Taro Leaves: Traditionally Nutritious Scientifically A Healthier Choice

The experiences that I had in Tonga pertaining to making and preparing many of our Tongan traditional diets have never left my memory or my taste buds. Some of our traditional foods are easier to make while others are more laborious, but in the end they all taste so delicious that you will find yourself graving for more, from time to time, as you live here in the United States of America. Fortunately, due to the advent of airplane by the Wright brothers, our native foods have being brought closer to us that it looks as if you are at home in the islands, where the air is crispy clean and you are frequently touched by the breeze from the Pacific Ocean. They remind us that our ancestors have shown us the way how to navigate towards the future in our quest to be healthier by using our traditional diets. One of the foods from our traditional diet that I had often prepared and cooked involved the use of la’i lu (taro leaves) in lu ika (taro leaves & fish), lu pulu (taro leaves & beef); lu fingota (taro leaves & sea clams) lu moa (taro leaves & chicken) and many more.

La’i lu are used in Tonga and all of Polynesia as part of their traditional diet being consumed on a daily basis but especially on Sundays in Tonga. There are different species and/or cultivars of taro in Tonga but only two of them that are used frequently for their leaves as well as their corms for food. They are the talo Tonga and talo Futuna. Regardless of which cultivar that you are using, the recipe remains the same. That is, you take the talo leaves and cook them in a pot or in the ‘umu (underground oven). If you are using the pot than you must bring the water to a boil, put the talo leaves inside, make sure that they are submersed and cook it well between 30-60 minutes. You can add pieces of cooked beef, lamp flaps or chickens with some coconut milk then bring them to a boil before serving. A little bit of onion will enhance its flavor as well as its nutrition. If you are using the ‘umu then you can do the following: Cut a young banana leaf then take the midrib off, soften it over the ‘umu fire then put the talo leaves on it in stacks (about 20 leaves) but also spread them out, put the meat (fish, chicken, pork, lamp flaps, sea shells, etc.) inside, fold the talo leaves up in a bowl fashion before you pour the coconut milk inside. Fold the banana leaf up in a bowl fashion but bring to a close then use the banana leaf midrib to tie it around. It is now ready to be baked in the ‘umu. The aluminum foil can also be used instead of the banana leaf and bake them in the electric oven. Does this sound traditionally nutritious to you? I hope that it does. It has been used for over thousands of years in Polynesia and I believe that it has provided much health to our ancestors and so should we.

Once again we ask the same question, why did our ancestors used the talo leaves? The answers may vary but I believe that they used them because they knew that it made them strong. That is being translated to mean healthy because being healthy and strong are intertwined then and now. Perhaps some of the answers lie in the fact that these ingredients have documented health benefits recently uncovered by modern science. However, our ancestors in their own “scientific ways” knew about their health benefits long before modern science stumbled upon it.

Talo (Colocasia esculenta L.) or taro health benefits are well known to some in the scientific communities and have been documented in the last 20 years, some of which was reported by Jan TenBruggencate in the Honolulu Advertiser and printed by AMN (Volume 1 Issue No. 7) alluding to the fact that poi may helps in the fight against colon cancer. That being said let us look at some of the scientific researches involving the la’i lu and its potential health benefits.

Taro leaves have been analyzed in various laboratories concerning its nutrition’s but it has never been reported to the Polynesian communities at large so that they understand the goodness of it (use them daily) and appreciate what our ancestors had left for us. It has been shown that talo leaves contained carbohydrates, less fat contents, less or no cholesterol, less sodium, dietary fibers, vitamins, minerals and the essential amino acids, etc. Let us consider some of these findings concerning talo leaves’ nutritional effects on our health.

Talo leaves contained carbohydrates. This is important because carbohydrates, along with proteins and fats, provide the energy we need from our diet to function efficiently. Carbohydrates from taro leaves are broken down into simple sugars in the body by many enzymes before they are being absorbed into the cells for storage in the form of glycogen. The glycogen can be broken down into simple sugars again when needed and are delivered to the mitochondria to be broken down for energy to be used by the body.

