Randells Revolution

Former All Black Taine Randell has backed a revolutionary high fat, high protein and low carbohydrate diet that has seen local Maori in his home town of Flaxmere in the Hawke’s Bay dramatically lose weight during an 10-week programme. The story featured on TV3’s 60 MINUTES programme.

Taine RandellAfter a rugby career that saw Randell play 51 tests for the All Blacks from 1997-2002, having captained the national team from the age of 21, Randell played rugby for the Saracens club in England, then worked as a commodities broker in London, before returning home.

He has helped his struggling local rugby team MAC turn the corner in the local club competition, but his greatest challenge is to help improve the ailing health of his people, who suffer from high rates of Type 2 diabetes caused by poor diet, lack of exercise and obesity.

With local councilor and community member Henare O’Keefe, Randell invited nutritionist Ben Warren to the local Te Aranga Community Marae, where he proposed members undertake a 10-week diet based on traditional boil ups of meat and green leafy vegetables or meat cooked in fat, instead of bread and potatoes.

“It’s tailored more to Maori peoples’ genetic background, and based on what they were eating 150 years ago,” says Warren.

The average weight lost among those who did the programme was more than 8kg each. Its success is being monitored and may be adopted to target Maori and Pacific communities nationwide, who are heavily represented among the three quarters of a million New Zealanders suffering from diabetes. 
 

Blog: Will a high meat, high fat diet work with Maori and Pacific people? Give us your views.

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Rebecca 14-07-2010 16:17:19
Go Flaxmere! It was great to see these guys actively involved in their community and proud of who they are and where they are from. As others have said, it\'s the long term effects of these high fat diets that\'s the concern - the effects on the heart from all the saturated fat and the bowel from lack of fibre. And most importantly - don\'t diet! Diets start and finish, and old eating patterns return. What\'s needed is long term change. There are some simple tips for the whole whanau - make half your main meal vegetables (canned, frozen or fresh), make water and milk the first choice not sugary fizzy drinks, get active and move your body every day, choose wholegrain breads and cereals, and think about how much you are eating (are you really hungry? do you need seconds?). These tips relate to everyone - Maori, Pacific, Chinese, Pakeha, etc. I\'m not saying don\'t eat boil up - just put in lots of veggies, trim the fat off the meat, and skim the fat off the top of the boil up liquid.
Shelly 13-07-2010 15:27:18
The benefits of this diet is primarily weight loss, and it bares a resemblance to the Atkins diet, but the long term effects of these kinds of diets are relatively unknown. Sure this could decrease the prevailence of type 2 diabetes due to the weight loss, but what about the long term damage to the liver, heart and kidneys due to a high protein and fat diet? I personally don't think it is wise eliminating a whole food group from ones diet and the short term gains may be outweighed by the long term effects. Sounds like another fad diet that is impossible to stick to. Changing your lifestlye to include more exercise and eating a good, balanced diet including all food groups is the safest long term option. Spose in the end its a case of swapping one ailment with another
Grease is the word 13-07-2010 13:07:22
Yes, the Atkins diet which many Hollywood divas swear by. PityAtkins died just as his diet was getting known around the world (heart attack from all that fat?). Pops loves his meat, but he also loves his loafa bread which he dips into the runny fat that goes with the meat. And he loves the cheap chinese meals with lots of rice and lots of sweat sickly sauce and not that much meat, so kiwidiva is right when she says a no-carb diet for ever is alost impossible. Dont wanna kock em for trying but a follow up doco is needed in 6 months time to see if it has long lasting benefits.
kiwidiva 13-07-2010 10:26:51
this is basically the Atkins diet, which absolutely works. people are just so conditioned to hearing that FAT is bad but if you aren\'t eating carbs, your body eliminates the fat in the food as waste and it never turns into body fat. the problem with this, as with ALL diets is that you have to stay on it - forever! as soon as you start eating carbs again, the weight comes back QUICK and from experience, i\'ve noticed that you always put on even more than what you lost. the atkins diet only restricts carbs so there is no need for portion control, as a result, your body is used to big meals. i still believe in this diet and hope that more maori and pacific people will eliminate the carbs. it is more in line with what our ancestors ate and eliminates the over processed garbage that we have all become used to eating. kia kaha, taine and the te aranga community!
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