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Family Matters

By Kenneth Reed

We as African-Americans are not exercising enough, not eating enough nutritionally balanced meals and not drinking enough water.

I did a survey of one hundred African-American men and women and asked them this question: 'How many glasses of water do you consume in the course of a day'? The answers were quite startling.

Two of the surveyed said: ('and I quote').

'I don't like water, I drink water when I think I need it.' I drink coffee, juice and soda. Then they asked me with a serious look on their face; 'that's water isn't it'? and 'It's water in it right'? 'Isn't that considered drinking water'? 'I mean it's a liquid right'?

I looked at them in amazement; I couldn't believe what I was hearing. But if you don't know you don't know, so I told them about the importance of drinking water. Can you imagine what their kidneys look like? When I finished talking with them, they said that they would do better. I said to myself, boy do they need help! I asked God to please help my people learn to take better care of their bodies, which is the temple You gave them.

If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. 1 Corinthians 3:17

Did you know that your body is made up of about 70% or more water and it needs water to take care its internal organs and daily bodily functions.

Please, drink plenty of water, at least 8 glasses a day. I know a lot of African American families were raised up on Kool-Aid, soda and juices. We had Kool-Aid at least five times a week and when mom and dad weren't around we drank as much as we could.

Juices, Kool-aid and Sodas have 5 things in common

  1. They all taste good
  2. They all have large amounts of sugar
  3. They all can be bad for your health
  4. They all can be addictive
  5. They all can add to weight gain

I say that they can be addictive because if you're a soda drinker it's hard to have just one soda per week and some folks it's hard to have just one a day. Try taking a child off of soda and juice 'cold turkey' and watch how they act. It's like taking a junkie off of dope or a crack-head off of crack. It's like taking candy away from a baby; by the way you should take candy out of your child's diet.

Did you know that Sugarcane and Cocaine are so much alike, they both give you a blood rush or what we call a sugar-rush. One is stronger than the other but has the same effect to a degree. Sugarcane and Cocaine can make a poor man rich and a rich man poor and can make a person beg for more. You can control this beast by limiting or eliminating sugar completely out of your diet. Try drinking water instead of soda, juice and Kool-aid for about a week. Pray about it before you start and be disciplined and consistent.

Now I hope you're listening to the 'right side of that small inner voice' and not the 'left side of that small inner voice.' The left is saying, 'No Way, I can't do this' and the right is saying; I Can Do This!

Gradually reduce the consumption of these sugary drinks and eventually kick the habit! You can do it! Look, the benefits from not drinking that sugary stuff and replacing it with water flushing out toxins will be well worth it. You will begin to lose weight just from drinking water instead of drinking sugary drinks. The benefits out weigh the problems that come with sugar consumption.

Your family is worth it, Family Matters.

About the Author:

Kenneth Reed is a AAAI-ISMA Certified Personal Trainer, Author of the book Entitled ?Which Strengthens Me Founder and Owner of Fit For Life Personal Training Center 9006 Liberty Road - Randallstown, MD Office Visit me on the web at: www.KennyFitForLife.com or www.FitForLifeOnline.com