News report - December 15, 2025
Cardiologist urges return to ancestral foods.
Marianas Variety covered Dr. Peter Gregor's December 2025 presentation to the Rotary Club of Saipan about fructose, ancestral foods, diabetes, obesity, fatty liver disease, and the metabolic crisis in Micronesia.
The message
Commonwealth Health Center cardiologist Dr. Peter Gregor linked modern sugar consumption, especially fructose, to rising obesity, diabetes, cancers, and heart disease across Micronesia and beyond.
The food shift
The talk urged a return to traditional foods such as taro, breadfruit, and other ancestral staples, with less reliance on processed white breads, sugary drinks, and low-fat packaged foods.
The local response
The report described local examples of bakeries and patients responding to the message: taro bread, ube bread, and renewed interest in heritage foods as practical metabolic-health tools.
