Understand your health benefits and see your personal physician often.
African Americans lack health insurance at one-and-a-half times the rate of whites. No health insurance means no personal physician, no regular care, no disease screenings and no discovering problems while they are small and treatable. One in every five African Americans also lacks a usual source of health care and is more likely to use the emergency department instead of a personal physician. This contributes to disparate disease and death rates among African Americans.

Break the bonds of tobacco.
In 2001, the surgeon general released several reports that underlined how tobacco use serves to widen the gap between African Americans and their compatriots by contributing heavily to the three leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer and stroke.

Eat wisely and cut your weight down to size.
A high-fiber, low-fat diet rich in various vegetables, grains and fruits means a longer life and protection against killers such as heart disease, cancer, depression and obesity. See your doctor for a dietary makeover. This is especially important for African American women, who have the nation's highest obesity rates.

See your dentist often to close the oral health care gap.
In 2000, the surgeon general released Oral Health in America, which documents how the mouths of African Americans are at least twice as likely as their white neighbors to be ravaged by cavities, infection, tooth loss, gum disease and even cancer.