Do you have questions about your body and how to navigate getting your health in order? We are in the same boat. During this episode we talk about the facts, the myths and the legends regarding women of color and their health.
[5:03] Why Baking Soda May Be Your Missing Ingredient
[12:05] Why Breastfeeding Sparks So Much Controversy
[28:50] Why Fibroids Are Attacking Women of Color
[42:00] More About Us & Our Mission & Who to Follow Online
Thank you for listening. We hope this podcast has been informative & an inspiring resource to create the kind of life you want with your health in mind.
In this episode we break down the power in “studying to show thyself approved.” Oftentimes many of us take what we hear from others as truth without researching things for ourselves. One of the most dangerous areas to commit this mistake in is your health, wealth and time. If anyone should be diligent about the preservation of your quality of life, it should be you.
We talk about the common misconceptions of what seems to be healthy based on smart advertising and marketing versus what is actually good for you. We share how we were able to decipher the rhetoric sabotaging the healthy food industry and ways you can avoid falling for the illusion. As brown women around the globe we are targeted continuously for our buying power.
CNN recently posted that “new data released (shows that) employers cut 140,000 jobs in December (of 2020), signaling that the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is backtracking. Digging deeper into the data also reveals a shocking gender gap: Women accounted for all the job losses, losing 156,000 jobs, while men gained 16,000″. This means that more women will be looking for ways to deal and cope with sudden changes in their lifestyle.
Many lean towards food consumption and engaging in health centered activities. We believe that a clear understanding of knowing who to listen to, what to believe and how to research for yourself will be vital for women in America within the coming months. Dealing with a virus that targets all people has prompted an uptick in the sale of vitamins and what is deemed “organic” and or healthy food.
As we dig deep into making this year the best possible- we want to encourage you to sit still. Don’t run from your thoughts. Pour a cup of our amazing tea and have time to and for yourself to deal with how fast this life goes by. Know that you are equipped with everything you want and need to have, be and get everything you want and need. We are here for you Brown Babe. Don’t forget to join our Facebook community to ensure you have the sisterly support you deserve and need.
Engineering Tools to Characterize Immune Responses Important for HIV Prevention
HIV remains a global epidemic, with 37.9 million people living with HIV worldwide (UNAIDS, 2018). Various prevention strategies, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and antiretroviral treatment in pregnant women with HIV have shown to be effective in decreasing HIV transmission. As these prevention strategies are becoming more commonly used, it is important to understand their effects on immune responses relevant for proper diagnosis and treatment. In addition, elucidating inflammatory responses/mediators that can increase HIV susceptibility is also key to reducing HIV transmission. Altered immune responses in patients with HIV that occur as a response to novel PrEP modalities, are not well characterized and tools to characterize this altered response are lacking. Furthermore, as chronic inflammation is a factor known to increase HIV risk, it is important to understand mechanisms mediating these processes. This talk will discuss the methods I have developed to explore immune responses related to HIV prevention and diagnosis. These include characterization of HIV antibodies commonly used for diagnostic tests, and proteomics-based systems biology approaches used to analyze epigenetic mechanisms of inflammation shown to increase HIV risk in uninfected infants born to HIV positive mothers.
Brief Bio:
Dr. Ivana Parker is a Fulbright Scholar who recently completed a year-long study at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Her project assessed the risk of a commonly used tuberculosis vaccine, BCG, on HIV susceptibility in infants using proteomics and systems biology approaches. She completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship as an American Society for Microbiology postdoctoral fellow at the Centers for Disease Control within the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. At the CDC, she evaluated the impact of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on current diagnostic assay approaches and identified trends to optimize assay design. Ivana received her PhD in Bioengineering from Georgia Tech in 2015. Her thesis investigated the effects of pro-atherogenic shear stress, HIV proteins, and antiretroviral therapies on the vasculature using in vivo and in vitro models. During her time at Georgia Tech, she received the NSF graduate research fellowship and was selected to be a trainee on an NIH Cell and Tissue Engineering Training Grant. She also received a Whitaker Grant to develop artificial aortic valves in Cape Town, South Africa and facilitated set-up of a lab in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during her PhD training. Ivana earned her BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Florida in 2009.
