It's been too long!!!

Back from the trip we all go on.

LIFE

Laughter
Intelligence
Frequency
Electricity

love till it hurts and you can bandage and manage it. :)

Diva Health II

“Those that don’t have it, can’t flaunt it, those that want it can’t hide it, but those that LIVE it can’t help but to be the electricity that sparks the world.” TMAC

I. Health Gap Special Report


The Fourth Annual Health Conference attracted 4,200 participants this year. The conference Health Expo took place on April 13-14 at the Duke Energy Center in downtown Cincinnati. The conference kicked off with a high energy, high stepping routine by the W.E.B. DuBois Academy Steppers and the Withrow Marching Band Drumline. Conference participants gained new information about healthcare costs, setting community health policies, mental health, women’s and men’s health issues, disability benefits, nutrition and fitness. This conference is well worth looking into for next year. It is important for African Americans to keep up on our health so please see your primary care physician routine checkups and procedures.

Startling health screenings from the free screenings reveal insight into the Greater Cincinnati minority community:

73% of the body fat analysis were in the “over fat” or obese range.
26% of the blood pressure readings indicated high blood pressure.
22% of the blood sugar screenings indicated pre-diabetic or diabetic.
19% of the bone density readings were outside of the normal range and indicated osteopenia or osteoporosis.

Praise for the Expo:

“The Expo was great. I was exposed to things that I can do at home-from fixing a healthy meal to learning a different type of exercise” Expo participant


II. HEALTHY EATING

Variety, Balance, and Moderation
There is no secret to healthy eating. Be sure to eat a variety of foods, including plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole grain products. Also include low-fat or non-fat dairy products, lean meats, poultry, fish, and legumes. Drink lots of water and go easy on the salt, sugar, alcohol, and saturated fat. Good nutrition should be part of an overall healthy lifestyle, that also includes regular physical activity, not smoking, and stress management. If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.

How Many Cups of Fruits and Vegetables Do You Need?

· Not sure how to increase your fruit and vegetable intake? Start the day with 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice. Slice bananas or strawberries on top of your cereal. Have a salad with lunch, and carrot sticks for an afternoon snack. Include a vegetable with dinner and you already have about 5 Cups of fruits and vegetables. If you need more than 5 cups per day (see chart above), try adding a piece of fruit for a snack or an extra vegetable (like carrots or green beans) at dinner.
· There are so many choices when selecting fruits and vegetables. Have you ever tried kiwifruit? How about asparagus? Try something new that helps you reach your goal.
· Keep things fresh and interesting by combining fruits and vegetables of different flavors and colors, like red grapes with pineapple chunks, or cucumbers and red peppers.
· When you keep fruits and vegetables visible and easily accessible you tend to eat them more; for instance, store cut and cleaned produce at eye-level in the refrigerator, or keep a big bowl of fruit on the table.
· You can get some of your fruits and vegetables at restaurants too. Try some of these healthy choices.
o veggie pizza
o pasta with vegetables (but watch out for those high fat cream sauces)
o fresh vegetable "wrap"
o vegetable soup
o small salad (instead of fries)
o plenty of fresh vegetables from the salad bar.



III. EXERCISE

Hello ladies and gents are you exercising at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes or more? If not why not incorporate dancing into your routine, Salsa dancing is a fun and exciting way to get fit and fabulous. Check out the free lessons at Havana Martine every Wednesday starting at 8:00 PM.
You can dance the night away and have a good time networking. What is Salsa one might ask Salsa refers to a fusion of informal dance styles having roots in the Caribbean (especially Cuba), Latin America and North America. Salsa is danced to Salsa music. There is a strong African influence in the music and the dance.
Salsa is usually a partner dance, although there are recognized solo steps and some forms are danced in groups of couples, with frequent exchanges of partner. Improvisation and social dancing are important elements of Salsa but it appears as a performance dance too!!!!! SO IN OTHER WAYS DON’T BE AFRAID OF PRACTICE, IT MAKES PERFECT.