Talo leaves contained proteins. Protein is pivotal for the growth, maintenance and repair of the cells in our body to stay healthy. This is why it is in various forms in the body such as: a part of the enzymes, antibodies, bones, hormones, oxygen carriers, muscles and skin to name just a few. For these reasons, proteins are sometimes referred to as the “building block.” Proteins are broken down in the body into simple units known as amino acids. These amino acids can be rearranged to form the structure of proteins in our body. It is well known that our body do not make all the necessary amino acids and so we must obtain them from other sources. These amino acids are referred to as “essential amino acids.” Fortunately, talo leaves contains all of the essential amino acids (tryptophan, Threonine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine + Cystine, Phenylalanine + Tyrosine, Valine and Histidine) and perhaps it has contributed to the health of our ancestors and so should we. Eating talo leaves cooked with chicken, beef, or fish will provide us with all the amino acids necessary to have a healthier body much like our ancestors who had gone before us.

Talo leaves contained less or no cholesterol. This is one of the major health benefits of la’i lu because consuming them does not lead to rise in your cholesterol levels. It has been established that rising in your cholesterol levels lead to cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis-the building up of fatty deposits in your arteries. Hence, it is more likely that we can lower our risks by eating more of our traditional food which contains less or no cholesterol. For this reason, it is perhaps why our ancestors were healthier than we are as observed by Mr. Anderson who traveled with Captain James Cook during his visits to the islands (1773-1777).

Lai lu contains various amounts of Vitamins: A, C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and B6, folate and trace amounts of the rest of the vitamins. Vitamin A has already been established to support eye health. Because of this health benefit, we must eat foods that have this vitamin in it and taro leaves is one of them. In addition to its eye health benefits, vitamin A also has an antioxidant effect and will help strengthen our immune system so that we will stay healthy. Antioxidant vitamins have a protective effect against aging and/or age-related diseases such as head and neck cancers, etc. Taro leaves also contain vitamin C. Researches showed that a combination of vitamin C and vitamin A may be beneficial in preventing endotoxin-induced renal tissue damage. This will help us maintain our kidney health which is crucial to our survival. Vitamin C is also well known for its health promoting (wound healing, strengthens bone and blood vessels and aids in iron absorption) and immune enhancing properties which is why we should have this vitamin in our diet. Taro leaves can provide that requirement for us. Folate is another B-complex vitamin present in taro leaves and is required (combine with B-12: obtain from meat, fish, chicken and dairy products) for the formation of the new cells especially in the production of the red blood cells. Very recently, it was discovered that folic acid deficiency is involved in the development of the neural tube defects in babies. We should be grateful to have food such as taro leaves which are jam-packed with the necessary vitamins to strengthen and help us to stay healthy.

Taro leaves also contains minerals such as calcium which is important for bone formation and strength so that diseases like osteoporosis can be avoided and/or ameliorated. It also has iron which can help in the building of the blood-building mineral which is important in the transportation of oxygen in the body. Additionally, it also has potassium which is important for muscle contraction, nerve transmission and proper functioning of the heart and kidneys.

I interviewed some of the youth and adults to find out what they think of the taro leaves and here are some of their comments. James Palu said “my mom said that they are good for you and so I eat them.” David Filimoe’atu pointed out that his “favorite diet is lu sipi (taro leaves, coconut milk and lamb flaps) and lu ika (taro leaves, coconut milk & fish)” while ‘Isileli Kaufusi emphatically pointed out that “la’i lu has been used by our ancestors for over thousands of years with much health benefits.” Ginger Lotulelei gave me a lesson in dietetics and pointed out that “la’i lu is not only very nutritious because they are green leaves but also tastes good and it is fast and easy to prepare on special occasions but especially on Sundays.”

The limited list of la’i lu’s health benefits discussed here has proven that taro leaves’ health benefits has just been discovered (I might add that we are just scratching the surface) by science and praised by nutritionists but it has been used by our ancestors for over thousands of years with proven health benefits to them. To this end, taro leaves are traditionally nutritious and a scientifically healthier choice for us Polynesians because it has sustained our ancestors for over thousands of years and so should we while we are navigating the ocean of healthiness in this land of plenty.