Healthline: Healthy Eating Includes Cultural Foods
“Healthy eating is sometimes seen as a necessary evil. On one hand, it’s essential for good health, but on the other, it’s suggestive of restriction and self-denial steeped in Eurocentrism. Many nutrition programs are modeled on the American food pyramid, which then implies what healthy eating looks like to the local communities. However, nutrition and healthy eating are not a one-size-fits-all dietary prescription. Traditional meals and food culture deserve a seat at the table too.
Cultural foods — also called traditional dishes — represent the traditions, beliefs, and practices of a geographic region, ethnic group, religious body, or cross-cultural community. These dishes and customs are passed down from generation to generation. Cultural foods may represent a region, such as pizza, pasta, and tomato sauce from Italy or kimchi, seaweed, and dim sum from Asia. Alternatively, they may represent a colonial past, such as the fusion of West African and East Indian food traditions throughout the Caribbean.
- While kale is a nutritious vegetable, so too are dasheen bush (taro leaves) and spinach.
- Quinoa is an excellent source of protein and dietary fiber, but rice and beans are too.
- Chicken breast is low in fat and lauded as a must-have for a healthy diet, but if you remove the skin from other parts of the chicken, those pieces are low in fat too — and higher in iron.
- Atlantic salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, but so too are local salmon varieties and other fatty fish such as sardines.
If kale, quinoa, and Atlantic salmon aren’t available in your region, your diet isn’t automatically poor. Contrary to mainstream health and wellness messages, a healthy plate isn’t limited to Eurocentric foods, and traditional foods aren’t inferior or nutritionally unfit.
The lack of cultural representation or ethnically diverse illustrations sends an unspoken message that local and cultural foods may be unhealthy. These cultural foods exemplify healthy eating by combining several food groups and including a variety of nutrients:
- Ugali: a staple dish in Tanzania made with cornmeal and often served with traditional meat and vegetable dishes
- Ema datshi: a spicy stew, popular in Bhutan, that’s served with yak cheese and may include mushrooms, green beans, and potatoes
- Kalua pork: a traditional Hawaiian dish that may be served with grilled fish, eggplant, or taro
- Schäufele: roasted pork basted with German beer that’s often served with potato dumplings and sauerkraut or creamed savoy cabbage
- Pelau: a popular one-pot dish in the Caribbean made with caramelized chicken, parboiled rice, pigeon peas, and an array of vegetables and green seasonings“
Read the complete article here.
💬 What were your takeaways from this article?
💬 What cultural foods exemplify healthy eating in your area?
#Diet #Health #Culture
@globalBraid3744
It really is amazing how much variety and flavors there are when you consider all the foods in the world. Every culture has their really healthy foods and additionally every culture also has their sweet ad evil desserts as well >:) Incorporating all these ranges of food helps people experiment with healthy foods and try different ways of preparing them!
Personally for me, growing up kimchi was often looked down upon due to its strong smell and sour taste. But it being one of the best probiotic veggies out there it's an absolute staple to add to your diet. It's almost the equivalent to a pickle!
@sunnyWriting4806
Kimchi is so popular! I have never tried it but I heard it is very healthy.
@globalBraid3744 This is a great article! Traditional dishes in my culture include a lot of spices and seasonings which I previously thought of as "unhealthy". For a long time, I thought that vegetables must be eaten raw to get the maximum nutritional benefit. Thanks for sharing this article!
@comfortableNight4463
I personally love spices and seasoning! Many of them also have their own health benefits.
Interesting and thoughtful post! I have some thoughts in response.
One takeaway (excuse the pun) is that a diet low in fat
(in the example of removing chicken skin, as given above) is not
necessarily a healthy thing for all people everywhere (and we're all different). The body needs a certain
amount of dietary fat in order for the body's cells to hold their
shape. I would need to do some more research to be 100% sure, but I do
believe the brain is composed partly of saturated fat (as well as water and
various tissues, so we need to ensure adequate water intake since water is a nutrient too!) So it's wise to ensure you have at least some fats in your diet. Check with a professional, of course. :)
Also, saturated fats make us feel
"full" sooner, so we tend to eat less in a meal with enough saturated
fats. Without them, we may eat more than we should, to get that satiation or satisfied
feeling.
In a nutshell (sorry, I am punny today), the prevailing model of the Western American/Euro diet has, for the last few decades, held that selecting low fat and fat-free foods was the best way to avoid heart disease, so artificial fats like margarine were promoted. However, such artificial fats have gradually been shown to be less than ideal, and you will notice that newspapers, magazines and online recipe indexes have largely stopped using margarine in recipes, and have gone back to mentioning butter.
