On Wednesday, we were back at Christ Church Methodist for another fun session of AfroFit. AfroFit is led by Eunice Adu-Appiah a health promotion professional with ten years of nursing experience. Eunice is extremely knowledgeable with years of experience in fitness training having been an athlete herself (sprinter) in university. She’s absolutely fantastic, explains everything and is really friendly and approachable.

Wednesday’s class was really fun with a slight variation to the previous week’s session. After our funky warm-up and stretch we did a selection of circuit training exercises to improve our mobility and strength. These exercises included plank, lunges across the room, spider lunges across the room and ab wheel roll outs. Once complete it was on to floor work and then our favourite part, cool down and relaxation – yay!

This was another great class by Eunice. The circuit training made it very challenging but with the great music and Eunice’s passion we were motivated to keep going.

We’ll be back at Christ Church Methodist next Wed at 7pm. Please do join us in our drive to get our community fit and healthy.

For more information and directions click here.

Today’s blog post comes from Orvel Douglas a Nutrition and Diet Specialist at Body Sculpt of New York. This post follows Orvel’s previous post, A Plant-Based Diet Will Give You Optimum Health.

Mr Douglas is a Certified Nutrition and Diet Specialist in the United States where he has worked as an independent nutrition consultant for various organizations and companies. He has provided nutrition counseling and workshops for the following organizations: Medgar Evers College Empowering Youth to Excel and Succeed Project (“EYES”); United Federation of Teachers; DC 37 and 1199 SEIU.  Mr. Douglas is currently providing nutrition workshops for the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) for their Access to Recovery Program (ATR) in Brooklyn, New York.  Mr. Douglas is also the Lead Nutritionist for Body Sculpt of New York’s Six Weeks to Fitness programs.

In last month’s blog I encouraged everyone to think about adopting a plant-based diet and highlighted some of the benefits of such a diet.  Many studies have shown that animal proteins are causing many preventable diseases. What I have found is that when a person removes all animal protein from their diet many ailments tend to disappear.  The Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine have been doing a lot of work in this area with the sole purpose of refocusing our efforts on prevention over pills. In this blog I wanted to take the time to summarize some of their work on identifying some of the dangers of a diet high in meat.

Meat-Eating is a Risk Factor for Developing Diabetes

February 21, 2014- Doctors should consider meat-eating to be a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes, according to an article published in the journal Nutrients. Researchers from the Physicians Committee evaluated studies that examined different levels and types of meat consumption and the risk for developing diabetes. Meat-eaters had significantly higher risk of developing diabetes, compared with people who avoided meat. Meat’s effect on diabetes risk appears to be due to its content of saturated fat and haeme iron, among other factors. The authors recommend that consumption of meat products should be part of any screening for a patient’s risk for diabetes, alongside other established risk factors.

Animal Protein Linked to Early Death

March 4, 2014 – A diet high in animal protein leads to an earlier death, compared to a diet where less is consumed, according to a study analyzing data from 6,381 American adults aged 50 and older. Participants who ate the most animal protein had a 5-fold increase risk of death related to diabetes. Those younger than 65 who ate the most animal protein had a 74 percent increase risk for death from any cause and a 4-fold increase in death related to cancer, during a follow-up of 18 years. Risks for death were diminished or absent when protein sources were plant-derived.

Cholesterol Levels Lower in Vegans

February 10, 2014 – Those who consume vegan diets have better cholesterol levels than people who eat meat, fish, dairy, and/or egg products, according to a study published this month in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers examined data and blood samples from 1,694 participants from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Oxford (EPIC) study. Participants were categorized as meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians, and vegans. Those who ate a vegan diet consumed the most fiber, the least total fat and saturated fat, and had the healthiest body weight and cholesterol levels, of all the diet groups.A previous analysisfrom the EPIC study found that vegan and vegetarian groups had a 32 percent lower risk of hospitalization or death from heart disease.

The Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine’s Stance on Meat

PCRM promotes a vegetarian or vegan diet, together with aerobic and weight-bearing exercises and exposure to sufficient sunlight for vitamin D production. It writes that vegetarian diets are low in saturated fat, high in dietary fiber, contain phytochemicals that PCRM argues help prevent cancer, and contain no cholesterol. Its website cites several studies that it says show that vegetarians are less likely than meat eaters to develop cancer. It argues that a vegetarian diet can help prevent heart disease, lower blood pressure, can prevent and may reverse diabetes, and that it may improve the symptoms of a number of other conditions.^[6] PCRM runs the Cancer Project, which suggests a vegan diet will help with cancer prevention, and that offers nutritional assistance to cancer patients.^[7]

PCRM argues for the health benefits of avoiding dairy products—Barnard has called cheese “dairy crack”^[8]—and campaigns for vegetarian meals in schools.^[9] It also runs a website that collects reports of adverse health effects experienced by people on the Atkins diet. The New York Times writes that it was PCRM who in 2004 passed Dr Robert Atkins‘s medical report to the Wall Street Journal. The report, obtained by Dr. Richard Fleming of the Fleming Heart and Health Institute, showed that Atkins himself had experienced heart attack, congestive heart failure, and weight problems. Atkins supporters countered that there was no reason to think that his heart problem (cardiomyopathy) was diet related, and that his weight at death was higher due to fluids pumped into him in the hospital.^[10]

The organization’s founder, Neal Barnard, M.D., has published dozens of peer-reviewed papers on nutrition in journals such asThe American Journal of Cardiology, The Lancet Oncology, and the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.^[11] Naturewrote in 2006 that PCRM had become “an endless source of vexation for federal nutrition-policymakers,” but that Barnard’s position had some support within the medical community. William Roberts, a PCRM adviser, executive director of the Baylor Cardiovascular Institute, and editor of the American Journal of Cardiology said of Barnard. “He’s a superb man. Anybody who devotes their life like he has done to getting us all on the right dietary track, I admire.”

There is mounting evidence that turning awary from a meat-based diet is the best option for us and will significantly improve our health and wellbeing. We encourage everyone to take a look at their diet and cut out meat where they can, your health depends on it.

Last night was the second session of our new aerobics class, AfroFit, which aims to give attendees a great workout whilst having a whole lot of fun.  The class is inspired by the Afro beats movement and thus the workout is choreographed to toe tapping Afro beats music.  It’s not all about fun though as there is some pain involved, but like our instructor says “no pain, no gain!”

AfroFit is led by Eunice Adu-Appiah a health promotion professional with ten years of nursing experience. Eunice is extremely knowledgeable with years of experience in fitness training having been an athlete herself (sprinter) in university. She’s absolutely fantastic, explains everything and has developed a really fun class that will appeal to everyone.

In last night’s session we worked every part of our body,  but it was so much fun that it really didn’t feel like a workout (well, some of it did, especially the floor work, ouch!). We started with a light warm up and then moved on to cardio which included some great African dance moves . This was followed by some floor work and then we finished with a cool down with some relaxation – ahh lovely.

This was a great session and is part of our drive to get our community fit and active. Please do join us next week at 7pm at Christ Church Methodist in Croydon. We’d love to see you.

For more information and directions click here.

In October, we launched our Fibroids Ask the Expert, a resource that aims to provide anyone with a question or concern about fibroids with accurate reliable information from an expert in the field. Since its launch we have received a number of really interesting questions which our experts have been delighted to answer. We thought it would be useful to share some of the questions and the answers with you.  So, this week’s blog is a fibroids Q&A.

Question: “How much are fibroids are likely to shrink after menopause?”

Answer:  “Fibroids may shrink after menopause, but not always.  There have been reports of fibroids shrinking by 50% after menopause and that symptoms improve or disappear completely after menopause.  This isn’t an instant process though and our understanding is that if shrinkage occurs it is usually gradual.”

Question: “My sister was diagnosed with fibroids one being 11cm, is that large?”

Answer: “A fibroid of 11cm is on the large side. Fibroids can vary in size from as small as a coin (about 2cm) to as large as a watermelon (about 19cm).”

Question: “Would Doctors consider the use of proteolytic enzymes as a part of the fibroid shrinking protocol?”

Answer:  “Proteolytic enzymes have the potential to “shrink” fibroids, however to answer your question, a doctor’s protocol is relative to his/her academic training.  If the physician has been trained in biomedical sciences, he/she are less likely to promote this approach, unless perhaps to assist in decreasing the fibroid size prior to surgical intervention.  Nonetheless, there has been no major studies conducted that support a significant impact between proteolytic enzymes and fibroid shrinkage.  This is just another reason medical doctors may be less likely to support this protocol.  Naturopathic or homeopathic doctors would be more inclined to consider proteolytic enzymes in addition to other forms of treatment to address fibroids, however this decision needs to be made in consultation with your selected physician.”

