Summary
Indian Country Today columnist John Mohawk, Ph.D said indigenous peoples should return to a diet of traditional foods to help combat diabetes and obesity brought on by consumption of modern foods. This transition would not be easy, Mohawk said, since members of the younger generation were raised on, and therefore greatly prefer, junk food. To overcome this, Mohawk suggests American Indians return to their roots and form support groups to help each other eat properly and share healthy recipes focusing on 'slow' or uncultivated foods.
Original source:
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096410896
Details
It has been apparent for well over a decade that when indigenous peoples shift from their traditional diet to a ''modern'' highly refined carbohydrate diet they become exposed to a range of degenerative diseases.
This disease is epidemic among all indigenous peoples in North America (and many other parts of the world) and seems especially destructive among desert populations.
No one knows for certain how long this might take, but it is clear that not enough time has passed to render these foods safe for indigenous consumption.
A range of groups such as Native Seed Search (which has a group, Desert Foods for Diabetes) and Tohono O'odham Community Action have mobilized to promote nutrition education among the people.
The ''cure'' for the malady has been with them all along.
Given that a pathway to health is known, one might expect it would be easy to make changes that could reverse the unhealthy trend, but the problem can be daunting.
People who include such high-fiber beans have been known to reverse their symptoms, but knowing what to do isn't the same as being able to do it.
The preferred lifestyle changes that would help reverse the trends are predictable: traditional foods, increased exercise and avoidance of harmful foods and habits.
All foods that are gathered from the natural world, such as cacti and wild berries, are what have been designated ''slow foods.'' They have not been cultivated.
For people who are in a hurry this seems to be a good thing, but for people who are sensitive to rapidly absorbed carbohydrates, they produce a higher level of blood sugar than did the wild
foods.
In the days before the epidemic Indian people didn't need to think about what they needed to do.
Something like a mini cultural revolution needs to happen along the line of the Red Road or the Weight Watchers culture.
About the author: Mike Adams is a consumer health advocate and award-winning journalist with a passion for sharing empowering information to help improve personal and planetary health He is a prolific writer and has published thousands of articles, interviews, reports and consumer guides, and he has created several downloadable courses on survival and preparedness, including his widely-downloaded course on personal safety and self-defense. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In 2010, Adams co-founded NaturalNews.com, a natural health video sharing site that has now grown in popularity. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also a veteran of the software technology industry, having founded a personalized mass email software product used to deliver email newsletters to subscribers. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training. Known as the 'Health Ranger,' Adams' personal health statistics and mission statements are located at www.HealthRanger.org
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Monday, May 16, 2005
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