Revisiting Healthy Latino Foods

The traditional Latino diet provided an abundance of healthful effects. Fruits, vegetables and processing techniques central to the diets of the Aztecs, Mayans and Incans improved, rather than reduced, healthfulness.

However, modern Latin-Americans in the United States face nutritional and related medical challenges their ancestors would never have seen coming.

Buying power

In the 1970s, USDA coined the term “Hispanic”—derived from Hispania, the ancient Roman term for the Iberian Peninsula—to refer to people descendant from Spain, Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. However, “Latino”—perhaps a shortening of Latino Americano—removes Spain from the classification.

Growing more rapidly than any other group in the United States, the Hispanic and Latino population in this country is the third largest in the world—roughly 44 million people. The largest segment of this group are of Mexican descent (approximately 60%), followed by Puerto Ricans and Cubans.

With increases in population come increases in spending, notes Barbara Apps, director of business development & marketing, AloeCorp, Austin, TX. “The Hispanic population is projected to account for 44% of the U.S. population growth between 1995 and 2025—that is 32 million Hispanics out of a total of 72 million people added to the nation’s population,” she says. In 2007, purchasing power of Hispanics was over $8.6 billion.

Apps offers several examples of how increased Latino spending is evidenced by the growth of Hispanic brands and product offerings in the marketplace. Lifeway Foods launched La Fruta drinkable yogurt, while PepsiCo-owned SoBe launched Fuerte, a mango and passion fruit beverage with herbal extracts, labeled in Spanish, “SoBe Tu Mismo” (SoBe Yourself). Mott’s launched Clamato Energia, an energy drink for the Hispanic consumer. Kool-Aid came out with tamarindo flavor, and Kern’s came out with an horchata drink.

Changing nutrition

Certain offerings have, however, steered many Latinos away from the healthful dietary habits of their heritage. For example, traditional lime-soaked corn tortillas provide calcium and fiber in a low-fat and low-sugar medium. Modern refined-flour versions offer increased convenience in reduced breakage—and sometimes preferred flavor—at lower temperatures but sacrifice the nutritional benefits, such as higher fiber, of the traditional ingredients.

Increased convenience-foods offerings have also reduced the number of meals consumed at home—meals that are traditionally prepared from scratch, using wholesome vegetables, fruits and meats. Reduced intake of fiber, antioxidants, phytochemicals and iron, combined with reduced amounts of physical activity, has resulted in an alarming increase in health issues for the Latino community.

From 1991 to 2001, obesity rates among Latinos in the United States doubled to almost 24%. Hispanic children are more likely to become overweight than non-Hispanic white children of the same age. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has indicated that half of U.S. Latina women are overweight. Overweight and obesity can cause health issues, including asthma, sleep apnea, increased stress on bones and joints, elevated blood pressure, and high blood insulin levels leading to type 2 diabetes.

In fact, Latinos are almost twice as likely to develop diabetes than non-Hispanic whites of the same age. A report from the Oldways-organized Latino Nutrition Coalition, Boston, cites data from the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, Bethesda, MD, indicating that diabetes is twice as common in Mexican American and Puerto Rican adults as in non-Hispanic whites (“Diabetes in Hispanic Americans,” latinonutrition.org/diabetes.html). The prevalence of diabetes in Cuban Americans is lower, but still higher than that of non-Hispanic whites. Risk factors for diabetes—family history of diabetes, gestational diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance, obesity, and physical inactivity—are more common among Hispanics than non-Hispanic whites.

A healthy tradition

Traditional Latino foods are generally a far cry from the calorie-laden and nutritionally bereft foods often seen today. Grains are an important element of Latino diets. Mexican heritage brings a preference for corn and amaranth, while South Americans prefer wheat and quinoa, and Caribbean and coastal Latin Americans favor rice. These whole grains would undergo minimal processing, cracking or grinding vs. modern milling. Modern, refined grains like white flour and rice have lost the vitamins, minerals and fiber present in the germ and bran that are removed, although many refined grains are fortified to replace lost vitamins and minerals.

Beans, a common addition to salads, soups and stews, often served as the main source of protein—providing fiber, important nutrients and phytochemicals, and low levels of fat. Although some crossover exists, the various ethnic Latino groups generally prefer different types of beans. Black beans are often used by southern Mexicans, Central Americans, Venezuelans and Cubans. Northern Mexicans, Dominicans and Puerto Ricans enjoy pinto beans. Red kidney beans are a common sight in Cuban dishes, as well as in various cuisines throughout Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Gandules (pigeon peas) and rosadas (pink peas) are favorites of Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. Peruvians and Chileans prefer cranberry beans and lima beans. Brazilians and Venezuelans are partial to garbanzo beans (chickpeas).