As we dig deep into making this year the best possible- we want to encourage you to sit still. Don’t run from your thoughts. Pour a cup of our amazing tea and have time to and for yourself to deal with how fast this life goes by. Know that you are equipped with everything you want and need to have, be and get everything you want and need. We are here for you Brown Babe. Don’t forget to join our Facebook community to ensure you have the sisterly support you deserve and need.
In this episode we sit down with a long time family friend Farrah Bledsoe and talk about how life will offer you the chance to build a story of resilience. During our chat Andretta and Farrah share how continuous loss of family members, businesses and more forced Farrah to truly get in touch with her competitive side and grow out of the shell that others designed for her as she was growing up.
While known to be the pretty one that always has it together – Farrah shares that her gifts of having a business mind, competitive spirit and keen sense of opportunity have always been the core of her foundation. We dive deep into the power of knowing your story and how your story shows up in the way that you decide to live your life. We break down the power of resilience and the necessary mindset needed to push through everything life throws your way.
5 Ways to Build Resilience
It’s common for people to credit their success to confidence instead of resilience. Resilience is one of the most overlooked character building attributes a person can have. But not many people are able to explain how building one’s confidence is often based on how they utilize resilience.
It’s tricky, because life often throws different things at us, but overall we grow from the choices and accomplishments that feed our passion and make us feel proud of who we are. Discovering these fundamental things can be one of the most worthwhile pursuits of your life. Here are 5 ways you can begin building your resilience today and bounce back from tough times:
1. Get Things Done
Resilience is built on accomplishment. If you achieve small and big goals, you’re going to feel much better about yourself after facing a hard time in life. Those day-to-day goals are what you need to accomplish things today, tomorrow, next week or three years from now to help meet your goal and heal from trauma.
2. Monitor Your Progress
Try to quantify your accomplishments: write down how you’re able to show up for yourself in hard times. If you’re able to exercise daily or be more mindful of the things you eat- write that stuff down. It is important to see how the small things can turn into big things while building up your strength at the same time. Doing so will help you stay on course, and you will build resilience as you see the progress you’re making in real time.
3. Exercise
Besides benefiting your health in general, exercising helps memory retention, improves focus, helps manage stress and prevents depression. It’s harder to be anxious when there is no excess energy to draw upon, and outside of being difficult and uncomfortable at times, exercise improves every aspect of your life.
4. Think Long-term
The foundation of unhappiness is a decision made for short-term comfort that impedes long-term goals. You have to decide if your short-term comfort is more important than your long-term goals, but know that long-term goals will bring you far more happiness in the long run than your short-term comfort. This is the fundamental element of resilience. The ability to have vision beyond where you are now and realizing where you need to be in order to truly prosper.
5. Do More Of What Makes You Happy
What do you love to do in your spare time? Whatever it is that you love, create space for it, because life is short- you need time to enrich your life and to recharge to be your best self. Living in the present is the best gift you can give yourself along with permission to enjoy your life. Time is precious- no matter how much life throws at you, your ability to take it, grow from it and move on better because of it will help you build a testimony that can change the world.
Jumping rope for most may seem like a child’s activity but for a Chicagoland woman it was the unifying element of a life changing purpose realized. Brown Women Wellness founders Andretta and Aaquila sit down for an enlightening discussion with 40+ Double Dutch Club founder Pamela Robinson to talk about all things health and wellness for brown babes around the globe.
During this podcast, the strength of unity and organization rings deep within the realms of the mental fortitude needed to embrace what it is that you love in order to give your body what it needs to be strong. The women break down the perks of working out without it feeling like a chore and the added benefit of sisterhood being sprinkled on top of it. While reminiscing on the last opportunity they had for such a refreshing activity- the women recalled in shock, highlighting their early teens.
While dealing with transitioning to an empty nester and challenges within her marriage, Pamela saw the Double Dutch club as something all her own that gave her mental peace and support. A random jump rope in the trunk of her car led to a national movement encompassing over 12 thousand women. Her goal to provide a safe haven for physical exercise, connection and accountability has assisted in redefining what age appropriate past times are. She saw a chance to create a space and opportunity to work out that made being healthy a priority. Pamela sees the 40+ Double Dutch Club as a way to support and galvanize minority communities under the umbrella of physical activity worldwide. Double Dutch isn’t for kids any more; it is for anyone that wants a full body workout that assists with keeping your mind and social skills strong as well.
