The Focus Magazine March 2016

The The Official Official Magazine Magazine of of Focused Focused Radio Radio

FEB. 2016 Dec. 2015 Nov. 2015

Helping you

Honor And JUST GETTING BUT WE’RE Give STARTED! Thanks This November 2015’s End...

Spring Issue

We at The Focus Magazine strive to keep our readers informed, entertained and in the know. But we would like to know what is important to you and your views on what you read in our magazine.

So as a challenge to our readers we would love to know which issue has been your favorite so far and how you enjoy our magazine.

Our goal is to get 200 posts on our Facebook page @The Focus Magazine.

So please show us your love and support , can’t wait to hear from you all.

And if you haven’t make sure to give us a like.

Editor in Chief: TommyP Editor at Large: Naadir Love Art Director: KHAR

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Words from the Editor And We’re back, we’re back, we’re back? For those of you have been tuning in to the TommyP in da Morning show, you know that’s how I come back on just about each of my segments. It’s so applicable here, because after all the great information that was in last month’s edition of The Focus concentrating on Black History, we’re back with more great stories you need to know.

Women are so vital to our very existence that it is only right we take time this month to show the great contributions they have made to all of our lives. No one can deny that their mother giving birth to them will be something that can’t be topped. Sure dad had a lot to do with your creation process, however making sure your being made it to this place called Earth was highly due in part to a woman carrying you as you developed.

We will highlight many other women who have made major contributions other than giving birth or being someones wife (the normal credit that is given to them). This month we celebrate women in all of their glory and we are grateful for it.

Stay Focused My Friends, TommyP

Women’s

History

Why Women’s History Month?

The public celebration of women’s history in this country began in 1978 as “Women’s History Week” in Sonoma County, California. Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed a law which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week.” The week including March 8, International Women’s Day, was selected. In 1981, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) co-sponsored a joint Congressional resolution proclaiming a national Women’s History Week. Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as “Women’s History Week.”

In 1987 after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed a law which designated the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month.” Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month.

Since 1995, Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month” as well as naming the theme for that year.

2016 Theme: “Working to Form a More Perfect Union: Honoring Women in Public Service and Government” The National Women’s History Month theme for 2016 honors women who have shaped America’s history and its future through their public service and government leadership. Individually many have been overlooked and definitely undervalued, collectively they have influenced our public policy and the building of worthwhile institutions and organizations. From advocating basic human rights to ensuring access and equal opportunity for all Americans, they have led the way in establishing a stronger and more democratic country.

We will start at the beginning and introduce you to one of the founders:

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Gerda Hedwig Lerner Born Gerda Hedwig Kronstein in Vienna, Austria, on April 30, 1920, the first child of Ilona and Robert Kronstein, an affluent Jewish couple. Her father was a pharmacist, her mother an artist with whom Gerda, according to her autobiography, had a strained relationship. Following the 1938 Anschluss, she was involved with the anti-Nazi resistance and spent six weeks, including her eighteenth birthday, in an Austrian jail. Her family was able to emigrate from Austria, since her father had opened a branch of the family business in Liechtenstein, where he stayed. Her mother moved to France, and Lerner’s sister relocated to Palestine.

In 1939, Gerda immigrated to the United States under the sponsorship of the family of her fiance, Bobby Jensen, a socialist. Settling in New York, Gerda Jensen held jobs as a waitress, salesperson, office clerk, and x-ray technician while also writing fiction and poetry. She published two short stories providing a first-person account of the Nazi annexation of Austria. Her marriage with Jensen was failing when she met Carl Lerner (1912-1973), a married theater director who was a member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). They both obtained divorces in Reno so that they could marry and then moved to Hollywood, where Carl pursued a career in film-making.

In 1946, Gerda Lerner helped found the L.A. chapter of the Congress of American Women, a Communist front organization. The Lerners engaged in CPUSA activities involving trade unionism, civil rights, and anti-militarism, and they suffered under the rise of McCarthyism, especially the Hollywood blacklist.

