over 100 toxins per day in our everyday lives, present in cosmetics, pesticides on food, contaminants in drinking water, and plastics that leach in to our beverages. Try finding a beverage in a real glass bottle instead of plastic and see how rare it has become! In one way or another, it is quite probable that we will have exposures, as well as our children. The majority of the non-white population lives in urban areas, and our exposure may be intensified by our environment.

READ MORE