{"id":122889,"date":"2013-11-21T23:33:45","date_gmt":"2013-11-22T06:33:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/ute-navajos-struggle-with-diabetes\/"},"modified":"2013-11-21T23:33:45","modified_gmt":"2013-11-22T06:33:45","slug":"ute-navajos-struggle-with-diabetes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/ute-navajos-struggle-with-diabetes\/","title":{"rendered":"Ute, Navajos struggle with diabetes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Leann
Leann Lopez is amazed at how heavy 10 pounds of fat feels as she checks out the diabetes booths during the Ute Mountain Ute diabete clinic in Towaoc.<\/span>Sam Green\/Cortez Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

TOWAOC \u2014 From Cortez to Shiprock, N.M., Durango to Monticello, Utah, native Americans sit in hospitals and health centers receiving kidney dialysis at a higher rate than non-Indians.<\/p>\n

That is the uncomfortable truth of ignoring the diabetes epidemic the Ute Mountain Tribe is battling every day, reports Rita King, manager of the tribe\u2019s Diabetes Prevention Program. The Utes and Navajos hosted a two-day education conference on diabetes in Towaoc this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been frustrating getting those at risk and those with the disease to change their ways,\u201d King says. \u201cThe disease is reversible, our people are aware of the problem, so we have done a good job there. But it is the action of individuals to take responsibility for their health, that is much tougher.\u201d<\/p>\n

To date, 247 Ute Mountain tribal members people have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, representing 11 percent of the 2,100-member tribe. And what is alarming is that 10- and 11-year-olds are being diagnosed with prediabetic conditions, King said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d call it a crisis,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t beat around the bush, telling the kids dialysis, chronic sickness, or an early death, is where you will end up if you ignore nutrition and exercise. But a lot of our people are still in denial.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlene Begay, coordinator for Diabetes Awareness for the Navajo tribe estimates 20 percent, or 60,000 are afflicted, of the 300,000 population.<\/p>\n

\u201cNatives are predisposed to the disease because they do not have that history and tolerance to processed, sugary, and fatty foods like European stock has,\u201d she explained. \u201cGoing back to our native diet is great, but it does not resonate with kids. Getting them active and eating well at an early age is our goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ute tribe pulls out all the stops with kids. Prevention education, scare tactics, nutrition, label-reading training, portion control, exercise, physiology, are all topics constantly drilled into the heads of the younger generation, says Radona Tom, events coordinator for the diabetic program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do all we can. We show them the awful prop of what fat looks like in your body,\u201d she says. \u201cThen we say this is what will happen if you keep playing video games, have them put on progressively heavier fat jackets and then do calisthenics. The key is to keep up the message year to year, each generation. It takes time.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it pays off. The message got through to Tom. \u201cI lost 100 pounds, and cured myself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Just having fun with kids is an effective approach. Every Wednesday afternoon, child care providers host kick ball, basketball, and soon Lacrosse, an original Native American sport, at the tribal recreation center.<\/p>\n

Lena Guerito, a Navajo Tribe nutritionist, says encouraging new mothers to breast feed is the first step for conditioning a newborn.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you look into formula, there are a lot of processed ingredients in there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Using blue corn or wheat flour in fry bread, a favorite Navajo food, helps, Guerito tells a group. And so does returning to indigenous diets like squash, juniper, wild banana plant, and kneel down bread.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting back to the garden is another campaign, controlling our food supply so we don\u2019t depend on packaged, fatty choices at restaurants and in stores,\u201d Guerito said.<\/p>\n

In the end, we can all learn from Beverly Lehi, a Towaoc resident who has become a popular inspiration as she takes weekly runs from town to Woodies Convenience store and back, an eight mile trek.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Go Bev, Go,\u2019 I hear that a lot,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m 55 and decided diabetes is not going to happen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

At first it was hard, but Lehi took it slow. She advises Utes to not get discouraged. Begin by just walking every day, which for her led to a running pace.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just started feeling better and better, and now I can\u2019t wait for my run,\u201d she says. \u201cYou notice how beautiful it is outside, my mind is clearer, and I lost 20 pounds. The alternative is insulin shots, and I hate shots.\u201d<\/p>\n

jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Awareness is there, now it\u2019s time for action, leaders say<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":122890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[13],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-122889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-frontpage-lead"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122889"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=122889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}