The 72-year-old fitness influencer doesn’t let age slow her down. EllenEctor, The Atlanta-based mother of 5 and grandmother of 4 still has a body that is mind-boggling.

Her inspiring transformation began at age 40, when she saw a photograph of herself showing only her butt and insides, she told the talk show host Sherri. “I just didn’t like the way I looked.”

After 20 years in social work, Ector quit her job in 2009 and began exercising. She eventually opened Gymnetics Fitness and launched a training system called Aging Blackwards. But her goal wasn’t simply to draw attention. Ector has a deeper mission: to interrupt down the barriers that prevent black women from exercising frequently.

“The reason we took this bold step was because the fitness industry had completely forgotten about African-American women,” Ector said in an interview The Black Doctor. “You don’t see our faces on fitness DVDs, you don’t see our faces on magazine covers, so we wanted to create something for us, for real women.”

Half of Americans don’t meet the national advice of 150 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous exercise. But for African American women, the statistics are much more disturbing, with only 34 percent meeting the national requirements, in keeping with the survey. test published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Disparities. Barriers to regular exercise include caregiving and job responsibilities, in addition to access to reasonably priced gyms and exercise equipment. tests found at Arizona State University.

Ector runs his mini-empire with his daughter, Lana Ector, and the duo has created workouts with these needs in mind, keeping prices reasonably priced for individuals who cannot spend money on expensive gym memberships. All home video procedures may be performed with minimal or no equipment.

“Your body is a machine!” Ector delighted. “There are no fitness models on our DVDs, just real women who want to lose weight.” The mother-daughter team also wrote a healthy eating cookbook titled “Black Girls Gone Vegan.”

Ector talks candidly about the devastating health events that motivated her to assist others. First, at the age of 62, she lost her mother to uterine cancer, and a few years later, her daughter, Leah Taylor, was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer at the age of 27. Leah is currently cancer free.

Black women have the lowest rate of breast cancer, yet they usually tend to die than some other race or ethnic group. Uterine cancer, which may be cured if detected early, also disproportionately affects black women, who’re twice as prone to die from the disease than other groups.

“Witnessing the effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy unexpectedly changed my family’s life, and since then I have been more committed than ever to promoting well-being and support through our events,” she wrote on her website.

Ector never stops spreading his fitness philosophy, running 5Ks, appearing on talk shows – and looking implausible while doing it. As he goes on to say her Instagram“Being fit after the age of 50 is a vibe that starts from the inside! This GLOW is real! Not only physically, but above all mentally! Live my fit life to the fullest and grow old hard!”

Ready or not, the holidays are here. This is the time for a lot of Americans who’re used to preparing easy meals serve safely multi-course feasts.

This just isn’t a simple task. Explosions some types According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food poisoning increases in November and December. contaminated turkey, CDC researchers found that undercooked stuffing and germy sauce from holiday buffets led to past illnesses and even deaths.

Preparing large meals in a way that avoids common hazards that may make you sick could be difficult for infrequent cooks, said Donald Schaffner, a food science expert at Rutgers University.

“Cooking takes longer with large masses of food. Refrigeration takes longer for large quantities of food,” said Schaffner, who co-hosts the food safety podcast “Risky or Not?”

Along with podcast co-host Benjamin Chapman, a food scientist at North Carolina State University, Schaffner outlined common ways to make holiday meals each festive and secure.

Prepare the turkey

According to turkey producer Butterball, nearly 90% of U.S. hosts plan to serve turkey for Thanksgiving this 12 months.

However, raw turkey can harbor disease-causing bacteria akin to salmonella, Campylobacter and other germs. It must be handled safely to prevent these insects from contaminating the surfaces of fridges, sinks and kitchen counters.

A frozen bird must first be thawed. Schaffner said there are several accepted methods, including in the refrigerator, in the microwave or in cold running water.

“All these methods pose risks,” he warned.

According to the Department of Agriculture, a frozen turkey takes about 24 hours for each 4 to 5 kilos of weight to thaw in the refrigerator. If using the microwave or cold water method, the bird must be cooked immediately. For detailed information on how to handle turkeys safely, try defrosting and cooking calculators created by USDA.

And don’t wash the turkey. Rinsing it in the sink is a nasty idea, although many cooks still stick with this practice, often out of habit, Chapman said.

“Anything that hits that surface and causes splashes will basically spread the contaminants throughout the kitchen,” he said.

Instead, dry the turkey with paper towels and throw it away, or use a kitchen towel and sanitize it in the laundry.

What about baking?

The turkey must reach a cooking temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit before serving. The best way to check if it’s cooked is to use a tip-sensitive digital thermometer inserted into the inner thigh without touching the bone.

Don’t depend on the plastic pop-up thermometers on some industrial turkeys. Chapman’s previous research shows that these buttons could be activated long before the bird actually finishes.

At the same time, don’t judge the doneness of the meat based on signs akin to whether the skin is golden brown, whether the meat isn’t any longer pink, or whether the juice is obvious.

“None of them are good indicators of temperature,” Chapman said.

Extras and leftovers

How you handle the remainder of the meal – mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans or sweet potatoes – is just as vital as the major course. It may be very vital to avoid the so-called danger zones, i.e. temperatures from 40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, where bacteria can easily grow.

The secret is keeping hot food cold and hot in the pipeline, and cooling the whole lot quickly, Schaffner said.

“It is recommended that leftovers be refrigerated within two hours of taking them out of the oven,” he said.

Be sure to store dense foods akin to sliced ​​turkey, cooked sweet potatoes, or gravy in shallow containers in the refrigerator in order that they cool down more quickly. Schaffner’s recent research found that food refrigerated in containers not more than 2 inches deep poses little risk of developing dangerous germs.

Keep it clean

One of the key ways to avoid food poisoning is to thoroughly clean your kitchen.

Wash your hands before preparing food and after handling raw poultry. When handling raw meat and fresh foods akin to vegetables and salads, use separate cutting boards, knives and other kitchen utensils.

Special attention must be paid to any surface which will change into contaminated. It is very important to first clean with soap and water after which sanitize with a disinfectant – a two-step process.