"I Selected Happiness..."
"I selected happiness..."- poet Nikki Giovanni in “Going to Mars": The Nikki Giovanni Project
Hi Byte Wellness Fam,
How are you feeling?
I’m determined, purpose-driven. Something about this 2024 Black History Month has me moving with more intention than I did last week.
So, let’s get into it. All this month, we’ll unpack the the biggest health risks we face and how to overcome them. It seems like everyone talks about our health disparities and health inequity (especially in February). Our community has moved on to solutions!
But, we can’t solve our problems if we don’t understand what’s causing them.
Check the video below to see how we pumped life-giving dance into our last #PhyteWellWednesday Workshop. And, if you want to join the next workshop, you can sign up here or text TEXT to 1(866)717-1919.
Racism is A Risk Factor
Q: So, what’s our biggest health risk- the root cause of so much our disease?
A: Structural Oppression: Racism, Sexism, and any other Ism we face.
Here’s what the science tells us:
Interfacing with racist, sexist structures and experiencing interpersonal racism and sexism creates chronic inflammation.
That chronic inflammation leads to the lifestyle-related chronic diseases that cause early death and disability in marginalized Black women compared to our White counterparts.
How Can We Thrive In Spite of Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Classism, etc?
When we live within oppressive social structures day in and day out, they become the toxic air we breathe. They can feel like simple inescapable facts of our lives. They can feel exhausting. They can feel suffocating.
But, take heart: we and our ancestors are not the only people who have had to solve this life-or-death problem.
According to research building around the theory of Social Genomics: the racism and sexism we face “get under our skin” to harm our health the same way homophobia and classism and ableism can.
That means we are not alone.
There are lessons to be learned from our ancestors and from all types oppressed people all over the world (the global majority who are called minorities).
ISMS-To-Inflammation
Researchers in the fields of public health, psychology, and social genomics are spending more time discovering: 1) what it is about the ISMs and other social threats that is so harmful to humans and 2) how we can thrive in spite of these structural risk factors.
One of the lessons that the minds and bodies of oppressed people have taught researchers is that the oppression harms us through the ISMs-to-Inflammation pathway.
1) Many of us experience the everyday stress of discrimination and/or are on the look-out for discrimination
2) Our brains interpret this daily stress as a signal that we’re in danger (we have a physical injury or will have one soon) .
3) Our brain starts preparing us to run from a threat and heal our physical injury. It triggers the our best healing duo, fight-and-flight response and inflammation.
4) If inflammation is repeatedly triggered (with everyday stress) it becomes chronic (long-lasting) inflammation.
5) Chronic inflammation triggers disease, suffering and early death.
Chronic inflammation is the root cause of many of the diseases that disproportionately affect “minorities”.
These disease include:
high blood pressure
heart attack
stroke
type 2 diabetes
kidney disease
obesity
many types of cancer
autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis
depression/anxiety
even more
What’s The Solution?
The fact that we exist means that our ancestors over generations found ways to thrive despite their trauma.
So, what’s one thing we can do TODAY to counteract the increased health risks of racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, and so many other isms?
We have to return to ANTI-INFLAMMATORY LIVING!
And how do we do that? Eating, Movement, Stress-Management, Sleep and Strong relationships.
Eating a plant-heavy, whole food diet might be one of the sharpest knives in our anti-inflammatory toolkit… our biggest wellness superpower.
This month, we’ll explore the ways that anti-inflammatory eating patterns can cut our risk of a whole range of diseases including heart disease, weight-related diseases and dementia.
Check out the Share and Savor Coaching Program for lessons on how to zap chronic inflammation by cooking delicious plant-based meals.
What social threats that you deal with everyday? Can you see the effects in your body and mind? What anti-inflammatory practices do you have to outweigh your risk factors?
Let us know!
Meanwhile,
Happy, Healthy Living,
Dr. Wuse