When it comes to the overall physical health of Black people in the United States, data and statistics do not often paint an optimistic picture. Regardless of gender or age, our people are often disproportionately impacted and suffer when it comes to maladies like high blood pressure, diabetes, certain cancers, kidney problems and other ailments and illnesses.
According to the American Heart Association, “about 58% of Black adults in the United States have high blood pressure,” which is among the highest rates in the world. “Black adults face higher rates of obesity and diabetes.
Higher rates of these conditions increase the risk for high blood pressure and heart disease. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to other conditions and even death. It is a major risk factor for heart attack, stroke, heart failure and kidney disease,” noted heart.org.
The news is not much better when it comes to Black youth. In a study that included 15,171 Black, Mexican American, and White adults, researchers found that nearly 31% of Black young adults had high blood pressure, which was the highest rate among the three groups studied, the American Heart Association noted.
There are numerous factors that contribute to high blood pressure, but the primary culprit is often our diet and the size of our food portions. A healthy diet, along with regular physical activity, can help to lower blood pressure.
Access to healthy or healthier foods can be a challenge, particularly to Black people or underserved communities who often live in areas commonly known as food deserts. This limits a person’s access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
However, we must do our best to take control of our health and diet and to begin addressing the very real health issues that are eroding our quality of life.
The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam, gave us a dietary law decades ago that can and will give us a better quality of life—if we follow it to the best of our ability.
He taught us not only about the importance of eating a healthy and balanced meal once per day, but also what foods to eat, which ones to avoid, the best time of day to eat and the importance of fasting.
He also provided us with examples of simple yet wholesome foods that are not very expensive, such as the navy bean. This life-saving guidance can be found in two books by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, “How To Eat To Live,” books 1 and 2.
He warned us about the consequences of eating the types of foods that we now see are contributing to the health problems our Black communities are struggling with today. “We cannot live a long time if we laden our bodies with fats to burden our hearts in pumping blood through all of this fat.
It shortens the time of our heart beat, and the fat person is—in many instances more likely to attract sickness and disease,” the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad wrote on page 27 in book 1.
Now, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad was and is not “fat shaming” those of us who may struggle with our weight. Unfortunately, obesity and being overweight are common in the United States.
According to a 2023 article in Forbes, the U.S. was ranked number 12 among the most obese countries. However, it was considered number one “when considering high-income countries,” Forbes noted.
The article also stated that per the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 19 states in America have obesity rates exceeding 35 %, which was an increase from 16 states the previous year, and that a decade earlier, no states had obesity rates above 35%.
The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave us a way of life that can give us a greater quality of life. “All praises are due to Master Fard Muhammad, as it is written of Him in the Scriptures, that He comes to prolong our lives and to do away with sickness and death.
If we live right, He teaches us we will enjoy life for a long, long time,” the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad continued on page 28, of book 1.
The Holy Qur’an, the Islamic book of scripture, also references the importance of our diet and cautions us against exceeding the limits. Surah 20, Verse 81 states,
“Eat of the good things We have provided for you, and be not inordinate in respect thereof, lest My wrath come upon you; and he on whom My wrath comes, he perishes indeed.” The Bible warns against gluttony, which is defined as “habitual greed or excessive eating.”
During these uncertain times, when many households may be concerned about their food budgets, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad again provided us with the necessary guidance we need.
In “How To Eat To Live,” book 2, He writes, “We look too much at the fancy and the artificial foods that the enemy made and accepted for himself. He eats just the opposite things from that which the righteous eat. Simple foods are the best. The Bible warns us to beware of the dainty foods of the enemy. Meats are not good for us, but we eat meat.”
Our health is extremely important, and the excess physical weight we carry, which contributes to some of our health problems, is putting our lives in danger.
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan warned us that being overweight is to carry a burden that we were not meant to carry. “When you begin to shed excess fat, you take on different thinking, as well as a different appearance.
Allah (God) has given us a pattern for Life. All of the prophets gave us Guidance from Him for healthy living,” Minister Farrakhan wrote in part five of his series, “The War Against Obesity (Fat),” published in Vol. 10, No. 19 in The Final Call, October 7, 1991.
“The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that the brain cells of the Original people are constructed to ‘think right.’ To ‘think right’ means to think in accordance with Truth and Actual Facts. Thinking contrary to Truth does damage to brain cells and impairs the vision.
If we are created to think right, we are also created to do right. Any act we participate in that is contrary to right thinking and acting creates an unwanted burden on the mind.
The burden of sin covers the intellect, veils the vision and impairs the power of the mind to do the wonderful things Allah (God) created the mind to do.”
We have work to do on ourselves and in our communities among our people, but we cannot be at our optimum if we are saddled with excess weight or are battling illnesses related to what we continue to eat and drink. Pick up, read, study, and implement “How To Eat To Live.”
As the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us, let us eat to live and not to die!