Lerner enrolled at the New School for Social Research, where she received the bachelor’s degree in 1963. Also in 1963, she offered the first regular college course in women’s history. With her husband, Gerda Lerner coauthored the screenplay of his film Black Like Me (1964). She continued with graduate studies at Columbia University, where she earned both the M.A. (1965) and Ph.D. (1966). Her doctoral dissertation was published as The Grimke Sisters from South Carolina: Rebels Against Slavery (1967).

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In 1966, Lerner became a founding member of the National Organization for Women (NOW), and she served as a local and national leader for a short period.

In 1968, she received her first academic appointment at Sarah Lawrence College. In 1972, Sarah Lawrence College began offering a Master of Arts Program in Women’s History, founded by Lerner, which was the first American graduate degree in the field. She also taught at Long Island University in Brooklyn.

Lerner was one of the founders of the field of women’s history. In 1963, while still an undergraduate at the New School for Social Research, she taught “Great Women in American History”, which is considered to be the first regular college course on women’s history offered anywhere. She also taught at Long Island University from 1965 to 1967. She played a key role in the development of Women’s history curricula and was involved in the development of degree programs in Women’s history at Sarah Lawrence College (where she taught from 1968 to 1979 and established the nation’s first master’s degree program in Women’s history) and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she launched the first Ph.D program in Women’s history. She also worked at Duke University and Columbia University, where she was a co-founder of the Seminar on Women.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Lerner published scholarly books and articles that helped establish women’s history as a recognized field of study. Her 1969 article “The Lady and the Mill Girl: Changes in the Status of Women in the Age of Jackson”, published in the journal American Studies, was an early and influential example of class analysis in women’s history. She was among the first to bring a consciously feminist lens to the study of history. Among her most important works are the documentary anthologies Black Women in White America (1972) and The Female Experience (1976) along with her essay collection, The Majority Finds Its Past (1979).

In 1979, she chaired The Women’s History Institute, a fifteen-day conference (July 13–29) at Sarah Lawrence College, co-sponsored by Sarah Lawrence, the Women’s Action Alliance, and the Smithsonian Institution, which was attended by leaders of national organizations for women and girls. When the Institute participants learned about the success of the Women’s History Week celebrated in Sonoma County, they decided to initiate similar celebrations within their own organizations, communities, and school districts. They also agreed to support an effort to secure a “National Women’s History Week.” This all helped lead to the establishment of Women’s History Month.

Lerner served as president of the Organization of American Historians in 1980-81 and in 1980 was appointed Robinson Edwards Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she taught until retiring in 1991.

When I started working on Women’s history about thirty years ago, the field did not exist. People didn’t think that women had a history worth knowing.

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Daisy Bates (1912-1999) Civil Rights Organizer, Leader of the Little Rock School Integration, writer, publisher Born Daisy Lee Gatson on November 11, 1914, in Huttig, Arkansas. Bates’s childhood was marked by tragedy. Her mother was sexually assaulted and murdered by three white men and her father left her. She was raised by friends of the family. Growing up in southern Arkansas during the early 20th century, Bates experienced first hand the poor conditions and discrimination of the segregated school system. As a teenager, Bates met Lucious Christopher “L.C.” Bates, an insurance agent and an experienced journalist. The couple married in 1941 and moved to Little Rock, Arkansas. Together they operated the Arkansas State Press, a weekly African-American newspaper. The paper championed civil rights, focusing on social and economic issues that particularly affected the black residents of the state, and often reported incidents of police brutality. Because the Bates’ refused to censor the details of these brutalities, many white businesses boycotted advertising in their newspaper. Bates soon joined in the civil rights movement.

In 1952, Bates was elected President of the Arkansas Branch of the NAACP. In that role she led the protest against the Little Rock School Board’s plan for gradual integration.

