Healthy At Last

New York mayor Eric Adams is on a mission to tackle one of the most stubborn health problems in the country chronic disease in the African American community. African Americans are heavier and sicker than any other group in the U.S. with nearly half of all Black adults suffering from some form of cardiovascular disease. After Adams woke up with severe vision loss one day in 2016 he learned that he was one of the nearly 5 million Black people living with diabetesand according to his doctor he would have it for the rest of his life. A police officer for more than two decades Adams was a connoisseur of the fastfood dollar menu. Like so many Americans with stressful jobs the last thing he wanted to think about was eating healthfully. Fast food was easy cheap and comfortable. His diet followed him from the squad car to the state senate and then to Brooklyn Borough Hall where it finally caught up with him. But Adams was not ready to become a statistic. There was a better option besides medication and shots of insulin food. Within three months of adopting a plantbased diet he lost 35 pounds lowered his cholesterol by 30 points restored his vision and reversed his diabetes. Now he is on a mission to revolutionize the health of not just the borough of Brooklyn but of African Americans across the country. Armed with the hard science and reallife stories of those who have transformed their bodies by changing their diet Adams shares the key steps for a healthy active life. With this book he shows readers how to avoid processed foods cut down on salt get more fiber and substitute beef chicken pork and dairy with delicious plantbased alternatives. In the process he explores the origins of soul fooda cuisine deeply important to the Black community but also one rooted in the horrors of slaveryand how it can be reimagined with healthy alternatives. Features more than 50 recipes from celebrities and health experts including Paul McCartney Queen Afua Jenné Claiborne Bryant Jennings Charity Morgan Moby and more The journey to good health begins in the kitchennot the hospital bed