Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 8, Number 6, 1 June 1991 — The Waiʻanae Diet Book is here! [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Waiʻanae Diet Book is here!

Want to know how 20 Hawaiians lost an average of 17.1 lbs. eaeh in only three weeks? Want to know how you ean do the same without counting calories? Interested in how one pure Hawaiian gentlemen who was on 60 units of insulin no longer

requires medicine for his diabetes and high blood pressure? For those of you who would like to know, the Wai'anae Diet Book is finally here. In September 1989, 20 Hawaiians from the Wai'anae coast went on a traditional Hawaiian diet for 21 days to demonstrate how healthy the diet of the people of Hawai'i was before Western contact in 1778. They were allowed to eat as mueh as they wanted but they could only eat the foods known before 1778. The results were startling. Inaddition to the results described above, average cholesterol fell approximately 14.1 percent whieh translates to a decrease in heart disease risk of 28 percent. Since then, many people have become interested in the diet and have benefitted by it. Because of the interest in the diet, the Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center published a book describing the diet. It is now available for anyone to learn how they ean improve their health by eating the way of our ancestors ate. health of the whole person The title of the book is the "Wai'anae Book of Hawaiian Health." The book is not long (62 pages) but it is packed with simple and useful information. We named it the Wai'anae Diet Book" because we wanted to emphasize that the book is not just about diet but about spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health as well. This is in keeping with

the traditional" Hawaiian belief that health was being in harmony with nature and that illness was an imbalance or loss of this harmony. This imbalance could occur in any realm of the person including the spiritual realm and thus, to heal a person, the whole person had to be healed. In order to help in all aspects of the person, there are recipes for spiritual, mental, emotional, as well as physical health along with the recipes for food in the Wai'anae Diet Frogram. Hawaiians were onee healthy Also in the spirit of looking at the whole person in the context of his or her environment, any discussion about Hawaiian health should look at

When enough Hawaiians make a commitment to create their own harmony within themselves, with the land through the food they eat, with all Hawaiians, and with Papa and Wakea, then the health of the people will be restored.

the history of how Hawaiians were onee healthy and why they are not today. We describe briefly, how of a proud race of nearly one million people was ravaged by infectious disease and diet-related disease since the time of Western contact in 1778. There are photographs and drawings of what Hawaiians looked like in those days. These pictures show that Hawaiians were actually of a "thin rather than full habit" (Stewart 1823) and shows that Hawaiians were not a naturally overweight people. about the Hawaiian diet One of the reasons the Hawaiian people were slim and healthy in the past but tend to be overweight and unhealthy today is the drastic

change in the Hawaiian diet that has occurred over the past 200 years. The book describes the foods eaten on the Wai'anae Diet Frogram and provides them some simple recipes so you ean actually experience the benefits of the Wai'anae Diet program. an invitation to you Perhaps the most important reason why the book was published is for the health of all the Hawaiian people. Today, Native Hawaiians have the among highest death rates in the U.S. from diet-related diseases including heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes. These diseases kill over 70 percent of all Hawaiians. The reversal of this deadly trend ean only be accomplished by individuals making a decision and committing to do something about it, including changing their own diet. This is where you eome in. We invite you to participate in a great movement to restore the health of the Hawaiian people. Right now, it is not the number of people involved that is important, but rather, your depth of commitment. When enough Hawaiians make a commitment to create their own harmony within themselves, with the land through the food they eat, with all the Hawaiians, and with Papa and Wakea, then the health of the people will be restored. Please join us. You ean obtain a copy of the 62page "Wai'anae Book of Hawaiian Health" by filling out the order blank in this paper or by sending your name, address and $9 ($8 for the book and $1 for shipping and handling), to 86-260 Farrington Hwy., Waianae, Hawai'i 96792. All net proceeds go toward the continuation of the Wai'anae Diet Program so that other Hawaiians may benefit. Any you might find yourself losing a few pounds too.

fcAi Pono, E Ola By Terry Shintani, M.D.