Real Health Summer 2012

REALHEALTH THE GUIDE TO BLACK WELLNESS

Don’t Let Diabetes Mess Up Your Sex Life!

Do You Know Your Hair Type?

SUMMER 2012 $2.99 US REALHEALTHMAG.COM

Why the AIDS Memorial Quilt Means Healing, Hope and a Way to End Stigma Dress Up Your Salads With Healthy Fixin’s

Magic Johnson How He Changed the Face of HIV History

SCARY HEALTH TREND

More Children Have Adult Diseases

CONTENTS

“The New Cool Face of HIV”

Before he became a singing sensation on The Voice, Jamar Rogers almost lost his life to drug abuse and untreated HIV. Check out his dramatic journey to becoming drug-free and healthy.

5

editor’s letter

9

buzz

Real Health Tips

Want to lose weight, exercise smart, eat right, find good health care, boost nutrition, sleep better or just get healthy?

For tips, click on “Health Basics A-Z” on the realhealthmag.com home page.

Healthy Eating

Learn more about nutrition from RH blogger Rhonda Peters, a certified nutritional counselor.

Real Health Hair Center

How’s your hair health? Visit the RH Hair Center to catch up on the latest news and trends to keep your tresses in tip-top shape.

Digital Real Health

Read Real Health magazine online exactly as it appears in print. Go to realhealthmag.com/ digital to view the current issue and the entire Smart + Strong digital library.

12

On the long road to Washington

Why are so many kids getting adult diseases?; how HIV meds support prevention efforts; HIV drugs don’t only treat the virus; yoga: the good vs. the bad; medical screenings; what you should know about hepatitis and vitamins

16 COVER STORY

the magic man

B-ball icon Earvin “Magic” Johnson testing positive showed folks HIV can happen to anyone.

20

call their names

24

salad smarts

The AIDS Memorial Quilt celebrates remembrances about loved ones lost to the virus.

12

fitness

13

nutrition

28

what black hair is

15

sex

32

thoughts

Boot camp training basics; after-50 fitness strategies

Sweets at breakfast for weight loss?; food portions: size ’em up right; it’s OK, eat fish without fear

Yes, diabetes can cause erectile dysfunction; Ask the Sexpert

Garden greens can make a healthy and nutritious go-to meal, but only if you add the right fixin’s.

When it comes to our curls, kinks and coils, hair types show variety and differences overrule race.

Start a love affair: Accept yourself for who you are.

Contributor Question of the Month

What’s your favorite warm-weather activity and why?

I’m training for the 2013 New York City marathon, so I love running outdoors when it’s warm. On a nice day this relieves the stress and helps me stay in shape, especially since summer is BBQ season!

—Tomika Anderson

reach out & click!

At realhealthmag.com, you can read more articles; access exclusive, online-only special reports; meet other health-minded black singles; and subscribe ($9.97 for four quarterly issues; you can also call 800.973.2376). Plus, sign up for the Real Health email newsletter to get the latest black health news!

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this month on REALHEALTHMAG.COM

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EDITOR’S LETTER

REAL HEALTH

A Long Journey Home

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Kate Ferguson MANAGING EDITOR

Jennifer Morton

W

SENIOR EDITOR

hen I first heard that the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) would be held in the United States for the first time in 20 years, it took me back in time.

In 1991, when Magic Johnson announced he was HIV positive, his revelation sent shock waves through the hip-hop community.

At the time, hip-hop was a fledgling art form that was quickly becoming a part of pop culture and rapidly changing the world.

But despite its rebellious belligerence that preached about fighting the powers that be, hip-hop had an arch-conservative homophobic streak. This was the macho mind-set that supported the incorrect belief that HIV/AIDS was a gay, white man’s disease. Then Magic announced his HIV status.

As a basketball icon, Johnson was a hip-hop sports hero. But as a man, Magic, and other athletes like him, were much more. They were men to be envied not only for their on-court skills but also for the fame and fortune that gave them access to some of the most beautiful women in the world.

But Johnson had contracted the illness.

In 1992, tennis great Arthur Ashe announced he was HIV positive. He’d gotten the virus from a blood transfusion during heart surgery nine years earlier. Shortly after Ashe became a person living with HIV, the United States enacted legislation to mandate HIV screenings for all people older than 14 who applied for a visa to come to

Laura Whitehorn ASSOCIATE EDITOR

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ADVISORY BOARD

Lee SaintMartin, MS, IIPA, CN, ND, naturopath; Goulda Downer, PhD, RD, CNS, and Nutrition Services, Inc.; Yuan Wan, licensed acupuncturist and doctor of traditional Chinese medicine; Dr. Rachael Ross, MD, PhD, sexologist; Lovell Harris, MD, internist; Terrie Williams, mental health advocate; Xavier Artis, campaign creator, Stay Strong: Healing Starts With Us (HSWU)

Here’s to your health, JOAN LOBIS BROWN

Issue No. 30. Copyright © 2012 CDM Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.

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America—anyone who was positive could not enter the country. As a result, the International AIDS Conference scheduled to take place in Boston in 1992 was moved to Amsterdam and held, thereafter, most any place in the world but here.

The next year, when Ashe died, I’d been the editor of a hip-hop entertainment magazine for almost five years. Two years later, in 1995, rapper Eazy-E (a.k.a. Eric Wright) died of AIDS-related pneumonia. According to his Ruthless Records fan site, Wright was the first major pop music figure who was not openly gay to die of AIDS. Of course, since then, the virus has claimed more prominent people in sports, fashion and entertainment, and taken the lives of many of our friends and family members and others who live in our communities.

As the pandemic spread worldwide, HIV/ AIDS activism stateside forced the American government to address this domestic emergency. In the beginning, the fight against HIV/AIDS waxed fiercely then waned dramatically after effective antiretroviral (ARV) drugs became available in 1996 to treat the disease and keep people alive.

Thanks to the ARVs, many people living with the virus are able to manage the disease and live longer, healthier lives. But the fight against HIV/AIDS is far from over.

Fortunately, many people are still ready, willing and able to battle the virus. That’s why our sister publication, POZ magazine, launched the POZ Army. It’s a global, grassroots initiative where people take action— such as signing online petitions or attending rallies—to support finding a cure for AIDS and ensure treatment for everyone affected by the virus. (Sign up at pozarmy.com.)

This is a critical time in the HIV/AIDS battle, and vocal, visible advocacy is what can ultimately make the difference between winning and losing this war.

Kate Ferguson, Editor-in-Chief katef@realhealthmag.com

realhealthmag.com

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BUZZ

Time to Check Our Children’s Health

DREAMSTIME.COM/FELIX MIZIOZNIKOV

Diabetes, heart disease, hypertension: Why do so many kids suffer from middle-age illnesses? hen pediatrician Curtis A. Johnson, MD, a senior attending physician at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, reflects on his 28-year career in private practice serving New Jersey’s urban communities, one growing trend alarms him the most: Millions of kids today are being struck by illnesses typically found among their parents and grandparents.

“In urban communities, obesity and high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides are rampant, as well as an increase in the number of diabetes and high blood pressure diagnoses in children,” Johnson says.

Today, like Johnson, more and more pediatricians report seeing a disturbing increase in the number of children with type 2 diabetes, a disease usually diagnosed in adults 40 or older. Part of the uptick, Johnson explains, is due to better diagnostic tools. But doctors say the root cause is obesity, which puts overweight children at an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypertension, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis and some cancers.

Currently, 12.5 million American children ages 2 to 19 are obese. But other factors also put kids at an increased risk of adult health problems. Examples include poverty, inactivity, stress, exposure to diabetes before birth and lack of access to health care—factors that can affect kids in both rural and urban homes.

This is illustrated in Amaranthia, a girl whose family has a history of high blood pressure. She was diagnosed with the illness at age 9. She wasn’t obese or overweight, but, according to her mom, docs said a high-salt diet, stress and anxiety caused her condition—now managed with diet, exercise, meditation and her passion, creating artwork.

