The Left Lane
Rearrange your plate for a healthier diet

The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends eating more vegetables, reducing consumption of meat and adding more whole grains to your daily diet.

That old standard fails to qualify as a healthy meal, providing way too many calories overall and too many from fat in particular.

"We're talking about a subtle transition, not a sudden or radical change," said spokeswoman Melanie Polk from the institute. "Simply shift the traditional meal around a bit, so that at least two-thirds of the plate contains the kind of tasty, satisfying, plant-based foods that actively fight chronic disease, while one-third or less contains meat, poultry or fish."

Teen diabetics plead for research money

Hawai'i teens Emalia Pietsch, 16, of Honolulu, and Ricky Mead, 13, of Kailua-Kona, will join 200 young people with diabetes in Washington, D.C., June 24-27 with the hope of persuading Congress to spend more money on diabetes research.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International Children's Congress 2001 brings together young people with diabetes from every state in a unified effort to make a difference in research support. About $450 million is appropriated by Congress annually, while the foundation raises another $120 million from private giving.

While President Bush already has announced an increase in financing, the amounts fall short of expectations.

"If there's no research, there's no cure," Pietsch said. "It won't just pop up. Insulin helps me manage my blood sugar, but it doesn't fix my pancreas."

Said Ricky's mother, Debbie Lebo: "Being a mother of a diabetic child has made me realize how others take for granted the simple things of childhood . . . like having an ice cream with your son."

— Beverly Creamer

Actor to actor

Tagawa has starred in "Rising Sun," "Mortal Kombat," "Planet of the Apes," "The Last Emperor," "Snow Falling on Cedars," "Picture Bride" and "The Phantom" and, on TV, episodes of "Nash Bridges."

The beginners' seminar includes a Q&A session; the advanced version has some prerequisites and requires intensive readings. Cost: $125 and $60. Registration and information: Chanell Akamine at 847-0556.