Health
Basics
There are two main components to good health. The first is food and what we put into our bodies, the second is mind/emotion = stress level. In this section we will look at food. Mind will be addressed in the "Issues That Affect Health" article. Here are some basic and unavoidable facts about food:
- Your body was made perfect (how wonderful), and there are foods that are perfect for your body. Natural, unrefined, whole foods were made by nature as perfect food for your body.
- The body is constantly healing and seeking to remain in a state of health. When you cut your finger, immediately the blood begins to clot and seal the wound, cells begin to rapidly multiply to permanently close the hole in your skin. When you get a cold the body tries very hard to defend you by fighting the invading germs with white blood cells. Cells are always dying, reproducing and replacing themselves.
- Children need to be properly nourished so that their bodies will grow strong and healthy. Their brains and nervous systems need to be nourished so that they will be able to learn, listen and relax.
- The body requires the right nutrients to be able to do these important jobs. Supporting the body to do its work is important for your health.
- You may hear the argument that natural foods contain sugar, this of course is true, but natural foods also contain an abundance of vitamins, minerals and enzymes that work with the sugars. These substances assist your body in metabolizing and using the sugar in food for energy, growth and healing.
The following section gives an overview of different types of nutrients and the important roles they play in good health.
CARBOHYDRATES:
Another word for sugar is carbohydrate. There are simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates. Both white flour and refined sugar qualify as simple. Simple carbohydrates are quickly digested and absorbed into the bloodstream. Blood sugar plummets after first being quickly "spiked" up by consuming refined sugar, leading to fatigue and irritability, the stage is set for diabetes and hypoglycemia. The Pancreas becomes worn out from having to produce an overabundance of insulin to deal with all the concentrated sugar. Complex carbohydrates (whole grains, vegetables and fruit) take longer to digest and are converted to energy much more slowly, sustaining a healthy blood sugar level. They are essential for health and energy.
PROTEINS:
Protein is the building block of healthy muscle and helps our body grow and repair itself. Getting the right amount of good quality protein is important. Healthy proteins include:
- Meat and fish
- Eggs
- Lower fat dairy products such as milk, cheese and yogurt
- Milk alternatives such as soy milk and tofu
- Nuts and seeds
- Beans and legumes such as baked beans, pea soup and peanut butter
FATS:
Not all fats are created equal. Some fats actually contribute to our good health, while other types of fat can increase our risk of disease. Try to choose some healthy fats in small amounts every day. Examples of food with healthy fats include:
- Fresh fish
- Canned fish such as tuna and salmon
- Nuts and seeds such as sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts and almonds
- Olive oil, flax oil and hemp oil
- avocadoes
FIBER:
Fiber is essential to good health. Fiber is the undigested part of plant foods such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes. Fiber keeps our digestive system moving making for healthy bowels and an easier time on the toilet. Food that has been highly processed and refined (such as white flour) has a difficult time moving through your intestines and tends to slow the digestive system down. Examples of food containing fiber include:
- Fresh or canned fruit (when possible, fresh is best)
- Fresh, frozen or canned vegetables
- Nuts, seeds, beans, peas, legumes, lentils
About Sugar
- There are ten teaspoons of sugar in one can of soda pop.
- Fruit juice is very high in sugar as well. One cup of unsweetened apple juice and one cup of soda pop have the same amount of sugar.
- Some food manufacturers will market their products as “natural” when they are sweetened with concentrated fruit juice. These foods still contain sugar and can be damaging to teeth, as well as adding calories to our diet.
- Sugar is found in many different forms in our food. When you see the following ingredients on food labels, they mean sugar:
- Glucose, fructose, sucrose, dextrose
- Corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup solids
- Some history about sugar, which by the way was introduced to North America by Christopher Columbus - www.formerfatguy.com
Traditional Native Diet
Before the introduction of alcohol, sugar and white flour, Indigenous peoples ate a diet of totally natural unrefined foods. Today Aboriginal people suffer from epidemic proportions of diabetes, obesity and heart disease. These diseases were virtually unknown before colonization. Traditional peoples utilized pretty much every animal food they could, eggs, fish, mammals, reptiles and insects, and the whole animal was used, supplying much more than pure protein. Fish and meat were dried and dried meat was often mixed with fat and berries. Bones were broken open to reveal the highly nutritious marrow, intestines were dried and all organs were consumed. Many foods were cultured, supplying valuable friendly bacteria to maintain intestinal health.
