Tuskegee Study begins.
The U.S. Public Health Service withholds syphilis treatment from 600 Black men in Alabama — for 40 years. The damage to community trust in American medicine still echoes today.
§ — Minority Health · A Roots reference
The body knows. The numbers prove it.
Black and brown Americans carry a disproportionate share of this country's chronic disease load — and most of it is preventable.
1
Brain
Stroke risk starts in the blood.
Cardiovascular · Cerebrovascular
2×
African Americans are roughly twice as likely to die of stroke compared to white Americans.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death for Black Americans. Most are downstream of years of uncontrolled blood pressure — damage that builds quietly over a decade.
Dr. Brooks · across the counter
Stroke isn't the event to fear. It's the ten years before it that matter.
Explore the Roots line
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Roots products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Source · CDC · National Vital Statistics System
1
Brain
Stroke risk starts in the blood.
Cardiovascular · Cerebrovascular
4.8%
of Black men have had a stroke vs 3.6% of all men — and it tends to strike earlier.
Stroke is a leading cause of death for Black men, and most of it is downstream of years of high blood pressure quietly doing damage.
Dr. Brooks · across the counter
Stroke isn't the event to fear. It's the decade of pressure before it that matters.
Explore the Roots line
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Roots products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Source · AHA · CDC National Vital Statistics System
2
Heart
Hypertension & heart disease.
Cardiovascular system
43%
of Black women have hypertension — vs. 27% of white women. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for Black women.
Black Americans develop high blood pressure earlier, at higher rates, and with worse outcomes than any other group. The CDC links it to diet, chronic stress, sleep, and access to care.
Dr. Brooks · across the counter
When pressure reads 150/95, the first question isn't about salt — it's about sleep.
Explore the Roots line
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Roots products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Source · CDC NHANES · Brookings 2022
2
Heart
Hypertension & heart disease.
Cardiovascular system
57.5%
of Black men have high blood pressure — the highest rate of any group, vs about 50% of men overall.
Black men develop high blood pressure earlier, at higher rates, and with worse outcomes than any other group. Nearly 6 in 10 Black adults live with some form of cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Brooks · across the counter
When the reading is 150/95, the first question isn't about salt — it's about sleep and stress.
Explore the Roots line
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Roots products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Source · American Heart Association 2024 · CDC NHANES
3
Liver
Hidden liver load.
Detoxification system
1 in 4
Black Americans show signs of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease — often without any diagnosis.
The liver does the unglamorous work — processing food, medication, alcohol, environmental load. When it's backed up, it shows up in the skin, the bloodstream, and the gut before anyone catches it on a chart. Hispanic/Latina women also carry high rates of fatty liver disease.
Dr. Brooks · across the counter
Acne in your forties is almost never a skin problem. It's the liver, in disguise.
Explore the Roots line
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Roots products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Source · NIDDK · 2023 Surveillance Report
3
Liver
Hidden liver load.
Detoxification system
1 in 4
Black Americans show signs of fatty liver disease — and Hispanic/Latino men carry the highest rates of any group.
The liver does the unglamorous work — food, medication, alcohol, environmental load. When it's backed up it shows in the skin, blood and gut first. Fatty liver disease hits Black and Hispanic/Latino communities hardest.
Dr. Brooks · across the counter
Fatigue and stubborn belly weight in your forties are often the liver, not just age.
Explore the Roots line
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Roots products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Source · NIDDK · Hispanic Community Health Study (HCHS/SOL)
4
Gut & Pancreas
Type 2 diabetes lands earlier.
Endocrine · Metabolic
60%
higher rate of diabetes among Black adults vs. white adults — and a higher risk of complications like kidney failure and amputation.
Type 2 diabetes is largely a disease of how the body processes food. Black Americans get diagnosed earlier, see complications more often, and are 3× as likely to need an amputation. Hispanic/Latina women are also disproportionately affected — 13% more likely than the U.S. average to have diabetes.
Dr. Brooks · across the counter
Pre-diabetes is the body's last loud warning. Most A1Cs of 6 walk back in six months.
Explore the Roots line
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Roots products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Source · CDC · American Diabetes Association
4
Gut & Pancreas
Type 2 diabetes lands earlier.
Endocrine · Metabolic
60%
higher rate of diabetes among Black adults — and Hispanic/Latino adults are 13% more likely than the U.S. average, dying from it 17% more often.
