Dr. Vanessa Freeman, a psychiatrist for the United States Army talks to Dr. K about what her childhood desire to become a psychiatrist. She educates us on what Black families need to get help for mental illness. Listen to her informative interview during Mental Health Awareness Month. #mentalhealth

Dr. Jacqueline Turner talks to Dr. K about colon cancer in Black patients. As a colorectal surgeon at Tulane University she explains the health disparities and how Black patients continue to die at alarming rates. She stresses we still need to stress the need of colonoscopies at the earlier age of 45 and not 50 years of age.

This week, Dr. Kendra Outler interviews Dr. Naa Oya A. Kwate, an associate professor at Rutgers University, about her research into racial inequalities in African American health --specifically, our relationship with fast food.

In this episode, the doctors discuss several significant issues around this topic:

• The food we eat

• Our access to healthy choices

• The history of fast food in the black community

Together, they dive into food policing and why physicians should not ignore race when looking at health and food choices. Dr. Kwate shares her research into how fast food has become embedded into black communities and why African Americans are disproportionately affected by the lack of access to healthy food options across all communities, even with those with higher earnings.

Dr. Kwate cites research that will cause us to rethink the term 'food desert' and dig deeper into what's really going on.

Tune into the episode for a much-needed conversation about our communities relationship with fast food.