Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 6, 1 June 1988 — ʻAi Pono, E Ola [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ʻAi Pono, E Ola

By Dr. Terry Shintani, M.D. Save a Friend's Life

Editor's note: Ka Wai Ola O OHA this month introduces a new regular feature on nutrition as a service to our readers. Dr. Terry Shintani, who is doing the monthly eolumn, is coordinator ofpreventive health services at the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health

As the diet changed from the traditional Hawaiian to a more westernized fare, these diseases began to appear. This increase in chronic disease with change in diet has happened throughout the world. Among the Chinese, Africans, Micronesians, Native Americans and many other cultures, a change to the Western diet also meant an increase in heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes, as well as a host of other nutrition-related problems. What ean we do about it? A simple four-step solution is: 1. Eat right. 2. Have a positive attitude. 3. Exercise. 4. Share this lifestyle with others. By eating right, I mean not only eating food that is healthful but also avoiding substances that are harmful such as smoking and drugs. Eating right also means eating more closely to the way our ancestors ate. In general this means eating a starch-centered low-fat, high fiber diet. In future articles I will explain more what this is. As an example, the recent Moloka'i diet study examined some health effects of placing Hawaiian individuals on a traditional Hawaiian diet. The preliminary results are encouraging and will be reported on by the researchers in the near future. Having a positive attitude means among other things knowing that you ean have a significant effect on your own health by making simple lifestyle changes. This is important because it takes your motivation to make these changes. Exercise is important because not only does it help one lose weight whieh reduces the risk for many chronic diseases but it also helps with positive attitude. Exercise ean cause the release of natural chemicals in the brain that help us to feel better and sustain a positive attitude. Finally, sharing is important because one of the most important elements in maintaining the first three steps is the support of friends and family. The great Mahatma Gandhi, who influenced the lives of 350 million people, onee said in regard to affecting the diet of others, "What I eat and omit to eat is bound to have a greater effect on (others) than what I say." Similarly, by adopting a healthy lifestyle and sharing it with others we ean have an impact on friends and family too. In future issues, this eolumn will provide you with nutrition information that will help you with positive lifestyle changes. Read them and share them with others. Practice what you believe whenever you ean, realizing that we are all interconnected by our thoughts, words and actions. In this way we ean help influence eaeh other and prevent the untimely deaths of our friends, family and people.

L enter where the majority of patients are from the Hawaiian community. He is a graduate ofthe University of Hawaii's John A. Burns School of Medieine and received a Master's degree in nutrition from Harvard University School ofPublic Health. WCCHC is a private non-profit community health center owned and run by the Waianae coast eommunify. Not long ago one of my patients was found to have cancer. After six months, he passed away. It made me sad to lose a friend that way. Is this a familiar situation to you? Have you ever lost a friend or family member or your favorite auntie, unele or cousin to cancer, heart attack or diabetes? If you're like most of us, this has happened to you. Didn't it make you sad or mad and want to do something about it? The lives of most native Hawaiian people are claimed by chronic diseases such as these. This is also true among Americans in general but among the Hawaiian people, this problem is even worse. The sad thing is that these deaths don't have to happen. What is alarming is that six of the 10 leading causes of death in America and among Hawaiian people are nutrition-related. This includes the top three leading killers, heart disease, cancer and stroke. The greatest epidemic that we face today is not A1DS. It is nutrition-related disease. Think of 10 people you know. At the current rate, seven of them will die of a nutrition-related disease. That's the bad news. The good news is that we ean do something about it. Just think about this for a moment. In the days before Western contact, Hawaiians were known to have natural, radiant health. Diseases such as heart attacks, cancer and diabetes were virtually unknown then. It is well known that obesity is a risk factor for these diseases. However, contrary to the eommon stereotype that Hawaiians are obese and sedentary, the average ancient Hawaiian was slim, graceful and active.