good morning, this is news 4 your sunday. >> good sunday to you. i'm pat lawson muse. good health is priceless. nothing is more important, but maintaining good health takes effort, discipline, persistence and oftentimes support and encouragement. later this month wellness will be celebrated at the big conference in buoy, maryland. joining us this morning to give us the details are dr. patricia davidson who is a cardiologist and internal medicine at the hospital. gerdy hurley and pastor michael hall is senior pastor at new beginnings community church in buoy, maryland. welcome to our program this morning. dr. hurley,

you. it's the third annual wellness day. tell us what you plan this year. >> the third annual with dr. hall as a partner but it's the ten year anniversary for the team doing this. what we have planned is lots of fun, lots of education. you will not leave the same. our theme is be a big game winner for wellness. david carter will be there telling his story about how it is to be a football player at a young age and all that you have to go through. he had an old man's body, he said, at 23. so he's going to be telling his story and helping people to be encouraged to be healthier. dr. patricia davidson. we have a panel discussion with interdisciplinary approach on medicine and health talking about what does it take, really take to be healthy. >> that's a good question for you, dr. davidson. what does it take? we hear so much about, you know, changing our lifestyles, eating

prayer, meditation, whatever your mental release is, but if you had to sum it up even more simply, what does it take? >> there are three things you can do to prevent over 80% of the diseases that we die from, and that's stay thin, not smoke, and walk. and then you will not end up hypertensive, you won't end up with deep vain thrombosis, venus stasis, gallbladder disease, thyroid disease, diabetes, all of those things that afflict us because we gain weight and we don't eat properly and we don't walk, we don't stay thin and then we smoke and we end up with cancer, clogged arteries and all of those things. very simple, stay thin, walk, and don't smoke. >> so can i just pick on that staying thin part a bit? because everybody's not built the same and everybody can't be be thin. can you not be

>> that is possible. if you have gained a significant amount of weight during your life and you exercise and you can be living healthier, but you have to recognize that you became that way because of how you were eating or how you were fed during your childhood. you have to get away from the usual american diet and the food industry recognizing that they have other foods they can give us like using cauliflower instead of white potatoes and things like that. they're now into the act of trying to do healthier options. it's a matter of picking healthier options. there are food deserts where people don't have any options although we know that farmer's markets are going out to many communities where there are food deserts. in the district of columbia there is a whole organization that makes sure there are farmer's markets in the wards of the city. we have options now. the reality is that we cannot eat the uua

because most of that leads us to diabetes and cancers and high blood pressure. so we have to get rid of the additives that they're giving us, salt, sugar, caffeine, all of those things that make us eat more and drink more and the unhealthy drinks that we have, the sugary drinks. so if we eliminate the usual things that we eat in an american diet, we can be healthy. >> pastor hall, she makes it sound so easy, doesn't she? >> oh, yes. it's easier said than done but it can be done. we always teach at our church where we actually have committed to a theme, new beginnings where faith and fitness converge for the glory of god. therefore we look to the scriptures and they say no discipline is present pleasant at the moment but painful later on, however, it produces a desirable outcome. so it takes discipline. it takes a course of instruction that can lead to that discipline. >> it's your church's third year partnering

conference? >> yes. >> what kind of response do you get among your members to this? do they look forward to it? >> they look forward to it because dr. hurley leads a monthly health forum and we talk about nutrition, proper preparation of foods, diet and exercise, healthy lifestyle habits. this has become part of the -- and it's directly becoming part of the fabric and the dna, if you will, of our church. there's an excitement, there's an interest. with everything there's a challenge, but we meet the challenge with information. we meet the challenge with prayer, of course, and we meet the challenge with a commitment that we're going to stay the course on this, make it sustainable within the church. >> wellness day is what we're talking about this morning coming up in a couple of weeks, and we'll be right back after this.

welcome back.

this morning, how to be a big game winner for good health. gertie hurley, one of the big highlights of your upcoming conference at new beginnings community church will be a visit by david carter, who is a former defensive end with the nfl, the arizona cardinals. he's coming to talk about how drastically he changed his eating habits and why he's now vegan. tell us a little bit more about his story. it's pretty fascinating. >> yes, it is. he watched knives and forks, forks and knives. >> one of those movies. >> one of those movies and he and his wife watched it and immediately he started throwing away stuff from the refrigerator. she was already vegetarian. he said to himself, i could never be vegan, but he became vegan. he's become a spokesman for that lifesty lifestyle. and he's taught other football players how he could -- you could be

