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.