Today, it seems like being diagnosed with cancer is the end of the road among many.
In fact, there those among us who feel that cancer simply means death which we all know has no escape.
The traditional Kikuyus would equate the dreaded disease to 'nyumba na riika' (family and age-group) which they said 'itiumagwo' (one can never escape from). Kikuyus believed that there was no way of escaping the dictates of these two.
However, Gikuyu Centre for Cultural Studies (GCCS) which documents traditional Kikuyu culture, says unlike 'nyumba na riika', there is a way out of this 'king'uki' (deadly scourge) that has become a source of everyday fear among the young and the old.
GCCS is, nevertheless, quick to remind that this can only be achieved by answering the questions: Who am I? Where do I come from? Who is my mother?
"Do not live other people’s truths. That is the true meaning of ‘Nyūmba na riika itiumagwo’. Know thyself. ‘Mūgīkūyū wīmenye’. In the United States of America and also in Europe, it has been found that the diabetes burden leans more heavily on the black man than the white races," writes GCCS in part.
It adds: "This is due to the genetic difference that caused the African to adapt to existence in a high heat environment and the white races to adapt to living in extremely cold environments. This meant that the African had to eat foods whose conversion into heat was as slow as possible and the European a diet that was metabolized faster and produced more heat."
As such, GCCS notes, this was the main reason the African staples comprised of yams, cassava, arrow roots and many other tubers and fruits that had very high fibre content slowed down the uptake of glucose from these foods which explains why when you eat cassava for breakfast you feel full almost the whole day.
On the other hand, GCCS further notes, European staple food was wheat which has a much higher glycemic index. For starters, the Glycemic index is the relative ability of a carbohydrate food to increase the level of glucose in the blood.
"This means that one way of confronting the current challenge of runaway obesity and increasing Western diseases like cancer in our culture is to redefine our relationship with sugar. You are what you eat. We can add that 'you eat, like who you are'. There is no getting away from your genes. Nyūmba na riika itiumagwo," the cultural centre concludes.
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