from KQED April 14, 2012
Potawot Health Village opened in 2002 to serve Yurok, Tolowa, Wiyot, Hupa and Karuk Indians who live within in a 5,000-square-mile territory encompassing most of northern Humboldt and Del Norte counties
To walk into the central gathering space of the Potawot Health Village in Arcata, a multi-tribal health clinic, is to be made instantly aware of the concept of traditional native food as medicine. “Got Acorns?” reads a poster. “Got salmon?” “Got seaweed?”
Built, administered and owned by American Indians, Potawot is at the front line of a national resurgence among native peoples to address the link between the loss of ancestral native foods and disproportionate rates of diabetes and other chronic diseases.
California is home to more American Indians and Alaska Natives than any other state. Diabetes is a major community health issue for the 107 federally recognized tribes which live here. The statistics are sobering: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that from 1994 to 2004 the diabetes rate doubled among Native Americans 35 and younger. Teens fared even worse. For 15 to 19 year olds, the diabetes rates soared by more than two-thirds.
“We’re trying to re-establish the traditional ways we thought about food,” explained Paula “Pimm” Allen, the clinic’s traditional resource specialist, who comes from a long line of respected Yurok and Karuk healers and cultural practitioners. “Taking care of ourselves, our families, the community and the environment all are interconnected.
“We’re trying to re-establish the traditional ways we thought about food.”
Potawot Health Village opened in 2002 to serve Yurok, Tolowa, Wiyot, Hupa and Karuk Indians who live within a 5,000-square-mile territory encompassing most of northern Humboldt and Del Norte counties. The village also has five satellite clinics, including one in Weitchpec, an isolated Yurok village along the Klamath River that has yet to receive electricity.
Dr Wilson responds:
Native Americans have a high incidence of diabetes and obesity because they are more genetically prone to a disease called Carbohydrate Associate Reversible Brain syndrome or CARB syndrome. This disease is triggered by consumption of excessive fructose from sugar and HFCS and high glycemic carbohydrates, the typical ingredients of food made by the Industrial Food Complex.
The genetic susceptibility of a given race is inversely related to how long that race has been consuming sugar, HFCS and high glycemic carbohydrates. Because native Americans have only been eating this food for a few generations, they are extremely susceptible to CARB syndrome, a disease characterized by up to 21 brain dysfunction symptoms and excessive fat storage at any caloric intake.
The only hope for Native Americans is to return to a pre-agricultural diet. I recommend reading Cordain’s excellent book “The Paleo Answer” for guidance. William L. Wilson, M.D.