PhD student Amy Maslen-Miller, aka the Samoan Scientist, is researching how the traditional 19th-century Samoan diet may help prevent the onset of type II diabetes amongst Samoan New Zealanders.
Photo: Supplied / The Samoan Scientist
Maslen-Miller tells Nine to Noon that much of her source material comes from the records of Christian missionaries who began visiting Samoa in the 1830s.
“Some of the common foods that were mentioned by the missionaries were breadfruit, taro, banana, yam, coconut and fish.”
These foods were staples in the Samoan diet until the early 20th century, she says, however, over time, colonisation and acculturation have changed that diet significantly.
“When we think recently of Pasifika who have migrated here to New Zealand ... for instance, my parents migrated here to New Zealand, they took on some of the type of foods that they ate, they adopted some of the beliefs, some of the lifestyles.
“So nowadays, when we're here in New Zealand, it's just a different way of life, which has been influenced by so many factors.”
Part of Maslen-Miller's research is exploring the CREBRF gene, which is more prominent among Polynesian and Māori populations than European, she says.
CREBRF is associated with higher BMI but also with a lower risk of type II diabetes.
“So that means if you are screened and you have the gene, which we actually do within our study, you are less likely to be diagnosed with type II diabetes. But you are more likely to have a higher BMI, which is kind of strange because you expect a larger person, someone with a larger BMI, would be more at risk of type II diabetes.
“So, we're trying to explore why that is in terms of the CREBRF gene. And could that be the case for other diseases like cardiovascular disease, or even gout?”
Maslen-Miller says she's gleaned some fascinating insights into the traditional Samoan diet and lifestyle from historical records.
“I read in a lot of the records that people ate predominately two meals a day. So, they would get up early, go to the plantation, and then they'd come back and have kind of like a brunch because it'd be between morning and lunch. And then they would have their last meal, which would be in the evening before it got dark because they had to create the fire and cook their food.”
The traditional Samoan diet was high in carbohydrates, she says, but meat was less prevalent.
“Meat was only eaten for ceremonial foods. So, for instance, the pig was divided into certain sections, the head and the back. And they were given to certain chiefs, depending on their ranking. So, meat wasn't commonly eaten.”
Samoans cooked their food in an above-ground oven known as an umu.
“That is where the food is cooked above the ground. Riverbed rocks are heated, and then the food is placed on top.
“That may have been taro leaves, banana, some fish, and then it is covered with banana leaves, breadfruit leaves, and it's essentially baked within an umu.
“That was the most common way that Samoans cooked their food during that 19th century.”
