Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 16, Number 2, 1 February 1999 — Ka ʻai a Kaia ʻupe [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Ka ʻai a Kaia ʻupe

The stroke of Kaia'upe — 'Olelo No'eau

By Clalre Hughes Dept. of Health KA 'AI a Kaia'upe. This expression is used when one is lured into a simation and then suffers the consequences. It refers to any kind of treachery. The mo'olelo refers to Kaia'upe, who was a noted female robber. She lived near the cliff trail of 'A'alaloa on Maui. According to the story, she would lure and entice a man to lie with her on the edge of the chff and then kiek him off over the cliff with her foot. This mo'olelo wams us to be alert and to look beyond first impressions and the anticipation of pleasure, because the consequences may be severe. That is, always look at the long-term results/effect of an action. Let us apply this lesson to eating behaviors and food choices. There are known consequences to careless or risky eating behaviors and choices. Yet, small changes ean make a critieal difference. The importance of making appropriate choices lies in the long-term effects on the health of our children and grandchildren, as well as adults in the family. With all the temptations around, this is becoming increasingly difficult. Questionable food choices are not just a challenge for the Hawaiian community, but a universal problem. However, a few

changes ean save a lot of longterm pain. Cancer is a frightening illness, as it ean strike at any age, in many different parts of the body and the consequences ean be extreme. We lose so many friends and family to cancer.

Fortunately, there is a lot we ean do to avoid cancer, so let's start. It is up to the mākua or kupuna in the family to lead by taking full advantage of available scientific information on avoiding cancer. Then, make it work for your family. Did you know that cancer takes many years to develop? Usually we don't even know that it is there for about 15 or 20 years. The good part about this long developmental phase is that we have a ehanee to break the ehain of events and stop the cancer. Research shows that

many foods, such as tofu, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, all cabbages, oranges, papaya and mango, not only protect against cancer, but also reverse the process. Some of these fruits and vegetables are better and stronger cancer fighters than others. Choose these foods to eat often - not exclusively, but often. The idea is to try new foods, and to try them on several occasions. Know why you are making the changes and decide to leave them in the family diet. Then, try another food. Try these new foods several times. It's really not that difficult. Merely reducing consumption of eggs, whole milk, red meat (beef, pork, veal, lamb), processed meats (Spam, Treet, bacon, sausages, hot dogs, bologna), margarine, aleohol and total fat will improve your chances against cancer. Hawaiians plaee great emphasis on the needs of babies, planning for their needs first. lt is easy to teach babies what is right. Eating risky foods in ffont of the keiki does not convince them to do the right thing. The real challenge is for the adults to consistently set the example by assuring that the cancer fighters are part of everyone's daily routine. Hawaiian cancer rates have steadily increased over the last 20 years. Draw upon your warrior instincts. lt is up to us to slow this trend. Our traditional diet is best. ■

"There are known eonsequences to careless or risky eating behaviors and choices-"

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Claire Hughes