(Mom says meds may be needed later.)

Stress is also linked to kids having health issues common among adults, says Susan Bartell, PsyD, a parenting psychologist, WebMD online adviser and the author of several books, such as The Top 50 Questions Kids Ask series.

Parents need to be aware of signs of stress in children, such as sleeping problems, crying easily, anger, withdrawal, eating unhealthy foods and refusing to do homework. Talk with children about their feelings, Bartell suggests, because sometimes kids don’t tell you that Keep they’re stressed. kids healthy.

To address this and other unhealthy factors, parents must become better role models, she says. “If you are smoking or drinking a lot, realize your children see that, and you need to adopt healthy behaviors,” she advises.

Still, kids do have one big advantage when facing adult illnesses. Notes Johnson: “Because of a child’s age, some conditions can be corrected and reversed.” —Fern Gillespie realhealthmag.com

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BUZZ

New Twist on HIV Prevention

Can taking HIV meds keep positive people from transmitting the virus?

Science magazine dubbed it the 2011 “Breakthrough of the Year”: A study found that HIV treatment cut transmission risk by a whopping 96 percent among 1,763 monogamous heterosexual couples where one partner had HIV and the other didn’t. It was true only if the positive partner took the meds regularly and had an undetectable viral load for at least six months.

These results, from a clinical trial called HPTN 052, appeared to answer the question: Can drugs that treat HIV also cut the national rate of new cases?

Researchers randomly instructed half the HIV-positive people to start HIV meds immediately, while delaying treatment for the other half until their CD4 cell counts dropped below 250.

Of the trial participants, 28 contracted

How to stay healthy: Get tested for HIV.

If you test positive, get into—and stay in—health care. These simple steps can boost your well-being and improve your life. To find HIV testing, treatment and other services in your area, turn to directory.poz.com.

PILLS COUNT

HIV meds treat more than the virus.

Among the challenges of living with HIV, taking daily doses of drugs to keep the virus in check can seem a monumental task.

Aside from the grind of a daily pill routine, there are short- and long-term drug side effects to manage and worry about. But more and more news continues to 1 0 R E AL H E A LTH S U MMER 2012

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emerge saying, “Keep on keeping on—it’s worth it.”

HIV treatment does more than keep people from getting sick and dying; the meds can also improve some important physical functions. The drugs (if taken on time every time) seem to do this by preventing the virus—and its inflammation of the immune system—from damaging body organs and functions.

Two recent studies show that people whose HIV is under control realhealthmag.com

have fewer of certain kinds of lung problems, as well as fewer bone fractures, than positive people whose virus remains uncontrolled and detectable.

It all points to the importance of getting into health care and sticking with HIV treatment. And right on time, specific guidelines have been created to help positive people do both. For more information, search “New IAPAC recommendations” on poz.com.

—Laura Whitehorn

(MACK) GETTY IMAGES/NY DAILY NEWS/ENID ALVAREZ; (PILLS) DREAMSTIME.COM/RON CHAPPLE

Theresa Mack, MD, says people living with HIV can stay healthy and keep their loved ones safe.

an HIV strain that matched the viruses in their long-term partners; only one was in the early treatment group.

Meanwhile, it’s estimated that 20 percent of HIV-positive people are unaware they have the virus, and a February report in the journal AIDS announced that nearly half of all new HIV cases stem from this 20 percent.

Theresa Mack, MD, an HIV specialist in Harlem, says we need a two-pronged approach to curb new cases.

“One,” Mack says, “make sure that everybody who is positive is receiving treatment. And, two, we need to test everyone, because it’s the people who don’t know they are positive who are infecting others.”

Mack adds that HIV-positive people should still use condoms “because you can’t be 100 percent sure. If a positive person—even one whose HIV is undetectable—has a sexually transmitted disease or an ulcer, they can still transmit HIV to their partner.”

If people are gun-shy about taking meds due to concerns about potential side effects, Mack advises: Take them.

“I can’t say that they won’t [cause heart, liver or renal disease],” she says. “But the virus is going to cause more damage overall, so [most important] is to control it.”

“By taking meds,” she adds, “you stay healthy and keep [others] from becoming infected.”—Tomika Anderson

BUZZ

Read This Before You Hit the Mats Yoga can be good, but you must observe certain rules.

The ABCs of Vitamins and HCV

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A vitamin a day won’t always keep the doctor away—especially if you have hep C. Popping vitamins may sound like a good way to assist your immune system. But if you have hepatitis C, a viral disease that leads to inflammation of the liver, some supplements might actually slow you down.

According to Edward Block, MD, a boardcertified internist and gastroenterologist, nutritional supplements (when taken in moderation) are usually good for your body—they’re designed to boost low levels of vitamins and minerals, including iron—but some supplements can be toxic to the one organ already under attack from hep C, your liver.

Why? Because individuals with hepatitis C, especially those with an abnormal liver condition called cirrhosis, already have higher than usual amounts of iron in their bodies, and that usually safe supplement may boost their levels into a danger zone, ultimately leading to organ damage.

So before you dash to the health food store, check with your doctor and make sure those good-for-you vitamins and minerals are actually doing your liver a favor.

—Kate Ferguson

The benefits of yoga are often promoted, but lately it’s the dangers of this ancient art that have been a hot topic. So is this exercise system of poses, breathing and meditation actually a hazard to your health?

“Yoga only becomes harmful if you push beyond physical limitations and put any stress or excessive strain on your body,” says Latham Thomas, a certified yoga teacher and the founder of Tender Shoots Wellness in New York City.

Here are the facts. While staying active is an integral part of healthy living, any repetitive physical movement (running, yoga, dancing) done incorrectly can be stressful and harmful to your body. The danger lies in committing to a fitness program (of any kind) without understanding correct postures, movements or your own limits.

To stop problems before they start, Dashama, the founder of the Pranashama Yoga Institute, says to remember these practical tips: 1. Good yoga practice should make you feel positive, full of energy and pain-free. (Your joints, tendons and ligaments should feel strong, not compromised or strained.)

2. Good yoga practice should allow you to breathe in every pose. You should not be struggling.

3. Good yoga practice means you listen to your body and back off when your gut feeling tells you you’ve had enough.

After all, yoga is about staying in tune with yourself and your body. — Janna Leyde

17,000

Take It Personally

Medical screenings can find problems before they start, but which tests are right for you?

NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES WHO CONTRACT HEPATITIS C EACH YEAR.

Get a mammogram, a blood pressure reading, an HIV test. The list of recommended health screenings can seem endless. How do you know what you need and what’s worth the cost and time?

The short answer is talk to your doctor, says Sara Doss, MD, a primary care physician and assistant professor of medicine at Loyola University in Chicago.

“In general, everyone older than 20 should get cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes screenings,” Doss says. “And for detailed guidelines about key screenings, check out reputable health information sources, such as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

Also, keep in mind that although screenings aren’t perfect and some people may need more tests, that’s not an excuse to avoid the doctor’s office. Why? Because that’s when your health may really suffer.

—Cristina González realhealthmag.com

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Hepatitis C General Fact Sheet, June 2010

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FITNESS

Senior Benefits Exercise can be a fountain of youth that keeps older bodies and minds fit.

Give Your Regular Workout the Boot!

Do military-inspired fitness routines offer you the right stuff?

AVERAGE NUMBER OF CALORIES BURNED EACH HOUR DURING A TYPICAL BOOT CAMP WORKOUT. Source: American Council on Exercise

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Based on military training exercises, boot camp fitness routines burn calories, build muscle and challenge the body with an intense aerobic workout. What’s more, its built-in camaraderie can stimulate people bored by sweating solo because it gives them the chance to exercise with friends— or make new ones, suggests fitness expert Pete McCall, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise (ACE).

But not all boot camp fitness programs are equal. Some focus on strength, others on cardio. Intensity also varies, and if you haven’t gotten much exercise lately you should try a beginner-oriented program.

“Be honest about your skills and abilities and work at the appropriate fitness level,” McCall says. “It’s better to avoid a drill or do a modified version of an exercise in order to avoid an injury.”