In 1957, after the school board announced plans to commence desegregation at Central High School, Bates worked with the chosen nine African American students, guiding and advising them as they made their attempts to enter the school. On September 25, President Dwight Eisenhower sent 1,000 U.S. Army paratroopers to enforce the integration of the school, and Bates and the students were escorted and finally able, after many failed attempts, to safely enter the school.

In 1962, Bates published her autobiography, “The Long Shadow of Little Rock.” The following year she was the only woman selected to speak at the 1963 March on Washington. She went on to work for the Democratic National Committee’s voter education drive and for President Lyndon Johnson’s anti-poverty programs. She spent her entire adult life standing up to physical threats and other forms of intimidation in order to champion causes of racial equality.

When Daisy Gatson Bates died in 1999, more than 2,000 guests attended her memorial service in Little Rock, AR. Next we will follow up with some female journalists 11 The focus march 2016

“Blossoms” Photo By Naadir Love The focus march 2016 12

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Nancy Alene Hicks Maynard Born Nancy Alene Hall (1 November 1946 – 21 September 2008) in Harlem, New York City, to jazz bassist Alfred Hall and Eve Keller, a nurse.

Maynard first became interested in journalism when, after a fire destroyed the elementary school she once attended, she was unhappy with the portrayal of her community in the coverage by the news media. She went on to attend Long Island University and graduated with a journalism degree in 1966. Maynard was an American publisher, journalist, former owner of The Oakland Tribune, and co-founder of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.

She was the first African-American female reporter for The New York Times, and at the time of her death, The Oakland Tribune was the only metropolitan daily newspaper to have been owned by African Americans.

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Dorothy Thompson

Dorothy Thompson (July 1893 – 30 January 1961) was born in Lancaster, New York, in 1893 to Margaret and Peter Thompson. Margaret died when Dorothy was seven (in 1901), leaving Peter, a Methodist preacher, to raise his daughter alone. Peter soon remarried, but Dorothy did not get along with his new wife, Elizabeth Abbott Thompson. In 1908, Peter sent Dorothy to Chicago to live with his two sisters to avoid further conflict.

Here, she attended Lewis Institute for two years before transferring to Syracuse University as a junior. At Syracuse, she studied politics and economics and graduated with a degree in 1914. Because she had the opportunity to be educated, unlike many women of the time, Thompson felt that she had a social obligation to fight for women’s suffrage in the United States, which would become the base of her ardent political beliefs.

Shortly after graduation, Thompson moved to Buffalo, New York and became involved in the women’s suffrage campaign. She worked there until 1920, when she went abroad to pursue her journalism career, Thompson was an American journalist and radio broadcaster, who in 1939 was recognized by Time magazine as the second most influential woman in America next to Eleanor Roosevelt. She is notable as the first American journalist to be expelled from Nazi Germany in 1934 and as one of the few women news commentators on radio during the 1930s. She is regarded by some as the “First Lady of American Journalism.

Every person, man or woman has a story to tell if you would only listen. You would be surprised how many of the elders in the community took part in the Civil Rights Movement. How many women might have been in various wars or foreign countries with their own stories to tell. You won’t know unless you ask.

If you really think about many of the women in your life, you will acknowledge that you have known some very powerful women that have had a positive influence in your life.

Many have kept you on the straight and narrow. You may not always have liked what you heard but you listened, weighed what was said and knew deep down inside they were leading you in the right direction. Take time to show those special women in your life that you appreciate them. Don’t wait for their funeral or for them to get sick.

Say thank you, everyone likes to know that they have made a difference.

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March

is known for many health issues, these are just a few ….

National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month National Endometriosis Awareness Month National Kidney Month Multiple Sclerosis Education Month (promoted by the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation and others) National Nutrition Month Save Your Vision Month Sleep Awareness Month (promoted by the National Sleep Foundation) Trisomy Awareness Month A genetic disorder in which a person has three copies of a chromosome instead of two.

Most common types Down syndrome-A genetic chromosome 21 disorder causing developmental and Intellectual delays.