Black men are diagnosed later and see more complications. Hispanic/Latino adults carry one of the heaviest diabetes burdens in the country and are 81% more likely to develop diabetes-related kidney failure.
Dr. Brooks · across the counter
Pre-diabetes is the body's last loud warning. Many A1Cs of 6 can still walk back.
Explore the Roots line
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Roots products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Source · CDC · ADA · HHS Office of Minority Health
5
Uterus
Uterine fibroids, early and severe.
Reproductive health
3×
more likely. Black women develop fibroids younger, larger, and at higher rates than any other group.
By age 50, roughly 80% of Black women have uterine fibroids. They're a leading reason for hysterectomy in this country — and a common cause of pregnancy complications a doctor never warns about.
Dr. Brooks · across the counter
Hysterectomy isn't the only option — but the work has to start before the bleeding does.
Explore the Roots line
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Roots products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Source · NIH · Eltoukhi et al. 2014
5
Prostate
Prostate cancer lands harder.
Reproductive · Endocrine
2×
more likely to die from prostate cancer. Black men face higher incidence, earlier onset, and worse outcomes.
Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in Black men — and Black men die from it at roughly twice the rate of white men. Early screening matters, and so do the upstream conditions like inflammation and hormone balance.
Dr. Brooks · across the counter
After 40, get screened yearly. Don't wait for symptoms. The window between asymptomatic and aggressive is small.
Explore the Roots line
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Roots products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Source · American Cancer Society 2024
6
Kidneys
Kidney disease progresses faster.
Renal system
4×
more likely to develop kidney failure. Black Americans are 13% of the population but 35% of people on dialysis.
Chronic kidney disease is the quiet downstream of two things Black Americans live with at higher rates: hypertension and diabetes. Catching it early — before dialysis territory — is most of the battle.
Dr. Brooks · across the counter
Your kidneys whisper before they shout. Foamy urine and swollen ankles are conversations.
Explore the Roots line
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Roots products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Source · National Kidney Foundation
6
Kidneys
Kidney disease progresses faster.
Renal system
4×
more likely to develop kidney failure — and Hispanic/Latino adults are 81% more likely to reach diabetes-related kidney failure.
Chronic kidney disease is the quiet downstream of two things Black and Hispanic men live with at higher rates: high blood pressure and diabetes. Catching it early is most of the battle.
Dr. Brooks · across the counter
Your kidneys whisper before they shout. Foamy urine and swollen ankles are conversations.
Explore the Roots line
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Roots products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Source · National Kidney Foundation · NIH
7
Maternal
The maternal mortality gap.
Pregnancy & postpartum
3×
more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes. 50 deaths per 100,000 live births for Black women in 2023.
Across every income bracket, every education level, every zip code. The maternal mortality gap is one of the most stubborn disparities in American medicine. Most causes start long before the pregnancy does.
Dr. Brooks · across the counter
Preparing the body for pregnancy isn't a luxury — it's the difference between delivery and tragedy.
Explore the Roots line
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Roots products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Source · CDC · NCHS 2023
7
Mental Health
Stress & sleep, carried alone.
Nervous system · Mental health
20%
of Black men report sleep deprivation linked to chronic stress — but are half as likely as white men to seek treatment for depression.
Chronic stress and broken sleep are upstream of nearly every condition in this diagram. Black men are disproportionately impacted by both, and disproportionately unlikely to ask for help. The cost shows up everywhere else in the body.
Dr. Brooks · across the counter
The body keeps the score. If we don't rest, we pay for it in the heart, the gut, and the head.
Explore the Roots line
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Roots products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Source · APA · Black Men's Health Study 2023
§ — The full reference
The diagram covers seven. The library covers 74.
Whatever you're carrying — or whatever runs in your family — there's likely a plain-language page on it. Browse every condition Dr. Brooks covers across the counter, with the food, movement, and whole-plant approach behind each.
Open the health library43%
of Black women have hypertension
CDC NHANES
3×
more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes
CDC · 2023
80%
of Black women will develop fibroids by age 50
NIH · Eltoukhi 2014
13%
more likely: Hispanic/Latino adults to have diabetes than the U.S. average
HHS Office of Minority Health
§ — Why we exist
They not like us.
The medical system wasn't built for us. The supplement industry wasn't built by us. So Dr. Brooks built Roots — across the counter, for the people who walk through the door.
Read Dr. Brooks on Black Health →N° 01 / The medical system
They not like us.
The research and the trials happened without us in mind. The outcomes still tell that story.
