Navajo-nations-diabetes-booklet
Four food groups make up the Power Plate, a pattern of eating built around whole grains, vegetables, legumes, and fruits. Many scientific studies have shown that these four food groups help people who have diabetes turn the disease around, or avoid it in the first place.
Four food groups make up the Power Plate, a pattern of eating built around whole grains, vegetables, legumes, and fruits. Many scientific studies have shown that these four food groups help people who have diabetes turn the disease around, or avoid it in the first place. Heart disease, kidney disease, arthritis, bowel problems, and certain cancers—the same foods fight these diseases also. We thank our partners, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, N.M., the Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Project in Window Rock, Ariz., and the Center for Lifelong Education at the Institute for American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, N.M., for hosting multi-week Food for Life classes based on the Power Plate foods to prevent and treat diabetes. We also wish to thank our cooking instructors, chefs Lois Ellen Frank, Ph.D. of Santa Fe, N.M., and Walter Whitewater of Pinon, N.M., for being leaders in introducing this new way of eating, which is actually centuries old.
For most people, it takes a little time for a new way of eating to feel entirely comfortable. But soon this routine falls into place, and that’s when the magic starts. Your energy levels get higher and higher, and aches and pains start to melt away. Your waistline trims down, and people start to ask you what your secret is. If you have other health issues, like high cholesterol or high blood pressure, they are likely getting better day by day. This pattern of eating has been proven to be healthy for everyone: children, pregnant women, elders, athletes, and everyone in between.
