Resources
Recommendation Briefs
Community Commentaries
The articles provided are focused on a variety of public health issues. They are written for the community or the public and may be used free of cost for newsletters, calendar health observances or other communications with your target population. Recommended source citation: Leslene Gordon, PhD, RDN, LDN. Culture Competence & Care
Men’s Health
A Silent Health Crisis
When a prominent public personality spoke about standing by her man a number of years ago, she wasthe target of significant public and private ridicule. However, considering the current health status of U.S.men it may well be the time for more of us to make a public...
Neglected Messages to Men
I have an adult son who enjoys the challenge of participating in extreme races, works out almost everyday, and considers CrossFit way more fun than basketball—which he loves. He looks lean and healthy,and though I’ve never checked his body fat percentage, I am sure...
The Health of Our Men
Both my father and my uncle (his brother) were diagnosed with prostate cancer and eventually diedbecause of this disease. As far as I know, they never discussed the problem with each other and I wouldgo so far as to say that they initially made efforts to hide the...
Chronic Diseases
A Brain Attack?
Recently, we have been increasing our efforts to raise awareness on stroke. A stroke occurs either whenthe blood supply to part of the brain is blocked or when a blood vessel in the brain burst causingdamage to a part of the brain. It is the third leading cause of...
A Small Confession from Someone Who Should Know Better
During the last summer Olympics my family was glued to the TV, watching some of the world’s bestathletes do the almost impossible. It’s obvious that they are in good physical shape because of theirhours of physical activity, and not one that participated in...
It’s Not Just a Little Sugar
Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high. It affectsabout 37 million Americans, including children. This is more people than the entire populations ofFlorida, Georgia and South Carolina added together. Problems...
Emotional, Mental and Brain Health
Growth in Unexpected Places
The benefits of exercise are well known, at least their benefits in reducing diabetes, cardiovascular andmany other diseases. We sometimes talk about exercise and its positive impact on mood and reductionof stress and anxiety but hardly ever its impact on the actual...
Other Affairs of the Heart
During February, you should expect to see many articles on heart health in observance of AmericanHeart Month. I want to step out of the typical box and focus on the heart in a different way. I want toconsider the heart and mind, and, for want of a better term, their...
Health Equity and Disparities
What Makes us Sick
What makes us sick continues to be a complex and intriguing question. We have gone from the thinkingof previous centuries that associated illness with superstition to understanding that small organismsthat we cannot see with the naked eye make us sick. We now...
Health Literacy, Equity and Health Outcomes
Health literacy has been defined as “The degree to which an individual has the capacity to obtain,communicate, process, and understand basic health information and services to make appropriatehealth decisions.” Significant gaps exist between what the public or...
Considering Oak Trees
How did the tallest oak tree in the forest get to be the tallest tree in the forest? Did it grow from a seedthat produces only tall, big trees? The answer to that question is no, according to the experts, as I amnot a botanist. Quercus, the oak tree genus, contains a...
Maternal and Child Health
For our Babies, Yes we Can
You will often hear people say, “Children are a blessing”. I totally agree. I believe there is this innateunderstanding that children are important not just because they are cute (I have never seen an uglybaby), and they smell great (thank you, Johnson’s baby...
Miscellaneous
More than Fuzzy Science
According to a past publication of the International Food Information Council Foundation, Food andHealth Survey: Consumer Attitudes toward Food, Nutrition & Health, consumers are “fuzzy on thedetails”. Survey results indicate that consumers understand that they...
Poetry in the Place of Data
With all our advances in knowledge and science we continue to struggle with increases in illnesses anddisease. We are comfortable with talking about the rising rate of chronic diseases like diabetes but westill whisper about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)....
Tips for Keeping Your Resolution
It may be my age, but time seems to be moving a lot faster than it used to. It seemed like only yesterdaythat we were ringing in a bright new year. Not that I am complaining it’s just an observation. I like thestart of each New Year with the sense of fresh new...
The Digital Divide
Today I figured out, all by myself how to use a background screen that someone sent me for a Zoommeeting and how to set it up for the presentation we are working on together. I can hear some of yousnickering. In your estimation, this is no big deal. A 10-year-old...
Not Just for Valentine’s Day
We have had years now of exhausting and stressful news and deserve a topic that will ease the stress. Iwould say chocolate figuratively and literally is a solution, or at least my occasional solution to thedistractions that persist! I am not making light of the...
Data Sources
Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute
Food Composition Tables for the English-speaking Caribbean These tables are useful sources for reference to the nutritive value of some foods commonly eaten in the Caribbean.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. FAOSTAT provides free access to food and agriculture data for over 245 countries and territories and covers all FAO regional groupings from 1961 to the most recent year available.
U.S. Department of Agriculture - Food Data Central
Provides information on food and nutrient profiles. Useful for searching some tropical
imported products.