Worth Posting Again: Native Family Turns to Its Roots to Combat Poor Health and Food Addiction
In light of celebrity chef Paula Deen's announcement on the Today Show that she has type 2 diabetes, Indian Country Today Media Network would like to draw attention to one Native family's successful battle against food addiction.
In "Native Family Turns to its Roots to Combat Poor Health and Food Addiction," David Bender, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, describes his family's former grain- and sugar-based diet. When Bender's significant other Karen Rae, a member of the Fort Peck Sioux, was diagnosed with borderline diabetes in February 2010, the family adopted the Paleolithic Diet to prevent type 2 diabetes from devastating Karen and their three children (Coby, 12; Shauntae, 10; Jonathan, 7).
"We discovered that the main culprit was a poor diet driven by sugar addiction, mixed with too many gluten products (bread, rice, pasta, flour, cheese, pizza, cereal and numerous others) that bred inactivity. This diet caused our bodies to suffer from inflammation and immune deficiency. That led to more illness, confusion and a long ride on the merry-go-round of self-destruction."
Bender explains: "The contemporary Paleolithic diet consists mainly of meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, roots and nuts, and excludes grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar and processed oils. The idea is to mimic the diet of our ancestors."
"Going caveman has made me happier and healthier than ever before."
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