This piece is part of my 2016–2026 archive migration. Some original formatting, content, and external links may be missing, changed, or not be optimized.
And our taste buds don’t seem to care about the consequences
The origins of the [soul food] diet lie in the history of American slavery, according to food historian Jessica B. Harris, who appears in the film [Soul Food Junkies]. Slaves ate a high-fat, high-calorie diet that would allow them to burn 3,000 calories a day working (Source: Harriet McLeod).
The problem with the soul food diet now is that most Americans don’t burn 3,000 calories a day; we burn far less due to our highly sedentary lifestyles.
Yet, we continue eating as if we’re still burning thousands of calories a day, which is why the obesity rate of African-Americans is astronomical in comparison to other races.
When you’re intaking palatable high-fat foods, it’s easy to intake more calories than you should. After three plates of thanksgiving food, a person realizes they’re full. Though they were likely full after the first plate, they didn’t give their body enough time to register (digest) the first two plates, and now their belly feels like it might explode, so they need to go lay down. If you’re intaking highly palatable and fatty foods, this is your life story every day; you’re consuming far more calories than you should, leading to exponential weight gain and deterioration in your body.
Preventable Disease
Black adults have the highest rates of obesity and a higher prevalence of diabetes than whites and are twice as likely to die of stroke before age 75 than other population groups, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Source: Harriet McLeod).
African-Americans often joke about keeping their feet because we know diabetes is rampant amongst us. We love sugar and fat in excess amounts, leading us to establish not only diabetes but hypertension and other preventable sicknesses.
It’s incredible what your body will do when you eat soul food, sugar, and other unhealthy foods in moderation: It treats you well.
Access
In poor and lower-income communities, many black individuals don’t have access to quality supermarkets, which means they don’t have many options to eat healthier.
“Low-income communities of color lack access to vegetables and have an overabundance of fast food and highly processed foods that are high in calories and fats. I always know when I’m in a community of color because I see … very, very few supermarkets and health food stores,” said Byron Hurt.
Taking it a step further, there are cases where kids don’t know what healthy food is since they grew up in neighborhoods that didn’t have access to anything but fast foods.
Brian Ellis, 21, said all he ate was fast food when he started working at one of Growing Power’s urban farms in Chicago when he was 14. “Then I started eating food I’d never seen before like Swiss chard,” said Ellis, who appears in the film. “I never knew what beets were. I’d never seen sprouts before. I’m not that big of a beet fan, but I love sprouts. I could eat sprouts all day (Source: Reuters).
This content is for informational purposes only — not professional advice. Consult a qualified professional before making any major decisions.