Why Health Is Not Determined By Our Healthcare System with Paulette Jordan

Jul 22, 2020

In this enlightening conversation with Paulette Jordan, a passionate advocate for food sovereignty and a member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, the focus is on the critical connection between health and food systems. Paulette discusses the dire health disparities faced by Indigenous communities and the urgent need for reclaiming food sovereignty. She emphasizes holistic health approaches and community support as essential for overcoming chronic diseases. The talk also links agricultural practices with wellness, advocating for a transformative shift towards preventive health measures.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Doctor Reverses Diabetes

Paulette Jordan recounts a story of a Native American doctor who reversed his diabetes.
He achieved this by returning to his ancestral diet of salmon and wild foods.

INSIGHT

Commodity Programs and Health

Government commodity programs on reservations, providing white flour, sugar, and fat, have devastated Native American health.
This has led to extremely high rates of diabetes and decreased life expectancy.

INSIGHT

Food Sovereignty and Health

Food sovereignty, the ability to control one's food system, is crucial for health.
Loss of food sovereignty affects not only Native Americans but also other communities, impacting overall health.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Why Health Is Not Determined By Our Healthcare System | This episode is brought to you by Thrive Market and AquaTru

We can’t expect to create healthy bodies if we aren’t growing healthy food. But our food system is broken and involves many barriers, especially for underserved communities like North American Indigenous people living on reservations. I talk a lot about the overwhelming burden of chronic disease. Unfortunately, tribes relying on government commodities (white sugar, white flour, and white fat) are among some of the most susceptible to those illnesses and we’re now seeing them fare much worse against COVID-19 as a result. For that reason, food sovereignty is an extremely important topic of our time.

Today on The Doctor’s Farmacy, I sit down with Paulette Jordan to talk about her experiences as a proud member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and what kinds of changes are needed in order to reverse the health issues that Indigenous and other populations like these are facing at increasing rates. Paulette was the 2018 democratic gubernatorial nominee in Idaho, becoming the first woman nominated to the position by a major party in the state and the first Native American woman nominated for Governor in US history. She is recognized in Idaho and across the nation as an inspirational and audacious leader.

This episode is brought to you by Thrive Market and AquaTru.

Thrive Market has made it so easy for me to stay healthy, even with my intense travel schedule. Not only does Thrive offer 25 to 50% off all of my favorite brands, but they also give back. For every membership purchased, they give a membership to a family in need. Get up to $20 in shopping credit when you sign up and any time you spend more than $49 you’ll get free carbon-neutral shipping. All you have to do is head over to thrivemarket.com/Hyman.

We need clean water and clean air not only to live but to create vibrant health and protect ourselves and loved ones from toxin exposure and disease. That’s why I’m teaming up with AquaTru and AirDoctor to offer you the AquaTru Water Purification System and AirDoctor Professional Air Purifier systems at a special price. Learn more at www.drhyman.com/filter.

Here are more of the details from our interview:

How Paulette’s upbringing helped shape her views on food, healthcare, and community sustainability (5:23)

People first healthcare, food sovereignty, and social determinants of health (9:00)

Solving food sovereignty issues by relearning how to connect to and grow the food we eat (15:07)

Social determinants of health (19:15)

How community keeps us healthy (23:37)

Fixing the healthcare system through preventative care and reversing chronic disease (30:38)

Reimagining our agriculture system (35:18)

The influence our unhealthy food system has had on the concept of cultural foods (43:18)

How COVID-19 has humbled Paulette (54:40)