In September 2022, I travelled to Singapore and Malaysia with my partner. He was born in Malaysia and has a Malaysian Chinese lineage. It was my first overseas trip ever and it was amazing.
We started dating in May of 2020, and I can say it has been life changing. He has opened my world in terms of delicious food and flavour. I am ashamed to say, but prior to dating him, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you a thing about Malaysian food or cuisine. The only dish I ever had was a curry laksa, and I thought the origin of the dish was from Thailand!
One of the best things that happened was meeting him and being taken on a cultural journey. As someone who comes from a European background (Italian/German), catholic and first generation Australian parents, my diet has been high in olives, salad, and rye bread. I was not that interested in rice, as I found it to be just an unnecessary filler in meals, but I loved spicy foods. Of course I could never compare my tolerance to someone who was native to an Asian country. Upon meeting George (my partner), I was exposed to a very different diet, culture, and religion, (he grew up practicing Buddhism). I have never had so many conversations with someone about culture, ethnicity, upbringing, cultural foods, values and practices. Previously I hadn’t had these conversations even with previous partners, as most had come from a similar background to me. By dating George, I have learnt more than I could ever describe, but perhaps most importantly for my career, I have become a better practitioner.
As a dietitian, being educated in Australia, our dietary guidelines are very westernized. The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (AGTHE) is very Anglo centric. Many of my basic recommendations sound like “switch to multigrain bread over white bread”, “have half a plate of vegetables at each main meal”, and “great snacks include fruit, nuts, popcorn, brown rice crackers”. Until recently, I didn’t stop to think about how the AGTHE, or dietary guidelines might not have been representative of the wonderful multicultural communities we have living in Australia. I have been more aware of this as I continued to work with people from Indian, Sri Lankan and southeast Asian backgrounds. Suddenly the evidence-based advice that I had been so used to giving, didn’t quite make sense.
Part of being a dietitian is being able to tailor and individualize advice to suit our clients. What good was I, if I couldn’t do that efficiently?
So, I began to listen, ask questions and learn, and this is how my dietary advice has changed.
For one, asking my Malaysian boyfriend to switch to brown rice was a no-go. Switching to basmati rice (which is lower GI), and navigating improved ratios of vegetables, protein and rice was much easier, and more relatable for him, and for others.
Some of my other advice now includes:
– Making sure to explain the importance of using low fat coconut milk in curries and laksa, versus full fat to reduce saturated fat intake.
– Asking my clients to switch to plant-based oils like olive oil, avocado oil, safflower oil or sesame oil, instead of canola oil, lard or ghee.
– Asking my clients to increase vegetables in their curries, or have some extra on the side, even if it means they are fried.
– Switch to whole wheat roti versus white flour roti.
– Asking my clients what feels easy for them to change, add in, or take out. It’s amazing how much good it does, just to ask and listen.
By knowing what a traditional cultural diet looks like, it helps me and other practitioners to tailor suggestions to clients. I have so much more to learn, but I am so thankful for being introduced to new cultural foods and a different country.
I will forever be grateful that I met someone that is different to me in culture and background, as I never would’ve learnt all I had. He shared his culture, his life and practices with patience, grace, and openness.
Until next time,
Big Sis x
