I Need Your Help

Submitted by Dana on Sat, 2010-06-05 14:16

It is sad but true that a disproportionate number of Latino, African-descended, Native American, and Pacific Islander folks suffer from obesity, diabetes, and all the other sequelae of carbohydrate intolerance. This is often blamed on poverty, but the problem appears to cut across economic lines. Poverty may play a part, but I believe that it is largely because these populations were introduced to wheat, sugar, vegetable oils, and processed foods in general many generations later than folks of Western European descent. There have simply been fewer years and generations for evolution to work -- and these things are hideously prevalent enough among folks of European descent.

I think it is imperative that information about carbohydrate intolerance and its health consequences reach these populations, but I also suspect that I am not the best person to spread the word. I am, you should pardon the carb-laden metaphor, about as white bread as they come. I wouldn't blame those who are poor, and stuck in an urban or rural situation of limited resources for taking one look at my prep-school-educated, living-on-the-outskirts-of-a-college-town face and saying "Yeah, what does she know about my life." And he or she would be right to a great degree. While I certainly understand the challenges of obesity and carb addiction, I have no personal experience with serious poverty and limited commercial resources and the restrictions those situations can bring.

I also don't know a lot about Soul Food cookery, nor the various flavors of Latino cookery, nor about Native American cookery (prior to the arrival of Europeans), nor traditional Pacific island cookery. I have certainly tried my hand at decarbing delicious-sounding Soul Food and Latino recipes, even African recipes, but I lack the background to know how my creations stand up against traditional dishes.

So I turn to you. Please, if you are someone or you know someone of any of these ethnicities (or heck, all of these ethnicities; let's hear it for cultural fusion!) who eats and cooks low carb, for heaven's sake, tell me! If you know of cookbooks from these traditions that cater to low carbers, again, I need to know.

Pass on the word, to the message boards, other bloggers, to support groups, or heck, to your diabetic grandma who's a great cook and has converted her favorite recipes since being diagnosed with diabetes. I'm in the process of scouting talent to take this message to everyone who is literally dying for the lack of it.

I know that with the connectivity power of the internet, we can do this.

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i need your help

Submitted by majomor on Mon, 2010-06-14 20:04.

Hi,
I am Born Canadian(French canadian) of mixed origin mainly Caribbean on my parents(who speak french from the french islands in the carribean) side .
I have been Low Carbing(2006), and now Paleo Blueprint.
I did the 6Week Cures by Drs Eades 2009 and have since come close to my pre university days weight (i am in my mid 50's...approx less than 124lbs...before 141lbs).
I did the liver cleanse and had to go off liquor ....well I never went back to it as I could not stand the taste of liquor(used to be in a single malt scotch club with DH and drank loads of Red Wine)....I feel fabulous and .......went off my Blood Pressure medication.
....am currently on Bio identical hormones(feels great!).
I had tried every thing to get my Blood pressure down, including exercise and Low carbing.
But when I cut out the Alcohol and lost a ton of weight, it finally dropped.....Alcolhol is a "staller", as stated my Drs Eades.
Additionally, all the hype that alcohol is healthy(red wine!)..IMHO....it is just a prescription for Blood Pressure medication!!!.....an epidemic among non caucasians!!!
I do not eat Processed food anymore ....and I do not touch "wheat or sugar" ( i never did but am way more strict now that I am on the Paleo way of eating).
I love my food.....if I want a piece of bread I will have my Bread machine homemade Teff Bread as a treat(it is Kims Gluten free bread that won First prize in Arizona)....approx 12 carbs per slice, but very heavy and filling ......yes there are other breads with less carbs, but this one tastes exceptional, and it is "wheat free" and Rice flour free!....tastes like a bread in a high end restaurant in the fancy little baskets!).
I do consume animal fat every meal, which keeps me full for extended periods of time.
When you change your way of Eating(WOE) and feel so so good , it is hard to go back I have found and being skinny is very "tasty".

WAPF Spanish brochure

Submitted by againstthegrain on Tue, 2010-06-08 13:30.

The Weston A. Price Foundation publishes their introduction to traditional nutrition concepts in a Spanish language version. The brochure can be ordered for a nominal fee at the WAPF website, www.westonaprice.org, for distribution and sharing. While the WAPF is not promoting low carb per se, their focus on traditional nutrition is a good one to incorporate into a healthy low carb lifestyle, and they are not anti-low carb. Too many low carb eaters are "LC SADers", chowing down primarily on processed soy, processed meal replacement products, processed industrial vegetable oils, and lots of processed LC junk food that not only doesn't nourish the body's cells, can actively promote disease as fast and perhaps faster than the high carb SAD.

Food processor corporations are paying attention to growing and prospering Latino and other minority populations and are increasingly marketing to these groups. There is a trend in these households away from home-prepared meals, with increased consumption of processed food products. Given the fast growing rates of chronic disease in these populations, that is a worrying trend.

Hear, Hear!

Submitted by Dana on Tue, 2010-06-08 14:19.

Couldn't agree more. With all of it.

I really wish I'd taken photos of my old kitchen before we moved over here, to our current (and final) house, and redid the old one so we could rent it. It was really pretty pathetic -- I had a cabinet with the door falling off, no where near enough cabinet or counter space, my longest stretch of counter had not a single drawer under it, I had a portable dishwasher that I had to hook up to the kitchen faucet, ancient '70s countertops. Not anyone's idea of the sort of kitchen you'd expect a bonafide Best-Selling Cookbook Author to have, you know? I've long thought I should have taken a bunch of photos and posted them with the caption "If I could write 8 cookbooks in this kitchen, you can cook a decent dinner for your family."

Pacific Island community

Submitted by Prue on Mon, 2010-06-07 00:53.

Hi Dana,

I've put out a call through the forum part of our website, www.lowcarbcooking.co.nz
Auckland New Zealand is the largest Polynesian city in the world so hopefully you might get some response. Obesity and all it;s complications is a growing problem down here; one of very concerning proportions.

possible Native hookup

Submitted by shayne on Sun, 2010-06-06 23:43.

Hi, Dana, I sent this post on to the Exec Director of the Lakota Language Consortium. We are constantly looking for material besides language textbooks to translate into Lakota, so maybe this could be a project. I am going to be up in Indian Country this month, and I will ask around/keep my eyes open about recipes & cookery.

Joy

I'm glad you are reaching out

Submitted by Cecilia on Sun, 2010-06-06 14:19.

I'm glad you are reaching out to the Latino community. I'm a latina who has been low carbing since 2002, but I'm not a dedicated or inventive cook so I wouldn't be much help to you in that department.

Other than my two daughters, I have not convinced any one else to even give lowcarbing a try. I think most people I know view this as some kind of weird cult thing I'm going thru.

Speaking only for my family and friends, Dominicans and Puerto Ricans living in Florida; people who are sick and gaining weight have stopped home cooking and are eating pretty much SAD with a helping of McDonald's.

Looking forward to your Latino comfort foods cook book. I think is very doable as most meals center around a big chuck of meat already. Find a substitute for the rice and beans...yeah.. This is going to be good.

Don't Be So Sure

Submitted by Dana on Sun, 2010-06-06 14:24.

Don't be so sure you can't be of help. You could send me favorite family recipes, I could try decarbing them, then send them back for you to try and say yea or nay.

Also, you could see if your library has 500 More Low Carb Recipes; I'm pretty sure there are some decarbed Latino recipes in there (I know there's one for pernil, yum!) You could take the book out and vet some of those recipes for me, tell me if I'm anywhere near the mark.