IV. Upcoming Events:

BRIDGES Walk for a Just Community/Freedom Run
-Saturday, October 13, 2007-08-27
Route: 3.1 Miles through downtown Cincy and Northern KY

2007 Making Strides against Breast Cancer - Greater Cincinnati!Sunday, October 14, 2007Yeatman's CoveRegistration begins at 8:00am, Walk begins at 9:00am5 mile, non-competitive walk

V. New Drugs
What is Alli or (Orlistat)?
Orlistat blocks some of the fat that you eat from being absorbed by your body. Orlistat is used in the management of obesity including weight loss and weight maintenance when used with a reduced-calorie diet. Each dose is taken with a full glass of water, and is usually taken with each main meal that contains fat. Orlistat can be taken during meals or up to one hour after a meal.
Each time you take orlistat, your meal should contain no more than about 30\% of calories from fat. Evenly divide your daily intake of fat, carbohydrates, and protein over three main meals a day. Talk to your doctor about following a healthy eating plan.

Diabetes afflicts 17 million Americans. Bad diets and a lack of exercise are expected to almost double the prevalence of the disease by 2015, and drug companies are pushing potential treatments to market. Some drugs to watch for are:

Drug
Maker
Purpose
Development Stage
Arxxant
Eli Lilly (nyse: LLY - news - people )
Treat diabetes complications
Late-stage trial
Galida
AstraZeneca (nyse: AZN - news - people )
Lower blood sugar and cholesterol
Late-stage trial
Galvus
Novartis (nyse: NVS - news - people )
Control blood sugar
Late-stage trial
Januvia (updated)
Merck (nyse: MRK - news - people )
Control blood sugar
Late-stage trial


Stay Tuned on these drugs for FDA approval and ask your physcian if you or a loved one is affected by diabetes. Have a good healthy day.

Will there ever be justice for Blacks in America.....

Hey to all my revolutionites I just learned about a case of segregation-era oppression happening
today in Jena, Louisiana. I signed onto ColorOfChange.org's campaign
for justice in Jena, and wanted to invite you to do the same.
http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/?id=1832-236337

Last fall in Jena, the day after two Black high school students sat
beneath the "white tree" on their campus, nooses were hung from the
tree. When the superintendent dismissed the nooses as a "prank," more
Black students sat under the tree in protest. The District Attorney
then came to the school accompanied by the town's police and demanded
that the students end their protest, telling them, "I can be your best
friend or your worst enemy... I can take away your lives with a stroke
of my pen."
A series of white-on-black incidents of violence followed, and the DA
did nothing. But when a white student was beaten up in a schoolyard
fight, the DA responded by charging six black students with attempted
murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
It's a story that reads like one from the Jim Crow era, when judges,
lawyers and all-white juries used the justice system to keep blacks in
"their place." But it's happening today. The families of these young
men are fighting back, but the story has gotten minimal press.
Together, we can make sure their story is told and that the Governor
of Louisiana intervenes and provides justice for the Jena 6. It starts
now. Please join me:
http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/?id=1832-236337
The noose-hanging incident and the DA's visit to the school set the
stage for everything that followed. Racial tension escalated over the
next couple of months, and on November 30, the main academic building of
Jena High School was burned down in an unsolved fire. Later the same
weekend, a black student was beaten up by white students at a party.
The next day, black students at a convenience store were threatened by a
young white man with a shotgun. They wrestled the gun from him and ran
away. While no charges were filed against the white man, the students
were later arrested for the theft of the gun.
That Monday at school, a white student, who had been a vocal supporter
of the students who hung the nooses, taunted the black student who was
beaten up at the off-campus party and allegedly called several black
students "nigger." After lunch, he was knocked down, punched and
kicked by black students. He was taken to the hospital, but was
released and was well enough to go to a social event that evening.
Six Black Jena High students, Robert Bailey (17), Theo Shaw (17),
Carwin Jones (18), Bryant Purvis (17), Mychal Bell (16) and an
unidentified minor, were expelled from school, arrested and charged
with second-degree attempted murder. The first trial ended last
month, and Mychal Bell, who has been in prison since December, was
convicted of aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated
battery (both felonies) by an all-white jury in a trial where his
public defender called no witnesses. During his trial, Mychal's
parents were ordered not to speak to the media and the court
prohibited protests from taking place near the courtroom or where the
judge could see them.
Mychal is scheduled to be sentenced on July 31st, and could go to jail
for 22 years. Theo Shaw's trial is next. He will finally make bail
this week.
The Jena Six are lucky to have parents and loved ones who are fighting
tooth and nail to free them. They have been threatened but they are
standing strong. We know that if the families have to go it alone,
their sons will be a long time coming home. But if we act now, we can
make a difference.
Join me in demanding that Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco get
involved to make sure that justice is served for Mychal Bell, and that
DA Reed Walters drop the charges against the 5 boys who have not yet
gone to trial.
http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/?id=1832-236337
Thanks.