Make sure you enjoy some of our amazing tea before, during and after your double dutch work out. Stock up for 2021 now at http://www.BrownWomenWellness.com
2020 has been labeled the year of the unfortunate. From sickness to uncertainty, this year has made the whole world stop and think about what really is important to them. Thankfully, health and wellness has risen to the top of the list for many. As a holistic brand that believes in the health of the mind, body and the soul- we use this podcast to pour into our community and supplement those verbal vitamins needed to get through this thing we like to call life.
In this podcast episode we talk about how a single airport experience gave light to Cancer preventative services and how a trip to Whole Foods paved the way to better understanding why antibiotics are losing their potency. Sometimes the greatest gift is being able to reflect on the events you have daily that plant seeds to a much bigger experience and opportunity to heal for you and your community down the line. The best way to ensure you are supporting your overall health would be to document your days in a way that allows you to decompress and explore your emotions and how you navigate your situations.
We suggest journaling and stepping back from social media as a constant consumer and being strategic with your exposure to the hustle and bustle of the internet. After all, Ebony magazine recently cited that “ the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health,[ mentions that ] “African Americans are 20% more likely to report having serious psychological distress than non-Hispanic Whites.” Keep your crown sis. Don’t let the stress of being “greatness in progress” get you down.
Just take a deep breath as we wind down and out of this year. Breathing is also an amazing and underrated stress reliever. We dropped in the podcast that we are fans of Breathwrk. This app can help you to “utilize breathing exercises which can assist you in activating the parasympathetic nervous system and suppressing the sympathetic nervous system in order to respond to stress effectively. And we know Stress is out here lurking and looking for every opportunity to keep you company. This is why we like to pour a cup of our Do Not Disturb CBD Infused Relaxation Tea every day. Make sure you order yours today. It is a great way to calm down after an enlightening hour of choosing the right carton of eggs at the grocery store along with the best Oil of Oregano to use for your premium home juicing products. You had to listen to the podcast to get that last line. Stay healthy brown babes.
Get The Tea on IMMUNITY Workbook for the Breakdown of our Immunity Tips mentioned during this episode as well as our favorite products by joining our private facebook group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/brownwomenwellness/
Brown women across the globe are suffering in silence. They are afraid to acknowledge what is going on within their lives, minds and bodies. The rise for communities embracing the experience of being a brown woman has become a necessity for survival. The founders of Brown Women Wellness are stepping up to the plate to heed the calling. With the launch of their new podcast; Well, Honestly- they are aiming to galvanize the voice of brown women globally.
What This Podcast Is About?
Well, Honestly is the weekly deep-dive conversation every woman needs. Led by mother-daughter duo Andretta and Aaqila, no topic is off-limits as they focus on honest, vulnerable and life-changing topics centered around health, wellness and womanhood. These thought leaders want to do more than share their insight on nutrition, herbs and essential oils. Well, Honestly features groundbreaking interviews with prominent industry stakeholders sharing insight into holistic healing and western medicine. Listen to your body and this podcast.
What is the TEA? The first episode entitled “What’s Tea Sis?” lead by Andretta and Aaqila, a mother and daughter duo with different viewpoints but the same goals toward optimal health introduces the audience to the foundation of their podcast. AIming to talk things through with evaluating your health and wellness routines- the pair brings insight from industry leaders while also sharing the stories of women within their community.
Why Is This Topic Important?
Podcasts and safe spaces like this are necessary. Health.com released an article that highlights that
The reason for such a high statistic confirms why podcasts, businesses and communities fostered by women like Andretta and Aaqila of Brown Women Wellness are necessary. The headline suggests that this overwhelming statistic aims at discrimination being the leading factor of hypertension.
Key Take-Aways! After listening to episode one of the Well, Honestly podcast you will want to do a deep dive into better understanding the prominent elements of your wellness. The duo showcases a verbal blueprint to doing a self-diagnosis that outlines how you feel about your health and ways to hold yourself accountable for the work you put into being healthy. They also demonstrate what it is like to talk about what you are going through with someone that can understand and offer insight. This is a critical example being showcased that adds an extra layer of tenderness when you realize that the pair are mother and daughter. Lastly, they break down the need to do the research for yourself to find out how you can better your health beyond the word of mouth ministries and doctors advice you may receive. No one should care more about your health than you. Invest the time, energy and dedication needed to live your best life brown girl. And that’s us being honest!