Click the link below to read one of the best accounts that can be found of traditional indigenous diets. After you read the article go to the very bottom of the page, past the bibliography to read the article "Native Americans and Diabetes". www.westonaprice.com
Click the link below to read about the findings of Dr. Weston A. Price (1870-1948) a dentist from Cleveland who traveled the world researching why indigenous people had such beautiful teeth, bone structure and enjoyed disease free health. His conclusion was that refined foods, sugar and processed fats are the main cause of tooth decay and consequently, disease. www.westonaprice.com
Wild Vegetables
More information on these foods and harvesting them will be added. If you have information you would like to include in this section, please let us know.
- camas root (only harvest with someone who knows the plants)
- wild onions
- wild garlic
- wild ginger
- rose hips for a winters worth of Vitamin C
- fiddleheads
- false Solomon seal
- morels
- lobster mushrooms
- all the berries
- nettles (fibers for cordage)
- never pick more than a third of a plant group
What to Do
Food can be a very emotional subject. It's a lot of work changing the way you eat let alone changing your beliefs about food. Over consumption of certain foods has brought great misery into the lives of Aboriginal people. Diabetes, heart disease, depression, schizophrenia, some mental illnesses, cancer, obesity and many other illnesses can all be linked to diet. It may not be the single cause, but it is a vitally important one.
If you are in a position of wanting to change the way you and your family eat, take it slowly, don't stress about doing it perfectly. It is important to change, but it will be challenging, especially if you and your children have a sugar habit. Good food is also expensive. The solutions to that are not always easy. Here are some suggestions to try:
- If your family drinks a lot of pop, cut way back. Drink more water and herbal teas.
- If you drink more than 4 cups of regular coffee per day, try to cut back. Caffeine in coffee, black tea and cola can contribute to irritability, trouble sleeping and feelings of anxiety.
- Buy staples such as rice, oats and whole wheat flour in bulk or share large quantities with a friend.
- When planning your grocery shopping, check the flyers to see the weekly specials at different stores.
- Choose organic fresh fruit and vegetables when possible. Often organic produce is the same price (and sometimes cheaper) than non-organic.
- Buy from local farmers markets in the summer to help support a farming economy in our region.
- Grow your own food even if it is just containers of tomatoes on a patio or balcony.
- If you can get wild meat from friends or family, do it.
- Look for sales on whole grain breads and put a few loaves in the freezer.
- Community Kitchens are a great way to both socialize and make meals inexpensively. Try this site for info and ideas www.communitykitchens.ca/ Sprouts are a great way to get inexpensive, living, nutrient and enzyme rich food. These two sites have all the info you need to do some sprouting - www.cityfarmer.org
- Involve your children in food preparation from an early age. They need to learn these skills and it can be a great opportunity to spend some time with each other.
- Families that eat together eat better, so eat as a family at meal times as often as possible. For more information on family meals, check out the Success by Six website at www.successby6wk.com/news
Diabetes
Diabetes is a serious problem that costs our entire planet. Most people don’t realize that it is not only the world’s 4th leading cause of death, diabetes is increasing daily and now affects an estimated 246 million people globally. There are several different kinds of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common, but there is also gestational diabetes (in pregnancy) and Type 1 Diabetes.
What is Diabetes?
Your body gets energy by making glucose from foods like bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, milk and fruit. To use this glucose, your body needs insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps your body control the level of glucose (sugar) in your blood. Type 2 diabetes is a disease in which your pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or your body does not properly use the insulin it makes.
For more information on diabetes, go to www.diabetes.ca
If you (or a loved one) have been recently diagnosed with diabetes and would like some information to help manage the disease, you can go to a diabetes education centre. For more information, go to the Interior Health website: www.interiorhealth.ca
The Aboriginal Health program within Interior Health offers information and support to Aboriginal people throughout the region. For more information go to: www.interiorhealth.ca
Health Programs:
- Healthy Eating
- Healthy Pregnancy and Childbirth
- Healthy Babies
- NEED LINK HERE Healthy Aging
- Tobacco Reduction
- Medications and You
- Public Health
- Population Health
- Flu Clinics
- Health Library
Dental Programs:
The Dental Access Program:
Through generous donations from dentists, individuals, community groups, and concerned organizations, this program is able to offer LIMITED services to assist low-income community members experiencing dental pain or infection to access dental work. For more information about the application process, go to: www.trailfair.ca