A Pittsburgh University team recently conducted a study in an attempt to lower the risk of cancer by observing various eating habits. The focus was particularly on African Americans, given that population's historically high rates of obesity, heart disease, cancer and diabetes. (The article notes that heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes are among the top 10 leading causes of death for African Americans, who are 1.8 times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes and 1.4 times more likely to be obese than Latinos and whites.)

Because the typical African American diet (sometimes referred to as "soul food") is associated with meat consumption and foods high in sugar, salt and fat, the team looked to a more traditionally African diet which consists of mostly vegetables, beans and cornmeal and no meat as a contrast. Think Progress reported what actually happened when 20 African Americans and 20 South Africans swapped meal plans, with some eye-opening results.