By Denver Louis, BlackVoices.com

The Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) continues on its mission to bring sickle cell awareness to the masses. Each year, as part of its Be Sickle Smart Education Days, celebrities are pegged to tour and speak on the benefits of sickle-cell awareness. This year Ruben Studdard is involved with the movement and has been traveling the country bringing together sickle cell disease advocates and patients to share information about Sicke Cell Disease and iron overload caused by blood transfusions.

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a blood disorder common in African Americans that sometimes requires treatment with blood transfusions. However, many people with SCD themselves don't know that having 10 or more blood transfusions over their lifetime can lead to a serious condition known as Transfusional Iron Overload.

Black Voices' Denver Louis had a chance to chat with Ruben about the movement, his marriage and his musical career.

Ah China, where the keys to longevity are early morning Tai Chi, the ancient healing art of acupuncture and hip-hop dancing.

*Sound of needle scratching across record*

Hold up! Hip-Hop dancing? Absolutely! You see Wu Ying, now 70, discovered hip hop music and dancing in 2003 while watching a dance competition. Wu was immediately hooked. She started teaching hip-hop dancing in the gym and then took it to the next level.

Wu then had a vision that she and a bunch of other older ladies would get together and form a hip-hop dance troupe. Wu not only taught the moves, but encouraged all the participants to get down with the freeing attitude at the heart of all the best of hip-hop. Now, with the youngest member aged 45, these 30-odd rap-dancing retirees have performed all over China and collected dozens of awards shaking their booties to the beats and baselines of hip-hop.

See these Hip-Hop Grannies for yourself. ...

Foodies, meet Aaron McCargo Jr., The Food Network's new star!!!

He beat out thousands of culinary hopefuls on season four of 'The Next Food Network Star,' for the ultimate dream job – his own Food Network show. Dubbed "Big Daddy" on the reality show, Aaron brings an easygoing presence to the kitchen with his warm smile and passion for down-to-earth cooking. His new show, 'Big Daddy's House,' features simple, fun, and mouth-watering recipes that illustrate Aaron's love for big, bold flavors.

Recently, Blackvoices' own Denver Louis had the opportunity to speak to the Food Network's latest star and the newest African American chef on the block about his success and his new show.

By Shawn Johnson, BDO Staff Writer

(BlackDoctor.org) -- While African American women tend to have higher bone mineral density (BMD) than white women throughout life, they are still at significant risk of developing osteoporosis. The misperception that osteoporosis is only a concern for white women can delay prevention and treatment in African American women who do not believe they are at risk for the disease

Recently the American Heart Association released a study on the heart-friendly cities for women in the United States. The study, which is part of the Go Red For Women initiative, may surprise a few people. The study considered a variety of risk factors including obesity, smoking rates and general health statistics.

Black Voices own Denver Louis had a chance to speak to Dr. Jennifer H. Mieres, author of "Heart Smart for Black Women and Latinas: A 5-Week Program for Living a Heart-Healthy Lifestyle", about the study and some solutions to help prevent heart disease.

The results may surprise you...

By Angela Bronner, BlackVoices.com

The indomitable Jenifer Lewis –one for whom the word diva is made -- has been a formidable force in the world of drama and song for almost 30 years.

Lewis currently tears up the stage of the Broadway production of 'Hairspray' as Motormouth Maybelle, mother of Seaweed J. Stubbs, played by singer Tevin Campbell. Her ovation at the end is always one of the longest.

Here, Lewis opens up about a very real, very pervasive issue in our country: bi polar disorder (formerly manic depression.) Lewis, who created a one woman show about the illness – "Bipolar, Bath and Beyond" -- shares with us her Testimony.

Can you explain what bi-polar is?

Bi-polar is a mood disorder, where people will experience extreme highs and extreme lows including anger all the time, irritability and reckless behavior. It's very serious to control that manic behavior. People who need drama in their lives all the time, you know complaining and coming in a room loud, and inappropriate.

For most young boys, if given a choice between playing football and washing dishes, the answer's simple... ditch the dishes. And for super chef, G. Garvin, the choice was simple indeed. But instead of getting on a the field, at the young age of just of 13, he shelved his football aspirations and took a job at Atlanta's Vining's Inn, where he washed dishes and soaked up the inner workings of a four-star operation.