McCall also suggests you take time to investigate a boot camp program before buying a membership. Specifically, look at

realhealthmag.com

its exercise plan and the instructor’s qualifications, and check online for testimonials. Also, ask for a free trial.

Remember, there’s nothing better than personal experience to tell if a plan is right for you!

—Eric Minton

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Elderly adults are hitting gyms and health clubs at a record rate, according to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association. Specifically, from 1987 to 2003, fitness center memberships grew by 343 percent for people older than 55.

But, if you’re a senior, don’t lace up your sneakers just yet. John Bosse, RD, suggests older workout warriors consult their physicians or an exercise specialist before starting a physical training program in order to avoid potential injuries.

Bosse also encourages older gym enthusiasts to exercise care and choose workouts that don’t go beyond their physical limitations. “While activities such as running and hiking are great for the heart and muscles, they can wreak havoc on traumatized joints that can’t take the kind of pounding they used to,” Bosse says.

And, as always, a proper warm-up is advised.

What are a few best-bet exercises for older people with a limited range of motion? Bosse recommends cycling, cross-country skiing, canoeing or kayaking, yoga, Pilates and jogging.

And after all that work, do yourself a favor, he says.

Get a nice massage!

—Lauren Tuck

NUTRITION

Breakfast Treats Can waking up to dessert help you lose weight?

Ever wake up craving cake instead of toast? Then you may be interested in this tasty tidbit: Eating a sweet treat with breakfast might actually help you lose weight—and keep it off, according to findings published in a recent issue of the journal Steroids.

For the study, scientists randomly assigned 193 clinically obese people to two groups. All participants consumed the same amount of total calories per day. But the first group ate a low-carb diet with a small breakfast capped at 300 calories, and the second group ate a high-carb, highprotein 600-calorie breakfast that included a small dessert.

The result? People in both groups lost 33 pounds on average. But, over time, participants who ate big breakfasts with dessert lost an average of 40 pounds, 7 pounds more than their smaller breakfast counterparts.

The reason? Eating dessert for breakfast boosts levels of the brain’s appetitecontrolling hormone serotonin that helps stave off those late-afternoon cravings, says Daniela Jakubowicz of Tel Aviv University, the study’s lead author.

“In the morning, the dessert is converted to energy, not fat, because of high adrenaline and cortisol levels in the blood,” Jakubowicz explains.

But, she cautions, that dessert should be small and just one part of an otherwise healthy breakfast.

—Katie Karlson

13 grams

AMOUNT OF FISH AND SHELLFISH THE AVERAGE AMERICAN EATS EACH DAY. Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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You Got Served!

Do you know how many calories your portion contains?

Before you start the day with a bowl of granola, check the math: If you use your eyeballs to measure a portion of this crunchy cereal, then just one meal can add up to an extra 500 calories a day, says Jayne Hurley, RD, senior nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). Here’s how to keep an eye on common culprits (and cut them down to size).

Problem Foods Soft drinks: One serving is 8 ounces—not even half the standard 20-ounce bottle you drink.

Ice cream: A 4-ounce serving is really the

kiddie-sized cup at an ice-cream shop, Hurley says.

Soup: According to the CSPI, one can of this nourishing meal usually contains more than two servings.

Problem Solvers Measure! A 3-ounce serving of meat is the size of a card deck; a ¼-cup serving of nuts is golf-ball sized; and 1 cup of cooked pasta is roughly the size of a baseball.

Don’t eat from the container. “You’ll work your way to the bottom,” Hurley warns.

Pre-portion. Buy individual-sized snacks, or measure servings and baggies. —Courtney Balestier

FISH TALES Does the fear of contaminated seafood leave a bad taste in your mouth?

Fish and shellfish are a champion catch because they’re low in saturated fats but rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and protein. But the news they contain some contaminants, like mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), may scare you out of the waters.

Here’s the real deal. Findings show that the low levels of these common pollutants aren’t dangerous. And according to the Environmental Protection Agency, only four types of fish are off limits—and only to pregnant women and children—because of high mercury levels: shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish.

For a balanced diet that includes safe and delicious seafood for everyone, stock up on shrimp, salmon, canned light tuna and catfish. —Kate Ferguson realhealthmag.com

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The 47,000 panels of The AIDS Memorial Quilt are a tangible demonstration of love and loss, life and determination.

Join tens of thousands this summer to honor all that we have lost by breathing life into the global effort to end AIDS.

presented by

in partnership with

The AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display in its entirety from July 21–25 on the National Mall and throughout Washington, DC. For a schedule of events and to volunteer or donate to The Quilt, visit Quilt2012.org or poz.com/quilt.

Support for Quilt in the Capital is provided by

RFS

& FAMIL Y

FOU

N D AT I O

N

SEX

Ask the Sexpert Sexologist Rachael L. Ross, MD, PhD, a.k.a.

Dr. Rachael answers your questions.

If teenagers are abused while dating, can it affect their adult relationships later on?

Despite the popular thought that an adolescent’s romantic infatuations don’t reflect the deep emotions felt by people in a mature relationship, young love is a very real experience. Teenage romantic partnerships set the stage for what adult relationships will be like.

This is supported by alarming statistics that show 15 to 20 percent of all adults in abusive relationships were first victimized by a teen partner when they were between ages 11 and 17.

What’s more, partner abuse during high school negatively affects the adult relationships of one in 10 students.

But parents can do a lot to help children navigate possible dating disasters.

They can intervene when necessary and talk to their teens about what it means to be in a healthy relationship.

In addition, parents should set rules and limits not only on kids’ in-person romantic interactions, but also on their cyber and social media communications.

For the National Dating Abuse Hotline, 866-331-9474, or visit loveisrespect.org.

Not Just a Potency Problem

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What happens—or doesn’t happen—in bed can sometimes be much more than a sexual issue.

It might be hard to believe, but erectile dysfunction (ED) is not always caused by a sex-related problem. A man’s inability to get or maintain an erection is often linked to type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and perhaps low levels of the male hormone testosterone. Indeed, for many men, the possible loss of sexual potency is what may get them to pay attention to these serious health conditions.

Currently, more than 12 million U.S. men are estimated to have type 2 diabetes, and this number is growing fast, especially in the African-American community.

Diabetic men are at a greater risk of developing plaque in their blood. Plaque is a mix of calcium, fat, cholesterol, cellular waste and fibrin, a material involved in blood clotting. When even a tiny amount of plaque builds up on the walls of the small blood vessels that take blood to the penis, it can restrict blood flow and cause erection problems. (Poor blood flow is the No. 1 cause of ED.) In addition, having type 2 diabetes may also lower a man’s testosterone level and diminish his sex drive. (But it’s uncommon for low testosterone to trigger ED.) “My advice [to a patient] would be to get your diabetes under as much control as possible and then seek therapeutic options for ED with a board-certified urologist,” says Timothy B. Boone, MD, chairman of the department of urology at The Methodist Hospital in Houston.

This way, improvements to your health— and bedroom action— Source: Methodist Hospital, Houston. are sure to follow.

“Erectile Dysfunction: A Possible Warning —Reed Vreeland Sign of Serious Disease.” February 6, 2012.

Percent of diabetic men worldwide who develop erectile dysfunction compared with the percent of non-diabetic men.

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GAME CHANGER When Magic Johnson told the world he was HIV positive, his disclosure changed the way the public perceived those living with the virus—for the better.

Now, more than 20 years later, he’s still changing minds and winning hearts.

n the early years of the AIDS epidemic, most Americans didn’t think that heterosexual men had to worry about the virus. It was primarily viewed as a gay disease, or one of drug users. All that changed on November 7, 1991. On that day, Earvin “Magic” Johnson stepped up to the podium at the Los Angeles Great Western Forum and told the world that he was living with HIV. “It was a profound moment; I’ll never forget it,” says Nelson George,

1 6 RE A L H E A LTH S FA ULL MMER 2 0112012

REDUX PICTURES/BEN BAKER

By Kate Ferguson

When Magic announced he was HIV positive, people didn’t think he had much time to live. Today, more than 20 years later, Johnson is a healthy man, thanks to a positive outlook, quality care and HIV meds.

director of The Announcement, a recently released ESPN documentary that covers much of those early days.

