Atkins, South Beach, Jenny Craig, Raw Food, Grapefruit, Liquid, Low-Fat…these are only some of the innumerable diets that Americans have embraced as part of our unending national quest to lose weight and get healthier. But what if the best diet has nothing to do with the newest food fad to hit bookstores, and everything to do with history, heritage, and tradition?

That’s the message that Oldways, a Boston-based “food issues” think tank, would like to publicize. Working with a variety of established nutritionists, dieticians, chefs and food scholars, Oldways emphasizes that the best way for people to eat is to follow the traditional healthy eating patterns of their culture or region. For example, one of the organization’s best-known initiatives was the development of the nutrition science model of the Mediterranean Diet, which promotes the use of healthy plant oils and whole grains.
Attaining a healthier diet is a particularly urgent issue for Latinos in the United States, who are experiencing steep increases in chronic health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and obesity. In order to reach out to Latinos, Oldways recently established the Latino Nutrition Coalition (LNC), a consortium of food experts who recommend that Latinos return to a more traditional diet consisting of the foods historically produced and consumed in Latin America. To spread the word, the LNC has launched a number of initiatives, including Camino Magico, a public education program that will soon publish and distribute pamphlets providing nutrition tips and advice for Latino communities.
Liz Mintz, the program manager of the LNC and a native of Colombia, emphasizes the urgent need to encourage Latinos to eat traditional foods. “The Latino population has genetically adapted to a diet over thousands of years,” she states. “When Latinos come to the United States, they keep that diet, but after five years they start getting a lot more comfortable eating the American way – and that’s when the problems start.”
As Mintz explains it, most Latinos are genetically suited to efficiently digest things like beans, rice, and tropical fruits and vegetables – making the added sugars, fats, and preservatives of the American diet particularly harmful. The numbers tell the story: “Eleven percent of the Latino population in the United States was obese in 1992, and now it’s up to 29 percent,” Mintz says.
Unlike complicated diets such as Atkins or South Beach, returning to a more traditional diet can be surprisingly simple, Mintz says. One useful tip she shares is to avoid processed foods with added preservatives and sugars. Her rule of thumb? “If your grandmother wouldn’t understand what an ingredient is, stay away from it!”
Sylvia Klinger, a registered dietitian, personal trainer, nutritional writer and consultant, shares Mintz’s enthusiasm for healthy living and the traditional Latin American diet. “Our foods are so bursting with colors and flavors, and lots of nutrients as well,” she enthuses.
Klinger points to several traditional eating habits that can lead to better health among Latinos. “Salsa is such a great way to season everything,” she notes. These tasty sauces, which are common in almost every Latin American country, are invariably high in nutrients, low in fat, and contain a variety of healthy vegetables and spices. Another healthy Latin American custom is the serving of soup before a meal. “Drinking or eating soup before your meal will help you cut down on calories,” she says.
Another simple way to improve our diets is to add color to meals – something that’s easy with bright Latin American foods such as sweet potatoes, mangos, papayas, or avocados. Says Klinger: “Colorful foods have a lot of nutrients, so fill your plate with colors! Black beans, brown rice, yellow and green vegetables, orange and red fruits – always try to pack in the nutrients however you can.”
Getting the most nutritious meals to children is also a goal of Klinger’s. She notes that in Latin America, even the pickiest eaters consume more vegetables. “In Mexico, I was surprised to see children buying vegetables like corn in the streets,” she comments. To feed her kids well, she mixes fruits or veggies with foods that they love. “I call it ‘the hiding of the nutrients,’” she laughs. “If my kids want macaroni and cheese, I put in peas and carrots, or I put fruit in their ice cream. Also, I shave vegetables so that they become curly and look more interesting to kids.”
Liz Mintz has additional advice for Latina moms who do the family shopping: a little planning can go a long way. “Sometimes people are very overburdened, but with some planning people can have healthier diets at home,” she says. Making – and sticking to – shopping lists can help keep harried moms from impulse-buying. “If you’re going to supermarket as a family trip, many times you end up buying things that shouldn’t be there, so limit things that are not on the list.”
Portion size is one of the toughest problems in the American diet, where a large amount of food can come very cheap. “Now we can afford a lot of food for very little money – but sometimes what’s inexpensive to buy is very expensive for our bodies to deal with,” says Mintz. “Just because we can go to IHOP and get 3,000 calories for under ten dollars doesn’t mean that we should!”
In Latin America, by contrast, smaller portions and a wider variety of nutritious foods are more common. “In Mexico, everything is eaten in moderation – and when it comes to food, all foods can fit in, but there are certain foods we need to eat less of,” Sylvia Klinger explains. She adds that it’s much more common in Latin America to eat two or three meatless meals per week. “It’s a great idea to learn to cook a fulfilling meal without meat,” she advises.
Finally, exercise is crucial. “Latinas are exercising less than the general population,” says Mintz. “You can go for a walk, you can be more active around the house, or even just go up and down the stairs more times. Instead of doing things the easy way, try to do things the most active way.”
So before you pick up the next trendy diet book off the shelves, consider dusting off your grandmother’s favorite recipes, walking to the local Latino market for ingredients, and making use of a heritage rich in tasty foods to improve your health!

 

The Latin American Diet Pyramid, developed by Oldways, promotes a diet that includes traditional Latin American foods, including: Meat, Sweets, Eggs: Beef, Lamb, Eggs, Chocolate, Puddings, Cookies, Creams Plant Oils, Milk Products: Plant Oils (Soy, Corn, Olive), Milk, Cheese Fish, Shellfish: Shrimp, Salmon, Snapper, Mussels Poultry: Fowl, Turkey, Chicken, Pork Beans, Grains, Tubers, Nuts: Maize, Potato, Rice, Bread, Taro, Tortilla, Arepas, Beans, Seeds, Quinoa, Malanga, Peanuts, Amaranth, Arracacha, Hichintal, Legumes, Cassava, Pecans, Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, Plantain, Yuca Fruits: Lime, Banana, Avocado, Cacao, Breadfruit, Plums, Apple, Berries, Papaya, Mango, Cherimoya, Guanabana, Pineapple, Melon, Tamarind, Quince, Grapes, Guava, Orange, Kiwi Vegetables: Kale, Cactus, Eggplant, Turnip, Chard, Squash, Zucchini, Onion, Broccoli, Okra, Spinach, Lettuce, Tomato, Tomatillo, Sweet Pepper, Chiles For more information: Oldways (www.oldwayspt.org) Latino Nutrition Coalition (www.latinonutrition.org) Silvia Klinger, RD (hispanicfoodcommunications.com)