Indigenous Foods: Heal our Body, Heal the Earth!
By Nona D. Andaya-Castillo, IBCLC
Hippocrates, the father of medicine emphasized the importance of diet in achieving health by saying “Let thy food be thy medicine and let medicine be thy food.” Many centuries later, Thomas Edison predicted that “The doctor of the future will give no drugs but will interest his patients in the care of the human body, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of human disease.” Indeed, their words are now becoming a reality.
In 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. It warns that “Globally, the burden of non-communicable diseases has rapidly increased. In 2001, non-communicable diseases accounted for almost 60% of the 56 million deaths annually and 47% of the global burden of disease.
The strategy recommends the following:
What are indigenous foods?
Indigenous foods are nature’s potent medicines with many healing properties that cannot be found in imported and processed foods. These foods abound in the environment, a testimony of God’s love, wisdom and generosity. Nature, with its own rhythm based on the country’s climate and seasons creates food that is appropriate for the human body. With its perfect design, it provides the suitable fuel that enhances our bodies’ tremendous capacity to nurture, heal and regenerate.
During summer for example, nature produces succulent vegetables and fruits to provide extra water needed during that season. During rainy season, nature produces vegetables and fruits that are sour (high in Vitamin C to strengthen the immune system against cough and colds) or high in fat (to keep us warm). Leafy vegetables abound the whole year round.
These traditional crops:
How to Cook Healthy, Hearty Soups
Combining leafy and fruit vegetables, beans, root crops in one dish provide excellent nutrition especially for mothers who need to recover from the rigors of pregnancy, birthing and to sustain breastfeeding. Indigenous foods are also known to help mothers produce more breast milk. Concocted by our forefathers and mothers, it is also an amazing testimony of our ancestors’ wisdom. For instance, a study of the Aetas’ (an indigenous group living in the mountains) diet shows that they are nutritionally superior to the food intake of the lowlanders.
These dishes may be called different names in different regions of our country
However, the process of cooking them is similar.
Unpolished Rice
The consumption of indigenous foods is combined with the intake of unpolished rice and other whole grains like corn. Aside from preventing constipation that is especially important for a mother who are pregnant or who just gave birth, unpolished rice and whole grains provide more nutrients like complex carbohydrates for the extra calories needed during nursing. To emphasize the importance of combining breastfeeding and providing children with indigenous foods and brown rice, we have coined the term Breastfed Brown Rice Babies.
Mothers who abide by these nutritional advices noticed that their Breastfed Brown Rice Babies grow a lot healthier, are hardly sick (some reported not even a single bout of fever for one year!) or recover from illnesses much faster using indigenous food as medicine (some reported going to their pediatricians for three straight years only for well-baby visits!)
An added advantage to this eating habit is that you will not have a problem with picky eaters. If your child observes that you enjoy eating healthy meals, they will also imbibe the habit of choosing what is appropriate for their growing mind and body. If you keep only healthy foods inside your refrigerator, then it is easier for your child to make good food choices.
How to Cook Unpolished Rice
Boil 1 cup of rice with 2 cups of water for twenty minutes. Turn off the stove or rice cooker. Allow the rice to be soaked in the hot water for 15-20 minutes. Turn on the stove or rice cooker to slow fire or low heat until done. You can add pandan, gata, kasuba (saffron flower), sesame seeds, beans for different flavors. Both rice and beans can be soaked overnight to shorten cooking time. You can also use unpolished rice to brew your own coffee. Just toast several spoonfuls until it is black and boil with water. You can add coconut milk as your creamer!
Pregnancy, Breastfeeding and Indigenous Foods
Breastmilk is the only perfect food for infants and the only perfect milk for children. The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF recommend that infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health and should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods and while breastfeeding should continue beyond two years.