“It really affected me and all of my friends, most of whom were single men in the early ’90s,” George continues. “[Magic’s disclosure gave] guys a reality check [that helped them understand] you’ve got to wear a condom; you’ve got to understand the concept of safe sex.

It was a profound moment in the sexual life of America and the world because it took HIV away from being a disease that gay men get and made it something that heterosexuals had to deal with.”

What Johnson’s announcement showed was that anybody could contract the virus—even a legendary basketball icon, the epitome of health and vitality—making HIV everyone’s problem and everyone’s concern.

But besides learning that the disease was not restricted to gay men, Magic got another lesson. “I learned quickly how differently I’d be looked at now that I had HIV,” he says in the film.

to designate HIV as “contagious” despite evidence the virus isn’t spread by casual contact, which is the usual public concept of what a contagious disease is.

Placing HIV/AIDS on this list meant people with the virus could not travel to the United States.

Today, almost 25 years later, the travel ban for people living with HIV is gone. President Barack Obama and Congress lifted the ban in 2010.

That made it possible for the United States to host this year’s XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012). The conference comes to America for the first time in more than two decades and will be held July 22 to 27 in Washington, DC. Immediately before the conference’s opening ceremonies on Sunday, Johnson will host an event called “Keep the Promise on HIV/ AIDS.” It’s part of a declaration, march and rally endorsed by Johnson and orchestrated by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). You see, Magic’s been very busy putting a full-court press on HIV/AIDS ever since he made that announcement almost 21 years ago.

Last December, Johnson revealed his plans to create a coalition to raise HIV/AIDS awareness, break down the stereotypes about the

I learned quickly how differently I’d be looked at now that I had HIV. In 1987, four years before Johnson’s announcement, a congressional amendment put HIV on a list of “dangerous and contagious diseases,” where it joined AIDS, previously placed there by the U.S. Public Health Service under pressure from then-President Ronald Reagan.

Interestingly, the government chose 1 8 RE A L H E A LTH S U MMER 2012

virus and engage rappers to speak out against homophobia and discrimination against gay people.

According to an article in The Huffington Post Canada, Johnson says he reached out to the hip-hop community, a group he targeted because “they have power—power with their voice, power with that

mic in their hand and power with the lyrics that they sing.”

Johnson also knows a thing or two about the power of celebrity.

When he announced his HIV status, Johnson was 32 years old and at the peak of his power and prowess as a b-ball star. When he walked away from the mic, though, he had a new direction on which to focus his considerable clout. He became an advocate committed to waging war against HIV/AIDS.

“But despite his HIV disclosure, he [and his wife, Cookie] were reluctant to do the documentary,” George says. “To go back and have people get the tapes and go through the minute details of every moment of [this experience] was something I think they didn’t want to do.”

George believes Johnson overcame his initial reluctance because doing the film gave him the chance to get people talking again about HIV. “The film worked as a kind of advocacy to get people who probably don’t think about HIV much anymore to put the virus back on their radar and restart conversations about it,” George says.

To kick-start that dialogue, when The Announcement premiered in Los Angeles, the Magic Johnson Foundation and AHF hosted a screening for high school kids, followed by a question-andanswer session with Johnson, Cookie and HIV experts and advocates.

“One of the most profound things about Magic doing the film is the way he reintroduced conversations about the virus to a community of young people who probably don’t really have a lot of consciousness about what HIV is, or who think, Well, [if you have the virus] you take

a couple of pills and you’ll be all right, so what’s the big deal?” George says. “Johnson wanted to re-engage young people.”

Statistically speaking, Johnson’s right on target. Today, people ages 13 to 24 are at an increased risk of HIV/AIDS, with minority kids particularly vulnerable. “There’s this generation of 16-, 17- and 18-yearolds who need to be informed about HIV,” George says. “Using Magic as a tool for that was one of the film’s intentions.”

Certainly, Johnson’s rapport with young folks is real. One scene in the film shows Magic, shortly after his announcement, surrounded by a group of HIV-positive kids on the set of a TV special produced to educate young people about the virus. One of the children, a chubby-cheeked little African-American girl, bursts into tears when she explains she simply wants people to accept her for who she is instead of stigmatizing her because she has AIDS. “She crystallized all of the discrimination that [HIV-positive] people faced at that time,” George says.

“When I saw that footage, I said, ‘That’s got to be in the film!’”

That little girl, Hydeia Broadbent, grew up to be a passionate HIV/AIDS activist who works with Johnson’s foundation and speaks with L.A.area youth about her experiences as a person living with AIDS. But as a child, Broadbent didn’t know who Magic Johnson was.

“When we went to the taping, I just knew I was there to talk about HIV/ AIDS,” she recalls.

When she saw the new documentary, Broadbent learned something else she didn’t know back then. “As a young person I had no idea how much stigma Magic faced,” she says.

Broadbent’s admission echoes the ignorance many young people today have about the virus.

In the film, Johnson recalls learn-

ing about other people’s fears of HIV after David Stern, the NBA commissioner, agreed to let him play in the All-Star game. “Of course, I was excited about playing, but not everyone else was,” Johnson says.

Frankly, a lot of players were terrified. “Just like that little girl [Hydeia Broadbent], I was having my own problems being accepted,” Johnson says.

But in addition to the fear, a lot of people thought having the virus meant you couldn’t function anymore. Although he also lived with this fear, Johnson wanted to prove them wrong.

“Magic being able to come out and perform and show people he could still be in top form with the virus was a very important message at the time,” George says.

Even today, Johnson still dispenses key messages. He’s defied the odds that said he’d become a statistic after he contracted HIV. Most recently, Johnson teamed with a Miami-based health insurer to create a comprehensive Medicaid plan for people with HIV/AIDS who live in underserved communities.

It’s a classic Magic moment: Fake ’em out then pass the ball for a huge crowd-pleasing slam dunk. ■

IMPORTANT HIV/AIDS NEWS Magic is doing well on his HIV treatment regimen, but what about other black folks living with the virus?

Recent findings of the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) show that black women living with the virus are more likely to progress to AIDS and twice as likely to die of complications from the illness as their white counterparts—even when they are on a regimen of HIV meds called antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. But buried amid these alarming results is some really important HIV/AIDS news.

Why are black women’s HIV health outcomes so poor? Well, the answer is complex. WIHS findings also show the HIV-positive black women in the study were burdened with other known predictors of AIDS death, such as depression, high pre-treatment viral loads, low pre-treatment CD4 cell counts, hepatitis C coinfection and use of illicit drugs. In addition, previous research shows that AfricanAmerican people are more likely to have a genetic mutation that can slow how quickly they metabolize HIV treatment drugs.

What’s more, researchers also found that another genetic mutation common among African Americans can negatively affect the concentration level of specific HIV drugs called protease inhibitors (PIs) in cells.

(PIs block the cell’s use of protease enzymes, which are needed to create HIV. Thus, PIs prevent the cell from producing new viruses.)

Simply put, for anyone living with the virus, HIV treatment ain’t no crystal stair. Those who climb it face a multitude of challenges that constantly test their ability to stay adherent.

But for their HIV treatment to work, those living with the virus must take their meds as prescribed and regularly visit the doctor. This advice is supported by WIHS findings that show black women were 70 percent less likely to die of AIDS if they stuck with their treatment more than 95 percent of the time. That’s really the good news, says Kathryn Anastos, MD, a professor of medicine, epidemiology and population health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, and the study’s principal investigator. Anastos stresses that to increase their chances of better health outcomes, black people living with the virus should focus on getting and staying in care.

In the meantime, scientists will do more research to find safer, more effective ARV therapies specially suited to African Americans.

