pacific islander family feast gold coast balcony

Pacific Islander Nutrition

Why mainstream healthy eating fails us

Most of us are busy parents, and as the children grow up, we get busy with careers and life in general. Many of us are matriarchs; looking after generations, we love to cook, we love to make our homes homely, and we work hard to keep it all moving, providing for our families and our local communities.

The problem is that we need good fuel to do this and whether we eat “healthy” or not, we seem to gain weight as we get older no matter what. We follow health plans, find the latest “expert” and apply their knowledge with little improvement before plateauing.

Why? Because most nutrition studies are Euro-centric, focusing on Western biology that doesn’t align with the unique metabolic heritage of those of us with Pacific Islander DNA. We can bridge this gap by combining ancestral knowledge with modern nutrigenomics to provide health strategies that actually work for us, and then for those of us who are part Pacific Islander and part Caucasian, we can adjust what we eat based on our varied genetic make up.

My research is grounded in data from global studies, such as the CALDIA screening survey, which, for example, confirms that Melanesian and Polynesian metabolic markers differ significantly from European baselines when adjusting for Body Mass Index (BMI).

The Pacific Protocol

The Pacific Protocol is a precision-led strategy designed to bridge the data gap left by Australian and other pan-Pacific health authorities, whose guidelines remain fundamentally Euro-centric and offer alarmingly little specific insight for Pacific Islander biology. This Pacific Islander nutrition research serves as the foundation for my upcoming book, The Pacific Protocol, a comprehensive guide built on deep-dive scientific research that finally includes our Pacific DNA alongside Western nutritional assumptions.

This is not medical advice, it is simply a tool for Pacific Islander women to equip themselves with knowledge and research themselves what works for their varying degrees of Pacific DNA, whether you are fully or partially Pacific Islander, you will finally have a resources and research hub to live your healthiest life based on your DNA.

About the author

Hello! I’m Paula Freeman. With over two decades of experience in the corporate world for global firms as a research and evidence-based proposal and project manager, I have pivoted this expertise to the emerging field of nutrigenomics for Pacific Islander women. My journey began after living most of my adult life battling persistent bloating after eating, even from healthy foods. Finding little relief from the advice of mainstream experts and healthy eating, I finally realised the missing link: most recognised nutritional studies are Euro-centric. As I started researching Pacific Islander DNA and the foods our ancestors ate, I discovered the specific nutrition required for my genetic makeup. The result was transformative; the bloating, tiredness, and weight issues that plagued me were significantly resolved.

Armed with a Stanford University (Online) certification in Food and Health, my mission is to share this research, provide a bridge between complex genetic science and practical wellness, and support making a real difference in the health of Pacific Islander women.