3×More likely to die from
preventable disease
preventable disease
N° 02 / Other supplements
They not like us.
The wellness aisle chases trends. Roots was built by a naturopathic doctor with decades on the front lines.
39Plant botanicals
across the line
across the line
N° 03 / What we built
Built for us, by us.
Every formula was made for a real person who walked through the door on La Brea — not a market segment.
23 yrsOf clinical practice in
Inglewood, California
Inglewood, California
§ — Why this matters
A long shadow on this medicine.
The gap between Black, brown, and white health outcomes in America isn't a mystery — it has a documented history. Knowing it is part of getting out from under it.
1932
1985
Heckler Report.
The first official federal acknowledgment that Black and minority Americans die at significantly higher rates from preventable disease. The disparities it named have moved very little in forty years.
2003
Dr. Brooks opens Roots Nutrition.
After 32 years on the ambulance and watching family members die from preventable disease, Dr. Brooks opens the storefront on La Brea Avenue. The first product on the shelf is Power Cleanser.
Today
The work continues.
Twenty years of consultations, six formulations, one book, and a growing community of people taking their health back. The disparities haven't closed — but every patient who walks in the door is one less statistic.
§ — How we built for this
Dr. Brooks didn't read about this in a textbook.
He spent thirty-two years in the back of an ambulance in Los Angeles — and twenty more across the counter at the storefront. Every formula on the shelf was built for what he saw walking through the door, again and again.
01 / Upstream of disease
Start at the four organs of elimination.
Most chronic disease — including the patterns you just read about — is the body losing the ability to clear what it should. Power Cleanser is the first formula on the shelf because it has to be.
FoundationPower Cleanser · Power Greens · Power Circulator
02 / Built where the work happens
Formulated in the community it serves.
Roots Nutrition is on La Brea Avenue in Inglewood. Patients aren't profiles in a database — they are the people Dr. Brooks built each formula for, refined over months of in-person consultations.
Specialized supportPower Purifier · Power Metabolizer · Power Balancer
03 / Education, not just supplements
The body can heal — given the room.
You don't have to settle for being a statistic. The Roots blog, the recipes, the A–Z reference, and Dr. Brooks's book Body Intelligence — all of it is built to put what's been kept from this community back into your hands.
ResourcesBlog · Recipes · Health Library
§ — What we leave out
The list you'll never see on a Roots label.
Seven ingredients common in mainstream supplements — and zero in any bottle Dr. Brooks puts on the shelf.
Titanium Dioxide
Also: TiO₂ · CI 77891 · E171
A whitening pigment banned as a food additive in the EU — still routine in U.S. supplements.
Artificial Colors
Red 40 · Yellow 5 · Yellow 6 · Blue 1
Petroleum dyes that exist only for looks — linked to attention issues in kids, zero nutrition.
Sucralose
Also: Splenda · acesulfame potassium · aspartame
Synthetic sweeteners shown to disrupt the gut microbiome.
Polysorbate 80
Also: Tween 80 · PEG · polyethylene glycol
An emulsifier shown to damage the intestinal barrier and inflame the gut.
BHT & BHA
Butylated hydroxytoluene · butylated hydroxyanisole
Synthetic preservatives — BHA is flagged as a possible human carcinogen.
Carrageenan
Also: red algae extract · INS 407
A thickener linked to gut inflammation in studies; banned in some countries.
Synthetic Isolates
vs. whole-food vitamins & minerals
Lab-made vitamins that lack the cofactors your body needs to use them.
From the consultation room
Most of what walks through my door isn't a disease problem. It's a system problem — and the body, given the right inputs, knows how to find its way back.
— Dr. Romeo Brooks · Inglewood, CA
§ — Where to begin
Take the next step. One minute.
The wellness quiz will match you with the Roots formulas built for what you're carrying — and a starting plan from Dr. Brooks.
Sources & References
- CDC · National Vital Statistics System (2023)
- CDC NHANES · Hypertension Prevalence by Race
- National Kidney Foundation · 2024 Disparities Report
- NIH · Eltoukhi et al., 'Uterine Fibroids,' Am J Obstet Gynecol (2014)
- American Diabetes Association · Statistics by Race/Ethnicity
- NIDDK · 2023 Surveillance Report on Liver Disease
- Brookings Institution · Health & Nutrition Disparities (2022)
- American Cancer Society · Cancer Facts & Figures for African Americans (2024)