Those are just a selection of some of the questions we have received. If you have a question about fibroids, no matter what, please do submit it  here or email us

This week’s guest blog post comes from Sydney Ross Singer, Medical Anthropologist and Director of the Institute for the Study of Culturogenic Disease. Sydney discusses the recent media headlines that reported that two-thirds of cancers are a result of “bad luck”.

When a single medical study is trumpeted around the world as “truth”, you can be sure you are dealing with marketing and not medicine.

A recent study announcing that two-thirds of all cancers are just a matter of “bad luck” has made its marketing rounds, with the conclusion that all we can do to deal with our rogue mutated cells is to go to the doctor for early detection and treatment. (Variation in cancer risk among tissues can be explained by the number of stem cell divisions, Science 2 January 2015: Vol. 347 no. 6217 pp. 78-81).

Of course, this is good for the cancer detection and treatment industry. If cancer is out of our control, unrelated to lifestyle and genetics but merely a chance event, then you need repeated and thorough cancer screening throughout your life.

You can see why this one study has been embraced by media worldwide. Media, after all, is about selling products and services, just as the Internet is paid for by ads. Here they are selling cancer services.

However, if you step back from the hype, you can see a clear flaw in the conclusion of this study.

Essentially, the study asserts that tissues with higher rates of stem cell activity have higher rates of random mutations. Stem cells are the progenitor cells of the tissues. Tissues that have higher rates of turnover than other tissues have more frequent stem cell divisions which increases the likelihood of more cellular reproduction errors.

Some of these errors can cause the cells to reproduce excessively, resulting in tumor development and cancer.
This sounds reasonable on the surface. However, it ignores part of the equation.

The body has a mechanism responsible for managing cellular mutations and killing these rogue cells. That part is the immune system.

Cancer cells are not normal, healthy cells, and the immune system recognizes these cells as defective and attacks and destroys them. This happens all the time, except when there is some immune system problem that allows these defective cells to continue reproducing. At that point, the mutated cells reproduce and grow, resulting in cancer.

This means that random mutations may cause a stem cell to go rogue. But a poorly responding defense system allows that rogue cell to develop further into cancer.

If we had no immune system mechanism for fighting mutated cells, then you would expect that there would be a direct correlation between stem cell reproductive rates, mutation rates, and the ultimate development of cancers.

However, if we had a perfectly operating and robust immune defense system, where every mutated cell was destroyed, you would expect that mutated stem cells would be killed before they could develop into cancers. There would then be no correlation between stem cell division rates and cancer incidence in those tissues. In fact, there would be no cancer at all.

In other words, stem cell random mutations don’t cause cancer. Immune system dysfunction causes cancer.

While the study did not look at breast tissue, we can see this role of the immune system in the development of breast cancer. It has to do with impairment of a central component of the immune system, called the lymphatic system.

The immune system consists of cells which fight disease and infection, the organs which produce and activate these fighting cells, and a lymphatic system through which these cells travel throughout the tissues. A problem with any aspect of the immune system can result in reduced resistance against disease, including cancer.

When it comes to breast cancer, the immune system is impaired by constriction of the lymphatic system caused by the cultural habit of wearing tight bras for long periods of time every day. The lymphatic system consists of extremely thin tubules which passively drain lymph from tissues. These are easily compressed by the pressure of a bra.

Compression from the bra is apparent by the red marks and indentations in the skin. This pressure result is chronic fluid accumulation in the breasts, as the lymph fluid that bathes the cells is prevented from properly flushing out of the breast. This increases the toxin load in the tissue, reduces oxygen availability, impairs tissue repair and maintenance, and increases stem cell mutation rates.

Constriction of the breasts also reduces the ability of immune cells to fight infections and cancers within the tissue. White blood cells cannot function properly in stagnant, low oxygenated, congested, and toxic tissue.

