Native Roots

As a nutritionist, I find frybread is given preferential treatment as a 'traditional' food and any criticism may be met with unpleasant looks. Asking an Indian to not eat the fried dough is like asking a kid to give up candy. My approach is to ask our people limit frybread to special gatherings in our community, and even then, enjoy just one piece – yes, one piece ! 'Food Police', they say. Well, consider the other starches and sugars you are likely getting with your fry bread. How about the stewed fruit, or wojapi, as we say in Lakota, that often accompanies frybread? It is delicious, but it is sweetened with sugar. And in the Plains region, frybread is usually served with soup and cake. The fat and starch in a bowl of soup can vary considerable, depending on how it's made.

Let's look at a comparison of two meals, both serving fry bread, for fat and carbohydrate (starch and sugar).

Typical Meal at Community Gathering – Northern Plains Region

Considering the absence of a second serving, and without the usual sides of macaroni or potato salad, this meal is fairly modest for a community feed. The calories, however, are not. For a diabetic on 1,800 calories, this meal supplies about half the day's calories and fat. The carbohydrate total – 129 grams, is easily three times higher than a truly traditional northern plains meal, and is likely to send a diabetic person's sugar skyward.