The American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women movement and its national sponsor, Macy’s are collaborating to offer female medical students a Go Red Multicultural Scholarship Fund.

They are providing the scholarships in an effort to drive diversity in medicine and directly address important gaps in treatment that can lead to heart health disparities.

The application process opens Sept. 15 and is available through Nov. 30. Sixteen deserving racially/ethnically diverse females will receive a $2,500 scholarship to support them in their studies. In addition to completing an online application, candidates must complete a personal essay and submit two letters of recommendation.

African-American women are disproportionately affected by heart disease and its risk factors and, like other ethnic groups, also confront barriers to diagnosis, disparities in care and experience poorer health outcomes than their Caucasian counterparts.

Factors that contribute to poor health outcomes among African-Americans include cultural barriers and lack of access to quality care, according to the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities (OMHD). The lack of diversity among medical students and healthcare professionals continues to produce treatment environments that contribute to health disparities.

“Healthcare is always in need of talented people. If we can get more deserving, diverse females into the medical pipeline through the Go Red Multicultural Scholarship Fund, then it helps our industry and it helps society,” said Karol Watson, M.D., associate professor of cardiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Vice President of the Association of Black Cardiologists and American Heart Association spokesperson.

Last year, only 6.7 percent of African-Americans and 7.5 percent of Hispanics made up the total number of medical school graduates, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Only 5.4 percent of African-Americans and 3.6 percent of Hispanics in the nation are Registered Nurses (RNs).

Applications and scholarship requirements are available online at GoRedForWomen.org/GoRedScholarship.

Cheryl “Salt” James of the grammy award winning multi-platinum female rap group “Salt-n-Pepa” has joined forces with the American Stroke Association in efforts to use hip hop to save lives. She will be one of the celebrity judges for the Hip Hops Stroke Video Competition. Just last month in May for National Stroke Awareness month, the American Stroke Association kicked off a national hip hop stroke video competition for 10 to 15 year olds to increase public awareness about stroke. The goal of the contest is to ignite the visual artistic talent within kids while emphasizing the importance of knowing stroke warning signs and taking care of themselves now so they can have healthier lives as adults. The contest will run from May 7th through Sept 21st.  The grand winner will win a meet and greet with Terrence J from BET’s 106 & Park. Music videos will be created to accompany the stroke theme song,“Enlighten the World on Stroke” produced by Josh Mills of Atlanta based Osiris South Records.

In an interview with Salt, she shared that her commitment to this health campaign stems from a personal connection with stroke. Her publicist and health conscious friend Beverly Page suffered a stroke in 2007 at the age of 52. Salt, having then seen first hand the devastation stroke can cause has since elected to use her celebrity status and love for hip hop to help raise awareness and educate others.

“I was so amazed to learn that stroke is an everybody problem, its not to be associated with just old age. It can happen to anyone at anytime so its important that we (the public) are aware of the risk factors and the warning signs of stroke.” ~Salt

So kudos to the American Stroke Association for its first time appealing to youth via fun and engaging music videos. As Salt also referenced, using music is a great way to help youth remember important stroke information as we both recalled School House Rock’s popular “Conjunction Junction“ as another memorable song that served and still serves its purpose to teach valuable life lessons through music. Who doesn’t remember that song?

The power to end stroke starts with you! For more information on stroke and the Hip Hop Stroke Video Competition please visit www.StrokeAssociation.org. 

The average American consumes 130 pounds of sugar each year. Many do not even realize that they are consuming such large quantities because the sugar is hidden in many of our everyday foods sugar as yogurt and bread. Beyond the traditional table sugar, processed and refined sugars such as high fructose corn syrup contributes to the almost 1/3 pound of sugar we ingest daily.

Consumption of large amounts of sugars can be overwhelming and damaging to the body. Once ingested, sugar needs to either be utilized by the body’s cells or stored for later use. The function of sugar storage by the liver results in some sugars being converted into fats that contribute to the increased production of low-density lipoproteins (LDL), also known as “bad cholesterol.” With an increased amount of LDL circulating in the body, it causes vascular inflammation and clogs arteries that contribute to high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. And as if that’s not enough, the large amounts of sugars and empty calories can also hasten diabetes and obesity.