Numerous studies have confirmed the link between breast cancer and wearing bras. In fact, it has been shown that bra-free women have about the same incidence of breast cancer as men, and the longer and tighter the bra is worn the higher the incidence rises, increasing over 100 times for 24/7 bra users compared to bra-free women. (Seehttp://www.killerculture.com/breast-cancer-is-preventable/)

Unfortunately, this information does not create a market for products and services. Indeed, it challenges the multi-billion dollar lingerie industry, as well as the cancer detection and treatment industry.

In a world where media exists to sell products and services, information that challenges the sales of products or services is ignored. Hence, news about the bra-cancer link has been suppressed and censored for the past 20 years. If the goal of media was to improve the human condition, the bra-cancer link would have been extensively publicized long ago.

But one study on the bra-cancer link was recently publicized worldwide, with similar fanfare as the “bad luck” cancer study. Not surprisingly, the study concluded there was no link. While the study admitted it was flawed by not including bra-free women, along with other problems, it was heralded as the final word on the issue. The conclusion, of course, was the typical sales pitch promoting early detection and treatment.

Of course, early detection and treatment of cancer means you still get cancer. But when prevention is considered naive and futile, and cancers are considered just “bad luck”, there is nothing you can do but make an appointment for medical tests to see if you have cancer, and then treat it once you do.

Most cancers are not “bad luck”. They are bad immunity. If we are to discover the causes of various cancers, we must look at the reasons why the immune system is being compromised, allowing mutated cells to develop into cancer.

Of course, if any of these discoveries do not result in increased sales of a product or service, you will not hear about them. What you will hear about is any study, even if it is flawed, that concludes that you are helpless to prevent disease, and that all you can do is rush to the doctor for early detection and treatment.

It’s not about health. It’s about money. That’s not bad luck, just bad medicine.

The Lake Foundation would like to thank Sydney Ross Singer for his guest blog piece which was first published on 7th January here. If you have any questions or comments please do leave them below in the comments section. 

In the middle of last year we started our search for office space and soon found what appeared to be the perfect opportunity – free office space for charities with no bills to pay.  We thought: “Yay! All our prayers have been answered.”  But sadly, after a very frustrating and disappointing process  this fell through and we were back to square one.

Just when we had given up all hope and the year was coming to an end we discovered 3Space.

3Space is an innovative, award-winning charity that was founded in 2010 to unlock the value of empty commercial properties. They work in partnership with property holders to make empty commercial space available free of charge for community use. They create a shared space that builds local networks and provides the infrastructure for innovation by social entrepreneurs and not-for-profit organisations.

They have repurposed properties across the UK giving start-ups and charities the opportunity to access free office space and meeting room facilities,  ensuring that these types of organisations have a great start where the stress and challenges of finding funding to cover the costs of rent,  utility bills and overheads are  eliminated.

We’re based in Croydon and after we come across 3Space we were delighted to learn that they were offering workspace right in the centre of Croydon.  The process of registering was really straightforward and within two weeks we had viewed the workspace, registered and were ready to go. Furthermore the staff at 3Space were great. Harry, Head of Operations and Lucinda, Project Manager, were extremely warm, welcoming and helpful.

The workspace 3Space has to offer in Croydon is lovely. As part of the Cabinet Office’s Space for Growth, it is based on the 5^th floor of Southern House, it has great views of Croydon and is very spacious. It is home to a number of start-up companies and not-for-profit organisations making it a great environment to work in and meet people with similar interests.

In addition to the office space there is also access to meeting and conference rooms making it ideal for external meetings and hosting small seminars.

We’ve been at 3Space for about a month now and love it. It’s a great place to work; it’s an environment that motivates us and gets the creative juices flowing.

From this experience of securing office space, I have definitely learnt a lot.  I can now vouch for the saying that goes: “when one door closes a bigger and better door will open”. That’s what has happened to us. All I can say is: if you are going through a hard time with your business or project, hang in there, be patient and know that it’s only temporary. There is always light at the end of the tunnel.

Thank you 3Space!

For more information about 3Space please visit their website.

Today, we had a great time raising awareness of prostate cancer at our Understanding Prostate Cancer seminar at Trinity Baptist Church.

This event was a collaboration between The Lake Foundation, Trinity Baptist Church and Prostate Cancer UK and was organised as part of  Prostate Cancer UK’s engagement and empowerment pilot which aims to understand the best methods of reaching the black community with the key messages about prostate cancer.

