The Problem Was Never Our Genetics

What if the key to better health for Pacific peoples wasn't a new diet trend or medication, but the foods our ancestors had been eating for generations?

In this episode, Samoan scientist Amy Maslen-Miller explores the traditional Samoan diet through both cultural knowledge and modern science. From talo, ufi, ulu, fa'i, niu, and seafood, to the umu cooking method and traditional food preservation practices, we uncover how ancestral food systems supported health long before the rise of chronic disease.

Amy also examines how colonisation, migration, and changing food environments transformed Pacific diets, contributing to the growing burden of obesity and type 2 diabetes seen today. Drawing on emerging research in nutrition, metabolic health, and Pacific genetics, she discusses why the problem was never our genes, and how traditional foods may offer important insights for improving health outcomes for future generations.

This episode explores culture, history, science, and the growing evidence that some of the most powerful health solutions may already exist within Pacific knowledge systems.