We Can Protect Others by Protecting Ourselves!

Delicately purposed for the nation’s Black women; brown girls, black girls; light-skinned, brown-skinned, and dark-skinned:

To young Black women and girls, who fall in the age bracket for rates of new HIV infections, whether you have tested positive or negative, or don’t yet know your status, we all have a purpose in life which is to live life more abundantly.

March 10^th was National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD), an annual observance that sheds light on the impact of HIV and AIDS on women and girls. The theme this year was “The Best Defense Is a Good Offense.” HIV prevention is key in fighting the infectious disease that disproportionately impacts Black women and girls.

Effective steps to help prevent HIV infection for you and your partner:

• Use condoms every time you engage in sexual activity.
• Get an HIV test, which is free and confidential.
• Be monogamous.
• Do not abuse alcohol or drugs.
• Talk to your doctor about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) if you think you’re at risk for HIV.

Check out What every woman needs to know about HIV and What every girl needs to know about HIV

 We must continue to protect ourselves, our physical and emotional health and encourage others to do the same. Whoever your partner may be, make your personal health and well-being pillars of the relationship. Go get tested together, talk honestly with each other, educate one another, and most of all encourage each other to protect and respect your bodies, make decisions and take actions—do what is needed to be safe.

In honor of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, I challenge all women, especially Black women, at every age to lend your strength and your voice to HIV/AIDS awareness. We can protect others by protecting ourselves!

Share on all of your social media platforms using the hashtag #NWGHAAD and #BestDefense.

Signed,

EnviableZsanai

Office on Women’s Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). About National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day | womenshealth.gov. Retrieved from http://www.womenshealth.gov/nwghaad/about/

https://www.bwhi.org/blog/2015/03/10/home/taking-control-of-my-health/

 

LoveHER: The 3 R’s: Refocus, Reinforce & Reboot

 

Delicately purposed for the nation’s Black women; brown girls, black girls; light-skinned, brown-skinned, and dark-skinned:

Many of us have set goals for the year 2016. Whether it was to lose weight, eat healthy, budget finances, pursue a degree, seek guided counseling; whatever change you wanted to experience this year was on your mind. Some of us may be doing great with our goals and others may be experiencing roadblocks. As I have wondered and I’m sure others can relate, how can I refocus, reinforce, and reboot my goals?

Refocus your goals. This simply means adjusting your priorities. For example, one of my goals for 2016 was to manage my calendar more effectively. I am realizing that it is not so much of me writing down everything in my planner, it’s more about prioritizing. Refocusing your priorities better shape how you will attain your goals that you have set. A great way for me to prioritize and still meet my goal of managing my calendar more effectively is labeling my priorities for each day. You can label, color code, and or only write down what your priorities are. I believe acknowledging your priorities will allow room for things that happen in the spur of the moment.

Reinforce your enthusiasm. Just because you have not been on track to reach your goals thus far or if you are and you feel you are losing momentum, take some time to not only refocus but to strengthen your enthusiasm. You may feel all over the place as if you have no direction but the support and encouraging words of friends or family may help you realize that it’s only January, there are eleven more months in 2016!

Reboot your game plan. In order to reach your goals, you should have a timeline of objectives. Objectives allow you to measure your progress in attaining your goals. If you are in a similar situation that resembles mine, I am definitely off track with my timeline. It’s nothing wrong with being off track because things happen! The best way to keep your enthusiasm in reaching your goals is to reboot the plan. This may mean adjusting your timeline to reflect when you have refocused priorities, reinforced enthusiasm and are ready to reboot.

January is almost over and you still have eleven more months to blossom in 2016. Just remember to Refocus, Reinforce, and Reboot to reach your goals!

Signed,

EnviableZsanai

 

 

LoveHER: Stay Healthy During the Holidays!

Delicately purposed for the nation’s Black women; brown girls, black girls; light-skinned, brown-skinned, and dark-skinned:

 It’s the time of the year when families, friends, colleagues, and loved ones gather around to enjoy food, laughter, and thankfulness. You can’t wait to eat grandma’s sweet potato pie, auntie’s ham, your favorite cousin’s macaroni and cheese, and whatever else comes from the kitchen that smells and looks oh so good!