Klinefelter syndrome-A genetic condition in which a male is born with extra copy of the X chromosome.

Triple X syndrome-An abnormality resulting in an extra X chromosome in some females.

Edwards’ syndrome-A condition that causes severe developmental delays to an extra chromosome 18.

Patau syndrome-A condition in which a person has an extra chromosome 13.

Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month Hemophilia Awareness Month Workplace Eye Wellness Month What else is being commemorated during March….

National Athletic Training Month National Reading Awareness Month Music in Our Schools Month Patient Safety Awareness Week (first full week of March) National Sleep Awareness Week (the week before daylight savings switch) Brain Awareness Week (second full week of March) National Poison Prevention Week (third full week of March) The focus march 2016

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Agnodice of Athens A piece I read about Agnodice last summer began like this: “Sometime in the fourth century B.C.E, an Athenian woman by the name of Agnodice was brought before a jury full of incredibly angry men—and she responded by calmly taking off her clothes.”

Before we arrive at this judicial strip show, let’s talk about an unfortunate reality in many parts of the ancient world: infant and mother mortality rates during childbirth were very high. Seeing this had a big impact on young Agnodice, who decided that she wanted to practice medicine. Unfortunately for her, she lived during a time when practicing medicine while female was a crime punishable by death.

(Side note: Interestingly, this was not the case before the fifth century B.C.E.--female midwives were the norm before the advent of Hippocratic medicine. The schools of Hippocrates only admitted men and midwifery became a crime around the same time.)

Intent on improving the state of women’s health, Agnodice cut off her hair, dressed as a man, and went to Alexandria to study medicine under Herophilos of Chalcedon. Back in Athens, she con19 The focus march 2016

tinued to disguise herself as a man and began practicing medicine.

Word quietly spread among women that this doctor was actually a lady herself. Agnodice quickly accrued an astonishing number of female patients, who trusted her with their OBGYN healthcare needs.

This rather alarmed the men of Athens. Was this doctor seducing all of their wives? Claims that the women of Athens might even be faking illnesses in order to be seen by Agnodice spread, and the unease with this doctor became so great that she was brought before a jury.

Now, here we are with a topless Agnodice in a courtroom! Knowing it was the only way to successfully refute the allegations against her, she revealed her true identity. The relief the men of Athens felt from learning that this doctor was not diddling their wives was, however, quickly replaced by outrage that a woman had been practicing medicine. Agnodice was sentenced to death.

Athenian women were not too keen on this, and marched on the assembly to demand her exoneration and release. “You men are not spouses,” they said, “but enemies, since you are condemning her who discovered health for us.”

Agnodice ended up being freed, and the law was even changed: freeborn women could legally study and practice medicine, as long as they treated only female patients.

This is part two in a series of brief snapshots of women I admire--famous/not famous, current/from history, local/global, etc. in celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month.

Story by Courtney Campbell

Administrative Director for Virginia State Representative, Delegate Sam Rasoul The focus march 2016

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Why are Blacks/African-Americans dying like flies?

Well, because there are forces out there trying to kill the masses in every way possible. Or perhaps there is an agenda to exterminate one group of people. Don’t like those answers? Didn’t think you would. Ok, let’s try this: We need to take better care of ourselves. Eat properly, drink more water. Give up the sodas people.

Forget about those easy to prepare noodle packages. Oh yes, we must exercise.

African-Americans out of all the so-called minority groups have the most, and too often the largest, variances in health risks when compared to other groups. African-Americans tend to have more disease, disability, and die earlier as well. Think about your friends and families, about yourself.

How many do you know that are in good health? It would be easier to ask how many are sick or have died in the last few years. The first list you will see has some of the top illnesses and diseases threatening African-American women. Many of these health issues are chronic, which only means they last a long time and for some people they will never go away. Sad part is that too many of these health issues/diseases are preventable.