Understanding Prostate Cancer formed part of TBC’s Men’s Fellowship’s monthly breakfast meeting giving us the perfect forum to disease this condition and raise awareness.

After a lovely breakfast prepared by the Women’s Ministry (thank you!) the seminar began with a welcome and introduction by Abi Begho from The Lake Foundation. This was followed by an excellent presentation by Georgina Graham, a volunteer from Prostate Cancer UK.

From Georgina’s presentation attendees learnt that prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting men in the UK with 43,000 cases diagnosed every year and 1 in 8 men expected to develop prostate cancer. We also covered the three main prostate conditions that affect men – an enlarged prostate, prostatitis and prostate cancer. It was stressed that an enlarged prostate and prostatitis are not linked to prostate cancer and do not increase a person’s risk of developing prostate cancer.
We then moved on to what symptoms men should look out for and these included:

• Needing to pee more often, especially at night
• Difficulty starting to pee
• Straining or taking a long time to finish peeing
• A weak flow
• A feeling that your bladder has not emptied properly
• Needing to rush to the toilet
• Dribbling urine

Today’s blog post comes from Orvel Douglas a Nutrition and Diet specialist at Body Sculpt of New York. Mr Douglas is a certified Nutrition and Diet Specialist and has worked as an independent nutrition consultant for various organisations and companies. He has provided nutrition counselling and workshops for the following organizations: Medgar Evers College Empowering Youth to Excel and Succeed Project (“EYES”); United Federation of Teachers; DC 37 and 1199 SEIU.  Mr. Douglas is currently providing nutrition workshops for the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services(OASAS) for their Access to Recovery Program (ATR) in Brooklyn, New York and is also the Lead Nutritionist for Body Sculpt of New York’s Six Weeks to Fitness programs.

What I have noticed in the last 20 years is that we are getting sicker and sicker. Some of the diseases that are prevalent amongst the older generation are showing up in teenagers. One thing I can say is that we are eating way too much processed and junk food.

Many studies are showing that animal proteins are causing many preventable diseases. What I have found is that when a person removes all animal protein from their diet many ailments tend to disappear.

I have seen people’s type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and arthritis disappear, just to name a few.

One of the leading doctors in this field is Dr Colin Campbell. Dr Campbell is an American biochemist who specializes in the effect of nutrition on long-term health. He is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University.

Campbell has become known for his advocacy of a low-fat, whole foods, vegan (plant-based) diet. He is the author of over 300 research papers on the subject, and two books, Whole (2013), and The China Study (2005), which became one of America’s best-selling books about nutrition.^[1] Campbell featured in the 2011 American documentary, Forks Over Knives.

Campbell was one of the lead scientists in the 1980s of the China–Oxford–Cornell study on diet and disease, set up in 1983 by Cornell University, the University of Oxford, and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine to explore the relationship between nutrition and cancer, heart and metabolic diseases. The study was described by The New York Times as “the Grand Prix of epidemiology.”^[2]

There is a group of doctors in an organization called Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and what they are doing is putting a new focus on health and compassion. The Physicians Committee combines the clout and expertise of more than 12,000 physicians with the dedicated actions of 150,000 members across the United States and around the world.

They are changing the way they treat disease such as diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, cancer and arthritis. They are putting prevention over pills.

We at Body Sculpt have been promoting a low fat, plant-based diet and what we have seen are some of our participants are no longer on medication through this small change.

My advice to anyone who is reading this and are suffering from ailments I would strongly suggest that you do some research and try a plant-based diet. The only thing you have to lose is your ailments.

*******************
The Lake Foundation would like to thank Orvel Douglas for his guest blog post. If you have any questions for Orvel please leave them in the comments section below and for more information about Body Sculpt’s Six Weeks to Fitness program click here

Happy New Year all! We wish you a happy, healthy and successful year ahead and thank you for all your support in 2014.

The Lake Foundation is still a fairly new charity having started in July 2013. Through all your support and encouragement we have been very productive and have made significant progress in working towards our mission of improving the health and wellbeing of the black community.

We are delighted to share our achievements for 2014 with you. Over the past year we have:

• Launched our African Caribbean Cancer Support Group which meets monthly at Mind In Croydon.

