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-A classic Filipino plate looks like:
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adobo, rice, and... high cholesterol!?
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Diabetes and high blood pressure
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are some of Filipino's
leading health issues,
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and a lot of these
are tied to eating habits.
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Filipino food is often characterized
for its fried dishes,
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fatty sauces, and innovative use
of every part of the animal.
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But what makes Filipino food Filipino?
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And is it actually unhealthy?
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I'm Sapphire Sandalo,
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and this is Breaking the Tabo,
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where we digest real shi-- [beep]
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After years of schoolmates
shaming me for my baon,
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they've gone from,
"Ugh, what is that smell?"
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to "Oh, what is that smell?"
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Which is a simple way of saying
that Filipino food
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has finally entered foodie culture.
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But some of our
most classic Filipino dishes
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didn't even originate
in the Philippines,
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which probably explains why Latinos
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want to fight me every time
I say leche flan
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is a Filipino dessert,
-
or that we eat champorado,
not drink it.
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While fusion foods today
are seen as trendy,
-
like Korean corn dogs or adobo tacos,
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the Philippines
have been doing it for years,
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with each dish
representing different influences
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from trading routes,
colonization, and imperialism.
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Everyone loves lumpia, including Karen.
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But did you know lumpia originated
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from Chinese settlers
in the 17th century?
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Not only that, but also
kaldereta was brought in
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during Spanish colonization,
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and Spam was popularized
during the Second World War
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to feed American soldiers
stationed in the Philippines
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before it became an iconic breakfast
for Filipinos.
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Prior to modern American imperialism,
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Filipino food was locally sourced
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and truly organic, meaning their food
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tended to be more fresh and natural.
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Yeah, before Whole Foods
was even a thing!
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Then everything changed
-
when Spain gave up their power
over the Philippines
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to the lands of the free
and home of the fried food.
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Years of exploitation
by countries trying to save us
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have resulted in cultural habit shifts
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that have created short term solutions
but long term problems.
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From 1898 to 1946,
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America introduced fast
and fried foods to us,
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solving the problem of many Filipinos
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who needed cheap
and convenient sustenance
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for their families.
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Along with military bases,
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America also
brought the Philippines canned food,
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soft drinks, and processed meat,
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which all became staples
in our classic Filipino diet.
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Let's talk
to Amanda Sevilla, a clinical
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and plant-based dietitian.
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-So they brought over McDonald's,
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they brought
over the more industrialized concept
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of fried chicken,
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and kind of normalized eating meat
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as the staple of the meal
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for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
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We can't forget that what we eat
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just comes down to what we can afford.
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Some families are able
to buy heaps of vegetables,
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while others make do
with a can of corned beef.
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So you eat what you have access to.
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To be able to call a type
of food unhealthy
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can be a privilege stemmed
from having access
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to other alternatives.
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Regardless of the choices you make,
this is not about shaming,
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especially when that's already
so present in our community,
-
and we can save that conversation
for a later time.
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So who's to say vegan Filipino food
can't do the same?
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And if you need advice on how
to approach your family members,
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here's what Amanda has to say
about our cultural values
-
and how we can best inform ourselves
and our relatives.
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-Food is a very personal thing.
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It's very heavily laden with emotions
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and just personal identities.
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Especially for older Filipinos,
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I can understand why it would be hard
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to decrease the intake of meat,
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or even just switch it out completely,
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because a lot of them kind of identify
with that,
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because that's their culture,
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that's their mom's cooking,
that's them growing up.
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It's not just about the food,
-
it's like the memories
that surround it.
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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
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in conjunction with sodium
that also increases blood pressure.
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I'm a proponent of more.
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So instead of taking things out,
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I encourage people
to add more vegetables.
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Add more fresh fruits.
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Fun fact, the number one risk factor
of chronic disease
-
in the United States
is an inadequate intake of fruit.
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If you have some like bok choy
in your stir fry,
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try adding like a little extra,
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or add some more spinach
to your sinigong.
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And then the next thing would be
-
to decrease animal product consumption.
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Even decreasing your consumption
by like 15 to 20%
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has been shown to improve the risk
-
of getting chronic diseases and cancer.
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But no one eats Filipino food
to be healthy.
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It's good for the soul,
not for the heart.
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But maybe there's other ways
to have healthier alternatives.
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For example, did you know
these Filipino foods were vegan?
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-Turon is usually vegan.
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Puto, suman.
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Filipino food is really,
really easy to veganize.
-
Say for adobo, for example,
-
you could take out the meat
and use tofu,
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like if it's pressed,
it soaks up the flavors really well.
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You can also just use,
if it's available to you,
-
any meat alternatives.
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And then you can
also just do straight up mushrooms
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or just put like potatoes in there.
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The flavor profile of Filipino food
-
is-- it's just like soy sauce
and vinegar
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and a little bit of sugar
in just different ratios.
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And it's mostly like--
meat is there to add, like,
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that fatty coating on the tongue
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and also a little bit of chewiness.
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So if you can find a type of food
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that kind of fits that,
-
where it's like,
it has a nice chew to it
-
and it will soak up flavor,
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then it's already easy to make.
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-Although the label "Filipino food"
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tends to include mostly Tagalog food,
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regional cuisine
gives us a different look
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into other eating habits
within the Philippines
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that are both healthy
and full of veggies.
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Muslim communities in the South
tend to avoid pork
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and eat chicken and tuna instead.
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Ilocanos tend to eat
way more vegetables than Tagalogs,
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and therefore have longer lifespans,
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and Bicolanos, where I'm from,
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have staple veggie dishes, like laing.
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-There's no restrictions
to Filipino food,
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so whether you're going out
for a kamayan
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or cooking your Lola's recipes at home,
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just enjoy it.
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Our food is always changing,
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so I wonder what it'll look like
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in the next 100 years.
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-Thank you to Kumu
for sponsoring this episode.
-
Can't get enough of Filipino food talk?
-
Tune in for mukbangs,
how-to cooking videos,
-
and Filipino food trivia
-
with everyday Filipinos
around the world.
-
Kumu even has weekly discount coupons
-
and free delivery
to all through the Philippines.
-
Download the app and let's continue
these conversations
-
on livestream.
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[synth-pop music]
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[music fades out]