At the age of 15, Garvin found his way to the Ritz-Carlton where he became the youngest cook in the downtown Atlanta hotel. He would hold summer and extracurricular positions there until he turned 18.

Ambition is no question for Garvin as throughout the 90's, he's served as executive chef at Morton's in West Hollywood, Kassbah in West Hollywood, and sous chef at Ritz-Carlton Palm Springs at the age of 23.

Recently Blackvoices.com had the opportunity to speak to the exceptional chef and host of "Turn Up The Heat with G. Garvin" on his new show and his tremendous drive to be the best chef on television.

Excruciating, sudden, unexpected, burning pain are amongst the variety of adjectives which have been used to describe the onset of gout. It primarily affects men between the ages of 40 and 50 and in the U.S., and it affects African Americans twice as much as Caucasians. The disease, which is a form of arthritis, can usually affect the big toe causing unparalleled swelling.

Maurice Cheeks, coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, knows all to well just how debilitating the disease can be. "The pain is indescribable though, there is no way I would adequately be able to describe it."

A typical sufferer of gout is obese and has a higher risk of diabetes, hypertension and heart disease... pretty much the trifecta of killer diseases. Gout has famously been known as the "disease of kings" as it is more common in affluent societies with more access to diets rich in proteins, fat, and alcohol.

Black Voices' Denver Louis got a chance to sit down with coach Cheeks as he strives to bring awareness to this painful disease.

Are you a fan of fatty foods, junk foods and pretty much most foods with no nutritional value? Well of course you are, who isn't?

Does your family have a history of stroke or heart disease?

If so than you may want to slow it down, because there's a good chance that you may be at risk and not even know it. Each year nearly 700,000 people are afflicted with some type of stroke. Of that number, 100,000 are African American. What's even more alarming though is that African Americans are twice as likely as other ethnic groups to have a stroke and that one half of all African American women will die from a stroke or heart disease.

Earlier this month, Grammy Award winner, Bebe Winans and "Hip Hop Doc" Dr. Rani Whitfield teamed up and have been actively campaigning for stroke awareness through the American Stroke Association's, Power to End Stroke Campaign

By Angela Bronner, BlackVoices.com

In 1999, a sensational story rocked the New York City area.

Haitian-born music star Wyclef Jean is again helping his homeland, getting the word out in an effort to vaccinate more than five million children and youth against measles and rubella -- preventable diseases which kill Haiti's children in droves each year.

The producer, solo-standout and Fugees star kicked off the second phase of the ALAS project with a new public service announcement aimed at the citizens of the impoverished island nation (watch above). ... Wyclef is a founding member of the ALAS Foundation.

By Angela Bronner, BlackVoices.com

Last Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control released a study that found that one in four young women or 3.2 million teenage girls is infected with a sexually transmitted disease.

The kicker is, according to the study, nearly half of African American girls (or 48%) in this age group has least one of the following: the human papillomavirus (HPV), chlamydia, herpes, or trichomoniasis, with HPV leading the charge.

Yes, that's right, according to the CDC -- one out of every two African American girls ages 14-19 has an STD.

The report, sponsored by the CDC and conducted by the NCHS (National Center for Health Statistics), took a national sample of 838 young women. The study did not include the STDs syphilis, HIV or gonorrhea.

In a word, this is alarming.

Does this mean that if there are 20 tenth graders at a bus stop, say, the cheerleading squad at an all black high school -- that 10 of them has HPV?

By Sonia Alleyne, Courtesy BlackEnterprise.com

Athough Robin Downes had a successful media career in film and television-even winning an Emmy in 1981 for news and documentary achievements for her work at ABC's 20/20-the seeds for becoming a certified yoga instructor had already taken root. A former dancer and gymnast, Downes had practiced martial arts. By the time she took her first yoga class, in 1994, at age 34, "it felt like home."

Concerned about keeping herself fit and youthful, Downes practiced yoga to combat the stresses of the entertainment industry and her mother's illness. "My mother was losing her battle with breast cancer," she explains. "These were all major alarms to pay attention to."