To achieve these ideal breastfeeding goals, it is necessary for a pregnant or breastfeeding mother to strive to eat a healthy diet as this affects her health, energy and sense of well-being. If a mother is diabetic or hypertensive (has high blood pressure) or is reeling from severe cough, colds and fever, it becomes taxing to care for her new baby. It is especially important for women at these stages of life to consume nutrient-dense meals to strengthen their immune system and be able to perform their nurturing roles. Mothering is an awesome responsibility and these are the times that you would not like to get sick at all now that a new life depends on you.
A breastfeeding mother uses up to about 700 calories to breastfeed. She needs about 500 extra calories from a variety of nutritious foods that will also provide her with the extra protein, vitamins and minerals. The other 200 calories should come from the fat stores she has accumulated during pregnancy.
If a mother eats unhealthy foods, her body will use up her own nutritional stores to be able produce the right quality and quantity of breastmilk. If her poor eating habits continue, she will be malnourished and prone to illnesses. This is the reason why some mothers lose their teeth or suffer from falling hair while breastfeeding.
Among severely malnourished mothers, breastmilk production is still possible if her child suckles frequently but her breastmilk may contain less fats and vitamins. In cases like these, the correct intervention is not to give formula milk to the child but use available resources to nourish the mother.
Eating the right kinds of foods will help you achieve your ideal pre-pregnancy weight thereby avoiding the harmful effects of obesity. One of my patients, a former model, gained 73 pounds during her first pregnancy. Upon my dietary advice, she lost 75 pounds while breastfeeding her son. During her second pregnancy, she ate sensibly and continued to follow my dietary recommendations and gained only 35 pounds.
Our daily food affects the growth of our children inside and outside the womb and well into their adulthood. For instance, there are now studies linking the development of heart disease among children of diabetics while still inside their mother’s womb. Let us remember that our preference for healthy foods will influence our children’s future favorite meals. If you want your child to be fond of fruits and vegetables, you need to eat these on a regular basis so that your child will be able to savor their subtle flavors in your breastmilk.
In our breastfeeding clinic, many mothers are surprised to find out that their children love soups with ginger and we explain to them that this is because we have encouraged them to take these soups while they were pregnant and breastfeeding. If your children see you enjoy eating healthy foods, if you make them available inside your house instead junk foods, children will learn how to choose foods that are appropriate for their growing mind and body. An important reminder for parents in preparing baby foods: salt should not be added to a baby’s diet until he or she turns one year old. However, oils like coconut, sesame or olive oil should be added to complementary foods or solids.
Teas and Drinks for Relaxation
Boil the following combinations for a delicious, healing and relaxing tea:
(Tip: Use little water to boil them and drink all the water to get all the nutrients.)
Blend the following with any fruit in season (e.g. Melon, Watermelon, Avocado)
A sum-up of Nutritional Guidelines
For articles and videos on the hazards of drinking cow’s milk click here.
By Nona D. Andaya-Castillo, IBCLC
Hippocrates, the father of medicine emphasized the importance of diet in achieving health by saying “Let thy food be thy medicine and let medicine be thy food.” Many centuries later, Thomas Edison predicted that “The doctor of the future will give no drugs but will interest his patients in the care of the human body, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of human disease.” Indeed, their words are now becoming a reality.
In 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. It warns that “Globally, the burden of non-communicable diseases has rapidly increased. In 2001, non-communicable diseases accounted for almost 60% of the 56 million deaths annually and 47% of the global burden of disease.
The strategy recommends the following:
- Achieve energy balance and a healthy weight
- Limit energy intake from total fats and shift fat consumption away from saturated fats to unsaturated fats and towards the elimination of trans-fatty acids
- Increase consumption of fruits and vegetables, and legumes, whole grains and nuts
- Limit the intake of free sugars
- Limit salt (sodium) consumption from all sources
What are indigenous foods?
Indigenous foods are nature’s potent medicines with many healing properties that cannot be found in imported and processed foods. These foods abound in the environment, a testimony of God’s love, wisdom and generosity. Nature, with its own rhythm based on the country’s climate and seasons creates food that is appropriate for the human body. With its perfect design, it provides the suitable fuel that enhances our bodies’ tremendous capacity to nurture, heal and regenerate.
