6
Insights
Keeping the doctor away
If this wretched Covid-19 pandemic has taught us anything , it is that we all need to adopt healthier eating habits .
Obesity rates and chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes , hypertension , cardiovascular disease , stroke and cancer are on the rise here , in the mainland U . S . and in other westernized countries . But here and in other U . S . -affiliated Pacific Islands , these non-communicable lifestyle diseases have become a bona fide health emergency , according to a 2013 Hawaii Journal of Medicine & Public Health study .
The Staywell Guam Diabetes Foundation says nearly 12 percent of all adults in Guam have diabetes . Among Chamorros , the rate is higher at 16.2 percent . The foundation says “ our next generation is at risk as well , with childhood obesity , a major risk factor for diabetes , at 23 percent .”
Our public health officials and the physicians advising Gov . Lou Leon Guerrero about the pandemic repeatedly tell us that having a “ comorbidity ” like diabetes , heart disease , hypertension , cancer , or an auto-immune disease , increases our chances of becoming very sick if we contract the Covid-19 virus . The fact is that most of the people hospitalized with this virus on Guam , and nearly all who have died here of complications associated with Covid-19 so far , have either been diabetic or have had some other type of health challenge .
Clearly , we need to eat more healthy foods . A study of diet and obesity rates among Chamorro and Filipino adults on Guam revealed that of the top 25 foods sources of energy intake by either group , the only marginally healthy item on the Chamorro list was orange juice , which came in at No . 10 . For Filipinos , No . 10 was bananas and No . 23 was mangoes , which are at least real live natural fruits . The study was published in 2008 by the University of Guam , the Cancer Re-
search Center of Hawaii and the University of Hawaii .
The study noted that before the war , Chamorros ate a predominantly natural diet . The island ’ s food intake changed after World War II . Uncle Sam fed starving people rice and canned meat when they came out of Manenggon . As everyone knows , once you taste that salty meat , fried and served with hot rice , that ’ s it . The island diet “ began to shift from locally grown foods to imported rice and highly processed canned goods , such as Spam ®, corned beef and Vienna sausage ,” according to the study .
Food traditions are hard to break . Think about our fiesta and party tables ( when we were able to have them ), where guests loaded up on starches first , then the meats , then pancit , kelaguen , other delicacies . Salads are always last , before the desserts . After a local nutritionist pointed this out to me , I mentioned to my mother-in-law that maybe we should put the salads first because it is healthier . She looked at me like I was nuts , and just shook her head . End of discussion .
Which brings me to apples .
Boxes of apples and oranges are among the food products being distributed around the island since the Covid-19 shutdown . The preferred food items are , of course , rice and canned meat . Fruit is not only perishable , but also , it doesn ’ t have the “ fill you up ” effect that hot rice and a couple sizzling pieces of SPAM does .
Yet there is a health gold mine in those apples and oranges . Oranges are of course high in fiber and vitamin C . But apples — apples are the bomb as far as nutrition goes . It turns out there ’ s a reason for the saying , “ An apple a day keeps the doctor away .”
According to healthline . com , here are just some of the benefits of eating apples :
Apples lower your risk of type 2 diabetes .
One medium apple equals about 1.5 cups of fruit , and 2 cups of fruit are recommended for a 2,000-calorie diet . So , eating an apple a day gives you three fourths of your daily fruit requirement . Leave the skin on , because apple skins are high in polyphenols - micronutrients packed with antioxidants .
• Apples are linked to a lower risk of heart disease , in part because they contain soluble fiber , which helps lower blood cholesterol levels .
• Apples contain pectin , a type of fiber that acts as a prebiotic . This means it feeds the good bacteria in your gut .
• Apples have several naturally occurring compounds that may help fight cancer .
• Apples contain antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds that may help regulate immune responses and protect against asthma .
According to animal studies , apple juice may help prevent the decline of neurotransmitters that are involved in memory . ( My personal favorite thing about apples , since at my age , I can use all the memory help I can get .)
Maybe those boxes of fruit can start us on a new food tradition , in the wake of this pandemic . So let ’ s eat those apples .
Jayne Flores is the director of the Bureau of Women ’ s Affairs and a longtime journalist . Contact her at jayneflores59 @ gmail . com . rom the comment box
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