African-American women are less likely to get the proper timely treatment. Too often they get medical attention too late. Most people do not realize that they do not have to go with what is called standard medical health care. Yes you do need to get tested if you feel something’s wrong or if it has just been a while since you’ve had a checkup. Because we do not take responsibility for our health, breast and cervical cancers aren’t found when they are most treatable. The time to prevent diabetes is lost. With some diseases, our family genetics may contribute to our health risk. This simply put means you have a weakness to some diseases but if you stop eating the foods, and start breaking the bad habits that your family has had for generations that could make a difference.

African-American women must take charge of their personal health and seek the care they need.

Knowing about your body and knowing the risks that pertain to you, gives one power. Take responsibility, do the research, demand second, third opinions-it’s your life. There are all kinds of health options out there, make sure that your treatment, is the best for you, educate yourself. Be sensitive to your body, know when you have eaten too much. Know when a food does not agree with you. Stop saying “my grandmother ate this food and lived to be 100.” Get real, your grandparents grew their own or had access to good food. They did not eat genetically modified foods. Did you know that most of the food we eat in America is banned in Europe? They had fresh air to breath-no chemtrails in the sky, dropping chemicals on them on their fruits and vegetables. They did not have all these chemicals in the water. Guess what else, they actually moved around. They did not sit in front of computers all day, have electronic devices by their heads all day. They weren’t crazy but many today have accepted a crazy lifestyle. Get in tune with you, many people die because they and their families just accept these diseases as a death sentence. The will to live plays a most important part in all recoveries. The diagnosis is just the starting place. Then you say where do we go from here and what is the best most non-intrusive way to treat this ailment. Next step, never give up.

Illnesses and Diseases common in African-American Women Asthma Breast cancer Cancer Cervical cancer Diabetes Glaucoma and cataracts Heart disease High blood pressure High cholesterol HIV/AIDS Infant death Kidney disease Lupus Mental health problems/suicide Osteoporosis Overweight and obesity Pregnancy-related death Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) Sickle cell anemia Smoking Stroke Tuberculosis (TB) Uterine fibroids Violence Content last updated: March 01, 2012. womenshealth.gov The focus march 2016

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Out of the illnesses/diseases listed, let’s look at the preventable ones.

Asthma Diabetes Glaucoma and cataracts Heart disease High blood pressure High cholesterol death Kidney disease Osteoporosis Overweight and obesity Pregnancy related death Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) Smoking Violence

Infant

Many of these illnesses/diseases will just require some simple behavior and attitude adjustments. Dealing with being overweight and obesity-simply put you are fat, could be changing how you feel about yourself, food, exercise (go one further, check your medication-some side effects are weight gain). Did you know that diabetes may result from being overweight which may lead to kidney disease? High blood pressure and high cholesterol often go together. Throw in some asthma and a side order of glaucoma and cataracts.

You may need to start fresh in your cupboards, pantry and refrigerator. If you have potted meats, processed foods, chips, chocolate bars etc. with no fruits or vegetables. Throw the mess out and get some healthy food in your house. Stop eating fast foods as if that’s normal. You may need to take a look at some old films, some old TV shows. Do you realize that for a woman to get clothes over size 16/18 they had to sew their own clothes. Now, it’s ok to wear Triple X. They even start clothing sizes at size 0 to make you feel that you are not as large as you are. Ladies it is not right that you look good and your children and husband are fat. Share the information and take control of the health of your family.

Smoking!!!!!! I can’t even talk to you, I can only talk about you, if you are still smoking in 2016 with all the health information given, and the warning labels that are right on the package, not to mention all that hard earned money you are constantly throwing away.

Oh did we mention that your breath stinks and everything in the vicinity of your smoking stinks.

“You are actually paying to kill yourself” and asking your family to watch. What more can I say? Oh yes, the words are stupid, idiot, selfish…etc. Oh yeah, I forgot it’s an addiction. Ok, I’m sorry, that you are so selfish and thought that was a valid excuse.

