Concocted by our forefathers and mothers, it is also an amazing testimony of our ancestors’ wisdom. For instance, a study of the Aetas’ (an indigenous group living in the mountains) diet show that they are nutritionally superior to the food intake of the lowlanders. These dishes may be called different names but the process of cooking them is similar. Root crops and beans are boiled and mashed to thicken the soup and at boiling point a variety of leafy and fruit vegetables are added to the broth. The indigenous way of cooking these vegetables can be found throughout the country. Many times these vegetables are also cooked with fresh coconut milk and ginger that are also good sources of calcium.

• Northern Luzon: pinakbet, dinengdeng, buridibud (As a vegetarian group we recommend the use of soy sauce. To avoid allergies for you and your breastfeeding baby, omit bagoong)
• Tagalog Region: sinigang, bulanglang
• Visayan and Mindanao Regions: laswa, law-uy, nilapwa-an, utan

The consumption of indigenous foods is combined with the intake of unpolished rice and other whole grains like corn. Aside from preventing constipation that is especially important for a mother who is pregnant or who just gave birth,unpolished rice and whole grains provide more nutrients like complex carbohydrates for the extra calories needed during nursing. To emphasize the importance of combining breastfeeding and providing children with indigenous foods and brown rice, we have coined the term Breastfed Brown Rice Babies.

Mothers who abide by these nutritional advices noticed that their Breast fed Brown Rice Babies grow a lot healthier, are hardly sick (some reported not even a single bout of fever for one year!) or recover from illnesses much faster using indigenous food as medicine (some reported not going to their pediatricians for three straight years!) An added advantage to this eating habit is that you will not have a problem with picky eaters. If your child observes that you enjoy eating healthy meals, they will also imbibe the habit of choosing what is appropriate for their growing mind and body.

How to Cook Unpolished Rice
Boil 1 cup of rice with 2 cups of water for twenty minutes.Turn off the stove or rice cooker. Allow the rice to be soaked in the hot water for 15 to 20 minutes. Turn on the stove or rice cooker to slow fire or low heat until done. You can add pandan, gata, kasuba (saffron flower), sesame seeds, and beans for different flavors. Both rice and beans can be soaked overnight to shorten cooking time.

An important reminder for parents in preparing babyfoods: salt should not be added to a baby’s diet until he or she turns one year old. However, oils like coconut, sesame or olive oil should be added to complementary foods or solids.

A Sum-up of Nutritional Guidelines
Eat fruits and vegetables that are locally grown and in season.  Avoid buying imported fruits and vegetables as many of them are sprayed or grown with harmful chemicals.

• Eat more complex carbohydrates from whole grains and root crops
• Eat foods in their fresh and natural state as they are fiber-rich and have not been devitalized of precious vitamins and minerals
• Choose beans and nuts as your sources of protein and calcium.  Avoid dairy products as they contain many contaminants and are not designed for the human body.
• Reduce excessive salt and sugar intake by limiting your consumption of processed foods, beverages and snacks.
• Avoid hydrogenated oils, food preservatives, coloring and other food additives by reading the labels of what you eat.  If you find that you have a hard time pronouncing or reading an ingredient in the processed food that you are about to buy, do not buy them anymore.
• If you still want to eat meat and other food from animals despite the risks, choose those that are organically grown and make sure that the animals are not afflicted with diseases like flu, cholera, foot and mouth disease, leukemia and cancerous growths, mastitis, etc.

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1. Healthy Eating Tips to Prevent Diabetes
2. Top 10 Foods For Diabetes
3. Eating for a Healthy Heart
4. Nurturing Pregnant and Breastfeeding Mothers
5. Healthy Soups for the Soul

A breastfeeding mother uses up to about 700 calories to breastfeed. She needs about 500 extra calories from a variety of nutritious foods that will also provide her with the extra protein, vitamins and minerals. The other 200 calories should come from the fat stores she has accumulated during pregnancy.

If a mother eats unhealthy foods, her body will use up her own nutritional stores to be able to produce the right quality and quantity of breastmilk. If her poor eating habits continue, she will be malnourished and prone to illnesses.This is the reason why some mothers lose their teeth or suffer from falling hair while breastfeeding. Among severely malnourished mothers, breastmilk production is still possible if her child suckles frequently but her breastmilk may contain less fats and vitamins. In cases like these, the correct intervention is not to give formula milk to the child but use available resources to nourish the mother.

Eating the right kinds of food will help you achieve your ideal pre-pregnancy weight thereby avoiding the harmful effects of obesity. One of my patients, and now our breastfeeding counselor, former beauty queen Nuriza Abeja-Bungubung, gained 73 pounds during her first pregnancy. Upon my dietary advice, she lost 75 pounds while breastfeeding her son Joaquin. During her second pregnancy, she ate sensibly and continued to follow my dietary recommendations and gained only 35 pounds.

Our daily food affects the growth of our children inside and outside the womb and well into their adulthood. For instance, there are now studies linking the development of heart disease among children of diabetics while still inside their mother’s womb. Let us remember that our preference for healthy foods will influence our children’s future favorite meals. If you want your child to be fond of-fruits and vegetables, you need to eat these on a regular basis so that your child will be able to savor their subtle flavors in your breastmilk. In our breastfeeding clinic, many mothers are surprised to find out that their children love soups with ginger and we explain to them that this is because we have encouraged them to take these soups while they were pregnant and breastfeeding.

If your children see you enjoy eating healthy foods, if you make them available inside your house instead of junk foods, children will learn how to choose foods that are appropriate for their growing mind and body.

Let Your Food Be Your Medicine
Alarmed with the increasing deaths, illnesses and disability due to noncommunicable diseases like cancer, diabetes and heart disease, the WHO issued the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health in 2002 that calls for the following dietary guidelines:
• Increase the consumption of fruits,and vegetables, and legumes, whole grains and nuts.
• Limit energy intake from total fats and shift fat consumption away from saturated fats to unsaturated fats and towards the elimination of trans-fatty acids.
• Limit the intake of free sugars.
• Limit salt (sodium) consumption from all sources.

In another document, WHO also reiterated this recommendation by encouraging parents to feed their children with indigenous foods.

What are Indigenous Foods?

Indigenous foods are nature’s potent medicines with many healing properties that cannot be found in imported and processed foods.These foods abound in the environment, a testimony of God’s wisdom and generosity. Nature, with its own rhythm based on the country’s climate and seasons, creates food that is appropriate for the human body. With its perfect design, it provides the suitable fuel that enhances our bodies’ tremendous capacity to nut ture, heal and regenerate.

During summer for example, nature produces succulent vegetables and fruits to provide extra water needed during that season. During rainy season, nature produces vegetables and fruits that are sour (high in Vitamin C to strengthen the immune system against cough and colds) or high in fat (to keep us warm). Leafy vegetables abound the whole year round.

These traditional crops:
• grow abundantly without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides so its cultivation is not harmful to people’s health and the environment;
• are readily available so there is also no need to use preservatives and other harmful food additives; it stays fresh longer even without refrigeration and there is no need to waste fuel to transport it;
• are very cheap and affordable that is why rich or poor, everybody can become healthy!