—KF

SU M M ER 2012 RE A L H E A LTH 1 9

CONVERSATION

STARTER When people gather around the colorful AIDS Memorial Quilt, the striking visual is usually enough to get them talking about loved ones they lost to the virus.

BY KATE FERGUSON

For Stephanie Laster, one piece of the AIDS Memorial Quilt is a deeply personal family matter that shows the devastating impact of HIV. Laster’s mother, her uncle Henry (her mom’s brother), his wife and their son, Ricardo, succumbed to the virus. Laster memorialized them on a panel she made that confirms their family relationship with the epidemic. But while Laster worked on the tributes, the family took another hit. “I tested positive myself,” she discloses.

If all the panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt were laid out end to end—each panel measures 3 feet by 6 feet—they would stretch a little farther than 52 miles.

The Quilt’s approximately 48,000 panels contain more than 94,000 names, including people from all 50 states. (Since the epidemic began, there’s been almost 617,000 AIDS deaths in the United States.)

For the first time since 1996, the Quilt in its entirety

will be on display in July throughout the nation’s capital, including on the Mall. It’s part of an initiative called “Quilt in the Capital 2012” that coincides with the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) taking place July 22 to 27 in Washington, DC. When unfurled, the Quilt’s panels resemble a patchwork, a giant kaleidoscope that shows the diversity of the population groups and the people affected by the virus. Young and old, rich and poor, famous and unknown, male and female, child and adult, black and white, gay and straight—as the Quilt’s rich display makes clear, in life as in death, we’re all connected despite our differences. And although we often regard each other as strangers, the joy and pain of living are facts of life experienced by every human being.

Indeed, the Quilt is a metaphor for the way people are connected by their common humanity. “Groups of

1996 was the last time the entire AIDS Memorial Quilt was displayed in Washington, DC. It returns in July.

In the 12 years she’s been working with the foundation, Harris has seen the creation of hundreds if not thousands of tribute panels to African Americans during workshops under the auspices of the foundation’s Call My Name Program. The workshops provide a kitchen table environment where people come and share intimate details of their lives because they need somebody to talk to.

While they chat, their hands stay busy sewing or pasting on mementos that represent loved one’s lives. Here, they can talk freely, without worrying about stigma or shame.

“It took me 10 years to get the courage to put this panel together in remembrance of my brother, Rodney,” says Sonja Jackson, a 49-year-old from Clarkston, Georgia. “I miss him dearly, and through the process of working on the panel, I’ve experienced healing and spiritual growth.”

Jackson remembers her younger brother as a lover of life who had a passion for fashion, especially Izod and Polo clothing.

That’s why she included a red Polo shirt on his panel and decorated it with some other things he loved, namely, a yellow sun and a silvery moon and stars.

Cleve Jones, a San Francisco gay rights activist, conceived of the Quilt 25 years ago 2 2 RE A L H E A LTH S U MMER 2012

QUILT PANELS MARK THE MEMORY OSE OF THO WHO ARE NO LONGER H US. WITH

when, like Jackson, he also dearly missed a loved one and wanted to pay tribute to his memory. Jones’s friend and mentor was Harvey Milk, the legendary openly gay San Francisco politician who was murdered in 1978 by former City Council member Dan White. (White also gunned down the city’s mayor, George Moscone, on the same day.)

In 1985, when Jones helped organize an annual candlelight march honoring these men, he learned Frisco had lost more than 1,000 of its residents to AIDS. That gave him an idea. He asked people to write the names of their friends and loved ones who had died of the virus on placards. Jones and others then taped those placards to the walls of the San Francisco Federal Building. The collage created the look of a patchwork quilt.

Almost one year later, Jones produced the first AIDS Memorial Quilt panel in memory of Marvin Feldman, a friend he’d lost to AIDS. Then he launched The NAMES Project Foundation.

Flash forward to this summer and the Quilt in the Capital events: “Here we are 25 years later,” says Julie Rhoad, president and CEO of The Names Project Foundation.

“And while we are still about advocacy and demonstration and all the things we were in the beginning, at the same time we are the preeminent cultural and visual response to this epidemic, and we have influenced many other responses.”

According to Rhoad, the Quilt motivates viewers to respond because the visual panels represent actual people, not statistics on a page. “[Early during the epidemic] the evidence was before me every day that my friends were dying,” Rhoad says. “We needed a way to lay out our dead in front of Washington to say, ‘These lives mattered.’”

Today, HIV/AIDS educators and advocates use the Quilt as dramatic evidence of the virus’s evolution in America. “You can see a point in time when mother-to-infant transmission drugs became more available because the panels for babies began to diminish,” Rhoad says.

Top to bottom: a The tapestry also proQuilt visitor quietly vides a way to fight prejuremembers, tennis dice and raise awareness. star Arthur Ashe’s panel, a tribute to Plus, the global AIDS rapper Eazy-E, community has used it Sonja Jackson sews pictures of as an effective tool in dancer Alvin Ailey HIV education and preon a panel, and vention, Rhoad says. placards on San Francisco’s Federal Statistics show that Building that the rates of African served as a protoAmericans living with type for the Quilt

THIS AND P PREVIOUS PAGES: A ALL IM MAGES COU URTESY OF TH HE NAMES P PROJECT

people who would never intersect with each other intersect on the Quilt,” says Jada Harris, the director of programs for The NAMES Project Foundation, the caretaker of this constantly evolving piece of art and historic memorial to millions. “I had two little old ladies in Montgomery, Alabama, who finished the panel for Jermaine Stewart, an R&B artist. Otherwise, they would never have met him.”

Although it’s hard to fathom two little old ladies—one on crutches, the other using a cane to support her steps—sewing Stewart, in lipstick and eyeliner, on his panel, there they were. In fact, it’s common for people to make panels for someone they didn’t know.

“This is an example of the community coming together to memorialize someone who impacted the cultural landscape,” Harris says. Some students at Spelman College in Atlanta started Stewart’s panel, and the two women completed it.

“These two women weren’t concerned about Stewart’s sexuality, only about making sure his panel was very neat and clean and looked nice,” Harris says. “They created the panel with love. We don’t have a litmus test for people; the door is open to everyone; that’s what the Quilt does.”

the virus in some U.S. cities have surpassed those of some African countries. Black women, in particular, bear the biggest burden of death from the virus. “In Washington, DC, one in 36 African-American women are HIV positive,” Harris says. “That’s beyond a state of emergency.”

This alarming news is what the Quilt shouts to the world each time a panel joins the current tapestry. It’s also why Harris believes its show-and-tell function is tailormade to use as a call to action.

Specifically, the Quilt can motivate government legislators who have the power to make a huge difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS. “Call My Name is necessary to give people an opportunity to show what’s really happening in our community and the human toll the virus has taken,” Harris says. “It’s really about changing people’s consciousness so they can see what’s happening. Then, other things can fall into place—prevention efforts get ratcheted up, or people make better decisions in terms of their own personal behavior.”

But change for the better also requires that we eliminate the stigma and shame that are still so strongly associated with HIV/AIDS. These are the chains that stop many from disclosing their status and talking about the virus’s effect on their lives.

“Before Call My Name started, there were fewer than 300 African-American panels,” Harris says. “Today, I can confidently say we’re around the 400 or 500 mark.”

Despite this increase in numbers, African-American women don’t see themselves reflected often enough in Quilt panels—and that shortfall could cost lives because black women need to understand how dangerous HIV is to their health and well-being.

“There’s no question that the impact [of HIV] on African-American women is nothing short of tragic,” Harris says. “And yet we can’t call the names of them all because of that shroud of shame that’s associated with HIV. It’s a disease that comes with a lot of baggage.”

But some, such as entertainer Sheryl Lee Ralph, aren’t afraid to pick up the load and say the name of a loved one aloud.

The actress and singer, who is a Call My Name program spokesperson and host, decided to make a panel for a sista, a popular disco singer who died of AIDS-related complications several years ago.

