Is Filipino Food Unhealthy? | Breaking The Tabo | Episode 5 | One Down

-A classic Filipino plate looks like:

adobo, rice, and... high cholesterol!?

Diabetes and high blood pressure

are some of Filipino's
leading health issues,

and a lot of these
are tied to eating habits.

Filipino food is often characterized
for its fried dishes,

fatty sauces, and innovative use
of every part of the animal.

But what makes Filipino food Filipino?

And is it actually unhealthy?

I'm Sapphire Sandalo,

and this is Breaking the Tabo,

where we digest real shi-- [beep]

After years of schoolmates
shaming me for my baon,

they've gone from,
"Ugh, what is that smell?"

to "Oh, what is that smell?"

Which is a simple way of saying
that Filipino food

has finally entered foodie culture.

But some of our
most classic Filipino dishes

didn't even originate
in the Philippines,

which probably explains why Latinos

want to fight me every time
I say leche flan

is a Filipino dessert,

or that we eat champorado,
not drink it.

While fusion foods today
are seen as trendy,

like Korean corn dogs or adobo tacos,

the Philippines
have been doing it for years,

with each dish
representing different influences

from trading routes,
colonization, and imperialism.

Everyone loves lumpia, including Karen.

But did you know lumpia originated

from Chinese settlers
in the 17th century?

Not only that, but also
kaldereta was brought in

during Spanish colonization,

and Spam was popularized
during the Second World War

to feed American soldiers
stationed in the Philippines

before it became an iconic breakfast
for Filipinos.

Prior to modern American imperialism,

Filipino food was locally sourced

and truly organic, meaning their food

tended to be more fresh and natural.

Yeah, before Whole Foods
was even a thing!

Then everything changed

when Spain gave up their power
over the Philippines

to the lands of the free
and home of the fried food.

Years of exploitation
by countries trying to save us

have resulted in cultural habit shifts

that have created short term solutions
but long term problems.

From 1898 to 1946,

America introduced fast
and fried foods to us,

solving the problem of many Filipinos

who needed cheap
and convenient sustenance

for their families.

Along with military bases,

America also
brought the Philippines canned food,

soft drinks, and processed meat,

which all became staples
in our classic Filipino diet.

Let's talk
to Amanda Sevilla, a clinical

and plant-based dietitian.

-So they brought over McDonald's,

they brought
over the more industrialized concept

of fried chicken,

and kind of normalized eating meat

as the staple of the meal

for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

We can't forget that what we eat

just comes down to what we can afford.

Some families are able
to buy heaps of vegetables,

while others make do
with a can of corned beef.

So you eat what you have access to.

To be able to call a type
of food unhealthy

can be a privilege stemmed
from having access

to other alternatives.

Regardless of the choices you make,
this is not about shaming,

especially when that's already
so present in our community,

and we can save that conversation
for a later time.

So who's to say vegan Filipino food
can't do the same?

And if you need advice on how
to approach your family members,

here's what Amanda has to say
about our cultural values

and how we can best inform ourselves
and our relatives.

-Food is a very personal thing.

It's very heavily laden with emotions

and just personal identities.

Especially for older Filipinos,

I can understand why it would be hard

to decrease the intake of meat,

or even just switch it out completely,

because a lot of them kind of identify
with that,

because that's their culture,

that's their mom's cooking,
that's them growing up.

It's not just about the food,

it's like the memories
that surround it.

The biggest thing in Filipino culture

that I would say
is the most detrimental to health

is just the amount of cholesterol
and saturated fat

in conjunction with sodium
that also increases blood pressure.

I'm a proponent of more.

So instead of taking things out,

I encourage people
to add more vegetables.

Add more fresh fruits.

Fun fact, the number one risk factor
of chronic disease

in the United States
is an inadequate intake of fruit.

If you have some like bok choy
in your stir fry,

try adding like a little extra,

or add some more spinach
to your sinigong.

And then the next thing would be

to decrease animal product consumption.

Even decreasing your consumption
by like 15 to 20%

has been shown to improve the risk

of getting chronic diseases and cancer.

But no one eats Filipino food
to be healthy.

It's good for the soul,
not for the heart.

But maybe there's other ways
to have healthier alternatives.

For example, did you know
these Filipino foods were vegan?

-Turon is usually vegan.

Puto, suman.

Filipino food is really,
really easy to veganize.

Say for adobo, for example,

you could take out the meat
and use tofu,

like if it's pressed,
it soaks up the flavors really well.

You can also just use,
if it's available to you,

any meat alternatives.

And then you can
also just do straight up mushrooms

or just put like potatoes in there.

The flavor profile of Filipino food

is-- it's just like soy sauce
and vinegar

and a little bit of sugar
in just different ratios.

And it's mostly like--
meat is there to add, like,

that fatty coating on the tongue

and also a little bit of chewiness.

So if you can find a type of food

that kind of fits that,

where it's like,
it has a nice chew to it

and it will soak up flavor,

then it's already easy to make.

-Although the label "Filipino food"

tends to include mostly Tagalog food,

regional cuisine
gives us a different look

into other eating habits
within the Philippines

that are both healthy
and full of veggies.

Muslim communities in the South
tend to avoid pork

and eat chicken and tuna instead.

Ilocanos tend to eat
way more vegetables than Tagalogs,

and therefore have longer lifespans,

and Bicolanos, where I'm from,

have staple veggie dishes, like laing.

-There's no restrictions
to Filipino food,

so whether you're going out
for a kamayan

or cooking your Lola's recipes at home,

just enjoy it.

Our food is always changing,

so I wonder what it'll look like

in the next 100 years.

-Thank you to Kumu
for sponsoring this episode.

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