During summer for example, nature produces succulent vegetables and fruits to provide extra water needed during that season. During rainy season, nature produces vegetables and fruits that are sour (high in Vitamin C to strengthen the immune system against cough and colds) or high in fat (to keep us warm). Leafy vegetables abound the whole year round.
These traditional crops:
- grow abundantly without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides so its cultivation is not harmful to people’s health and the environment
- are readily available so there is also no need to use preservatives and other harmful food additives; it stays fresh longer even without refrigeration and there is no need to waste fuel to transport it.
- are very cheap and affordable that is why rich or poor, everybody can become healthy!
How to Cook Healthy, Hearty Soups
Combining leafy and fruit vegetables, beans, root crops in one dish provide excellent nutrition especially for mothers who need to recover from the rigors of pregnancy, birthing and to sustain breastfeeding. Indigenous foods are also known to help mothers produce more breast milk. Concocted by our forefathers and mothers, it is also an amazing testimony of our ancestors’ wisdom. For instance, a study of the Aetas’ (an indigenous group living in the mountains) diet shows that they are nutritionally superior to the food intake of the lowlanders.
These dishes may be called different names in different regions of our country
- Northern Luzon: pinakbet, dinengdeng, buridibud (Omit bagoong, to avoid allergies)
- Tagalog Region: Sinigang, Bulanglang
- Visayan and Mindanao Regions: Laswa, Law-uy, Nilapwa-an, Utan
However, the process of cooking them is similar.
- Root crops and/or pre-cooked beans are boiled and mashed to thicken the soup.
- At boiling point a variety of vegetables are added to the broth. This also makes the soup nutrient-dense.
- Lastly, leaves are added and the pot is taken off the stove so as not to overcook the leaves and the other vegetables.
Unpolished Rice
The consumption of indigenous foods is combined with the intake of unpolished rice and other whole grains like corn. Aside from preventing constipation that is especially important for a mother who are pregnant or who just gave birth, unpolished rice and whole grains provide more nutrients like complex carbohydrates for the extra calories needed during nursing. To emphasize the importance of combining breastfeeding and providing children with indigenous foods and brown rice, we have coined the term Breastfed Brown Rice Babies.
Mothers who abide by these nutritional advices noticed that their Breastfed Brown Rice Babies grow a lot healthier, are hardly sick (some reported not even a single bout of fever for one year!) or recover from illnesses much faster using indigenous food as medicine (some reported going to their pediatricians for three straight years only for well-baby visits!)
An added advantage to this eating habit is that you will not have a problem with picky eaters. If your child observes that you enjoy eating healthy meals, they will also imbibe the habit of choosing what is appropriate for their growing mind and body. If you keep only healthy foods inside your refrigerator, then it is easier for your child to make good food choices.
How to Cook Unpolished Rice
Boil 1 cup of rice with 2 cups of water for twenty minutes. Turn off the stove or rice cooker. Allow the rice to be soaked in the hot water for 15-20 minutes. Turn on the stove or rice cooker to slow fire or low heat until done. You can add pandan, gata, kasuba (saffron flower), sesame seeds, beans for different flavors. Both rice and beans can be soaked overnight to shorten cooking time. You can also use unpolished rice to brew your own coffee. Just toast several spoonfuls until it is black and boil with water. You can add coconut milk as your creamer!
Pregnancy, Breastfeeding and Indigenous Foods
Breastmilk is the only perfect food for infants and the only perfect milk for children. The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF recommend that infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health and should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods and while breastfeeding should continue beyond two years.
To achieve these ideal breastfeeding goals, it is necessary for a pregnant or breastfeeding mother to strive to eat a healthy diet as this affects her health, energy and sense of well-being. If a mother is diabetic or hypertensive (has high blood pressure) or is reeling from severe cough, colds and fever, it becomes taxing to care for her new baby. It is especially important for women at these stages of life to consume nutrient-dense meals to strengthen their immune system and be able to perform their nurturing roles. Mothering is an awesome responsibility and these are the times that you would not like to get sick at all now that a new life depends on you.