“I decided to make a panel for Sharon Redd,” Ralph says. “When people said women don’t get infected, I always knew that Sharon was infected. Some people called me stupid and told me I didn’t know what I was talking about.”

Ralph says she knows having Redd’s panel on the Quilt will help others step forward to break the silence about a disease that’s ravaging the African-American community.

“At some point, we’ve got to wake up and take care of ourselves,” Ralph says. “And if you won’t do it for yourselves, do it for your daughters because this disease is quickly becoming a young person’s disease. This is unacceptable because we’re no longer talking about color, we’re talking about young people, period.”

Jackson agrees with Ralph. Like the actress, she has

gotten passionately involved in HIV advocacy and encourages others to call the names of their loved ones by adding them to the Quilt’s memorial panels.

“As long as we keep secrets, the disease is going to continue to run rampant in our community because we’re afraid to let people know,” Jackson says.

To this, there can only be one reply: Let’s speak up and call their names. ■

Gone But Not Forgotten Tribute panels for loved ones lost to AIDS keep their memory alive.

Shelia Jones’s daughter, Samara, was 32 when she died of AIDS complications. To help others, the grieving mother became an AIDS advocate and spoke to young people in the Atlanta school system. She told then how the virus affected her and explained how important it was to become aware and active in the community in order to stem the epidemic’s tide.

To honor her daughter’s memory, Jones and other family members joined a branch of the Call My Name Workshop Program in their area and began work on a panel for the AIDS Memorial Quilt. “It’s been very helpful with the healing process because I’ve been dealing with her loss,” Jones says. “I wanted to convey her message about volunteerism and prevention because there’s still so much ignorance out there concerning this disease.”

Like hundreds of other people who lost loved ones to AIDS, Jones used the panel-making workshops as an outlet for her grief and to come to terms with her daughter’s death. “We let people work at their own pace, and we encourage them to complete their panels,” says Jada Harris, the director of workshop programs, which is overseen by the NAMES Project Foundation, the caretaker of the Quilt.

This year, Merck, the pharmaceutical company, is working with the NAMES Project to sponsor the Call My Name national tour. The mission? To bring attention to rising HIV transmission rates in AfricanAmerican communities.

The tour kicked off in Atlanta in February and ends at a panel dedication ceremony at the XIX International AIDS Conference this July in Washington, DC. Currently, the Quilt is on tour as it makes its way to DC, where it will be displayed in its entirety—nearly 48,000 panels in all—giving many people a chance to view the memorial and keep the memories alive. As Harris says: “The Quilt tells the stories of hundreds of thousands of people’s lives.”

If you have a story to tell about loved ones lost to AIDS, contact the NAMES Project Foundation at 404-688-5500 or visit aidsquilt.org.

—KF

GARDEN VARIETY A delicious salad can be low in bad fats and calories and high in nutrition—but only if you choose the right greens and garnishes.

BY GERRIE E. SUMMERS

2 4 RE A L H E A LTH S U MMER 2012

Who can resist a salad piled high with a variety of fresh lettuce, crunchy, colorful raw vegetables and tasty, nutritious fixin’s that are so good for the body?

breaded. Also, request that dressing be placed on the side. Then, use these tips from Nancy L. Snyderman, MD, author of Diet Myths That Keep Us Fat. To avoid calorie overload and satisfy your taste buds, dip your fork into the dressing and spear different salad ingredients. And if a salad is too large, just eat half and save the rest for another meal.

“The good news is, eating salads ‘on the go’ is very doable now that the majority of restaurants and fastfood eateries carry them,” Smith says, then quickly adds one caution.

“The one danger of eating fast-food restaurant salads is they commonly contain fried meats, in particular chicken strips.”

The reason why fried meats are so bad is because they contain hard-todigest trans fats that negatively affect weight and health.

But if you think salad may be a tad tasteless without fried meat strips, you’ve misjudged this versatile meal. “I once read you could find a different salad recipe for all 365 days of the year,” Smith says. Although you may not need that many recipes, you can certainly find enough salad varieties to fall in love with salads each and every day of the week.

Smith advises people to get creative and try salad recipes with fruits, nuts, seeds, meats, seasonings and cheeses. This way, boredom is never an issue. And if you’re one of the culinary challenged and can’t think of interesting ideas for salad combinations, she suggests getting expert help, noting:

Although it’s easier to make a healthy salad at home, if you’re selective, it’s not impossible to buy one that’s just as nutritious and low in calories at a restaurant or a fast-food eatery. meal, but only if you carefully select the right ingredients,” says nutritionist and weight loss expert JJ Smith, author of Lose Weight Without Dieting or Working Out. Indeed, a healthy salad begins with green, leafy veggies that are low in calories and high in nutrients and 2 6 RE A L H E A LTH S U MMER 2012

realize Caesar salads, another popular selection, can register 500 or more calories.

In addition, there are easy solutions to keep a salad’s calorie count low. Toss steamed, grilled, baked or broiled meats or veggies into your salad, instead of anything fried or

PREVIOUS SPREAD: (SALAD) DREAMSTIME.COM/MICHAEL FLIPPO

When reputable studies began to show the health benefits of “rabbit food,” salad bars began to spark brisk business, and more and more fast-food chains started introducing salads on their menus.

One such study published in the September 2006 Journal of the American Dietetic Association reports that those who regularly ate salad and raw vegetables also boosted their intake of beneficial nutrients, such as folic acid, vitamins C and E and the antioxidants lycopene and beta-carotene, in the bloodstream.

But, later, when people learned a salad could pack well over 1,000 calories, depending on the ingredients, many went into shock. How could leafy greens rack up such a hefty calorie count?

“Salads are still a very good option for a healthy, delicious one-dish

fiber. What’s more, when you add quality ingredients such as nuts or chunks of salmon, shrimp or chicken to a salad, you actually get a nice balance of good carbs, healthy fats and lean protein, the three foundation foods for a well-balanced meal.

Although this foundation is sound, people often mistakenly assume a salad is always the healthiest choice.

A similar misstep: They buy salads (and other meals too) simply because they’re listed under a menu’s “healthy eats” section. This is usually the case with dieters, according to a study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

These findings showed dieters are more likely than non-dieters to choose unhealthy food because of the way it’s labeled. This is why salads can be suspect. Some may contain ingredients that are high in calories, sodium and fat. That’s why it’s important to pay attention to your garnishes, and why it’s also crucial to realize that just because something is promoted as being healthy, that doesn’t mean it actually is.

Of course, it is easier to create a healthy salad at home. But when formally dining out or stopping at an eatery for a quick snack, there are simple rules you can use to sidestep a dietary disaster. First, when you order salad in restaurants, avoid chef salads. These contain a lot of calories from animal protein, such as cheese and ham. And, second,

“Many recipes are available for free on the Web.” Still concerned because you believe a plateful of green leaves won’t keep you full? Simply add those previously mentioned lean meats and fiber-rich foods to give your salad sustenance. “Nuts and seeds make you feel full and satisfied longer, and studies show fiber increases fat burning by as much as 30 percent,” Smith says.

What won’t make you feel any more full and what is considered a big salad no-no is pouring on more dressing. “That just adds fattening ingredients that won’t necessarily satisfy your hunger,” Smith explains.

“The key to making a salad a complete and satisfying meal is to add ‘weighty’ ingredients.”

According to Smith, the top three types of healthy heavyweights to include in a salad should come from the food groups listed below: Fresh fruit. “Pears, grapes or apples added to a salad provide the right amount of sweetness to satisfy those with a sweet tooth,” she says.

“Also, fruits are considered ‘good carbs.’ They provide essential nutrients that give us energy.”

Other fruits that make a salad healthier and tastier include berries and mandarin orange slices. Another big bonus? These added ingredients help provide your daily requirement of vegetables and fruits.

Nuts and seeds. “Pistachios, walnuts or almonds add a crisp crunchiness to salads while they also provide healthy fats that are a vital part of the body’s survival and balance mechanisms,” Smith says. “In fact, the body’s use of fat helps determine the satisfaction level a person receives from food.”