• Developed our hereditary cancer booklet which aims to raise awareness of inherited cancers, the importance of knowing your family’s medical history, what to do if you have a strong famly history of cancer and what preventative options are available for people at a high risk of developing cancer because it runs in their family.

• Launched our fibroids survey that aimed to explore the needs of women with fibroids and published the findings

• Established our Fibroids Ask the Expert to provide women with questions or concerns about fibroids with access to experts in the field that can provide them with accurate reliable information

• Started our cycling group which reconvenes in April/May of this year

• Delivered a range of health awareness presentations to the  community

• Consulted with Breast Cancer Care on their new PROWESS service

  “I can honestly say that having your input into PROWESS has been great and a massive benefit to me and the project, so I’m looking forward to working with you again in the New Year.”

• Obtained funding from Prostate Cancer UK as part of their engagement and empowerment pilot

• Secured office space

• Appeared on TV and radio.

• Launched our weekly blog enabling us to discuss health issues of concern to the black community

• Carried out our first annual aerobathon

We had a really enjoyable and productive year and look forward to 2015.

We get a lot of questions from women about what they can do to prevent fibroids. This week’s blog post follows our recent post on exercise and fibroids prevention. Today, we’ll look at diet.

Fibroids are non-cancerous tumours that develop in or around a woman’s womb. They can cause a number of symptoms including pelvic (tummy) pain, infertility, heavy and/or painful periods, back pain, anaemia, constipation, frequent urination and pain during sexual intercourse.

The exact cause of fibroids is unknown but research does suggest that they are caused by a combination of genetic, lifestyle and hormonal factors.  Those most at risk of developing fibroids are: black women, those who are overweight, women of child bearing age (particularly women who are 25-45 years old), those with a family history  and women who haven’t given birth.

Diet and Risk Reduction

When trying to understand what we can do to reduce our risk of developing fibroids diet is an interesting and important factor.  As obesity is a major risk factor then logically if we adopt a healthy lifestyle and lose weight then we can reduce our risk of developing this condition. But, are there particular foods that contribute to fibroids development and are there foods that are protective? Let’s take a look at what the research tells us about this.

Red Meat 

When it comes to foods that increase risk of developing fibroids, research suggests that red meat plays a major role. One research  study has shown that frequent consumption of beef and other red meat increases a woman’s risk of developing fibroids by 70%. This finding is similar to a study conducted in India which found that women who consume red meat are three times more likely to develop fibroids compared to vegetarian women or women who are mostly fish eaters.  This is in stark contrast to a recent  study that found no association between meat consumption and fibroids, although in this study researchers looked at all meat and didn’t look specifically at red meat.

Fruit and Vegetables 

The Black Women’s Health Study conducted in the US explored the impact of fruits and vegetables on a woman’s risk of developing fibroids. In this study, 22,583 black women were monitored from 1997 to 2009 and their food intake monitored.

This study found that overall fruit and vegetable intake was associated with a reduction in risk and the strongest reduction in risk was associated with a high intake of citrus fruit.  Additionally, they found that vitamin A from animal products (liver and dairy) was linked to  a reduction in risk too.

These findings were similar to that of a small Chinese study which explored the association of fibroids with diet, physical activity and stress.   This study took place between 2009 and 2011 and researchers found that fruits and vegetables significantly reduced risk of developing fibroids with women consuming the most fruits and vegetables (eating fruit and vegetables more than three days a week) being 60% less likely to develop fibroids.

Finally, a study conducted in 2009 found that a high intake of green vegetables  reduced the risk of developing fibroids by 50%  and fruit consumption reduced risk by 20%.

Vitamin D 

In 2013, one of the first studies looking at whether vitamin D is linked to fibroids was conducted and this study found that women with sufficient levels of vitamin D were 32% less likely to develop fibroids than women who are vitamin D deficient. Furthermore, another study published in 2013 found that women with fibroids had significantly lower levels of vitamin D compared to women not affected.  These studies suggest that vitamin D is protective.

Conclusions

It is clear that diet is very important in the development of fibroids. By adopting a healthy diet we can reduce our risk and women should pay attention to their fruit and vegetable consumption, reducing their red meat intake and making sure they have enough vitamin D.

It’s important to note that surveys conducted in the US have found that African Americans consume less fruits and vegetables than their white counterparts, it is important that we change our lifestyles and work on increasing our fruit and vegetable intake, our health depends on it.