Overview:
A new survey from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine finds that most Native Americans are open to adopting plant-based diets to address chronic health disparities.
A plant-based diet can prevent and reduce chronic diseases that disproportionately affect Native communities, and most Native people are willing to make the dietary shift.
That’s according to a newly published survey by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM).
The poll was conducted online among 156 Native American adults, excluding Alaska Natives and Pacific Islanders. Seventy-six percent reported at least one urgent health issue, with high blood pressure and mental health being the top concerns. Seventy-eight percent of respondents said they are willing to eat plant-based if it were affordable, accessible and culturally appropriate.
Native people face some of the worst health outcomes of all demographics. Life expectancy for Native people is 70.1 years, compared with 78.4 years for the overall U.S. population. Native adults have some of the highest rates of some chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes.
Experts and advocates say these disparities are driven by the lasting effects of colonialism. After forced removal in the mid-1800s, hundreds of thousands of Native people were forced onto reservations while the government outlawed many traditional subsistence practices. Tribes were left to rely on government commodities, which often included white flour, lard and sugar.
Dr. Josie Howard (Cherokee) works with PCRM’s Native Food for Life program, which educates Native communities on the benefits of plant-based diets based in traditional ingredients and cultural ways. An example of this is the Three Sisters diet, centered around corn, beans and squash, traditional foods of many southwestern tribes. Former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez famously lost more than 100 pounds after switching to the diet and increasing his exercise.
Howard pointed out that only 13% of respondents were aware that plant-based diets can prevent or improve type 2 diabetes.
“The results of the survey really pointed to two things for me,” Howard said. “One is that there is an openness, and two that there’s really still a profound need, and not just for the education, but I think it’s important to stress that also access and affordability are major issues.”
Making a shift in your diet can be intimidating, but Howard said that it can be easier — and healing — when done as a family.
“All of our success stories are around people who have done this in the context of their family,” she said.
She spoke to how eating healthy as a family and a community can provide a support system that could mitigate the effects of mental health issues that respondents reported in the survey.
“I think that if we can combine both the mental health support and the nutrition and behavioral aspects,” Howard said. “I think it’ll really kind of superpower the program and the results.”
Native Food for Life will leverage the results of the survey to improve educational outreach and increase access to healthy foods in Native communities. The program is hosting the Diné Bich’iiya’ (Navajo Food) Nutrition Summit on Aug. 26 and 27 in Farmington, N.M., where attendees can learn about nutrition and traditional foods.
Howard hopes that people who decide to try a healthier diet find they not only feel better physically, but feel more connected to their culture.
“We think of food as just calories, nutrition intake, but it’s not,” Howard said. “It has so many meanings, and it exists in a context of our homes, our families, our communities, and then our connection to our ancestors.”