If weight is a concern, to get protein benefits without going overboard on fat, just sprinkle nuts, such as pecans and cashews, on your salad. Also, try tasty seeds, such as sunflower and ground flaxseed.

Lean proteins. “In addition to the lean protein from salmon or grilled chicken, beans or hard-boiled eggs make you feel full longer and help prevent overeating and food cravings,” Smith says. “Protein also

helps you build and maintain muscle mass, and muscle naturally burns more calories than fat.”

But back to salad basics. Instead of the much less nutritious iceberg lettuce, pick from baby spinach, arugula, watercress, dandelion greens and red- or green-leaf lettuce. Just one serving of dark greens supplies a day’s requirement of vitamin A, more than 3 milligrams of iron and one-third of the daily requirement for folate, as well as calcium and B vitamins, without a load of calories, writes Elizabeth Somer, MA, a registered dietitian, in her book Eat Your Way to Happiness.

Once you lay down your favorite leaves, top the salad with delicious veggies, especially colorful ones that are high in nutritious bioflavonoids, natural compounds found in many plants. Some great choices are broccoli, cauliflower, red bell peppers, carrots, kidney and other beans, beets, red onions, avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers and scallions.

Finally, forgo store-bought salad dressings and make your own. It’s easy to do. Just mix olive oil and vinegar or lemon or lime juice with fresh or dried herbs and spices.

Besides being super tasty, olive oil and raw vegetables are credited with helping you live longer.

So if it’s longevity you’re after, digest this: A well-designed salad provides vitamins K and C, beta-carotene and minerals such as calcium and iron. This means that in one meal, you can eat a combination of foods that help support the immune system, fight infection, maintain healthy bones and blood, protect against cancer and heart disease, are high in fiber and help improve digestion. Oh, and they’re delicious too.

Now, do you have the taste for a salad or what? ■

How to Keep a Good Salad From Going Bad Easy: Just watch what you toss on top!

Here’s a list of don’ts!

Don’t use packaged salad dressings.

“These are high in trans fats and artificial ingredients that provide empty calories,” says nutritionist JJ Smith. “Just two tablespoons of some salad dressings are about 200 calories per serving. A better alternative is to make your own olive oil–based salad dressing with garlic and lemons, which is lower in fat per serving.”

Don’t trust reduced-calorie salad dressings. Check the calorie count and be sure not to drown your salad in dressing simply because you think it has fewer calories.

Don’t drench salads with mayonnaise.

This includes cole slaw, macaroni, potato and seafood salads. Use fatfree mayonnaise and don’t overdo it with the creamy white stuff.

Don’t trust packaged salads that already have salad dressing added.

If it looks like it’s drenched in oil, either don’t buy it or make sure you drain off the oil.

Don’t get carried away with croutons.

“These cubes of crunchy white bread have little to no nutritional value,” Smith warns. “During the process [of making] white bread, the two most nutritious parts of the wheat—the bran and the germ—are removed. A better alternative to add crunchiness to a salad is to use nuts and seeds, which are high in fiber and promote healthy digestion.”

Don’t smother greens with cheese.

“Many cheeses, such as American cheese, are highly processed, with unnatural flavorings that aren’t healthy,” Smith says. “Try natural cheeses, such as Parmesan, feta, blue cheese or even vegetarian cheeses.”

Don’t add salt. Instead, use herbs, spices and lemon juice.

—GS

SU M M ER 2012 RE A L H E A LTH 2 7

TEXTURED

TRESSES

Hair type issues: What’s the best way to care for your waves, curls, coils and kinks?

By Tomika Anderson

W

ith celebrities like Oscar nominee Viola Davis, Grammy winner Esperanza Spalding and R&B singer Solange Knowles leading the charge, more sisters are ditching their perms, wigs and weaves for Afros, twists and locs.

But if you’re thinking of joining the trend, then know this: A change of hair texture often requires a switch to new styling products and techniques as well.

This is what led Oprah’s longtime hairstylist Andre Walker to create a hair care classification system for women with naturally curly tresses. His goal? To help women with textured hair create healthy and beautiful styles.

Type 1: Straight Hair This is the pin-straight kind most African-American

women don’t naturally have. This hair type lacks curls and waves and tends to be oily and shiny.

Type 2: Wavy Hair

Since black hair is typically more tightly coiled, not many African-American women sport this hair texture. Wavy-textured hair ranges from fine, thin and easy to style (think actress Scarlett Johansson) to thick, coarse and resistant to styling (think media personality Daisy Fuentes).

“Type 2 hair requires the least amount of products,” Durham advises, “so if you do use them they should be the lightest ones.” Good examples of lightweight products include mousses or gels that don’t weigh hair down.

Type 3: Curly Hair “Most African-American hair falls into a 3, 3C or 4 category,” Durham says. “Type 3 hair has a defined S pattern to it, or a squiggly curl. When hair has a loose curl, it doesn’t require much product or styling.”

Curly hair types should wash and condition their locks with sulfate-free products then apply good leave-in conditioners along with light-weight styling products such as creams, silicones and serums. This hair care regimen will help control frizz, Durham says.

Women with Type 3C hair have thicker strands. This type of curly, kinky hair sprouts from the scalp as tight corkscrew-like curls with plentiful strands tightly packed together. (Picture singer Alicia Keys or Half & Half TV show star Rachel True.) As with regular Type 3 hair, less is more when it comes to washing; conditioning is essential; and you should air-dry whenever possible, Durham suggests.

“For 3C hair, we often just use a serum to eliminate frizz,” Durham says.

“But if you’re doing your hair yourself, you can add some leave-in conditioner and cream, and then use your fingers to twist your hair into ringlets.”

If you choose to use a blow-dryer (with or without a diffuser), a pressing comb or a curling iron, though, here’s some advice: Don’t do it more than three times a week. “Heat will damage your hair,” Durham warns, “so always put on a protective layer before you use heat.”

Type 4: Kinky Hair This hair type’s strands are generally very tightly coiled with a visible curl pattern. (Entertainers Esperanza Spalding, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu all rock Type 4 hair.) When stretched, these tight coils may have an S pattern (4A) or a Z pattern (4C) with a less-defined curl.

Type 4 hair of all kinds requires the most amount of washing and moisturizing. “With S-pattern tresses, it’s really about a great shampoo, an effective moisturizing conditioner and a good detangler to soften the hair and add a lot of moisture to it,” Durham says.

Women with Type 4 hair can wear a classic Afro, or slightly blow-dry their hair and then curl it with hot curlers. Another option is to set their hair with rods and sit under a dryer, Durham says.

But whatever your hair type, don’t forget to wash and condition tresses to keep hair from breaking. And always oil your scalp to avoid dryness. Why? Durham stresses the importance of this regimen: “The purpose is to keep moisture in the hair at all times so it stays bouncy and shiny.”

That’s just plain ol’ good advice, no matter what type of hair you have. ■ 3 0 RE A L H E A LTH S U MMER 2012

Common Natural Hair Care Woes The good news? Black hair is beautiful. The bad news? It’s also prone to dryness and breakage.

According to hair care expert Stephen Durham, even though African-American hair is fragile, you can keep your hair from breaking by simply remembering these easy to follow guidelines: Washing hair too often may cause breakage. Durham understands that people want to rid their hair of product buildup, but he wouldn’t advise washing tresses more than twice each week. Why? Because shampooing too often can strip your scalp of natural oils that help maintain healthy follicles.

Watch what you eat. “A great diet does more for your hair and skin health than putting on products,” Durham says. He advises eating fish rich in omega-3s, or, if you’re vegetarian, downing flaxseed oil. “Also drink plenty of water,” he adds. “All of those things create stronger, shinier and healthier hair.”

Avoid tight braids. “Braids can cause really bad breakage,” Durham warns. “Breakage [particularly along the hairline] occurs when hair has been braided too tightly.”

Be careful while transitioning.

Breakage can occur when people go from relaxed to natural hair.

