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Posts published in “Health & Fitness”

Detroit Vegan Soul Offers Animal-Free Alternatives To Classic Soul Food Cuisine In West Village

By goodblacknews on September 29, 2012
Hatch 2012 Detroit Vegan SoulKirsten Ussery (left) Erika Boyd (right) are semi-finalists in the 2012 Comerica Hatch Detroit contest. Their business would offer vegan versions of classic soul food dishes.
You might think that soul food and vegan dishes exist on opposite sides of the dietary universe. After all, soul food is a traditional African-American cuisine whose staples include chitlins and ham hocks, while vegans refrain completely from eating meat or dairy products.
Apparently, however, the two worlds can coexist. Just ask Kirsten Ussery, who plans to open a business called Detroit Vegan Soul with her partner, Erika Boyd. The two entrepreneurs are semi-finalists in this year’s Comerica Hatch Detroit contest, an annual competition which awards $50,000 and support services to one lucky business start-up chosen by a panel after considering input from online voters.

Swizz Beatz Named Global Ambassador for New York’s Public Hospitals

By goodblacknews on September 28, 2012


Swizz Beatz has yet another title added to his growing list of duties. The rapper, producer, songwriter, designer, and a bunch of other things has reportedly been appointed the global ambassador for New York’s public hospitals to raise awareness and boost funds for its medical centers.

Black-Owned Health-Conscious Store Delivers Freshness To Atlanta

By goodblacknews on September 27, 2012
The Boxcar Grocer

The Boxcar Grocer is a new addition to the Castleberry Hill section of Atlanta. Photo credit: Candace Y.A. Montague

By Candace Y.A. Montague via thegrio.com

Nestled in the Castleberry Hill section of Atlanta is a quaint neighborhood divided between yesteryear and today. Among the new additions to the area is a bright, modern corner store that sells all-natural produce and products for residents who seek organic alternatives.  It’s called The Boxcar Grocer and on Peters Street SW, it is the only food store available.

Co-owners Alison and Alphonso Cross migrated from San Francisco to the Atlanta area to open this food store in a building owned by their father.  The brother and sister team felt that fresh food was important enough to bring to the neighborhood and sacrificed almost everything to make it happen. The question was whether or not there was enough of a demand for fresh food options to sustain their business in an area that is making slow progress towards revitalization. The Crosses believed so, and they found a way to use local farmers to keep the business afloat.

50 Cent To Publish Fitness Book

By goodblacknews on September 26, 2012

50 Cent wants to help you get your body together in exchange for probably a little more than $20.
The rapper and soon-to-be hip-hop Billy Banks has partnered with publishing house Penguin Group USA to release the Formula 50: A 6-Week Total Body Transformation Plan.
Rapper 50 Cent is set to tell all about his top fitness tips in a new exercise book.
On the project, 50 was quoted saying:

“I had a strong desire to write this book because it is very important to me to help people make positive changes and take charge of their overall health. Formula 50 is a radical six week mind-body transformation plan geared to help readers develop mental toughness to achieve optimum results while offering a nutrition component.”

The book is scheduled to hit stores on Christmas Day.
article via theurbandaily.com

Prime Time Sister Circles Target Middle-Aged Black Women To Improve Their Health And Happiness

By goodblacknews on September 17, 2012

 

Prime Times Sister Circles

Prime Times Sister Circles are helping black women cope with stress and related health issues. © bst2012 – Fotolia.com

When Drs. Marilyn Gaston and Gayle Porter started Prime Time Sister Circles in the Washington, D.C. area, their goal was to create a revolution in health for black women. An extension of their 2001 book, Prime Time: The African American Woman’s Complete Guide to Midlife Health and Wellness, they initiated a series of these three-month programs to encourage healthy eating and stress management in this demographic.

Seventy Five Year-Old Female Bodybuilder Stuns The Internet With Fabulous Photo

By goodblacknews on September 15, 2012

ernestine shepherd
An image floating around the Internet yesterday got a lot of attention — and had many considering hitting the gym.”Ernestine Shepherd, age 75,” Reddit commenter Proteon posted, “wakes up at 3 a.m. every day to meditate, and then clocks up runs totaling 10 mi (16 km) before lunch. In 2010 and 2011 she was recognized by Guiness as [the] oldest competitive female bodybuilder in the world.”

