| Health
Many of us know someone
who is suffering from a chronic illness such as cardiovascular disease,
cancer or diabetes. We experience some of the highest chronic disease
rates in the country:
Obesity
- Overweight and obesity are primary risk factors for chronic
diseases (1).
- 77% of black women and 61% of black men are overweight or obese
(2).
- Of these, 50% of black women and 28% of black men are obese
(2).
- Black women are the most overweight group in the U.S. (2).
Cardiovascular Disease
(CVD)
- 40% of blacks have CVD and it is the leading cause of death
among blacks, at a rate of 37% (2).
- High blood pressure prevalence in blacks is 37%, among the
highest in the world (2).
Breast and Prostate
Cancer
- 31% of black women have breast cancer, the second leading cause
of death in black women (3).
- 37% of black men have prostate cancer, the second leading cause
of death in black men (3).
Diabetes
- 25% of black women over age 55 have diabetes (4)
and 13% of black adults overall have diabetes (5).
Diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death in blacks (6).
The good news is that
these diseases are preventable and often reversible with a vegetarian
diet. Decades of studies have shown that eating primarily fruits,
vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds is associated with reduced
risk of chronic diseases and reversal of heart disease (7-10).
Studies have also shown that black vegetarians, particularly vegans,
have low rates of chronic diseases (11-12).
References
1
Centers for Disease Control. http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/faq.htm#how
2 American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/downloadable/heart/
1045142523017FS01AF03WEB.DOC (page no longer active)
3 American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/AFAMFFOO.pdf
(page no longer active)
4 American Diabetes Association.
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-statistics/african-americans-jsp.
5 Centers for Disease Control. http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/estimates.htm
6 Centers for Disease Control. http//:www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/tables/2002/02hus032.pdf
(page no longer active)
7 Hu F, Willett W. Optimal diets for prevention
of coronary heart disease. JAMA 2002;288:2569-2578.
8 Spiller G. Editorial: Vegan diets and cardiovascular
health. JACN 1998;17(5):407-8.
9 Segasothy M, Phillips PA. Vegetarian diet: panacea
for modern lifestyle diseases? Q J Med
1999;92:531-544.
10 American Dietetic Association. Vegetarian Diets
- Position of ADA. J AM Diet Assoc 1997;97:1317-
1321.
11 Toohey ML, Harris MA, DeWitt W, Foster G, Schmidt
WD, Melby CL. Cardiovascular disease risk
factors are lower in African American vegans compared to lacto-ovo-vegetarians.
J Am Coll Nutr
1998;17(5):407-8.
12 Melby CL, Goldflies DG, Hyner GC, Lyle RM. Relation
between vegetarian/nonvegetarian diets and
blood pressure in black and white adults. Am J Public Health 1989;79(9):1283-8.
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