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June 6, 2008 Books focusing on nutrition run the gamut, from those written by celebrities (Ian K. Smith’s Fat Smash Diet, for example) to the overblown and downright questionable. (Kevin Trudeau’s Natural Cures They Don’t Want You To Know About, which fails to back up the author’s claims about the benefits of certain diets and homeopathic procedures). Llaila Afrika’s book, Nutricide: The Nutritional Destruction of the Black Race is a book that resembles the latter, yet manages to offer some insight as to how western diet, food preparation and medicine have negatively impacted upon persons of African descent. While the book explains in detail the why’s of gastronomic intake being bad for blacks physically and psychologically, the arguments are laden with conspiracy theories and rife with anti-white antipathy that detract from the points that Mr. Afrika argues. It’s one thing to be pro-black, but Afrika’s writing is drenched in so much vitriol and rhetoric that any scientific or nutritional data is lost in the translation, and worse, maybe disregarded by a people that are arguably one of the most nutritionally deprived and afflicted races on the planet. . Not all that Afrika presents is in such a negative light, His explanations on how melanin impacts upon digestion and addiction is intriguing, as is his exploration of chemical additives and how they impact upon behavior. Afrika goes into great detail (citing numerous studies) that indicate behavioral problems in children probably have a stronger link to nutrition and medicine rather than genetics or environmental causes. While Americans as a whole, are literally eating themselves to an early grave, to try and frame African-American diet and nutritional deficiencies as a Caucasian conspiracy is quite a stretch. Still, for those blacks seeking a different and thought-provoking look at diet, chemicals and vices such as smoking and partaking in malt liquor, impact upon us, this is an informative read. An episode of Aaron McGruder’s, The Boondocks, did a better job of presenting many of these points. In the same vein, John Berardi’s Metabolism Advantage offers advice for speeding up one’s metabolism, slowing the aging process, and getting physically fit. Like Afrika’s book, there is emphasis on eating organic foods, but Berardi also explains how certain exercises lead to a faster metabolic rate and a more natural weight loss – especially when compared to the popular pills and potions diets as seen on TV (Hoodia, Hydroxycut, et al.) The book advertises “An 8-week program to rev up your body’s fat-burning machine—at any age.” It even offers diet and exercise plans that allow reader’s to “cheat” and enact an easier, more gradual path to healthy living. On an artistic level are two books of poetry by black females making a name for themselves among readers of the genre. Jackie Young’s Love’s Reparations is the triumphant work of a woman with a lot to say, and an eloquent way of saying it. The book lives up to its claim as “the learning curve between heartache and healing.” It is a journey through the realm of romance and disappointment; joy, anger and re-birth told from a black female perspective; one that seeks not bash black men, but enlighten and empower them by revealing the inner workings of the mind and soul of black females. The book is broken into three chapters—Heartache, Learning Curve, and Healing, and Young’s expression wastes nary a word. The poems read like each piece was painstakingly written, with long debate over each word before it was committed to paper. She experiments with variations of free verse and even haiku, and the poems are more than the culmination of her own experiences, but serve up a heaping helping if food for thought and introspective critique for sistas “going through it to get to it.” Her subject covers some familiar territory: love lost (Party Favors), love found (Let The Games Begin), re-discovering self (Baby Steps), Paying tribute to black men are poems like G-Spot, One of my favorite pieces is the concise, yet soul-bearing piece on emotional paralysis titled, Dazed: I unable to imagine my life without you in it…You unable to imagine an us.We dance around the edges of one anotherfearful of our collective depths,paralyzed by the love reflected in each other’s eyes. E. Joyce Moore is one of my favorite writers, from essays to poetry, her missives tend to be heartfelt, yet analytical. Her poetry tome, Ramblings Through The Attic Of Thought, is no exception. This a poignant potpourri of poetic style and musings, from haiku to hip-hop; covering subjects ranging from broken hearts to the state of black America . Moore fires at the reader from point-blank range. In After The Storm, Moore pens: strange though, somewhere deep inside mea tiny flame of relief burns brightI am still alone, just by myself.framed no longer, I am set freeI open myself to life’s sunlightno more a pretty painting on someone’s shelf. Predefinition offers us another blunt look at race relations through Ms. Moore’s eyes: I look past youYou look past meIf we looked at each other What would we see?Would you see the kindnessIn my eyesWould your sense of humorTake me by surprise?What would happenIf we didn’t assumeor define each otherAnd chose to make roomFor the truth. Moore elaborates on aberrant behavior, which today’s youth pass off as hip, from hop-hop hoochies to this piece about “saggin’”: Pull yo’ pants upBrothaThe look is passéSpread the wordIn caseno one has heard...And looks bad anyway… When you don’tEven know whyYour belt loops’At your thighNo, you don’t evenKnow whyIt meansYou’re a jail ho’ Four diverse authors, yet all which iffer food for thought—from an aesthetic and nutritional standpoint. ------------ About the author: Timothy N. Stelly, Sr. is a poet, novelist, screenwriter who resides in northern California with his three youngest children -- Dante, Kimberly and Lawrence. He has just finished his first collection of poetry, “Stories From The Black Side Of The Rainbow,” and his sci-fi novel “Human Trial” is under consideration for publication. website: http://stellbreadO@tripod.com Email: stellbread@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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