However, remember to eat reasonably over the holidays! It is known that many traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas foods are high in carbohydrates: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, dinner rolls, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and others. Truth is – we have to consider our diets and what places us at greater risk for the health conditions that ultimately disproportionately affect our community.

November was Diabetes Awareness Month, but I would like to share some tips that always apply for staying healthy on the road and at holiday gatherings with friends and family. You don’t have to give up all of your holiday favorites if you make healthy choices and limit portion sizes!

Healthy Holiday Tips

• Eat a healthy snack before the main course to avoid overeating.
• Try a healthier version of your favorite dish. There are so many recipes that are healthy and tasty!
• Enjoy your holiday favorites but watch out for the heavy hitters such as honey glazed ham and turkey smothered in gravy! Maybe do without the gravy and choose skinless turkey.
• Watch out for side dishes loaded with butter, sour cream, cheese, or mayonnaise.
• Drink in moderation! Maybe one glass of wine is enough for one gathering.
• Don’t forget to get some physical activity going! Offer to help clean up after a meal to get you moving around.
• Most importantly, remember to take your medications for any chronic conditions you may have.

Signed,

EnviableZsanai

P.S. Be selective, eat reasonable portions, eat your veggies, and be healthy for the holidays!

American Diabetes Association. (2014, July 11). Six Holiday Tips: American Diabetes Association®. Retrieved November 18, 2015, from http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/planning-meals/holiday-meal-planning/six-holiday-tips.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014, November 17). Managing Your Diabetes During the Holidays| Features | CDC. Retrieved November 18, 2015, from http://www.cdc.gov/features/diabetesmanagement/

LoveHer: “Allergic to Exercise”

Delicately purposed for the nation’s Black women; brown girls, black girls; light-skinned, brown-skinned, and dark-skinned:

While on a twelve-mile trail, I had no clue that by the two and a half mile mark, exercise would cause me to experience symptoms of an allergy. My thighs and legs started itching and an uncontrollable sensation ran through my body. Before I knew it, my thighs and legs were covered in welts. The sensation in my body felt like the onset of an allergic reaction. After a Google search, I discovered that I had been dealing with symptoms of exercise-induced urticaria. Exercise-induced urticaria is a condition that causes hives and other allergic symptoms during or after exercise. Hives or “welts” are usually raised and can appear on any part of the body.

What was going on with my body to cause such a reaction? Apparently, as my heart rate increased, my blood flowed faster, and the millions of tiny capillaries and arteries in my muscles began expanding rapidly. The capillaries stay open to allow for maximum blood passage when you’re fit, but if you’re out of shape (in my case); your capillaries tend to collapse, not allowing as much blood to pass through. When your capillaries expand, the surrounding nerves become stimulated and send messages to the brain, which reads the sensation as itching.

This experience was definitely an eye-opener and has motivated me to try incorporating some form of exercise into my daily routine. Some days I may choose to take the stairs instead of the elevator or park further from the entrance to stores and buildings. I find that taking little steps to embrace becoming physically fit will make more of a difference, slowly but surely!

Signed,

EnviableZsanai

P.S. Keep reasonable expectations of yourself!

American Academy of Family Physicians. (n.d.). Exercise-induced Urticaria | Overview. Retrieved August 2015, from http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/diseases-conditions/exercise-induced-urticaria.html

POPSUGAR. (n.d.). Why Do My Legs Itch When I Run? | POPSUGAR Fitness. Retrieved August 2015, from http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Why-Do-My-Legs-Itch-When-I-Run-4514320

LoveHER: The Other Silent Killer of Black Women—Hepatitis C

Delicately purposed for the nation’s Black women; brown girls, black girls; light-skinned, brown-skinned, and dark-skinned:

“It is clear that information about Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) has not effectively reached the majority of African Americans in this country. According to a public awareness poll conducted by the American Liver Foundation, African Americans, when compared to the general public,  are not as aware of the risk factors or symptoms of hepatitis C. Furthermore, a media analysis discovered African American press, a trusted resource which plays a critical role in informing the African American community, features minimal coverage on hepatitis C.