“The space where the two textures meet is the weakest point, and that’s where hair often snaps off,” Durham explains, “so people have to be careful there.” He recommends gradually cutting off the relaxed hair. “You don’t have to chop it all off in one go.” —TA

(FIRST PAGES): (WOMAN) DREAMSTIME.COM/LUBA V NEL; (HAIR 1) DREAMSTIME.COM/LUCIANO DE LA ROSA; (HAIR 2) DREAMSTIME.COM/PAUL HAKIMATA; (HAIR 3) DREAMSTIME.COM/LUBA V NEL

Walker’s system assigns numbers to different hair types, from 1 to 4. In addition, the letters A, B or C after a hair type identify the strands’ thickness, with A the thinnest and C the thickest.

But the four hair types Walker identified also guide the expertise of other African-American hair care experts, such as London-born Stephen Durham, founder and CEO of The Urban Therapy Salon. Durham launched a hair care line, Urban Therapy Twisted Sista, to address his biracial and multicultural clientele’s hair concerns. He built his business by becoming an expert who could work with a variety of hair types, and then he created products specifically suited for these textures. Here, he explains the four different types.

stuff we love A roundup of the latest, must-have finds for hair, skin, health and beauty, these products are worth every cent.

Whish Shave Crave Shaving Cream (5 oz., $24 each) Almond, lavender, lemongrass or pomegranate shaving creams are formulated with pampering natural ingredients and essential oils that are great for women’s more delicate skin.

Black Opal Papaya Daily Body Wash (7 oz., $7.45) and Body Butter (7 oz., $8.45) Add both to your cleansing regimen to reap benefits from papaya enzymes that exfoliate and brighten skin naturally.

John Masters Organics Citrus & Neroli Detangler (8 fl. oz., $16) Rinse out this lightweight formula of 18 certified-organic, good-for-hair ingredients, or use it as a leave-in conditioner.

Takeya Glass Water Bottles ($17.99 to $20.99, depending on size and style) For fresh-tasting water, pour from these stylish, eco-friendly, portable bottles topped with an airtight, leakproof cap.

Banglz Lifestyle Weights ($20 to $28 for select styles) Use these stylish weighted bands while walking, doing housework, yoga, Zumba or other workouts, and tone up while you build strength.

Sofn’free Nothing But ($7.99 to $8.99) Made for naturalhair-wearing women, the line includes Cleansing Conditioner, Clarifying Shampoo, Intense Healing Mask, Curly Pudding, Curl Wake Up Spray, Curl Sealer and Mold & Hold Wax.

THOUGHTS

Lost and Found Kaleb J. Hill launched a health and wellness company after he shed pounds and gained a new positive perspective on life.

You’re the One! Learn to love everything about you.

When I was a boy growing up in the South, I didn’t know the effect poor food choices would have on my physical health and mental wellness. In the spring of 2010, I suffered the loss of steady income after a job layoff. I weighed 360 pounds and never exercised.

One day, I reached my breaking point and realized I couldn’t let my talents go to waste. I signed up to do volunteer work with my local police station in Birmingham, Alabama. But the morning of my first assignment I got lost and ended up at the city’s fitness center. Right then, I decided to volunteer to clean the center twice a day in exchange for help losing weight.

At the fitness center, I learned ways to eat clean and heal my body. The experience made me want to do more in my community, so I founded FitnessFleet Inc., a philanthropic health care company specifically for people of color.

Today, I am a health advocate and aspire to be a physician. I give back to people who are just like me, and in this way I learn self-love.

—LT

Everybody has insecurities. From feeling too fat or thin, too short or tall, people’s supposed imperfections run the gamut. But being nitpicky and not accepting and loving yourself because of perceived flaws can cause damage.

Feeling insecure and lacking confidence can lead to trust issues, shyness, aggression, arrogance and even social withdrawal. But stop judging, blaming and resenting yourself. Perfection is an illusion.

This is what Kathleen McIntire, People only treat you as well as you treat yourself, so it’s important to author of Guiding Signs 101, learned remember what qualities you love about you, says life coach Tia Brown. after she had an “aha!” moment.

McIntire recognized that she was wastWhat are the benefits of loving yourself? ing energy by struggling to be better.

When you take the time to dote on yourself emotionally and physically, you feel “I realized that, according to the law of better. When you look great, think positively and exude happiness, you draw physics, energy cannot be made into those things into your life. The law of attraction is real. more or less…no one can ever be What are some steps you can take to find self-love? more than what they are,” she says.

The first thing you must do is accept yourself. You are unique. Embrace your That’s when McIntire decided to strengths and aim to improve your weaknesses, and understand that no one is stop trying to mold herself into someperfect. You can only be the best you. one else. “In that moment, I saw that I was perfect just the way I was and I What are some signs you don’t love yourself enough? didn’t have to be better or different.”

If you are constantly disappointed by the actions of others, that means you may The takeaway from McIntire’s be picking individuals who treat you poorly. experience couldn’t be simpler: Be When is it time to seek professional help? who you are, focus on your blessings I suggest seeking help when you realize you are doing the same thing but and embrace yourself without reserexpect a different result.

—LT vation, imperfections and all.

—Lauren Tuck 3 2 RE A L H E A LTH S U MMER 2012

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THE EXPERT SAYS

READER SURVEY

SPEAK YOUR MIND!

(And Win Free Stuff)

Although studies show African Americans have a high level of concern and awareness about HIV/AIDS, findings also suggest these feelings are slowly being replaced by apathy and complacency about the virus. We want to know how you feel about HIV/AIDS. Tell us by filling in the survey below. To say thank you, we’ll select three winners at random from the surveys we receive and send them a fitness DVD (suggested retail price, $14.98), like the one pictured left.

To enter our drawing, take the survey at realhealthmag.com/survey or fill out this form and mail it to Real Health, c/o Smart + Strong, 462 Seventh Avenue, 19th Fl., New York, NY 10018 or fax it to 212.675.8505. For official contest rules, visit realhealthmag.com/survey/rules.

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1. Do you think you are personally at risk of contracting HIV? ❑ Yes

❑ No

❑ Unsure

2. Do you think only certain people are at risk of contracting HIV? ❑ Yes

9. Name:________________________________________________________ 10. Organization (if you represent one):______________________ 11. Street address:_____________________________________________ 12. City & state:_________________________________________________ 13. ZIP code:____________________________________________________ 14. Email:_______________________________________________________ 15. Phone:_____________________________________________________

❑ No

16. What year were you born?_________

❑ Unsure

3. Do you think living with HIV is no big deal?

17. What is your gender?

❑ Yes

❑ Female

❑ No

❑ Male

❑ Transgender

❑ Other

❑ Unsure

18. What is your household income?

4. Do you view HIV/AIDS as a big problem in the black community?

❑ Under $15,000

❑ $15,000–$34,999

❑ $35,000–$49,999

❑ $50,000–$74,999

❑ Yes

❑ $75,000–$99,999

❑ $100,000 and over

❑ No

❑ Unsure

19. What is the highest level of education attained?

5. Do you know all the ways HIV can be transmitted?

❑ Some high school

❑ High school graduate

❑ Yes

❑ Some college

❑ Bachelor’s degree or higher

❑ No

❑ Unsure

20. What is your ethnicity?

6. Despite your relationship status (single, married, divorced or widowed), do you routinely practice safer sex?

❑ American Indian or Alaska Native

❑ Yes

❑ Black or African American

❑ No

❑ Arab or Middle Eastern ❑ Asian ❑ Hispanic or Latino

❑ Unsure

❑ Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

7. Do you think the government is doing enough to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the black community?

❑ White

❑ Yes

❑ I’m a subscriber

❑ My doctor’s office

❑ My church

❑ A community or college organization

❑ No

❑ Unsure

❑ Other

21. Where do you get Real Health?

❑ It was mailed to me

8. Do you think HIV/AIDS testing should be mandatory for everyone?

❑ Other:_______________________

❑ Yes

22. Do you have Internet access?

❑ Unsure

❑ No

❑ Yes

❑ No

Summer 2012