There is nothing like some good old soul
food. There is not many of us who can deny eating some candied
yams, cornbread, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, fried chicken,
mashed potatoes soaked in butter, corn on the cob smothered in butter,
smothered pork chops, and homemade sweet potato pie or pecan pie at
some point in our lives. Most of us grew up with this kind of
good old home cooking. And we could all agree that it feels good
going down. But the truth of the matter is, those homemade pound
cakes that call of sticks of butter, cups of sugar and several eggs
may be hurting us more than we think.
Let's face it. Our culture has
never been one to be "obsessed" about our size, and our men don't mind
if there is "a little extra meat on the bone." But for many of
us, that "extra meat" can put us at a higher risk of diabetes.
Research has shown that being overweight can up your risk of diabetes.
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association,
middle-aged African Americans are far more likely to develop
adult-onset, (type 2), diabetes than middle-aged whites, and women are
more likely than men to develop the disease. The study also
showed that much of the higher risk in women may be due to excess
weight, which is something that can be controlled through diet and
exercise.
According to the study, African
American women were more likely to report a family history of
diabetes, had greater measures of fat and reported less physical
activity. This remained true for African American men compared to
white men also. So what can you do to lower your risk?
Make healthier food choices and make exercise a part of your
routine. Soul food and other rich foods can be a treat now and
then, just don't make them your daily main course!
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