Kaiser’s heart-healthy Pinoy recipes

DALY CITY – The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. This isn’t romance, it’s a fact. And a killer fact at that.

 Cardio-vascular diseases continue to be the biggest killer for Filipino Americans. Last week, Kaiser Permanente’s Daly City Medical Office reached out to 12 Filipino restaurateurs in South San Francisco, Daly City, Colma, San Bruno, San Mateo, San Jose and Union City to talk about healthy alternatives in preparing and serving Filipino dishes. Invited were representatives from Boracay Garden & Grill, Goldilocks bakeshop, Kalesa, Karilagan, Lucky Chances Casino, Manila Eatery, Max, Nayong Pilipino, Ongpin, Tastebuds and Toppings.

The event took place in Daly City where, according to one source, almost 45,000 Filipinos live. The one place where a large concentration of Filipinos outside the Philippines can be found.

The choice is also strategic because, by Kaiser estimates, 52 percent of their members and an almost matching majority of their service staff members are Filipinos. Other Kaiser Permanente facilities are targeting majority members in their area, notably the Chinese in KP San Francisco and the Hispanics in KP Redwood City.

Doctors Charito Sico and Adeline Segundo, Registered Dietitian Suh-Yun Wu and Registered Nurse Malou Aclan were among the Kaiser staff who presented statistics vital to FilAm health. Senator Leland Yee opened with a speech, and Sico was the emcee.

Based on a 2008 study, the Asian growth spurt was 36.1 vs. 34.7 for Whites. A five-year projection says the Asian population could grow as much as 11,503. Highest among Asians would be Filipinos.

Segundo said one in four Filipinos has high blood pressure. Only 8 percent of Filipinos have their blood pressure under control against 25 per cent of the general population.

Segundo also said one out of four Filipinos has high cholesterol. One out of five adult Asian Americans affected with diabetes is Filipino.

Sico observed that Filipinos who arrived in the U.S. 10 years ago have increased their weight. Segundo identified the culprits stocked in the cupboard of many Filipino homes: bagoong, toyo and patis. Wu says she isn’t foreboding in counseling her patients, explaining that there are consequences to choices.

In a demo-cum-luncheon, fresh lumpia, pansit, kare-kare, pork adobo with eggplant, shrimp with coconut soup and leche flan were served, minus excessive sugar, salt and soy sauce. The “heart healthy traditional Filipino recipe” were selected from the American Heart Association’s Mula sa Puso booklet. But unlike traditional recipes, the nutrient values for single servings appear after each dish, including counts for calories, calorie percentage from fat, protein, carbohydrate, cholesterol, sodium and fats (saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated).

Some of the restaurateurs realized the value of offering healthy alternatives on their menu (grilled instead of fried, reduces salt, sugar and soy sauce). But some argued that they may lose customers put out by the lite flavor or that the additional expense of a healthy alternative may drive their costs up.

Many Filipino eateries are clustered up north in California. Some of the fusion restaurants add Thai, French and other ingredients that would shoot up the nutrient value of traditional dishes already laden with other ingredients. In the weekends, some Filipino diners would drive miles to reach an authentic Filipino restaurant to take a break from the weekly taco or Mickey Ds. In the face of such a determined diner, offering healthy alternatives may not be a happy option.

Symptoms of diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol are not generally felt, adding to the woes of health care providers. Unlike a painful bout with gout, which in itself is a deterrent against wolfing down sweet meats and other dishes with internal organ ingredients.

Sico says this initial effort may result in short- or long-term goals, depending on the response they get. Kaiser does not intend to enforce nutrient values like the FDA. Instead, they will run healthy menus they collect from their health forum in their newsletter (with a reach of 2,000 physicians and employees), their external newsletter distributed to members from Daly City to San Jose  and their public affairs newsletter sent to federal, state and local officials, and business and community leaders throughout San Mateo county.

Are the days of Pinoy food labeling upon us?