A Hawke's Bay health and fitness coach has been trying out his theory that traditional foods like boil-up and hangi might be good for Maori health.
For the past 10 weeks, a group from Te Aranga Marae in Flaxmere has cut out non-traditional foods such as refined grains but continued to eat the high-protein and high-fat kai of their ancestors.
Health and fitness coach Ben Warren told Waatea News that the 27 dieters lost, on average, 8.7 kilograms, and one shed 16 kilograms.
"The first week of the programme, they pretty much ate boil-up three times a day. They loved it, and we had some of the best results within that first week.
"Then, from there, we branched out into more westernised diets, but essentially they were looking at vegetables, fruit and meat - fats and protein," he says.
Mr Warren was brought in to help Te Aranga Marae by former All Black captain Taine Randall, who has made Maori health a priority since moving back to Hawke's Bay.