 So how does one avoid a bittersweet death?

Eat fresh foods. Not all sugars are created equally. Natural foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables do provide sugars too, however they also supply micronutrients and fiber that provide for steady blood glucose levels unlike soda, a quick liquid dump of easily absorbed sugars.

Read your food labels. Be cognizant of what you’re eating. Watch out for the hidden sugars and make healthier choices.

Exercise regularly. Once sugar is ingested, it needs to be utilized or stored. The heart healthy recommendation for exercise is 30 minutes/day, 5 days/week. Sugar is an energy source that was intended to be used. Use it!

Try artificial sweeteners. Although some have received a bad rap in the past, when used in moderation they are a safe and FDA approved method of eliminating empty calories while still providing the sweet taste your taste buds desire. They also do not increase your blood sugar levels like other forms of sugar.

So think twice before you take your next bite. What are you really eating? My mantra and the motto I share with my patients is this: Don’t live to eat. Eat to live! Don’t let your sweet tooth be the death of you.

90 percent of Americans eat more salt than is daily recommended for a heart healthy diet. The average American takes in approximately 3,436 mg of salt daily, yet the heart healthy recommendation is only 1,500 mg. Although over 65 percent of Americans expressed a concern about their salt intake, only 29 percent said they actually monitor their food’s salt content regularly.

High salt intake is one of the leading modifiable causes for high blood pressure, so is it any surprise that one in three Americans have high blood pressure? Considering high blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, it’s time we all make some much-needed dietary changes.

Every 36 seconds someone dies of cardiovascular disease; this shouldn’t happen because of something as simple as salt. With more than 75 percent of consumed salt coming from processed foods, getting salt smart is necessity for healthy living and long life.

By increasing your awareness and reducing salt intake, you can help lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and heart attack.

Get salt smart starting with these simple tips:
• Read nutritional labels to compare and find foods that are lower in sodium
• Choose fresh fruits and vegetables when possible
• If you must use canned fruits or vegetables, rinse them off with water prior to eating to rid excess sodium
• Limit the amount of processed foods you eat and limit your portion size
• Use fresh herbs instead of adding salt when cooking and/or eating
• When dining out, ask for your food to be prepared without salt
• Choose foods with potassium – they counter the effects of sodium and may help lower your blood pressure
• Cook your food yourself – it’s is the best way to control the amount of sodium in your diet 

This article is a repost from its original appearance on FNC iMag.

90 percent of Americans eat more salt than is daily recommended for a heart healthy diet. The average American takes in approximately 3,436 mg of salt daily, yet the heart healthy recommendation is only 1,500 mg. Although over 65 percent of Americans expressed a concern about their salt intake, only 29 percent said they actually monitor their food’s salt content regularly. 

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But no worries peeps, I’ll still continue to post the latest and greatest here too. Its my hope that you’ll, continue to follow and support my informative and interesting hip & healthy postings… regardless of what website they’re on.

Please check out the article and let me know your thoughts. Can a Broken Heart Cause a Heart Attack?

Please stay tuned to learn more especially as we launch with a very special project – The Live2Laff Health Expo & Comedy Tour. 

As diverse as our nation is today, one thing remains constant – everyone laughs. Laughter has been proven to have positive health benefits both physically and mentally. It is often referred to as the best medicine yet is also found to be contagious. Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. It increases the heart rate and increases calorie expenditure by up to 20%. It also lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert. For these reasons and more Ask Nurse Alice, Inc. decided it was time to step outside the box and use the universal language of laughter to introduce and infuse important health information and services into our communities.

The Live2Laff Health Expo will create an environment full of important health, nutrition and fitness information, resources, health screenings and giveaways. The overarching theme will be health & wellness with laughter used as our common language. And it wouldn’t be complete with an evening comedy show from some of today’s funniest comedians. 

But you’ll have to check back to see which comedians will be joining the Live2Laff movement. And make sure to follow us on Twitter.com/Live2LaffComedy to see what’s next.