A breastfeeding mother uses up to about 700 calories to breastfeed. She needs about 500 extra calories from a variety of nutritious foods that will also provide her with the extra protein, vitamins and minerals. The other 200 calories should come from the fat stores she has accumulated during pregnancy.
If a mother eats unhealthy foods, her body will use up her own nutritional stores to be able produce the right quality and quantity of breastmilk. If her poor eating habits continue, she will be malnourished and prone to illnesses. This is the reason why some mothers lose their teeth or suffer from falling hair while breastfeeding.
Among severely malnourished mothers, breastmilk production is still possible if her child suckles frequently but her breastmilk may contain less fats and vitamins. In cases like these, the correct intervention is not to give formula milk to the child but use available resources to nourish the mother.
Eating the right kinds of foods will help you achieve your ideal pre-pregnancy weight thereby avoiding the harmful effects of obesity. One of my patients, a former model, gained 73 pounds during her first pregnancy. Upon my dietary advice, she lost 75 pounds while breastfeeding her son. During her second pregnancy, she ate sensibly and continued to follow my dietary recommendations and gained only 35 pounds.
Our daily food affects the growth of our children inside and outside the womb and well into their adulthood. For instance, there are now studies linking the development of heart disease among children of diabetics while still inside their mother’s womb. Let us remember that our preference for healthy foods will influence our children’s future favorite meals. If you want your child to be fond of fruits and vegetables, you need to eat these on a regular basis so that your child will be able to savor their subtle flavors in your breastmilk.
In our breastfeeding clinic, many mothers are surprised to find out that their children love soups with ginger and we explain to them that this is because we have encouraged them to take these soups while they were pregnant and breastfeeding. If your children see you enjoy eating healthy foods, if you make them available inside your house instead junk foods, children will learn how to choose foods that are appropriate for their growing mind and body. An important reminder for parents in preparing baby foods: salt should not be added to a baby’s diet until he or she turns one year old. However, oils like coconut, sesame or olive oil should be added to complementary foods or solids.
Teas and Drinks for Relaxation
Boil the following combinations for a delicious, healing and relaxing tea:
(Tip: Use little water to boil them and drink all the water to get all the nutrients.)
- Pandan and Tanglad (Lemon Grass)
- Pandan and Avocado Leaves
- Pandan, Kamote and Saba (must be yellow ripe to replace milk and sugar)
- Kamote (Sweet Potato) and Ginger (peel the kamote or wash the skin carefully before boiling) This is a healing tea for coughs and colds.
- Pandan, Corn and yellow ripe Saba
- Kamote and Malunggay
Blend the following with any fruit in season (e.g. Melon, Watermelon, Avocado)
- Ripe Banana or Saba (must be yellow ripe to replace milk and sugar)
- Young Coconut Meat and Juice
- Coconut Milk
- Jack fruit (Langka)
- Singkamas
A sum-up of Nutritional Guidelines
- Eat fruits and vegetables that are locally grown and in season. Avoid buying imported fruits and vegetables as many of them are sprayed or grown with harmful chemicals.
- Eat more complex carbohydrates from whole grains and root crops.
- Eat foods in their fresh and natural state as they are fiber-rich and have not been devitalized of precious vitamins and minerals.
- Choose leafy vegetables, beans and nuts as your sources of protein and calcium. Avoid dairy products as they contain many contaminants and are not designed for the human body.
- Reduce excessive salt and sugar intake by limiting your consumption of processed foods, beverages and snacks.
- Avoid hydrogenated oils, food preservatives, coloring and other food additives by reading the labels of what you eat. If you find that you have a hard time pronouncing or reading an ingredient in the processed food that you are about to buy, do not put them inside your body.
- If you still want to eat meat and other food from animals despite the risks, choose those that are organically grown and make sure that the animals are not afflicted with diseases like flu, cholera, foot and mouth disease, leukemia and cancerous growths, mastitis, etc.
For articles and videos on the hazards of drinking cow’s milk click here.
