MAKTAK SUSHI, SEAL SALSA AND HOW TO LIVE TO BE 100

Last week, Tlingit chef, Rob Kinneen, Dr. Gary Ferguson, Alaskan Native naturopath with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and co-developer of the “Store Outside Your Door” program, Teresa Hicks, dietitian  and Ralph LaForge, lipidemiologist and sports physiologist from Duke University, visited Barrow to take part in “A Week of Healthy Living 2013” sponsored by the Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital Diabetes Prevention Program. 

The first of the DVD series “Weight of the Nation” was shown on an evening early in the week, potlucks and Eskimo dances took place on several nights, a half day IHLC: Almost All About Food conference was held, and a week-long diabetes clinic with clinicians from Anchorage and Fairbanks took place, offering local and village residents treatment, testing and/or education.  The week culminated on Saturday at Ipalook Elementary School where a 3K/5K walk/run was held as well as activities and booths including relay races, weight-carrying races, line, Tongan and motion dancing, body composition calculations and consultations, tai chi, yoga, chair massage, essential oils, balancing for elders, health living apps for smart phones, battle of the balloon, chair exercises, blood glucose testing and healthy snacks.

Prior to the run/walk, everyone received pedometers and Ralph, the sports physiologist, got us all calibrated and explained how he prescribed them to the clients he works with.  He shared that when a leg, or any, muscle contracts, it produces a chemical that is very much like a widely-used anti-diabetic drug, Metformin.  Walking 2,000 steps, the equivalent, depending on the length of stride, of a mile, several times a day would go far in reducing the development of diabetes and to helping prevent diabetes-associated complications. 

I hadn’t put on tennis shoes since arriving in Barrow, but with walking/jogging daily to and from work, I was up for running the 5K, feeling amazed at how quickly one can move without layers of clothing, wool socks and big boots on.  It was difficult stopping, feeling as though I’d just been let out to pasture for the first time in a very long while.  My pedometer wasn’t working or my steps not concrete enough, so after four laps around the inside of the entire school and still showing that I had only gone 97 steps, Ralph suggested that I clip it to my shoe and then double the number for a more accurate count.  I was happy to see so many people participating and many still walking, some with strollers, long after everyone else had quit and were participating in other activities. 

Chef Rob Kinneen, the Tlingit chef, prepared Maktak (whale) sushi and seal salsa all afternoon, encouraging people to be creative in using the traditional foods, especially people who have grown more used to refined foods and eat less of the whale and seal.  I tried both dishes (several times) and enjoyed them quite a bit.  A little bit of soy sauce and some wasabi paste go a long way, but my favorite really was small pieces of plain Maktak with a little bit of soy sauce.  I still have a large bag of Maktak (the fat) and whale (the muscle) in my freezer.  I was told that once Maktak is frozen, it is best to cut off small pieces and eat it frozen or else it would be too hard to chew.  I had already discovered this, so was happy to learn that I just didn’t need to thaw it out.  Later that evening, I sliced and enjoyed quite a bit, especially knowing now how healthy it is.  

I learned from the presenters at the half day conference that in 1933, a physician came to Barrow and studied the Inupiat people, finding no evidence of chronic illness (i.e. heart disease, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, etc.) and no tooth decay.  At that time, flour was not widely used by Alaskan Natives in this area, most living on a subsistence diet including whale, seal, caribou and roots and berries found on the tundra.  With more access to refined products, starches, grains and carbonated-sugared drinks, over the years there has been a steady increase of all of these chronic illnesses as well as tooth decay. 

One of the presenters talked about the high percentage of healthy centurions among several people groups like the Okinawans in Japan and the Sardinians in Italy.  She shared that people of both cultures, and others like them, eat predominantly the food native to their regions without a lot of processing and stop eating when they are 80% full…a very important factor.  Another presenter showed slides of local plants and flowers and elders talked about remembering collecting them with their parents and using them for different purposes.  Several elders said that they were sent to the lower 48 to go to school and missed learning about using plants for food and medicine.  There was talk by the elders of relearning what the local plants can be used for and teaching the children and young people to incorporate them into their diets.  Several presenters talked about traditional foods here being rich in hearth healthy fats, brain healthy omega 3 fatty acids, protein, iron and vitamins A, C and D.

I spent time talking with Anne Jenson, an anthropologist, who along with her husband, Glenn have spent recent years excavating and studying the remains of Inupiats at an ancient burial ground east of Barrow.  They have the local population’s permission and blessing to do their work and are finding bones dating back as early as 900 AD.  When I asked her, she responded that there was no evidence of disease and that interning dental students who made casts of the teeth and reported no decay, only signs of teeth being worn down or broken because of their use as tools. 

The week was fascinating and helpful in gaining insights that I’ll bring into my nursing practice here.  I’ll encourage the elimination of pop and refined foods as well as more of the traditional foods in the diets of my clients.  I’ll also encourage more exercise although this can be difficult with cold weather, limited transportation and lack of accessible facilities.  The week-long program has begun a conversation here and has sparked a lot of interest.

Esther, the school nurse, who has become a friend because of our work together here, told me that in no time at all I will be craving midnight snacks of Maktak.  She smiled and said that many nights find her in a dark kitchen with the freezer door open, enjoying her favorite snack.  I can see this happening, however I’m still remembering the headache I woke up with the morning after my explorations into all the above mentioned delicacies.  It might be though that I didn’t stop when I was 80% full though…that must be it.