Before you begin: If you have not read Achieving Black Consciousness and Knowledge of Self via Pan Africanism, please go back and do so now.
If you are new to the Black conscious community and are wondering where you should start in your journey to acquire knowledge of self, this series was written for you. As we transition into 2013, United Black America as both a website and an organization will focus on building and sustaining Black Consciousness and Knowledge of Self. There are many Black and Pan-African websites online that regurgitate Black history, cover news stories, or produce content for shock value, but most fail to offer a starting point for gaining Black consciousness or developing a Pan-African lifestyle.
If you wish to achieve consciousness within the 5 spheres of your existence, you may find that the easiest place to start is within the physical sphere. Your diet is the foundation of your strength, your quality of life, your energy level, and your direct connection with the Earth itself.
Unfortunately, here in Western society, Black communities find themselves in the middle of “food deserts”; districts with little or no access to foods needed to maintain a healthy diet but often served by plenty of fast foods.
Many of the diseases the exist in the Western (white) world simply do not exist in Africa and Asia. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, Africa and South Central Asia have the lowest cancer incidence rates in the entire world. On average, there are only 106.2 new cancer infections per year, per every 100,000 people. In many cases, cancer rates were FAR LOWER for Africans than for African-Americans. The rates of breast cancer among Kenyan women, for instance, are 82 TIMES LOWER than that of American women! Heart disease is NON EXISTENT in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, home to many original African peoples.
According to these same statistics, Australia, North America, and all of Europe have DOUBLE THE RATES OF NEW CANCER INFECTION compared to Africa and South Central Asia, with 270.6 new cancer infections per every 100,000 people!
- 1 out of every 5 American 4 YEAR OLDS are obese
- 1 out of every 3 Americans will develop diabetes in their lifetimes
- 1500 Americans die every single day from cancer
Europe and North America claims that their science and medicine is superior to the rest of the world, but if that is true then why are there so many deaths and so much disease? If there are so many pills on the market, why are so many people so much sicker than the peoples of indigenous cultures?
The answer isn’t another pill, the answer is a different diet! Your food must become your medicine!
Meat + Dairy = Death
After 27 years of animal studies, Dr. T. Collin Campbell, Emeritus professor from Cornell University, came to a shocking conclusion that eating animal proteins drinking too much milk promotes cancer growth. The details were revealed in his book titled “The China Study“, which The New York Times called the greatest epidemiological study in the world.
Dr. Campbell’s studies in animal models found that casein, which accounts for 87 percent of milk proteins can promote cancer. In addition, milk can induce chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Yes – milk can cause osteoporosis! When humans consume cows milk, the body releases antibodies to fight the alien substance. Simultaneously, acid is dumped into the body that eats away at bone structure, thus causing degenerative bone diseases later in life.
According to the studies, safe proteins come from plant foods such as wheat and soybeans. These plant-derived proteins, even at high doses, will not induce cancer, but will still provide your body with the protein that you need to build muscle and repair damaged muscle tissue.
Dr. Campbell pointed out that low intake of animal protein is safe. But high intake can promote growth and spread of cancer cells. Some scientists do not believe it, but similar experiments confirmed the discovery.
Similar studies have also found that animal protein is packed with cholesterol that lead directly to heart attacks. This cholesterol stays in the bloodstream, and is only removed from the body with great difficulty, leading to countless health issues.
All humans have cancer cells that will pop up in our bodies, but animal protein feeds and activates these cancer cells. Animal protein changes the mix of hormones and modifies important enzyme activities within the body, and causes inflammation and cell proliferation and creates an acidic atmosphere in the body(which we have already discussed), and creates the perfect environment for cancer to thrive.
However, plant-based diets give your body the antioxidants critical to neutralizing cancer-causing free radicals in the body, along with massive amounts of fiber that cleanses your body. A varied, plant-based diet is a protective, proactive, and preventative diet hat is high in fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals; and low in saturated fats. That is the foundation of the Black, conscious, plant based diet.
The Black Conscious Plant Based Diet
Based on what we know of the eating habits of our original African cultures, we have created a plant-based diet that not only destroys cancer producing cells in the body, but actually reverses cancer infection, increases energy, strength, healthy body weight, and illnesses that decrease quality of life.
Nutrient Dense Plant Based Whole Foods + (>5% Animal Based Proteins) – (Tobbacco/High Fructose Corn Syrup/GMO and Engineered Foods) = Radiant Health and Strength
Nutrient dense foods are high in vitamins and minerals and low in calories. Fruits and vegetables are nutrient-dense foods, while products containing added sugars, processed cereals, and alcohol arent.