Juniors #1 Taylor Townsend Gets Support From Serena Williams: ‘Everyone deserves to play’

By goodblacknews on September 10, 2012
Taylor Townsend of the United States returns a shot against Anett Kontaveit of Estonia during their junior girls' singles quarterfinal match on Day Twelve of the 2012 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 7, 2012 in the Flushing neighborhood, of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images for USTA)

Taylor Townsend of the United States returns a shot against Anett Kontaveit of Estonia during their junior girls’ singles quarterfinal match on Day Twelve of the 2012 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 7, 2012 in the Flushing neighborhood, of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images for USTA)

NEW YORK (AP) — Serena Williams says she’s alarmed by the U.S. Tennis Association’s decision to hold a top junior player out of competition over concerns about her fitness.  Sixteen-year-old Taylor Townsend is the world’s top-ranked girl. The Wall Street Journal first reported last week that the USTA withheld funding her tournament appearances while she focused on getting in better shape.

“If that happened, that’s obviously a tragedy, because everyone deserves to play,” Williams said Monday, a day after winning the U.S. Open.
“She’s so sweet and she works so hard,” she added. “For a female, particularly, in the United States, in particular, and African-American, to have to deal with that is unnecessary. … Women athletes come in all different sizes and shapes and colors and everything. I think you can see that more than anywhere on the tennis tour.”
Townsend played at the Open, winning the junior doubles title and reaching the quarterfinals in singles.  “She’s still No. 1,” Williams said. “That’s saying something.”

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

GBN Quote Of The Day

By goodblacknews on September 1, 2012

“There’s a great difference between being concerned and being committed. When you’re concerned, it’s negotiable. When I went to Washington, I was committed. And what I was about was not negotiable.”
— Jocelyn Elders, the first African-American U.S. Surgeon General

Landra Johnson Offers Natural Hair Care Line For Children Of Color

By goodblacknews on July 25, 2012

Landra Johnson of Charlotte, N.C., lives an all-natural lifestyle. Not only is she a vegetarian but she also only uses products free of preservatives, artificial ingredients and toxins. When her first child, Davis, was born in 2006, Johnson was determined to keep him away from these as well. But, it wasn’t an easy task. Johnson set out on a quest to find products that would naturally soothe Davis’ skin and care for his hair’s curly kinks and coils.  She scoured the aisles of local hair care stores but all she found were products filled with petroleum, mineral oil and artificial concoctions.
“I wanted products that were genuinely chemical free and effective,” said Johnson, 38, a former broadcast journalist who now has two children. “The market at that time was really dominated by general products with nothing for the ethnic market.”  “When we couldn’t find it, we decided to make it,” said Johnson, adding that she and her sister, Kristi Booker, launched in 2009 a hair and skin care line for children of color called Cara B Naturally. With little prior knowledge of the beauty industry, Johnson spent three years researching and collaborating with chemists who work with natural ingredients. Her line of all natural shampoo, soap, leave-in conditioner and body lotion is now certified by the Natural Products Association, Johnson said, noting CVS and Target offer her products.

Rapper Doug E. Fresh Uses Hip-Hop To Teach Healthy Habits To Black and Latino Youth With Hip Hop Public Health

By goodblacknews on July 23, 2012

Doug E. Fresh and CNN’s Wolf Blitzer during the 2011 Soul Train Awards at The Fox Theatre on November 17, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images)

When hip-hop icon Doug E Fresh first graced the mic, he simply wanted to entertain the masses by doing what he loved. After building his career and subsequent fame, he decided that it was best to use his success to educate and empower others. As a father of five, and vegetarian for nearly 25 years, the 45-year-old believes that good health is essential for a fulfilling life.
“Health has always been an important thing to me. I exercise and try to take care of myself, and drink a lot of water! And I push that to my kids so that they can carry on that same energy,” said Doug E.
So when he partnered with Dr. Olajide Williams, a neurologist from New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, to join in the fight against childhood obesity, he merged two very important components of his life: hip-hop and health. The partnership produced Hip Hop Public Health, a program that uses hip hop as a way to educate African-American and Latino children about obesity and the resulting chronic and acute diseases. HHPH engages and informs students through music, videos, comic books and live shows that tour schools. As the program’s Vice President of Entertainment, Doug E. stated that he “felt like  it was necessary to take what people love, which is hip-hop, and use it as tool to get kids motivated.”
Read the rest of this story on Ebony.com.
via Doug E. Fresh uses hip-hop to teach healthy habits to black and Latino youth with Hip Hop Public Health | theGrio.