DIVA HEALTH

Hello everyone, please see this months Health Awareness newsletter.

Tynisa’s Health and Fitness 101

Hello and Welcome to all of the Diva Network and guests,

I come to you with all humbleness to ask what have you done this week for you? When we take care of ourselves it is then and only then that we can take care of others. Sadly this statement is not true for most of our African American sisters out trying to save the world on Monday and provide extra care the rest of the days of the week, putting
ourselves last on the list.

What can I do for myself one may ask that would make me feel better, have more
confidence, and provide that glow from the inside out? EXERCISE, EXERCISE, and
then EXERCISE some more. No matter what you do for a living we should set 30
minutes aside in the morning, afternoon or evening for a fun filled daily adventure.
Maybe you like to walk and observe nature around your local park, or maybe you like
the track better. How about bike riding, jogging, skating, tennis, golf, swimming or hiking? There are many fun things to do and receive both pleasure and physical fitness. As Ms. Eboney would say, “Work on your summer body”.

A word from our own Donna Richardson Joyner who says,
Hello Everyone,"I think you have to want to change more than you want to stay the same."

Learn more about Donna at her website: http://www.donnarichardson.com/bio.html
And please check the video out below.

Shout Outs to Eboney and Tynisa for doing the 16 mile Underground Railroad bike ride on May 9, 2007. They had a beautiful ride, but I understand their seat on the bikes left a little to be desired, otherwise stated a hard ride. :)

The next opportunity for a good group exercise, is the Walk-a-thon in Winton Woods Park on Saturday June 9, 2007. This 5K walk/run is for HIV/Aids awareness, and alcoholism use and abuse in the Greater Cincinnati Area. There will be food, entertainment, and water provided.
For more information
(513) 542-9735 or email 4charisfundraiser@fuse.net, please visit the website at http://www.4charis.com

Prom, a night to remember!!!!

Prom is one the focal points in high school no matter what school you are from. Everyone stresses about what to wear and who to go with. One of the worries is that someone will have on the same dress or outfit that you have. A way to avoid this is to design your own dress and make sure no one know your plan. Two outfits that stick out to me as the most individual are the below designs. I think these were one of a kind fashions.

These fashions were tailor made one of a kinds. Do you think this was a fashion hit or a fashion miss? Please vote by leaving a comment. I give a ten for unique style.....

Do Blacks have Civil Rights in 2007?

An injustice anywhere is a threat to your Civil Rights and mine. How could this happen and only after one year is the media talking about it. Check the facts:

A 14-year-old black girl from tiny Paris, Texas, was sent to a youth prison for up to seven years for shoving a hall monitor at her high school!

The same judge sentenced a 14-year-old white girl to probation for burning down her family's house. Bigger offense, lighter sentence, lighter skin: the ingredients of injustice.

Since then Shaquanda Cotton has been released early after serving one year for pushing a hall monitor: see her blog at http://freeshaquandacotton.blogspot.com/

What can we do about future injustices as this? Do exactly what Shaquanda did, publicize what has opened for the whole wide web to see and hear about. This is activism in 2007, Internet can reach so many people above and beyond the person who does not read the paper. It crosses the racial divide, gender, and economical disparities. I implore everyone to learn about this tragic story and tell others about it.

BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD!

GO GO GREG ODEN is gone!!!!

I SHED SO MANY TEARS ON MONDAY, IT HAS TAKEN THIS LONG TO FINALLY HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THE OHIO STATE VS.

FLORIDA BATTLE.

I don't think that Mr. Oden will see a championship at THE OHIO STATE IN THE FUTURE! They played a good game which lost tempo in the first half of the game, Florida's 84-75 . My man could be found in his usual spot, below the basket catching and deflecting the whole game. While he needs to wait to go to the Pros I don't think he will.

I am a skeptic because of all the dollars they will wave in the young man's face. I am not sure of his home life, because he has never invited me to the house, which will change in the near future because he knows he needs me, but a couple of million dollars can sound nice to anyone in college star athlete or not. Think of all the things that me and my man can do with that cash, I need my business to take off on it's own, and 1 million just may do the trick.......

The best photo of the game was of Ohio State's coach Thad Matta, scratching is his head in disbelief. I don't blame him, Florida came out with a message and has been the second team since DUKE in the 1980s to upset by a repeat. Congratulations to FLORIDA they trully out played Ohio State but we'll be BACK TO BUCK that WIN, it's in our EYE get it BUCKEYES?