Illnesses and Diseases common in African-American Men Cardiovascular Disease disease Diabetes HIV/AIDS Septicemia

Cancer

Chronic lower respiratory

Homicide Nephritis, Nephrotic syndrome and Nephrosis Stroke Unintentional injuries

Just a few definitions, so we all know what is going on with our brothers: The nephron (from Greek νεφρός - nephros, meaning “kidney”) is the basic structural and functional unit of the kidney. Its chief function is to regulate the concentration of water and soluble substances like sodium salts by filtering the blood, reabsorbing what is needed and excreting the rest as urine.

Nephritis is the acute or chronic inflammation of the kidney affecting the structure (as of the glomerulus or parenchyma) and caused by infection, a degenerative process, or vascular disease.

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Nephrotic syndrome is a kidney disorder that causes your body to excrete too much protein in your urine. Nephrotic syndrome is usually caused by damage to the clusters of small blood vessels in your kidneys that filter waste and excess water from your blood.

Nephrotic syndrome causes swelling (edema), particularly in your feet and ankles, and increases the risk of other health problems.

Nephrosis a non-inflammatory disease of the kidneys chiefly affecting function of the nephrons.

Once again, we are talking about lifestyle changes. Educate yourself and choose to live a beautiful fulfilling life. Be active in your children’s lives, make a difference in your community. This is the first time in history that parents are burying their children.

Choose life, quality life.

Surround yourself with people who want the best for you. Stop choosing material, glitter and lust. You live in the present but you must plan for the future.

The bible said that they would make evil fair seeming.

Love yourself, take care of yourself. Hopefully you remember the original Star Trek TV series, so that we can end with this message: Live long and prosper.

Sister Love

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“Bolts”

Photo By Naadir Love

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March is National Nutrition Month and the 2016 theme is: “Savor the Flavor of Eating Right!”

What does the word NUTRITION mean?

“Nutrition is the process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for health and growth”.

That means eating foods that keep us healthy and help us grow!

Wow! Let’s think about most of the foods we eat. No vegetables, no fruit, very little water. Scary stuff.

It’s March, so let get healthy.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), “encourages everyone to take time to enjoy food traditions and appreciate the pleasures, great flavors and social experiences food can add to our lives. How, when, why and where we eat are just as important as what we eat.”

Food means more to us than just providing fuel for the body. It is a major part of our social lives.

It is a main part of celebrations. It is our comfort. It brings back memories. It is our medicine. We crave the flavors. In many cases it is a huge part of our culture. We often give food as an act of love or kindness.

Yet because of the obvious rise of obesity, we must stop and look at how food may be the instrument that is killing us.

We must learn how to “Savor the Flavor of Eating Right” and enjoy our food without abusing it or ourselves.

Enjoying Food Traditions and Social Experiences There is probably nothing more social than food. Family dinners, special holiday occasions, social gathering, all of these events will have food present as the main attraction.

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and also strengthens family relationships. Make family meals a priority.

Appreciate Foods Pleasures and Flavors We need to learn how to take time to appreciate the flavors, textures and overall eating experience. We often eat too quickly and without thinking. So let’s start savoring the flavor of our food: Do not drink and eat at the same time. This bad habit is ruining many a digestive system.

By eating slowly.

Eat one bite at a time, and focus on the different flavors and textures Do not shovel your food in, stop and take time between bites.

Eating slower allows you to enjoy your food help you eat le and can help you eat less by giving your stomach time to tell your brain that you are full.

CHEW YOUR FOOD!!!! CHEW YOUR FOOD!!!! This cannot be stressed enough. The more you chew your food the less work on your digestive system.

Develop Better Eating Habits How, when, why and where you eat are just as important as what you eat. Being aware can help reprogram both your body and your mind and hopefully lead to a healthier lifestyle. Too many of us eat our lunches at our desks or dinners in front of the television.

Let’s take a few minutes out of our schedules to find a nice place to eat instead of working through our meals.