way you have to train to do football and be a vegan. so that's what he goes around the country now talking to people about that. >> it wasn't just the movie though. he had some health issues. >> he had some health issues. he said that at 23 he had some old man problems and so he was just falling apart at that age. and then he also explains how there are things that football players have to do that causes things to happen and you really have to be in good shape to do that and a lot of times after they retire thinking that they're still going to be able to have the same shape but they don't do the training anymore so that's -- that's why he stuck with being vegan. >> dr. davidson, we know that heart disease and diabetes are at epidemic levels in the african-american community. i've been reading a lot about vegan diets and things like inflammation which many people suffer from and which causes a

is your -- as a physician, what is your opinion about the vegan diet and whether, you know, people would be much better off to give up eating animals, animal products. do we have to go to that extreme to get those benefits? >> well, a plant-based diet is always the best diet in terms of the data, in terms of the dye crease in the cancer and the heart attack and stroke rates. everybody doesn't have to do that because what's more important is that you have to be able to eat a diet that you will stick to. so it doesn't make sense to be vegan for three weeks and then run off to mcdonald's and pig out. >> if you can't stick to it. >> that's right. i have several patients who go to do courses around the country and they come back after spending 6, 7, $8,000 to immerse themselves in a vegan diet and they can't do it. that's a lot of money to as

comfortable in. you have to be moving towards a plant-based diet. you cannot eat an animal every time you eat and expect to have your arteries clean of cholesterol plaque. you have to do more of the low cholesterol animals. the animals that fly and the animals that swim are the ones that are lowest in cholesterol if you take the skin off and the animals that walk on land and the animals that walk on the bottom of the ocean are highest in cholesterol. you have to look at your level and see if your liver is able to metabolize your cholesterol. that will tell you whether you are safe in toerms of keeping your arteries clean of cholesterol plaque. but you have to be comfortable with the diet and you have to recognize that plants are the safest food. if you have to do some animal products, they need to be low cholesterol. you need to look at your cholesterol to see if your liver can tolerate the amount of animal products you're

>> spoken like a true physician. pastor hall, one of the things you'll find plenty of in a lot of churches, african-american church dinners is fried chicken. >> yes. >> although many more feature baked chicken and more fruits and veggies. i would guess though hosting this conference be at your church though has brought you to a heightened level and helped to re-educate and reorient your membership and you're even incorporating healthier eating habits in your worshippers? >> yes. absolutely. it's been part of a movement since we've taken effective action in dr. hurley. it's been a movement in our church towards healthier lifestyle habits. we've done the things you've mentioned. we've partnered with dr. hurley in celebration of life wellness day for the third year. we've incorporated our worship services through our family service. we have healthy lifestyle and

have an in your seat easy exercise to do. >> during church service? >> yes. we have an inspiration cafe that we have once a month with performing arts, entertainment, if you will. we've transformed our menu to healthy choices at a sacrifice and with some criticism but we've done it because we're committed to this movement within our church that we are going to do with faith and fitness are converging with god. >> perfect place to take a break. stay with us as we continue talking about wellness.

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you have planned. >> well, we have bmi, we have blood pressure screening, we have liver screening, we have someone who's going to be doing some types of screening that helps you with posture and your bone. we'll have an ask the doctor, ask the nutritionist and of course, like i say, we're having a panel talking about what it's like to be healthy. what does it take to be healthy? and dr. -- >> arthur's row? >> arthur's row and we'll have -- one of the big features is -- there are three samples of delicious vegan food. >> you're laughing. >> yes. >> vegan food is very delicious. >> it's very delicious and i'm laughing because i was at veggie fest i guess a week ago and there were thousands of people lined up to eat vegan food. so it's really good. delicious. >> dr. davidson,

be one of the keynote speakers, and i know that you've -- on this program the many times we've talked you've talked about the importance of knowing your numbers, but i find that you probably can't repeat that often enough or too often because many people still don't know their numbers. >> i would say the majority of people don't know their numbers based on who comes into my office, including diabetics that don't know what a1cs are and ldls. you're supposed to know your ldl cholesterol, ideally under 100, ideally under 70. you are supposed to know your blood pressure is supposed to be 120/80. your body mass index should be under 25. if it's over that, you most likely will end up dieing from your weight and your a1c normally 5.6 and when you get above that you are in diabetic range. not pre-diabetic, but diabetic range. we don't at

to 6.5. it's like the first trimester of pregnancy. you know how that turns out. you are still diabetic, we don't have to give you a pill. it's not prehypertension, we don't treat you before you get to 140. you still have the damage being done to your organs and your arteries when you are in those elevated ranges. if you change your lifestyle, you don't have to have the pills. that's an issue that you can't tell people because they'll say, i'm only borderline, pre, so i don't have to do anything about it. no, that's when you need to do something so you don't have the risk of being treated. >> reverend hall, why -- you talked a little about this. why events like this are so important to people in our community and in the african-american church. talk a little about, you know, the change of the culture and why it takes incorporating this

