Paddle with Me
In this lesson, we will review some resources that have been developed for the Pacific region. One of the challenges of working in the nutrition field in the Pacific is the lack of culturally relevant resources, including nutrient composition of local and traditional foods. Here, we will look at two resources – the Pacific Food Guide and the Hawai‘i Foods Website.
The Pacific Food Guide is a significant contribution to our resources for the Pacific. In previous lessons, we’ve learned about the USDA dietary guidelines. Although the USDA dietary guidelines have valuable health messages, the (western-based) USDA dietary guidelines may not be completely culturally relevant to the populations in the USAP.
The Pacific Food Guide uses a set of “pins” created for both the USDA and Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) food and nutrient guidelines. The USDA and SPC pins reflect each organization’s classification of food groups. This allows the reader to see where each food fits within the food and nutrition guidelines from both organizations.
Here’s an excerpt from the Fialkowski article, describing the Pacific Food Guide:
“The Pacific Food Guide presents over 100 traditional and regionally sourced foods, omitting imported and highly processed foods such as canned meats and chips that have Nutrition Facts labels. The foods are organized into 3 general categories based on where they can be found: Walks Along the Ground (eg, animals like coconut crab, chickens, and pig), Chosen From the Sea (eg, seafood like fish, seaweed, and crustaceans), and Grown From the Ground (eg, plant foods like taro, coconut, and breadfruit). Unfortunately, nutrient composition data are unavailable for 60 foods included in the Pacific Food Guide. The lack of nutrient composition data for so many foods creates a challenge for researchers as well as nutrition educators and registered dietitian nutritionists serving the people of the US Pacific.”
(Fialkowski,M.K., et al. Pacific Food Guide. Nutrition Today, Volume 51, Number 2, March/April 2016, pp 72-81)
The mission of the Hawai‘i Foods Website, at it’s launching in 2007, was to provide nutrition information on local foods that was otherwise not available to the general public. A partnership was established with the UH Cancer Center to provide the most comprehensive nutrient database. Today, over 500 foods are currently featured on the website with food descriptions, scientific and common names, food photos, and a nutrition analysis including 25 nutrients within each food inquiry (see Search tab within website). The website also offers recipes, publications, nutrition resources such as videos and PDFs; and relevant nutrition-related links.
Together, these resources have proven to be extremely useful for nutrition and health professionals seeking to provide nutrition information that is more relevant and culturally appropriate for populations served in the Pacific region.
A Paddler’s Perspective
I have found these resources to be invaluable. The photos are helpful in identifying foods when the name is not known. You can take a picture of what you’re eating or what you see in the local market and look for it within these resources. In the Pacific, it is not uncommon to have healthcare professionals contracted from outside the region. For many, the local foods may be be unfamiliar. I encourage you to try some of the recipes in the Hawai‘i Foods Website. I particularly like the Kabocha squash recipes. Ono-licious!