Several Latinas are praising the health virtues of "going vegan" after formerly eating meat, according to a recent Miami Herald column. These include Carolina Quijada, vegan chef of LovinGreens, Jeanette Ruiz, who conducts the Planted in Miami podcast, and Desiree Rodriguez, a ricanvegan.com blogger. Although a plant-based diet is a break from typical Latino tradition, the column indicates that these Latinas chose that lifestyle to boost fitness, overcome sickness and hypoglycemia, and prevent cancer and heart disease. “I wish there was more awareness for [Latinos]," Rodriguez told Miami Herald columnist, Ellen Kanner, a vegan herself. "A lot have the same diseases my family has. It’s so common—I hear them comparing medications. I feel like going vegan is a simple ...
Teenagers living in food insecure households (1 in 4 Latino children) are twice as likely than their peers to have emotional problems, a new study reveals. "These findings add to our growing understanding of food insecurity and its implications, and demonstrate that food insecurity is an independent risk factor for mental health problems among adolescents," said lead author Dr. Elizabeth Poole-Di Salvo of Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. For the study, researchers used data from kids ages 12-16, and interviewed, in most cases, the teen’s mother who answered several questions such as economic difficulties in meeting food needs over the last 12 months and their child’s emotional symptoms. Researchers found that nearly 29% of teens with food insecurity had mental ...
SaludToday Guest Blogger
Jefferson Dental Clinics "You have a cavity." You've probably heard this exact phrase from your dentist about your teeth. In fact, 82% of Latino adults have had a cavity. What should you do? First, bone up on what cavities are. "Demineralization" is the process of how tooth enamel loses minerals. Tooth enamel is comprised of a pattern of minerals and when they are lost, gaps in the pattern form that eventually widen and deepen as minerals are lost faster than the rate of rebuilding occurs. A common misconception is that sugar itself erodes tooth enamel; however, the sugars simply act as a food for the bacteria. The bacteria produce lactic acid, which erodes the enamel when it is left to settle onto teeth. Can you see or feel a cavity? If ...
On average, Americans are not getting enough sleep according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study found that, on average, over 60% of Latinos ages 18 to 60 get the recommended hours of sleep compared to Whites (67%) and African Americans (54%). “As a nation we are not getting enough sleep,” said Dr. Wayne Giles, director of CDC’s Division of Population Health. According to the CDC, sleeping less than 7 hours each day is associated with an increased risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease, and mental distress. “Lifestyle changes such as going to bed at the same time each night; rising at the same time each morning; and turning off or removing televisions, computers, mobile devices from the bedroom, can help ...
Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina, a Latino health researcher and professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, recently became a national research fellow, and is co-leading regional health education centers in South Texas. Parra-Medina was named a Fellow by the American Academy of Health Behavior (AAHB), a national group of researchers who apply study results to improve public health. Fellows are selected for their significant contributions to advancing health behavior knowledge, as well as a strong record of scientific investigations, publications, and presentations. She is being recognized at the AAHB’s scientific meeting Feb. 21-24, 2016, in Florida. Parra-Medina also ...
A new study reveals striking data on Latino millennials and their health, The Houston Chronicle reports. The Hispanic Millennial Project revealed that U.S. born Latino millennials describe health as being happy while foreign-born describe it as not being sick. "I was surprised by that," Beatriz Mallory, vice president of SensisHealth, a Los Angeles-based national advertising agency that works with healthcare providers, drug companies and insurers told The Houston Chronicle. "We've been making the wrong assumptions all these years, which can hamper any attempt to change behavior." Among other findings Latinos “as a whole were less vigilant than non-Hispanic whites in checking calorie counts in food. They were also less likely than other ethnic groups to see processed food as a ...
Editor’s Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2015 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply now for 2016. Erika Sisneros
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. Although she grew up in Colorado, Erika Sisneros' family’s New Mexican red chili sauce reminds her of home. Having grown up in a community with great need, Erika gained a passion for finding ways to prevent teen pregnancy, substance abuse, and dating violence. Just as her grandmother, Patricia, always stood by her side during trying situations, she hopes to serve as an advocate for low-income populations. With her strong sense of faith, and desire to implement change, Erika is on her way towards having a great impact on Latino communities. Erika obtained her bachelor's in Integrative ...
The United States is the second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world after Mexico, yet the number of bilingual doctors has declined steadily over the last 30 years and medical information for Spanish speakers remains limited. With that in mind, Merck Manuals recently translated its trusted medical resources into Spanish. “The best medical information worldwide is documented in English as a universal language, but unfortunately, the advances in diagnosis and treatments for common medical conditions are out of reach for all the people around the world who don't speak English," said Dr. Hector Gonzalez Usigli, based in Guadalajara, Mexico, and Merck Manuals author. "Having a resource translated into their native language is highly important to help increase their ...
Heart disease is the #1 cause of death for Latina women in the U.S. with nearly 21,000 deaths occurring annually among Latino women In fact, studies show Latina women are prone to developing heart disease 10 years earlier than non-Hispanic white women! What can be done to prevent this? Join our “WHY Women’s Heart Health Matters” #SaludTues Tweetchat on Tuesday, February 16, 2016 at 12pm CST (1 p.m. eastern) to learn more important facts about heart health. Share your resources, stories, and tips for preventing heart disease in the Latino community. The chat is co-hosted by Salud Today, The Heart Truth, and The Women’s Heart Alliance (a partnership of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and the Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute at ...
