Our Time PressThe Local Paper with the Global View

By Priscilla Mensah

When you think of Crayola, what comes to mind? Perhaps your childhood comes to the fore of your mind, or a coloring book, or even those melted crayons that you had when you were younger. Well, that is what comes to my mind. Health experts are challenging the way we approach dieting and are suggesting that we consume foods that are colorful, much like the many crayons of Crayola. Doing so may, for some people, change some of the initial images that pop up in our heads when reflecting on Crayola.
Officially known as “The Color Diet”, and unofficially “The Crayola Diet” as coined by myself, this diet that I am researching involves eating foods that are colorful. That means, when you eat your meals, you should see plenty of color on your plate. Popular colorful foods include orange yams, purple beets and eggplants, green kale and lettuce, yellow peppers, red apples, blue blueberries, or even brown whole grains and legumes. I first came across this diet on none other than the social media site Instagram. Trolling through the page of Dr. Jackie Walters of Bravo television show “Married to Medicine”, I could not help but notice a plate of food that she had advocating “The Color Diet”. Almost immediately, I was intrigued and did some further digging.
Come to find out, there are many practical reasons why one should adhere to “The Color Diet”. In addition to being aesthetically pleasing, color foods bring their own individual nutritional benefits. For instance, leafy greens and other greens like zucchini are rich in lutein, and zeaxanthin, which can be potentially helpful in preventing stroke and eye disease. Red-colored foods such as tomatoes and watermelon have lycopene. Lycopene is associated with a reduced risk for stomach, lung and prostate cancers (The 7-Day Color Diet, 2015).
Blue- and purple-colored fruits have antioxidants that may thwart tumor growth, enhance cognitive function and combat heart maladies. Orange- and yellow-colored foods such as carrots and mangoes are full of beta carotene. Our body converts beta carotene into vitamin A, which is great for vision. I vividly recall my professor offering me carrots once she realized that I had difficulty seeing the board. One of my neighbors did the same. Based on the research that I have done, “The Color Diet” focuses primarily on fruits and vegetables. Some sources include brown whole grains and beans which are great for their fiber content (The 7-Day Color Diet, 2015).
Now, when you are chowing down on that delicious salad, try adding colors to it. Your body will thank you. Accessorize it with carrots, apples, peaches, berries or watermelon. If you crave a sandwich, be sure to include tomatoes and greens for added health benefits. Adding more color to your plate will help protect you from diseases like cancer and heart disease. Vitamins and minerals of some colorful fruits and vegetables are more effective when combined with the vitamins and minerals of other fruits and vegetables. For example, “the antho-cyanine in eggplants offer complementary benefits to the beta carotene in carrots,” says health expert Meryl Rothstein.
Once again, I will pose the same question that I asked in the beginning of this editorial. When you think of Crayola, what comes to mind? Hopefully, your new answer includes all those colorful fruits and vegetables that are so vital to your health and wellness.
Priscilla Mensah is an avid reader and scholar who resides in Brooklyn, New York. Her passions include community empowerment and improvement. Priscilla can be reached at pmensahbrooklyn@gmail.com.

By Priscilla Mensah

Perhaps one of the most stigmatized diseases out there, H.I.V., has ravaged the communities of many different states and countries for over thirty years. Even more alarming, neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights are purported to have some of the highest incidences of H.I.V. in all of New York City. Standing for human immunodeficiency virus(H.I.V.), it started out as a disease that mainly homosexual males contracted. These days, for varying reasons, women also fall victim to this disease. Some women have contracted this disease due to unsterilized intravenous needle use. Others were infected by their infected mothers while in the womb. Some have caught it from their cheating and/or homosexual spouses.

Since H.I.V. was first discovered, there have been great advances in the way that the disease is treated. No longer a death sentence, it is possible for someone who has H.I.V. to live a prosperous and full life. One of the most well-known people with H.I.V. is former National Basketball Association(NBA) player Ervin “Magic” Johnson. Johnson is happily married and credits his personalized medication regimen with helping to maintain his health. Everyone is different. A medication regimen that works for one person, may not be so good for someone else.

Truthfully, I am still not completely sure how H.I.V. is contracted. Perhaps my ignorance, as well as those of many others, is one of the reasons why neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights have seen higher than normal H.I.V. rates. As someone who attended one of the few high schools in Brooklyn that teaches H.I.V. education, I still do not fully understand the disease. Can you imagine how deep in the dark someone who has never learned anything in school about the disease may be? I do know, however, that there are many misconceptions as to how you can get it. Contrary to popular belief, H.I.V. is not spread through saliva, sweat, feces or urine. That is a fact that I still recall my gym teacher instilling in my classmates and I at Brooklyn Technical High School.

It is highly unlikely that one contracts H.I.V. from kissing. If an H.I.V.-infected person has open mouth sores or bleeding gums, then infection is possible. This fact has always befuddled me because I often have bleeding gums, especially when I brush my teeth. I am sure that many other people also have bleeding gums. If that is true, why do health experts okay kissing? According to nhs.uk, “a combination of enzymes and antibodies found naturally in saliva prevents H.I.V. from infecting new cells”. Although the statement about saliva makes perfect sense, a question still burns my mind. Namely, what about the many people who likely have bleeding gums? Perhaps my being honest about my ignorance may prompt doctors to see that there are many others like me who still have these lingering questions.

Shaking the hands of someone with H.I.V. is also perfectly okay. I would recommend, however, if you happen to be in a relationship with someone who has H.I.V. to do your own research so that you are as safe as possible. One of the best ways to reduce your risk of getting H.I.V. is by using protection. It is also extremely critical that you know the H.I.V. status of your sexual partner before engaging in sexual activities with them (Centers for Disease Control).
Now for the ways that you can get the disease. It is possible to contract H.I.V. from “blood, semen, rectal fluids, vaginal fluids, breast milk and preseminal fluid”, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports. Slightly graphic? Yes. But this information is necessary to know if one wants to greatly reduce their risk of catching the virus. There are also new medications being developed that are said to reduce the risk of one passing on the virus to their partner. Charlie Sheen has said that he is currently using this specific medication. Besides, if infamous bad-boy Charlie Sheen advocates for it, then you know it is solid, right?

Priscilla Mensah is an avid reader and scholar who resides in Brooklyn, New York. Her passions include community empowerment and improvement. Priscilla can be reached at pmensahbrooklyn@gmail.com.