By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
Traci Hisatake shops for fresh produce with daughter Kara.
Her shopping habits have changed since taking a telecourse.
A televised class changes
By Malia Rulon
one family's life in a big way
Star-BulletinAs a college student of seven years working toward her bachelor of arts degree in social science at the University of Hawaii West Oahu, Traci Hisatake has taken many classes. Thirty-one, to be exact.
But not one has made as big an impact in her life and the lives of her family of five as an elective televised credit course she took two years ago called "The Science of Nutrition."
"It's one of those classes everyone should take -- like Hawaiian History," Hisatake said. "Everyone who lives in Hawaii should learn Hawaiian History, and everyone who eats should know how to choose food."
The course, which is offered every semester through the Honolulu Community College, was taught by nutritional instructor Karen Hastings through a series of 30 televised lectures with corresponding reading assignments and, of course, a handful of exams.
Hastings was joined during each episode by experts in the subject matter, who offered insights on topics ranging from "Supermarket Science" and "The Power Diet" to "Carbos Make the World Go Round" and "Affairs of the Heart."
But it wasn't the catchy episode titles that drew Hisatake to the class. She was just looking for a televised course that she hadn't taken yet. Her youngest child, 5-year-old Vinson, was 3 at the time and Hisatake, 32, depended on the televised classes because they didn't require a baby-sitter.
Finding a class like "The Science of Nutrition" was what you might call "lucky."
Hisatake calls it "practical."
"It deals with everyday living," she said. "I mean, everyone has to eat."
And as Hisatake learned through the class, what you eat does matter.
"We used to eat quite a bit of vegetables, but we used to eat them with real mayonnaise," Hisatake said. "That defeats the purpose because even though you're getting the nutrition of the vegetables, you're getting a lot of fat as well."
So, little habits in the Hisatake household started to change. Up went the food pyramid on the kitchen wall and out went the mayo, whole milk, french fries, soda and cheesecake.
"You make all these little changes and they add up," Hisatake said.
Like reading labels. Instead of just grabbing the generic brand of a product or the one that advertises "low sugar," Hisatake has learned to take the time to read through the labels. She looks for a good-priced product with low levels of fat, sugar and sodium.
"I try to buy more fresh fruits and vegetables," Hisatake said. "And instead of the canned sugar water stuff, like Hawaiian Sun, I give my kids the real fruit juice."
Hisatake also encourages her kids to drink a lot of water and snack on fresh fruit instead of junk food. It all boils down to knowing what certain foods do to or for your body and planning your diet accordingly.
"If you have the knowledge, you can choose better food," Hisatake said.
But just knowing that there is a healthier alternative available doesn't mean people will actually choose that better food. Hisatake found this out the hard way -- last Thanksgiving.
Armed with her knowledge of how to eat healthy, Hisatake was determined to present healthy alternatives to her extended family during the holiday season. She baked a fresh fruit crisp as an alternative to pumpkin pie, provided natural fruit juice as well as canned drinks, and even made fresh cranberry sauce, rather than using the canned version.
But by the end of the day, Hisatake saw a trend in the leftovers. The fruit crisp had barely been touched and the natural fruit drinks were left in favor of the canned ones. Even the homemade cranberry sauce was overlooked.
But that didn't deter Hisatake. It just taught her that some special occasions are best left unaltered and it is OK to eat junk food once in a while, which she does.
"I'm not a health-food fanatic," Hisatake said. "Like everyone else, I don't eat healthy all the time, but I'm more aware of what I eat and a why my body craves certain things."
For Hisatake, this is a class that she'll use in her daily life for years to come. For her son's fifth birthday last weekend, she set out a vegetable platter and natural fruit juice, but also served canned juice and ice cream. And at a university gathering called "Coffee and Doughnuts," she plans to serve fresh fruit and orange juice as an alternative to the sweets.
"The important thing is modeling healthy behavior for my children," Hisatake said. "Hopefully some of this will rub off on them."
The Science of Nutrition
Episodes air: 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays through Dec. 11
