This week's episode of "Losing It with Jillian" was brought to you by the word "frybread." Jillian visits a Native American reservation outside Phoenix. And while a family is on display, mother and two daughters in the spotlight, Jillian's mission is devoted to the whole tribe.
Some of Jillian's over-the-top behavior seems silly, but somehow her level of intensity was exactly what these people needed.
There are significant cultural issues, and of course, Jillian disrupts them. She feels bad, but is happy when the reaction is later positive.
The visual that stands out is when Jillian takes the frybread at the tribal gathering. One kid did what many on the show would love to have done: throw food at Jillian. She gets hit, but takes it in stride.
"Tradition teaches us that you don't throw food away," said the tribal elder. Later Jillian explains that it wasn't really food, but poison. The tribal elder does takes what Jillian did in stride.
Jillian does exaggerate on the impact of food, but when you examine frybread, for one week, she might be right. According to Wikipedia, "The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that a plate of fried bread consists of 700 calories and 27 grams of fat."
On the show, the family explains that the bread is fried in lard. Jillian also goes after the use of enriched bleached flour. Again, while Jillian can be obnoxious even when she's right, her take on enriched flour had the right amount of annoyance and anger.
"When something is enriched, it means that they're adding vitamins back into it. Now, if you have to add vitamins to something, that usually means that it's pretty darn bad for you."
The sarcasm was obvious, and spot on. Trust me, I was stunned.
Even Jillian realizes that she can't change an entire culture. Frybread emanates from the supplies Native Americans were given in numerous relocations. Combined with the alcoholic rate and sense of despair, the usual uphill climb for Jillian is much steeper in this week's episode.
Jillian summed up the cultural element, but extended the message beyond the tribal implications in the voiceover:
"Just think about this scene 6 weeks ago, when I was serving beans with lard, frybread, processed cheese, all kinds of garbage and junk to these people. And now, you look at this food, and it couldn't be any more perfect. This is not just an example for the Yavapai-Apache nation or Native Americans in general. This is an example for all human beings that are struggling with health, struggling with this disease (Type 2 diabetes) that you can turn this around at any point if you choose to."
Jillian may finally be getting the message that the battle isn't just about yelling at people while they exercise: what they are eating makes a difference.
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