actually get people to incorporate it into their lifestyle. >> because i think that when we think about what it means to be christian and all of what that brings about as far as transformation of our lifestyle, and speaking the word of kleist, i think everything begins with taking care of the engine that drives it all, in other words, our body. we quote first corinthians, our body is a temple for bod, the who holy spirit. i believe it's very important to incorporate within our worship service that we need to take care of the engine that god intended to drive reaching the law and having an increasing impact in our community, our home, even in this nation. so we think it's an integral part of what we should be about in reaching across for kleist and taking care of our bodies. >> you're actually partneri

them into this program. >> yes. and corner stone ministries is one. so we've taken these healthy sound bites and a studio that's behind us. what we also do as dr. hall did mention, we provide a hlty snack -- an example of healthy food. it's all been vegan and they love it. >> they love it, yes. >> we should say, you're a vegan? >> i'm a vegan. >> grandma vegan. >> you've been for a long time? >> since 1999. before that i was a vegetarian. it was a gradual movement. started in the '70s. >> did you do it because you had to? >> i did it because gradually doctors kept telling me, eat egg beaters, eat the white -- egg whites. stop -- i think it was dr. davis had said stop eating cheese or somebody, and i said, well, gee, i may as well -- i was a vegetarian. cold turkey i just stopped. >> okay. >>

it's just wonderful. >> all right. we're going to continue our talk right after this. stay with us. ralph northam: i'm ralph northam, candidate for governor and i sponsored this ad narrator: ed gillespie says dr. ralph northam doesn't show up? dr. ralph northam was an army doctor and a volunteer medical director at a children's hospice. he passed the virginia law requiring concussion standards for school sports.

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welcome back. just talking to dr. patricia davidson about one change. if someone watching says, you know, i can't do all of that stuff and i'm not going to be a vegan. one change. the most important change that you would recommend they do, what would that be? >> reduce your sugar and carbohydrate intake. >> okay. >> focus on more of green carbohydrates and get rid of the white carbohydrates. >> green carbs? >> get away definitely from your white carbohydrates. those are things that cause most of our disease, obesity and diabetes. >> all right. dr. hurley and pastor hall, you've got lots of good information that y a

conference. do people have to register? >> they can register. go online at www.t-action.org to register because we have lots of good things to give away, like this cookbook. we're going to give away this cookbook. for the kids who come, nice healthy heart eating coloring book and for the first 100 registrants, we have this nice bag and we also remember david carter will be there and also we want to thank nbc 4 for their sponsorship. >> sponsorship. >> major sponsor, boston scientific close the gap program. >> the conference, pastor hall, takes place at your church on september 23rd. give us the schedule. >> it's at new beginnings center directly adjacent to our worship center. that's where it's going to take place. 16512 old

buoy, maryland. starts at 10:00 and will conclude at 2:00. we looking forward to a great time of education, encouragement and inspiration. >> registration is 8:30. >> you want people to register. >> yes. >> because you want to make sure you can accommodate them. >> check in is at 8:30. you can walk in but we may not have enough of the goodies for you. you're welcome. everybody is welcome, men, children, everybody is welcome. >> is there a registration fee? >> it's free. >> it's free? okay. dr. davidson, i wanted to end this with you. you know, many people want to make changes. they want to live longer. they want to have healthier lives. they want to be healed of the diseases and illnesses that they are suffering from. so help us out mentally here. you're the doctor, but you're treating patients who have long histories of habits that are really tough to break. >> you have to look very deep into why you

change your lifestyle to a healthy lifestyle. it's easier now because the food industry is out there. and walking is critical. you don't have to pay to do this. you don't have to join a fancy gym to start walking and start eliminating sugar and salt from your diet and some of the refined carbohydrates. you would see a difference immediately. you can do it slowly. sugar is an addiction and salt is an addiction. you have to look upon it -- and it's harder to overcome than crack cocaine, because it's everywhere including in your church basement, so it's harder. >> sugar, carbs. we're going to do more work and give you a good report the next time i see you, dr. patricia davidson, pastor hal and gertie hurley, thank you all very much. we're going to try to do better. thank you for being with us. that's news 4 your sunday. i'm pat lawson

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by enjoying activia yogurt with billions of probiotics everyday. take the activia probiotic challenge! a night of deadly crashes. the collision and police chase that sparked an emergency response overnight. >> plus windows smashed and more arrests. another night of violence in st. louis missouri. new video of the overnight protests stretching into the suburbs now. >> it's sunday morning. ready for football. preview of the skins west coast match up against the rams. it's all good. they need a win today. >> that's right. >> listen. good sunday morning to you. thank you for starting it with us. >> a lot to get to this