Suka: Pelu La Kei Mama’o

The Pacific Ocean is the biggest ocean in the world yet our ancestors navigated from islands to islands, far and wide, as if it was just the size of Utah Lake. It was during these times that many lessons were learned yet its application is useful to us now as it was to them. They learned that you can tell from the formation of the clouds, the pattern of the waves and the type of wind that there is a storm coming and so they did fold and took down their sails (Pelu la kei mama’o) to avoid being blown away from their destination. Like our courageous ancestors, who foresaw the dangers ahead and acted upon it, we too must recognize and foresee the dangers of diabetes (suka) and act upon it so that we will not be blown away from our destination, which is being healthy.

One of the biggest health crises to face Tongans and Polynesians in the US is Diabetes mellitus or commonly known as “suka.” Suka has devastated Polynesians more than any other diseases to date. I had attended a few funerals this year alone and all were victims of suka or complications thereof. The escalation of suka among our people should be a concern to us all. Perhaps if we are familiar with the causes and the effects of suka to our bodies we will make the necessary changes in our lives to avoid being victimized by this terrible disease.

Suka comes in three different forms or types; however, only two will be discussed here namely Suka Type 1 and Suka Type II. Type 1 (early in childhood) resulted from inability of our bodies to produce any or enough insulin while Type II (usually occurred later in life) is due to the inability of the cells in our bodies to use insulin efficiently. Suka Type II is the most common and has found its niche in the people of Polynesia if we are not willing to make the change in our diet and lifestyle.

The question seems to keep coming up everywhere you turn is why are so many of our people are inflicted with this horrible disease? I believe that because we are not (1) consuming enough fruits and (2) vegetables in our diet as we should and we are (3) eating too much “sugar food” and (4) drinking too much soda pop instead of water. The observation by Mr. Anderson that our ancestors had “…at least nine-tenths of vegetable food; and it is perhaps owing to this temperate course of life that they have so few diseases among them…” is worth repeating. Maybe our ancestors know something that we are now beginning to find out due in part to the advances of science and technology.

Diabetes has often been referred to as complicated diseases because it affects almost, if not, all of the organs in our body in some fashion, yet some organs are affected more than others. If you are diagnose with diabetes but you neglect to take care of it in terms of what not to eat and in what quantity then you are in a sense leaving your sails up during the storm. As such, your ship will be blown away from your destination (healthy) and will be swept away into the oceans of heart diseases, kidney diseases, skin diseases, nerve diseases, and decrease in the immune function thus leaving you vulnerable to infections and eye diseases to name just a few. This is why suka is considered to be complicated diseases and more often then not, the victims die not necessary from diabetes itself but from complications thereof as depicted in the diagram.

For example, if you neglect to take care of your diabetic conditions, one of the organs that fail is your eye (not necessary in this order) that resulted in vision loss including but not limited to macula degeneration and the like. Moreover, the enzyme Aldose Reductase is highly active resulting in the conversion of simple sugars to sugar alcohol. The accumulation of sugar alcohol leads to damages in the nerves of the eye and concomitantly the inflammation of the blood vessels inside the eye. Hence, you gradually lose your visions and it is imperative that you must see your primary physician regularly.

Another example of diabetic complications will be on your cardiovascular system known as autonomic neuropathy. Your cardiovascular controls blood circulation throughout your body and as such, damages to your cardiovascular system will interrupt nerve transmissions from different parts of your body. For example, it will interfere with the signal to regulate blood pressure and heart rate resulting in a sudden drop in your blood pressure causing you to feel dizzy, faint, and sometimes experience heart problems.

The list of diabetic complications can be as big as the Pacific Ocean itself but there is something that you can do about it. You can loose weight if you’re diabetic and overweight, cut off the “sugar food” and soda pop drinks from your diet, increase your vegetable & fruit consumption, drink more water and increase your daily exercises. Please visit your doctor’s regularly so that you can get a good assessment of how things are. You might not be able to cure your diabetes but you can manage it so that you do not have to suffer as much from the complications thereof. In all, it is always better to “Pelu la kei mama’o” so that you can avoid the upcoming storm of diabetic complications thereby allowing you to arrive safely in your destination, which is being healthy.