Native Roots

The Four Winds Model for Healthy Eating

A lot has changed besides our diet since our grandparent’s time. For starters, most of us have inactive lifestyles, a benefit (or not) of the automation of nearly every chore our ancestors labored at -- heating, lighting, food preservation and preparation, sewing, gardening and on and on. Earning a living today usually involves sitting at a desk or computer for hours each day. One change we can make to help us adapt to the sedentary lifestyles so many of us now live is to eat less. Our bodies need less energy than we once did. Estimates of energy intake from long ago are 3,000 calories per day for migrating people. Today our energy needs are much less, typically 1800 – 2200 for healthy, modestly active adults. This leaves little room for feasting or even large meals. Furthermore, some health experts believe that Native Americans are more efficient at storing fat than other people because of a thrifty gene that was once an advantage during a feast and famine era. Regardless of any theory, I think we can all agree that we need less food to live a healthy life today. You can start by using the Four Winds Model to help you balance your plate. Keep in mind the following:

• Your drink is not on the plate but to the plate’s side, so you can choose to divide the plate three ways instead of four. This plate method, like others is based on a 9 or 10 inch plate.
• Soup, a traditional food for many nations, is a balanced meal by itself with all four components: Water, Meat, Non-starchy Vegetable, and a Starch/Grain.
• Breakfasts don’t always include a North or Protein food. Aim for a good source of protein with at least two meals each day.
• Use this as a gauge for portion size: Meat portion equals the size of the palm of your hand. Fruit or juice portions should be four to six ounces. Vegetable (non-starchy) portions should be one-half to one cup.
• Grains or starchy vegetable portions should be about one-fourth to one-third of your plate. About one cup of starchy vegetables or a two ounce serving of bread or cereal, or one-half cup plus a one-ounce bread product.
• To meet your fluid needs aim for 8 eight-ounce servings of water or hydrating fluids a day.
• If milk and lactose containing foods are not well tolerated, be sure to include other calcium sources such as cheeses, yogurt (naturally low in lactose) and/or a calcium supplement. Traditional sources of calcium include salmon with bones, leafy greens, bone marrow, some nuts, rhubarb, and in smaller amounts, wild meats. Due to a lack of nutritional analysis on the majority of common gathered plants, we are unsure of their contribution to our calcium stores. The RDA for Calcium is 800 mg/daily for adults, and 1200 mg/daily for children and young adults 11 to 24, as well as for pregnant and nursing women.

Kibbe Conti, RD, CDE, LN, is a member of the Oglala, Lakota tribe from Pine Ridge, South Dakota. She has worked in Indian Country for ten years as a Nutritionist and Dietitian, with the Indian Health Service in Pine Ridge and with Urban Indian Health in Denver, Colorado. She operates her own nutrition consulting business, Northern Plains Nutrition Consulting, and can be reached at kibbe1@msn.com