Health Hotline Magazine | July 2020

EVERYONE DESERVES GOOD HEALTH

FOOD INSECURITY, TARGETED JUNK FOOD MARKETING, & HIGHER EXPOSURES TO POLLUTION EXPOSURES TO P Chronic health conditions like hypertension, obesity, and type-2 diabetes are generally diet-driven conditions, and can be improved with positive dietary changes. But for many minorities, chronic illness is rooted in a lack of access to healthy food. Food insecurity, the lack of access to a ordable, nutritious food, is related to multiple chronic diseases like those mentioned above. A recent analysis investigating trends in food insecurity from 2001 to 2016 found that African American and Latino households were at least twice as likely than white households to experience food insecurity. A separate study by Johns Hopkins University found that food insecurity rates in Navajo Nation were the highest reported of any population in the United States, with 76.7 percent experiencing some level of food insecurity. xii xiii Folks who are food insecure are more likely to rely on federal food assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a program built within a food system in which the government subsidizes commodity crops like corn and soy that are made into highly processed foods that are very cheap, and very low in nutrition. Research has found that while overall diet quality improved among U.S. adults between 1999 and 2014, SNAP participants saw a worsening in diet quality. xiv xv To compound the problem, junk food advertising is disproportionately targeted to African Americans and Latinos (particularly children and teens), especially when it comes to fast food, candy, sugary drinks, and unhealthy snacks—the very foods that contribute to diet-related health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. xvi xvii xviii xix xx Junk food is devoid of vital nutrients like zinc, vitamin C, phytonutrients, and antioxidants. A junk-food based diet will eventually lead to nutritional deficiencies, and will ultimately drive the development of chronic diseases. Additionally, the body quickly burns through certain nutrients, like the B vitamins, to metabolize sugary junk foods, further increasing the likelihood of developing nutrient deficiencies. By relentlessly promoting unhealthy foods to minorities, these companies are heavily influencing the way whole groups of people eat, and directly driving diet-related disease. Finally, a long history of residential racial segregation plays an important role in the development of poor health: “…black people

have experienced decades of residential racial segregation, unlike any other ethno-racial group. This means that black neighborhoods typically have fewer institutional anchors, such as grocery stores, good schools, and safe places to walk outside and exercise. There is even a relationship … between residential segregation and living in neighborhoods with fewer trees, which leads to poorer air quality,” Tina Sacks, assistant professor in the School of Social Welfare and faculty chair of the Center for Research on Social Change at the University of California, Berkeley explains. “Black people are disproportionately exposed to indoor and outdoor environmental toxins in their homes and neighborhoods… All of these things exact a terrible toll on black people’s health through the life course, making them more likely to have the chronic conditions—like diabetes, asthma, and hypertension—that make them more vulnerable to COVID.” xxi A body of research corroborates this. Overall, the country’s air quality has improved in the last several decades, but those benefits are seen mostly in predominantly white, higher income areas while pollution “hot spots” are seen in predominantly low-income and minority communities. xxii xxiii xxiv xxv When the body is exposed to excessive toxic chemicals and pollution, it requires more nutrients to detoxify these toxins and quickly depletes the body’s internal antioxidant systems. Further, chronic exposure to air pollution significantly increases the risk of respiratory infection and disease. xxvi xxvii xxviii Unfortunately, a lack of access to a ordable, healthy foods, targeted junk food marketing, and excessive exposure to pollution and other toxins creates a perfect storm for minorities to be susceptible to nutritional deficiencies, making them more vulnerable to illness and disease.

WAYS TO TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR HEALTH Challenging—and changing—an entire system can feel

overwhelming. The cards have been stacked against minorities for a long time, and poor health is just one of the outcomes. Long term, low intakes of certain nutrients leads to chronic disease in any population, but because of the factors discussed here, minorities bear the brunt of nutrient insu ciencies and deficiencies, leading to a disproportionate number of chronic disease and illness. However, something concrete that can be done right now is to support overall health and immune resilience through specific dietary supplements that can meet your unique health needs.

36 | Health Hotline