We need to reduce the sugar, salt and fats in our diet.

Sugar The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines recommend consuming less than 10 percent of your calories per day from added sugars.

“Choose foods and beverages with no added sugar whenever possible,” Cimperman says. According to registered dietitian nutritionist and Academy spokesperson Lisa Cimperman: 35 The focus march 2016

Read food labels and avoid buying foods with added sugars like high fructose corn syrup, dried cane syrup, evaporated cane juice, invert sugar, molasses, sucrose, brown rice syrup, honey, agave or maple syrup.

Drink water, low-fat or fat-free milk and 100-percent fruit or vegetable juice instead of sugary beverages.

Choose snacks with no added sugar. For example, eat plain yogurt instead of flavored yogurt with whole fruits such as berries or pears.

Grill fruits such as pineapple or peaches for a naturally sweet and healthier dessert.

Eat smaller dessert portions. Often a bite or two will satisfy your sweet tooth.

Sodium The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines recommend consuming fewer than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day. “Most sodium consumed in the United States comes from salts added during commercial food processing and preparation,” Cimperman says. “Because sodium is found in so many foods, careful choices are needed to reduce your sodium intake.” According to Cimperman: Use the Nutrition Facts label to compare sodium content of foods and choose products with less sodium.

Buy frozen or canned products without added salt.

Buy fresh poultry, seafood, pork and lean meat rather than processed meat and poultry.

Cook meals from scratch to control the sodium content of dishes.

Buy fewer jarred sauces and pre-flavored products.

Flavor foods with citrus, herbs and spices instead of salt.

Saturated Fats The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines recommend reducing saturated fat intake to less than 10 percent of calories per day. “It’s important to understand the different types of fats, and reduce your intake of saturated fats by replacing them with unsaturated fats,” Cimperman says. According to Cimperman: The focus march 2016

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April 1 – 30, 2016 All donors who participate at a mobile blood drive or community blood center will receive a limited edition awareness t-shirt, while supplies last.

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Saturated fat is found in foods such as meats, whole milk, cream, butter and cheese. Unsaturated fat, which includes polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat, is found in foods like oils, fatty fish, nuts and seeds.

Drink fat-free or low-fat milk (1-percent) instead of 2-percent or whole milk, and eat low-fat cheese instead of regular cheese, oils instead of butter and lean rather than fatty cuts of meat.

It would be better to eliminate meat, fish and dairy products from your diet but if you choose not to follow the above mentioned suggestions.

There are different types of vegetarians: Lacto-ovo-vegetarians eat both dairy products and eggs; this is the most common type of vegetarian diet.

Lacto-vegetarians eat dairy products but avoid eggs.

Ovo-vegetarian eat eggs but no does not eat dairy products.

Pescatarian (sometimes spelled pescetarian with an e) is a word sometimes used to describe those who abstain from eating all meat and animal flesh with the exception of fish. In other words, a pescatarian maintains a vegetarian diet with the addition of fish and other sea foods such as shrimp and lobster.

Vegans do not eat dairy products, eggs, or any other products which are derived from animals.

Just a few celebrities that are vegetarian or vegan: Christina Applegate Erykah Badu Angela Bassett Kristen Bell Russell Brand

Brandy Cesar Chavez

President Bill Clinton Zendaya Coleman Ellen Degeneres Leonardo DiCaprio Peter Dinklage Kimberly Elise

Waka Flocka Flame Woody Harrelson Anthony Hopkins Samuel L. Jackson Chaka Khan Coretta Scott King Toby Macguire

Kal Penn Brad Pitt Natalie Portman Prince Raury RZA Alicia Silverstone

Russell Simmons Cicely Tyson Mike Tyson Venus Williams

Whatever diet you choose, whether you continue eating meat, dairy, eggs, at least consider improving the quality of the food you consume and reduce the quantity of what you consume.

Good luck, take control of your health and your life.

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FOCUSED

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