The Traditional Hawaiian Diet
Hotel luaus and tourist photos aside, the traditional Hawaiian diet was low in fat, high in vegetables, and derived the bulk of its calories from complex carbohydrates.
Depending on where people lived, and thus what kind of crops they grew, the foundation of meals was taro, sweet potatoes, or breadfruit. Any of these could be eaten baked, boiled or steamed, and also mashed and made into poi. Greens could include taro leaves and stems, sweet potato leaves and shoots, fern shoots, and other seasonal greens. Seaweed and riverweed was harvested and even cultivated for consumption. Eggs from many species of bird were harvested, as were the birds themselves. Fish and shellfish from the rivers and the sea were another source of protein. On feast days, the men might enjoy some dog or pig, but this was rare and ritualistic.
When Capt. Cook arrived in the Hawaiian Islands, he described Hawaiian people as “vigorous, active, and most active swimmers; leaving their canoes upon the most trifling occasion; diving under them, and swimming to others though at a great distance. It was very common to see women, with infants at the breast, when the surf was so high that they could not land in the canoes, leap overboard, and without endangering their little ones, swim to the shore, through a sea that looked dreadful.”
Environment
To be healthy, we need a healthy environment. There are a lot of actions we can take as individuals, and we also need to keep our elected officials accountable. They work for us, not for select business entities.
Sustainability is an on-going daily practice which incorporates both individual/private and cooperative/public actions and initiatives. Sustainability is lived practice.
From what we do with our trash and sewage to how we grow our food, it is critical that Hawaiʻi become self-sustaining. We were for a millennia. We can be again.
Volcano
Among the health concerns unique to our islands is our active volcano. Not only do we need to be away of where actual lava flows take place, but we need to protect ourselves from the hazardous and irritating volcanic fumes (VOG). Understand that these fumes, though “natural,” are NOT healthful!
I once was at Haʻakulamanu (Kīlauea sulphur vents) and a woman had her face over a vent and was using her hands to waft the sulphur fumes into her own face. She was hacking and coughing. I asked what she was doing, and she told me that she was cleansing her lungs, that she knew it was working because she was coughing up all the old toxins, and that it was good because it was “natural.” Arsenic and cyanide also are natural. I expect she was coughing because her lungs were desperately trying to protect themselves from the SO2. Please avoid breathing sulphur dioxide.
Hāpai – Pregnancy
Coming soon!