Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
The best of soul food’s origins are tied to the plant-centric West African diet.
For more on this topic, check out the work of Dr. Eric Walsh and Dr. Columbus Batiste at The Slave Food Project (slavefood.org/).
Another great resource is New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s autobiography Healthy At Last (amazon.com/Healthy-Last-Plant-Based-Preventing-Reversing/dp/1401960561).
I’ve talked before about How a Plant-Based Diet Can Help Reduce Racial Health Disparities (nutritionfacts.org/video/how-a-plant-based-diet-can-help-reduce-racial-health-disparities/) and The Harms Associated with Eating More Southern-Style Food (nutritionfacts.org/video/the-harms-associated-with-eating-more-southern-style-food/).
Traditional West African diets were predominantly plant-based, centered on a foundation of greens, fruits, legumes, nuts, vegetables, whole grains, and even more vegetables. Learn more about the African Heritage Diet on Oldways (oldwayspt.org/traditional-diets/african-heritage-diet).
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine interviewed Tracye McQuirter about the influence Dick Gregory, renowned civil rights activist and comedian, had on her lifestyle and work, as well as the history of plant-based eating for Black communities. You can watch it here (bit.ly/39KqfWw).
New subscribers to our e-newsletter always receive a free gift. Get yours here: nutritionfacts.org/subscribe/.
Have a question about this video? Leave it in the comment section at nutritionfacts.org/video/friday-favorites-soul-food-thats-good-for-the-soul and someone on the NutritionFacts.org team will try to answer it.
Want to get a list of links to all the scientific sources used in this video? Click on Sources Cited at nutritionfacts.org/video/friday-favorites-soul-food-thats-good-for-the-soul. You’ll also find a transcript and acknowledgements for the video, my blog and speaking tour schedule, and an easy way to search (by translated language even) through our videos spanning more than 2,000 health topics.
Thanks for watching. I hope you’ll join in the evidence-based nutrition revolution!
-Michael Greger, MD FACLM
Captions for this video are available in several languages; you can find yours in the video settings. View important information about our translated resources: nutritionfacts.org/translations-info
NutritionFacts.org
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The best of soul food’s origins are tied to the plant-centric West African diet.
For more on this topic, check out the work of Dr. Eric Walsh and Dr. Columbus Batiste at The Slave Food Project (slavefood.org/).
Another great resource is New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s autobiography Healthy At Last (amazon.com/Healthy-Last-Plant-Based-Preventing-Reversing/dp/1401960561).
I’ve talked before about How a Plant-Based Diet Can Help Reduce Racial Health Disparities (nutritionfacts.org/video/how-a-plant-based-diet-can-help-reduce-racial-health-disparities/) and The Harms Associated with Eating More Southern-Style Food (nutritionfacts.org/video/the-harms-associated-with-eating-more-southern-style-food/).
Traditional West African diets were predominantly plant-based, centered on a foundation of greens, fruits, legumes, nuts, vegetables, whole grains, and even more vegetables. Learn more about the African Heritage Diet on Oldways (oldwayspt.org/traditional-diets/african-heritage-diet).
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine interviewed Tracye McQuirter about the influence Dick Gregory, renowned civil rights activist and comedian, had on her lifestyle and work, as well as the history of plant-based eating for Black communities. You can watch it here (bit.ly/39KqfWw).
New subscribers to our e-newsletter always receive a free gift. Get yours here: nutritionfacts.org/subscribe/.
Have a question about this video? Leave it in the comment section at nutritionfacts.org/video/friday-favorites-soul-food-thats-good-for-the-soul and someone on the NutritionFacts.org team will try to answer it.
Want to get a list of links to all the scientific sources used in this video? Click on Sources Cited at nutritionfacts.org/video/friday-favorites-soul-food-thats-good-for-the-soul. You’ll also find a transcript and acknowledgements for the video, my blog and speaking tour schedule, and an easy way to search (by translated language even) through our videos spanning more than 2,000 health topics.
Thanks for watching. I hope you’ll join in the evidence-based nutrition revolution!
-Michael Greger, MD FACLM
Captions for this video are available in several languages; you can find yours in the video settings. View important information about our translated resources: nutritionfacts.org/translations-info
NutritionFacts.org
• Subscribe: nutritionfacts.org/subscribe
• Donate: nutritionfacts.org/donate
• Podcast : nutritionfacts.org/audio
• Books: nutritionfacts.org/books
• Shop: drgreger.org
• Facebook: facebook.com/NutritionFacts.org
• Twitter: twitter.com/nutrition_facts
• Instagram: instagram.com/nutrition_facts_org
