In low-income minority communities, there is high prevalence and clustering of obesity, coronary heart disease, dyslipidemia, hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Evidence suggests one way to treat and prevent these conditions is through a very low-fat, high fiber, vegetarian diet. A feasibility study was conducted to determine whether inner-city African American and Latino patients will accept a low-fat vegetarian diet and to assess attitudes about the life-style intervention. Reductions in fat and animal products were acceptable, though complete conversion to vegetarianism was not. Meanwhile, group support was the most highly rated component of the class. Contrary to common perceptions of immigrants needing to maintain traditional habits, the Latino participants enthusiastically adopted new concepts and incorporated new recipes into their diet. Weight loss was achieved during the 8 week course and continued through 18 month follow-up. It appears that individual empowerment through the group intervention, coupled with simple diet messages, supported life-style change in a high-risk group.
Propecia Mexico
Several studies suggest that the optimal diet for prevention as well as treatment of obesity, dyslipidemia, coronary artery disease, hypertension and diabetes is a very low-fat, high-fiber, vegetarian or near-vegetarian diet (Anderson, Gustafson, Bryant, & Tietyeb-Clark, 1987; Barnard, 1991; Barnard, Jung, & Inkeles, 1994; McDougall, Litzau, Haver, Saunders, & Spillers, 1995; Ornish et al., 1998; Singh, Rastogi, Verma, & et al, 1992). However, most physicians stop short of prescribing such diets for their patients because they believe that patients will not accept a vegetarian diet or one that is very low in fat. Contrary to this view held by many physicians, several studies indicate that patients can and will accept such diets, both in the short term (Barnard et al., 1994; McDougall et al., 1995) and in the long-term (Anderson et al., 1987; Ornish et al., 1998) subsequently experiencing several positive results, such as improved cholesterol, diabetes control, weight loss, and regression of coronary artery disease. A program for Native Hawaiians promoting low fat traditional foods without calorie restriction demonstrated similar long-term success (Shintani, Beckham, Tang, O’Connor, & Hughes, 1999). There is nothing in the literature regarding acceptance of such diets in low-income Latino and African American communities in the United States. This paper describes a health intervention program designed for low-income minority patients and its impact on members of these communities.

Los Angeles is home to a diverse population. In the inner-city, residents are predominantly low-income Latino or African American. Income, race and ethnicity are associated with a higher prevalence of common lifestyle related chronic diseases, and a greater burden of complications and mortality from them.(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2003). The prevalence of diabetes, coronary heart disease, and hypertension, for example, are higher in Hispanics and Blacks than in Non-Hispanic whites (Centers for Disease Control, 2003). These problems are believed to be more aggravated by limited resources in the inner-city for lifestyle change: food choices in restaurants and supermarkets are more limited, opportunities for exercise and healthy recreation are scarce, and education classes are difficult to access. Lifestyle and disease management classes offered by some health plans and community agencies remain underutilized by inner-city patients in Los Angeles because patients are often faced with difficulties in accessing classes offered across town or feel compelled to restrict their movement due to safety concerns in certain neighborhoods.