LONG before pharmaceutical companies made their breakthrough in Caribbean markets; before patent medicine became easily accessible, and hi-tech surgical interventions like kidney transplant, heart bypass and cancer treatment therapies became available to Caribbean nationals, our people still managed to enjoy good health, and many lived to a ripe old age, free of the ailments that plague us today.

Many medical practitioners still feel that the credit for this state of being is to be attributed to what we ate then, and how we ate it. Great emphasis was placed on the importance of fruits and vegetables. Likewise, food and nutrition merited a prominent place on the schools’ curriculum, which ensured that citizens knew what to eat and in what quantities, for it to lend to strong and healthy bodies.

Dietary and lifestyle choices
A high premium was also placed on sensitizing people to what constituted a balanced diet, so that even if one could not afford the recommended ‘average daily requirement’ in any of the five food groups, one knew where it was lacking on the table, and had the option of finding an adequate replacement of vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients.
People understood the importance of healthy lifestyles, and how our lifestyle choices positively or negatively impacted or affected our health.
Yet, surprisingly, in an age of advanced science and medical technology, we are confronted with a situation where chronic non-communicable diseases are now wreaking havoc on our health and wellbeing, forcing the CARICOM Regional body, in September, 2007, to host a meeting of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to launch a watershed regional campaign against chronic diseases. This initiative was undertaken in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
The call was for regional unity to stop the epidemic of chronic non-communicable lifestyle diseases, which account for more than half the incidence of death and disease in the CARICOM region.
The targeted disorders include cardiovascular diseases (high blood pressure, coronary heart diseases and stroke), diabetes, and some forms of cancer. Among the risk factors identified are obesity, unhealthy food choices, physical inactivity, high cholesterol and tobacco use.

Alarming facts on CNCDs
Coming out of that summit, the document, ‘Alarming Facts on Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (CNCDs)’, revealed, among other things, that:
• The Caribbean is the region of the Americas worst affected by the epidemic of chronic disease. The human and economic cost burden of these conditions is not sustainable, and could undermine the development of these small, fragile countries.
• Heart diseases, stroke, cancer, diabetes are the main causes of death in the Caribbean.
• Chronic diseases contributed to almost 50 per cent of disability-adjusted life years lost in the region.
• Diabetes is a major cause of admissions to hospital, kidney failure, blindness and limb amputations.
• Globally and in the Caribbean, the chronic diseases of concern are heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases. These are caused by biological factors, such as high
• blood pressure, obesity, high blood sugar, and high blood cholesterol.
This dilemma is still being robustly addressed at the regional level, and it is anticipated that, come September 2013 — CARICOM Wellness Month — the progress update to be released would reveal marked improvements.

Diabetics, Beware!
In Guyana, touted the breadbasket of the Caribbean, where there is easy access to the abundant supplies of fresh fruits and vegetables, there sill exists a dilemma wherein far too many people — and in particular diabetics — do not heed the strict warnings given them by their doctors and other health care professionals about the way they should eat: What foods and in what quantities. One Guyanese diabetic specialist, despite painstaking and ongoing admonitions to his patients on recommended eating patterns and the importance of their taking their medication as prescribed, saw very little success. He finally conceded that the bulk of Guyanese diabetics are ‘See Food Eaters’ – that is, they eat as they see the food, and as it is placed at their disposal. One therefore wonders: “Would it therefore be better not to involve them in buffet dinners, but have them specially served?”

Do not overindulge

Whilst the importance of fruits and vegetables in one’s diet cannot be overemphasized, the need for ‘eating in moderation’ cannot likewise be overemphasized, as persons with certain health conditions have found.
Particularly when it comes to eating bananas, pineapples, mangoes and such hi-carb fruits, very little restraint is exercised, and many people, particularly children and diabetics (said to have a ‘sweet tooth’), have a tendency to over-indulge when eating these fruits. Unfortunately, there is a worrying increase in the number of our young children who now have Type I (insulin dependent diabetes), and parents need to exercise all due care with such children’s eating patterns.
Today we leave you, our readers, with these words of caution from the American Diabetic Association:

Is pineapple good to eat, or does it have too much sugar?
Pineapples and other fruits contain carbohydrates in the form of fructose, which is a naturally occurring sugar. When you have diabetes, foods that have carbohydrates will raise your blood glucose. This doesn’t mean that you have to avoid all foods that contain carbs, but you should choose sources of carbohydrates that are nutrient-rich, and be sure to control portion sizes.
Besides carbohydrates, fruit provides several other important nutrients like fiber, antioxidants, and an assortment of vitamins and minerals, so it is a good carbohydrate choice. Pineapple has no fat, saturated fat, or cholesterol. It is also high in vitamin C.”
Because some diabetics report that certain fruits like pineapple and watermelons make their blood glucose spike, it is advisable to monitor how your body reacts to eating pineapple, and adjust your portion size as needed.

Can you, a Type 2 diabetic, still eat bananas?
Yes, you can still eat bananas, even if you have diabetes. Bananas are a good source of fiber, potassium, and vitamin C, but they do contain carbohydrates. In fact, all fruit has some carbohydrate, so you need to count them in your diabetes meal plan. If you want to include bananas in your meal plan, become familiar with portion sizes and the number of carbohydrates in each.
Bananas vary quite a bit in size, so counting the carbs that they provide can be difficult.