IT IS BANANAS WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH BANANAS IN YOUR DIET!

By Jamila W. Harris

From PHN Issue 58, Fall 2024

I recently experienced a trip to the emergency room because I was feeling low on energy. Whenever I took a breath, I felt sharp chest pain in my heart, in addition to body aches. I
thought that this was due to strenuous exercise. However, when I saw a doctor, I was told that
my potassium levels were dangerously low and that was why I was not feeling well. Surprisingly,
I also had a bladder infection known as a urinary tract infection or UTI. This too was caused by
low potassium levels. I figured I would take potassium supplement pills and be on my way
home. However, I was informed that if my low potassium levels were not regulated immediately, I could likely face a heart attack or stroke. Under these circumstances, I was not cleared to leave the emergency room. I was placed on an IV immediately to receive potassium through my veins. It was the most excruciating pain that I experienced through an IV. This experience cemented in me how important it is to eat the right foods enriched with potassium. For starters, the easiest food to remember to eat is a banana.

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SOY AND MEAT ALTERNATIVES

By Leah Owen-Oliner

From PHN Issue 56, Spring 2024

As special diets have become more mainstream in recent decades, so too have many prisons expanded their offerings. Although regional variation exists, as of September 2023, many state prisons and all 122 federal prisons in the United States offer a vegetarian option at each
meal. One of our PHN subscribers, Dale Wakefield, recently switched up his diet to receive the “alternative protein” tray; at his facility, these alternative options include non-meat proteins such as bean burgers, tofu burgers, and soy. He notes, “I feel a lot better physically and mentally since changing my diet, and maybe other people in prison might feel better as well if they did the same.”

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FIVE BASIC TIPS FOR GOOD HEALTH AND SKIN WHILE INCARCERATED

By Jamila Harris

From PHN Issue 56, Spring 2024

I know how difficult it is to maintain certain beauty standards as a woman incarcerated. I was once incarcerated and missed the certain regalness that came with the privileges of being a lady, such as pedicures and manicures, having a stylist do my hair, and seeing a dermatologist or esthetician for skin care. Who doesn’t miss a jazzercise or yoga session or an afternoon at a
massage parlor with close friends? Incarceration takes away many of these privileges. However, there are basic tips and best practices that can still be exercised anywhere for good health and skin. I am sharing some of these basic tips, and although we cannot buy nail polish, makeup, and most of our hair products from the commissary, these tips will still help to maintain the beauty
in you.

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