Tohono O’odham Tribe suffers world’s highest diabetes rate
November 25th, 2009
The Tohono O’odham Tribe in Arizona is reported to have the highest rate of adult onset diabetes in the world. Many of the tribe’s 28,000 members live on a reservation in the desert in the U.S. southwest state of Arizona.
The news reports that until 1960, no one in the tribe had diabetes because people ate traditional foods that helped prevent the disease. But, apparently, with the introduction of foods high in fat and calories, diabetes has become widespread, including in tribal children. The O’odham people are now being encouraged to go back to eating the traditional foods and a cafe on the reservation is making those foods appealing.
The Desert Rain Cafe on the reservation serves calcium rich cholla buds from the Cholla cactus, and fruit smoothies with nutritious chia seeds, and a meat dish with high protein tepary beans.
Tribal officials say up to 70% of O’odham people have diabetes.
Traditionally, the Tohono O’dham were farmers who harvested food from native plants. But today few people farm.
Read more.
November 26th, 2009 10:24
I love your site and articles!
November 26th, 2009 17:53
Thanks for posting this Bob. Readers may also be interested to know the third highest rate of type 2 diabetes is found at another reserve, in Canada. The Sandy Lake First Nation.
http://www.canada.com/Sandy+Lake+First+Nation+epicentre+diabetes+epidemic/2091978/story.html
Also, a bunch of studies are coming out now which demonstrate a strong connection between type 2 diabetes and exposure to persistent organic pollutants, like DDT. I’m just in the middle of putting together a story about this. If you’re interested, I could pass it on to you when I’m done.
December 15th, 2009 10:21
Dear Friends,
The world is in the grip of a Type II Diabetes epidemic. The Indigenous people of the world are the hardest hit by this disease.
Health Canada Predicts that within 10 years, 27% of all First Nations people in Canada will have Type II Diabetes. At the Tohono O’odham community in Arizona (the second largest tribe in the United States), 70% of the people now have diabetes! Many indigenous people in both countries have been exposed to toxins such as DDT, Dioxin, Arsenic, Cadmium Hexachlorobenzene, PCB’s and Nitrates for many decades. Many very recent scientific studies are showing strong links between body burdens of these pollutants and the onset of Type II Diabetes. Hope you share this information widely.
Sincerely,
John H.W. Hummel
Pollution/Health Researcher,
611 Eighth Street,
Nelson, B.C.
Canada V1L 3A6
(250) 505-2165
For a Summary of the latest Scientific research on this topic, please go to:
http://www.ajmed.fr/documents/pdf/perturbateurs_diabete.pdf
For some of the very latest studies on pollution/diabetes links please go to:
http://groups.google.ca/group/friends-of-agg/browse_thread/thread/6cb3503501b8b59c?hl=en
(and click on ‘show quoted text’)
The Pesticide DDT, Persistant Pollutants and Diabetes:
http://groups.google.com/group/friends-of-agg/browse_thread/thread/13b91035f72b2ce9
Nitrates and Diabetes:
Link:
http://www.ktradionetwork.com/tag/suzanne-de-la-monte/
Link to the De La Monte Abstract:
http://iospress.metapress.com/content/u2888162632ul521/
A New Canadian Study Re: PCB’s, DDT, Diabetes and a First Nation Community:
Link to abstract, full text in pdf format and links to contact the scientists who wrote it:
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/6/12/3179
Key Scientific Contacts Re: Diabetes and Pollution
(Please Note, above are links to many of these scientists most recently published and peer reviewed studies on the pollution/diabetes connections):
1) Dr. David Carpenter carpent@uamail.albany.edu United States
2) Dr. Duck-Hee Lee lee_dh@knu.ac.kr Korea
3) Dr. Joel Michalek michalekj@uthscsa.edu United States
4) Dr. Mary Turyk mturyk1@uic.edu United States
5) Dr. Miquel Porta mporta@imim.es Spain
6) Dr. Lars Rylander lars.rylander@med.lu.se Sweden
7) Dr. Anna Rignell-Hydbom anna.rignell-hydbom@med.lu.se Sweden
9) Dr. Harold Schwartz harold_schwartz@hc-sc.ca Canada
10) Dr. Allen E. Silverstone silversa@upstate.edu United States
11) Dr. Donna Mergler mergler.donna@uqam.ca Canada
February 1st, 2010 14:26
Wow, this site continues to amaze me! Thank you.
February 18th, 2010 04:36
Diadetes affect tribal childrens.So prevent the traditional foods to more helpful.Help to aware the diabetes.Thank you
September 19th, 2010 16:02
Great post! I am amazed how we are lead to believe that as we eat more of our foods from boxes that they are good for for us. I hope that websites like yours continue to expose what we need back in our diets are pure whole raw foods like chia seeds.
July 22nd, 2011 13:19
This is a clear example that the right kind of food is very important for any diabetic individual to manage their diabetes problems.
Thks for giving a real example by referring to the Tohono O’odham Tribe
Dhiraj
From http://www.diabetescurestrategy.com