Modern Issues
Perhaps the most pressing issue facing the O'odham today is diabetes, a legacy from the early 20th century period of starvation. About half of the O'odham over the age of 35 have this disease; this rate is the highest in the world and more than fifteen times that of the national average. Researchers agree that the high prevalence of diabetes is a result of the changes forced upon the O'odham early in the last century. Unable to support themselves though farming and the gathering of wild resources as they once had, the O'odham became severely undernourished. For survival, they turned to the processed foods handed out by the government. While providing the necessary calories to keep them alive, however, these foods unfortunately also led to health problems. Researchers agree that it is reliance on these processed foods, which continues in the community today, that has contributed to the high rate of diabetes among the O'odham. Today there is a movement to re-introduce native foods into the O'odham diet; current research reveals that these desert foods have important properties that allow them to naturally combat the development of diabetes.
|
Native desert plant foods such as amaranth, shown here, have natural properties that help combat the development of diabetes. Source - http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=40291345&src=id |
Grinded amaranth grain Source - http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=56777683&src=id
|
Watch the video - "Unnatural causes. Bad sugar."
If you are having trouble viewing the video, click on the link - http://unlv.kanopystreaming.com.ezproxy.library.unlv.edu/video/unnatural-causes-bad-sugar
Practice Quiz # 6