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Tonya Lewis Lee’s Next Mission

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Healthy You Now, a new health site for women of color, seeks to break down traditional barriers.

Tonya Lewis Lee has struggled with her weight since she was 13. Today, the mother of two is a national best-selling author, an award-winning TV producer and the face of a national infant mortality campaign, “A Healthy Baby Begins with You,” sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services. She also recently launched Healthy You Now, a website dedicated to women’s health—and specifically to reaching women of color.

Lee is an anomaly in her family because she’s not on medication. “By my age, I should be taking some pill for something,” she says. She knows that her lifestyle choices have made all of the difference and started Healthy You Now to help other women. Lee and I corresponded about the site and what inspired her.

Libby Lowe: How did you become interested in the health of women and girls?

Tonya Lewis Lee: I have dieted most of my life one way or another, successfully losing weight, but also gaining some back and needing to lose some again. Another part of my health journey has been that for years I had relatively high cholesterol. I realized I could not go on one more diet. I decided to try a plant-based diet and, after six weeks of living a vegan lifestyle, my cholesterol dropped dramatically. It is not always easy, but the way I live makes a difference in my well-being. And given my struggles, my family history and my journey, I know that if I can make a difference in my own well-being, other women can too.

LL: What inspired you to launch Healthy You Now?

TLL: In 2007, I began working with the Office of Minority, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, raising awareness about the high rates of infant mortality in the U.S. and in particular in the African-American community. As I began to learn more, I felt the need to create a space where women are able to access good information about their health and share their personal health journeys and to support one another as they try to transform their lives.

When people have access to resources, knowledge and ease of location to access things like healthy food choices and exercise they tend to be healthier. When you look at statistics, wealth and education are often predictors of better health outcomes. I am of the belief that if we as a community come together to seriously deal with the health of those who have fewer resources, we can still increase awareness and knowledge in those with less education and we can provide access to those who traditionally have been isolated from healthier options.

LL: Yours is clearly a more diverse site than most health and wellness publications; what barriers to health do you see and how is your site seeking to break them down?

TLL: I am intentionally reaching out to women of color. So often we do not see the image of ourselves as active, healthy people. Culturally, we tend to embrace our curves, which is great. And yet, we have to be realistic about what is a healthy weight it. I also think that people in general are not fully aware of how diet and exercise really can heal so many of our illnesses. It is my hope that HYN can showcase living healthy and demonstrate how much fun it can be, and how good it can be for you.

LL: What is your biggest challenge in getting this information out there?

TLL: The biggest challenge is cutting through all the misinformation about health. Today, so many people are trying to do the right thing, but they don’t necessarily know what the right thing is. For example, I often hear women say they are cutting back on dairy and are trying to use more soy milk. But women of color need to be careful about ingesting too much soy. Research shows we are sensitive to the estrogen in soy, which can increase chances of developing some cancers or fibroids. So, making sure we are getting the good information out and getting past some of the confusing information is a challenge.

LL: What is your dream for the site?

TLL: My dream for HYN is for it to be a portal of health and wellness to women of all races, but especially to women of color around the world. I would love to be the go-to site for information and the go to site when women seek support as they figure out how to live their healthiest lives. I see it as a place where we provide solid health information, and at the same time, provide a place for women to share their stories with each other. Support is such a key piece as we try to make change in our lives. Often those closest to us are uncomfortable when we move out of our comfort zone and they don’t know how to offer support. HYN should be the place where anyone can get the support they need… Health is a journey, not a destination. It never ends and we can always be better.

Tonya Lewis Lee lives in New York with her children and her husband, Spike Lee, who you may have heard of. She’s at work on two new books.