13 December 2024Inspiration, Whole Food Plant Based Diets

Samoa and a Whole-Food, Plant-based Success Program

Apia Market Samoa 2009 — Apia Market Samoa

Samoa is small Pacific island nation consisting of 2 main islands with another 2 inhabited islands. Total population is slightly more than 200,000. In 2010, 80% were overweight with 25% diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

The 2 main islands consist of 350 villages with self-sufficiency being important.

Matuaileoo Environment Trust Inc (METI) introduced their Taiala program in 2018.

This program is an implementation of Colin Campbell’s Whole-Food, Plant-Based program based on The China Study. ¹

There were significant differences in reversal rates between the villages, ranging from 93% to a low of 46%. Factors that influenced the outcomes were:

The presence of a respected leader in the village who had personally bene?ted from the WFPB diet and who could rally the community to action;
Supportive stakeholders, especially from the women’s committee (a traditional village institution);
A well trained Taiala selected and monitored by the women’s committee and trained by METI;
A three-hour health seminar provided by METI that explained the causes of NCDs and how to reverse them; and
The presence of family members or friends who could give active support and help patients stay the course.

According to the director of the Taiala program, Walter Vermeulen,

One critical component of this sustainable living is the adoption of a whole food, plant-based (WFPB) diet, which addresses many of the most costly and deadly health challenges affecting our small Pacific island nation.

Last updated on Friday 13 December 2024 at 23:13 by administrators

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Footnotes

Campbell, T. C. & Campbell, T. M. (2016) The China Study: Revised and Expanded Edition. Dallas, Texas: BenBella Books.

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Samoa and a Whole-Food, Plant-based Success Program

Footnotes

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