Healthy plate, healthy life

A doctor’s experience in attending to patients suffering from cancer, diabetes, stroke, chronic diseases or those who are on maintenance hemodialysis has underpinned a valuable lesson in her 15-year practice as a physician. She has witnessed how these diseases have taken a toll not only on her patients but also on their families – physically, emotionally and especially, financially. With every consultation, medication and care for her patients came the realization that “the best treatment is prevention.”

I met Dr. Divina Cristy Redondo-Samin during our posting in New York. Dr. Samin is on semi-sabbatical from her practice in the Philippines while fulfilling the significant role of a trailing wife to her husband, Col. Bernie Samin, our deputy military adviser at the Philippine Mission to the UN in New York. With opportunities for advancement in the US, she took the time away from home to bolster her expertise in the field of health, nutrition and dietetics.

Before we left New York, Doc Cristy, as I fondly call her, reminded me of her willingness to share her knowledge via a webinar should there be a need for one in our new post. She does consultancy and fellowship works in medical nutrition and weight intervention and nutrition services in a major hospital in the Philippines and other hospitals nearby Manila. Her scholarly work and extensive research have set the pathway for her to pursue her passion despite being physically away from our home country.

I thought about Doc Cristy’s kind offer when Consul Emi and I brainstormed on how we could meaningfully celebrate Nutrition Month in Suva. We planned to organize a hybrid webinar on health literacy complemented with a medical mission. Like an ever-ready doctor on call, Doc Cristy enthusiastically replied to my email then researched on the demographic of our kababayans in Fiji and Filipinos in general. She suggested that a sound baseline information would be essential in developing her presentation.

Because she adheres to the research-backed, evidence-based premise that “chronic disease prevention starts at the table,” she recommended the topic, “Healthy plate, healthy life.”

Statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) reveal that noncommunicable diseases or NCDs are responsible for seven out of 10 deaths worldwide, with cardiovascular diseases as the leading one. At her presentation, Doc Cristy identified 10 NCDs like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, among others. She explained that NCDs are caused by both non-modifiable risk factors or things that we do not have control over such as age, gender, ethnicity and family history and modifiable risk factors or things that we can change like abdominal obesity, diabetes, smoking, high cholesterol and psychosocial factors. It was alarming to know that 80 percent of our seniors have two or more chronic diseases while those below 65 have at least one of the 10 identified NCDs.

An overarching topic that Doc Cristy focused on the webinar was how obesity leads to a range of diseases. From her we learned that “if the lungs, heart and kidneys are body organs, body fat is also an active organ.” Body fat has the capacity to release inflammatory substances or hormones that can affect other organs of the body, resulting in high cholesterol or insulin resistance, which are all harmful to the body. She emphasized: “Obesity is a chronic inflammatory state, literal na namamaga ang katawan.”

Referring to a 2018 nutrition survey, Doc Cristy mentioned these numbers: one of every five Filipinos is overweight or obese by BMI; one out of three Filipinos has central obesity or visceral fat, also known as body fat of more than 32 inches for female and more than 35 inches for male. Central obesity is associated with higher risk of cardiovascular diseases. One out of every five adults either has diabetes or prediabetes while seven out of 100 Filipinos have diabetes. One to two out of 10 of our population can potentially develop diabetes in the next few years.

While the risk factors and numbers appear startling, Doc Cristy reassured us, “compelling clinical proof exists that NCDs can be prevented.” The prospects are not grim. Doc Cristy opines, the good news is all these diseases are avoidable. She asserts that “food is considered one of the most powerful forms of preventive medicine today.” Because her research on the healing power of food is wide-ranging, she optimistically affirms that “practical, realistic and sustainable habits that every family can begin with help discover how simple everyday food choices help prevent chronic diseases.”

Citing data from WHO, she underscored that proper diet, exercise, avoiding alcohol and tobacco can “prevent premature heart diseases by 80 percent, type 2 diabetes by 80 percent and cancer by 40 percent.” It simply means that when we improve our lifestyle, we are averting not just one disease, but we are simultaneously preventing many other diseases.

Research suggests that healthy eating can lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol and lower blood sugar. Her own research reveals encouraging metabolic effects for individuals who underwent weight loss. A modest weight loss of three percent can significantly improve health. She advocates the healthy plate or what we call “pinggang Pinoy” in the Philippines.

What consists of our pinggang Pinoy?  The doctor-nutritionist recommends that half of our plate should contain fruits and vegetables, a quarter for whole grains like brown rice and a quarter should contain lean protein like fish, chicken and eggs. The healthiest drink? It’s plain water. She debunks the notion that healthy food is expensive or Filipino food is unhealthy as they’re usually associated with lechon, crispy pata, etc. In fact, we have food choices like ginisang munggo, sinigang, pinakbet and the like.

Doc Cristy believes that healthy foods – fruits, vegetables, the right protein – supply the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and healthy fats the body needs. Her advocacy is to “eat real to heal” because our body has an incredible ability to heal. She advises that “to be healthy we don’t try to achieve perfection; we try to make healthier choices consistently.”