Here is a comprehensive list of the most nutrient – dense foods on the planet:
African Grown Moringa Tea
Asparagus
Avocados
Beets
Bell peppers
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Collard greens
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Fennel
Garlic
Green beans
Green peas
Kale
Leeks
Mushrooms, crimini
Mushrooms, shiitake
Mustard greens
Olives
Onions
Potatoes
Romaine lettuce
Sea vegetables
Spinach
Squash, summer
Squash, winter
Sweet potatoes
Swiss chard
Tomatoes
Turnip greens
Yams
Apples
Apricots
Bananas
Blueberries
Cantaloupe
Cranberries
Figs
Grapefruit
Grapes
Kiwifruit
Lemon/Limes
Oranges
Raw cacao nibs
Papaya
Pears
Pineapple
Plums
Prunes
Raisins
Raspberries
Strawberries
Watermelon
Beans & Legumes
Black beans
Dried peas
Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
Kidney beans
Lentils
Lima beans
Miso
Navy beans
Pinto beans
Soybeans
Tofu and Tempeh
Nuts, Seeds & Oils
Almonds
Cashews
Flaxseeds
Hempseed oil
Peanuts
Pumpkin seeds
Sesame seeds
Sunflower seeds
Walnuts
Grains
Barley
Brown rice
Buckwheat
Corn
Millet
Oats
Quinoa
Rye
Spelt
Whole wheat
Spices & Herbs
Basil
Black pepper
Cayenne pepper
Chili pepper, dried
Cilantro/Coriander seeds
Cinnamon, ground
Cloves
Cumin seeds
Dill
Ginger
Mustard seeds
Oregano
Parsley
Peppermint
Rosemary
Sage
Thyme
Turmeric
Blackstrap molasses
Honey
Maple syrup
The above foods are the foundation of the Black conscious diet. Clean out your refrigerator and replace leftovers, old fast food, and store-bought GMO bullshit with the above. During the spring, plant an urban garden and grow as much of the above as your plot of land can support.
For recipes, and ways to incorporate the above foods into your everyday life and budget, grab one of the following books from Black plant-based dietitians:
Remember: if you want to lead the people, you must feed the people!
Healthy Living Is Revolutionary Resistance
Aside from the health benefits of following a plant-based whole foods diet, the global impact of decreasing demand for livestock could be dramatic. According to the United Nations, the livestock industry is the single largest cause of global climate change. Reducing demand for meat can do more to slow and perhaps reverse global climate change than taking every automobile on the entire planet off the street.
We also know that there are nearly a billion malnourished people on the planet, and right here in Amerikkka, African-Americans continue to suffer disproportionately from hunger and poverty when compared with the U.S. population as a whole.
“Hunger and poverty are putting more and more African-American women and children at risk of poor nutrition. Current research shows that malnutrition during the 1,000 days from pregnancy through a child’s second birthday produces permanent changes in the child’s brain structure and function. Even proper nutrition after this period can’t undo the damage, which affects his or her cognitive and emotional function and increases the risk of future heart disease and diabetes.” – Fact Sheet: Hunger and Poverty Hurt African-American Women and Children
The primary cause of these alarming statistics is our lack of access to and inability to afford sufficient nutritious food. We already know that 25% of all Black households in Amerikkka struggle to put food on the table. We also know that 32.9 percent of African-American households with children were food insecure, compared to 20.2 percent of all U.S. households with children.
Reducing global demand for meat would free up enough grain to feed every mouth on the planet, every day, for an entire human lifespan!
Physical health is the most important aspect of this thing that we call the Black Conscious movement. The strength of a nation ultimately rests with the individual, ergo, without enough to eat, there can be no movements, no nation building, and no nation. The human brain demands massive amounts of nutrients in order to properly function, so before we can feed ourselves knowledge, we must feed ourselves with nutrient dense whole food.
Radically changing our diet as a people may be the most revolutionary thing that we can do.
Peace!
-Asad
Sources:
“Cancer Incidence Worldwide.” World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. <http://publications.cancerresearchuk.org/downloads/Product/worldmap.pdf>.
Simon, Stacy. Annual Report: U.S. Cancer Death Rates Decline, but Disparities Remain. N.p., 17 June 2011. Web. <http://www.cancer.org/cancer/news/news/annualreport-u.s-cancer-death-rates-decline-but-disparities-remain>.
Liu, David. “Nutritionist: Drinking Too Much Milk Promotes Cancer Growth.”Foodconsumer.org. N.p., 8 Dec. 2006. Web.
United Nations Environment Programme (2011) Keeping Track www.unep.org/geo/pdfs/Keeping_Track.pdf
(accessed 28 November 2011)
Audsley, E. et al. (2010) Food, land and greenhouse gases. UK Committee on Climate Change
Household Food Security in the United States, 2010. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, September 2011. (Table 2). http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR125/ERR125.pdf
Household Food Security in the United States, 2010. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, September 2011. (Table 3). http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR125/ERR125.pdf
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