Hepatitis C, the most common blood-borne infection worldwide, is silently killing us, Black women. Like other viruses such as HIV/AIDS, many who are infected are unaware thus, increasing the risk of developing severe liver disease and transmitting the virus to others. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the prevalence of the virus is 3 percent among African Americans, compared to 1.5 percent in the general population.

Within the African American community, chronic liver disease, which is often hepatitis C-related, is a leading cause of death among people between the ages of 45 and 64. About 9.4 percent of African Americans in their 40s are or have been infected with chronic hepatitis C – compared to only 3.8 percent of Caucasians.

In order to raise awareness, connect those affected with treatment, prevent new infections and defeat this silent killer once and for all, we must empower ourselves. As black women, we must make it an effort to get hepatitis C screenings and more importantly know our status.

Signed,

EnviableZsanai

P.S. Click here to take a short Hepatitis C risk assessment!

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). The ABCs of Viral Hepatitis. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/docs/ABC-Viral-Hepatitis.pdf

Franciscus, A. (n.d.). African Americans and Hepatitis C. Retrieved from http://hcvadvocate.org/hepatitis/factsheets_pdf/African_Americans.pdf

Hepatitis Foundation International. (n.d.). HEPATITIS C: AN EPIDEMIC WITHIN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY. Retrieved from http://www.hepfi.org/pdfs/Stakeholders/HFI_African_American_HCV_Disparities.pdf

LoveHER: King v. Burwell, the Affordable Care Act & Black Women–What’s the Connection?

Delicately purposed for the nation’s Black women; brown girls, black girls; light-skinned, brown-skinned, and dark-skinned:

On June 25, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in King v. Burwell that premium tax credits can be issued to consumers who purchase health coverage in the federally facilitated marketplace (FFM). King v. Burwell is a significant factor in the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) because it ensures that millions of Americans will have access to affordable health coverage. Furthermore, because women comprise a majority of FFM enrollees, the availability of premium tax credits under the ACA is crucial.

Currently, black women still suffer disproportionately from chronic illnesses and infectious diseases. The ACA has afforded women more rights ensuring fair treatment from insurers and guaranteeing access to coverage that offers a comprehensive set of benefits, including maternity care and other key women’s health services for those who enroll in a marketplace plan. In addition to the benefits for women, the ACA has also put policies in place which allow dependents to remain on their parent’s health insurance until they turn twenty-six years old.

Benefits of the ACA & King v. Burwell for Black Women:

1. Guaranteed access to coverage through the marketplace plans

2. Screenings and counseling for Pregnancy-related conditions such as anemia and gestational diabetes; Breast and cervical cancers; Sexually transmitted infections; and Domestic and interpersonal violence

3. Well-woman visits

4. Contraception

5. Breastfeeding supplies, counseling and support

6. Tobacco use intervention

7. Osteoporosis screenings

These benefits truly provide women with greater flexibility, economic security, independence, and protection in health and wellness. I encourage my fellow Black women to take full advantage of the benefits being offered whether it is through premiums in the marketplace or private insurers. Every woman especially Black women has the right to a healthy, productive, and even longer life!

Signed,

EnviableZsanai

P.S. If you are uninsured visit www.healthcare.gov, you still have time for 2015 health coverage!

Important dates for 2016 enrollment:

November 1, 2015 – Open enrollment starts for 2016 Marketplace plans

January 1, 2016 – First date 2016 coverage can start

January 31, 2016 – 2016 Open Enrollment ends

HealthCare.gov. (n.d.). 2016 Open Enrollment dates | HealthCare.gov. Retrieved July 2015, from https://www.healthcare.gov/marketplace-deadlines/2016/

National Partnership for Women & Families. (2015, January). King v. Burwell: Affordable Coverage for Women at Stake. Retrieved from http://www.nationalpartnership.org/research-library/health-care/king-v-burwell-affordable-coverage-for-women-at-stake.pdf

LoveHER: Take the Test, Take Control

Delicately purposed for the nation’s Black women; brown girls, black girls; light-skinned, brown-skinned, and dark-skinned:

There are so many things happening in the world that demand our attention, but HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) should have our undivided attention every day.  HIV/AIDS is relentlessly infecting and taking the lives of our mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, cousins, nieces, and friends.