Advice For Black Women On How To Eat To Combat Heart Disease From A Black Female Cardiologist

By ADRIENNE JORDAN via https://www.essence.com/

Dr. Khadijah Breathett, MD, MS, FACC a Black female advanced heart failure/transplant cardiologist can’t remember how many times her Black friends have lamented to her about the body mass index (BMI), which they attribute mainly to White standards of weight and body types. “At a community health event, a Black woman inquired, “Why are doctors always asking me about my weight and BMI the minute I walk into their office?” However, Dr. Breathett, who is Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center, believes that Black women’s sizes have grown over the years, largely due to our lifestyles and eating habits. “I show my patients and community members maps of obesity over the decades, and we have been getting wider. Just look at photos of your great and great-great grandparents and their more slender physiques: we have been getting wider overtime.”

When it comes to heart disease, family history plays a big role: many of us know an aunt, grandparent, or close family friend that has succumbed to heart disease. From family cookouts to funerals— we like our fried chicken, mac n cheese, yams, and all that delicious southern food. “But by eating in an unhealthy manner, you add more fuel to the …

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