Speaking of butter, since not everyone is lactose tolerant (again, probably a Eurocentric thing although ghee in the cuisines of India is very traditional), there are fortunately options for vegetable oils increasingly available, such as coconut oil, and more recently, avocado oil.
@InquireWithin
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I think it is great that nowadays there is a high variety of choices even for people who have an intolerance and cannot eat certain ingredients. You seem to be knowledgeable about food choices.
This is like something person say to me before that Hawai'i is a lot bad foods are bad for you but are not. My mom and daddy make sure we eat lot healthy foods and don’t buy lot of food like chips and soda and microwave food. We eat lot fruits and vegetables and my parents or big brothers make dinner mostly we don’t go restaurant lot. Eat lot fish and rice. stuff like poke and laulau.
have dessert and treats to though but think is ok if mostly healthy
@theboymoana
Thank you for sharing! Fish, veggies, and fruits contain many nutrients. It is great that your parents try to prepare lots of food like that.
@globalBraid3744 This is such an important post
The belief that a Eurocentric diet is the only healthy diet is archaic and colonial
Regional diets are healthy for the people in that region with numerous benefits
thank you for sharing this
@zealousGrace5023 Great answer!
@comfortableNight4463 Thank you!
@zealousGrace5023 You're most welcome!
@zealousGrace5023
I agree with you! Many people do not realize that cultural foods might also be healthy and nutritious.
@globalBraid3744 exactly it's sad
@globalBraid3744 As an American, I think that I've really struggled with finding "healthy foods" growing up. I didn't grow up eating the best, but I'm working on changing that. American food is just so greasy and fried and it's hard to find food that is filled up with fats and all the bad things in it. I think people tend to think that healthy eating as to be boring, but that's not true at all! There are so many ways to make yummy things, like fish and chicken! I just wished I liked cooking 😅
@fruityPond7887
I think it is also quite difficult to define what healthy food is. I think that diet should be balanced and have a nutritious value to be healthy.
I can relate to you haha. I do not like cooking much either. The aspect of it that I enjoy is when experimenting with spices and seasoning or trying new meals.
@globalBraid3744 Yes exactly! Everyone's needs are different, so it's hard to define a generalized healthy diet! We have to adjust to our own needs and eat what is good for us as individuals. Ooo yes! Trying new spices does sound fun! I love to bake a lot more than cook, but unfortunately, baked goods aren't that healthy 😂
@fruityPond7887
I wish I could bake! What do you like to bake the most? Do you have any favorite recipes?
@globalBraid3744 I make a mean pumpkin muffin! Sometimes I like to put dark or white chocolate chips in them! I also made chocolate cheesecake before 😍
@fruityPond7887aring
Sounds so tasty, I might try those as well 😍 Thank you for sharing!
@globalBraid3744 You'll have to let me know how it goes! Tip: I always add extra vanilla and cinnamon!! Don't be shy when adding them- it makes them so yummy!!
@fruityPond7887 vanilla just makes everything better
@zealousGrace5023 It does! It's best when you don't measure exactly :)
@fruityPond7887 i'm horrible with that stuff
i'm always guesstimating everything while cooking
@zealousGrace5023
I do the same! Thankfully, so far the meals are turning fine even without measurings :D
@globalBraid3744 haha thank god for that
@fruityPond7887
I will, thank you for the tip! I love vanilla.
@globalBraid3744 I used to be a chocolate girl, but vanilla is starting to catch up! It's so yummy! But in terms of ice cream, mint chocolate will always have my heart💙
@fruityPond7887
I love the mint flavor as well! It is very refreshing, especially in summer.
@globalBraid3744 Exactly! People always tell me it's disgusting and tastes like toothpaste 😂 I mean they aren't wrong but it's so good as ice cream!
@fruityPond7887
Well, I have not thought of this before 😂 Good point. I like mint anyway hahha
@fruityPond7887 i mean most toothpastes just happen to be mint flavoured 😭 I dont see why mint as a flavour in food needs to be dragged because of that
@globalBraid3744 Right! I'll keep eating my toothpaste-flavored ice cream. More for me 😂
@zealousGrace5023 I feel like it's kinda like the "chicken and the egg" question - which came first? The ice cream or the toothpaste flavor 😂
@fruityPond7887
Haha, it seems like it. Poor ice-cream.
@fruityPond7887 lmaoo considering its a flavor derived from a plant id say any food wins againt toothpaste
@zealousGrace5023 Oh yeah that makes sense lol I'm dumb sometimes 😂😂
@fruityPond7887 lol no you're good