CH:11 Nutrition and Culture- DUDEK
RESPONSES TO STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Suggest ways to eat healthy while eating out (FAFH)
Plan ahead by checking menus and select restaurants with healthy options.
Avoid arriving at the restaurant on an empty stomach to prevent impulsive, calorie-dense choices.
Practice portion control by asking for a half-portion or taking half the meal home immediately.
Substitute fried items with steamed, grilled, or baked alternatives and request sauces on the side.
Balance the day’s remaining meals by eating lighter at home to compensate for restaurant-consumed calories.
Describe the characteristics of traditional food practices for different cultural groups in the United States
Black Americans (Soul Food): High in fat, sodium, and cholesterol; involves frying and long-cooking vegetables with fatty meats.
Mexican Americans: High-fiber, low-fat diet featuring corn, beans, rice, and squash with limited animal protein.
Asian Americans: High in complex carbohydrates and vegetables; rice or wheat staples; uses meticulous preparation and little dairy.
Discuss the nutrition-related health concerns of different cultural groups in the United States
Black Americans: Highest rates of morbidity and mortality for hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
Hispanic/Latino Americans: High prevalence of obesity and Type 2 diabetes (twice the risk compared to White Americans).
Asian Americans: Risk of diabetes at lower BMI values due to visceral (abdominal) fat; high rates of COPD and tuberculosis.
Explain the general ways in which people’s food choices change as they become acculturated to a new area
Breakfast and lunch typically change first to convenient, processed American options.
Intake of sweets, fats, and manufactured foods increases while fiber and vegetable intake often decreases.
Second-generation individuals may restrict traditional foods to holidays or family gatherings.
Summarize dietary laws followed by major world religions
Christianity: Varies (Lent fasts for Catholics; lacto-ovo vegetarianism for Adventists; no caffeine for Mormons).
Judaism: Kashrut laws forbid pork, shellfish, and mixing meat and dairy; blood must be drained from meat.
Islam: Halal (permitted) vs. Haram (forbidden); no pork or alcohol; requires ritual slaughter.
Hinduism/Buddhism: Frequently vegetarian due to the principle of ahimsa (non-violence); Hindus avoid beef.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FOOD
Maslow’s Hierarchy: Food and nutrition are ranked at the same level as air as basic necessities of life. Unlike air, food provides more than physical sustenance.
Multidimensional Meaning: Food is loaded with personal, social, and cultural meanings that define values, beliefs, and customs.
Art and Science: Nutrition involves balancing wants with needs and pleasure with health to nourish the body, mind, and soul.
Culture Defined: The total way of life of a population at a given time. It defines:
How food is handled, prepared, and consumed.
What is considered edible and safe.
Relationship between food and health.
AMERICAN CUISINE AND FAFH
Melting Pot Nature: American cuisine melds globe-spanning cuisines (e.g., Tex-Mex wontons). Inventions like Russian dressing and chili con carne are uniquely American.
Food Away From Home (FAFH):
Accounts for over 40\% of total food spending.
Provides approximately \frac{1}{3} (33\%) of total calorie intake for adults over 20.
FAFH contains on average 200-300 more calories per meal than home-prepared equivalents.
Generally higher in calorie density, sodium, and fried components compared to home meals.
Strategies for Healthy Dining:
Familiarize yourself with nutritional terminology to avoid hidden fats.
Balanced remaining meals for the day around the FAFH meal.
Use portion control methods.
BODY IMAGE AND CULTURE
U.S. Perceptions: Thinness is equated with beauty, status, and health. Obesity is often viewed as a character flaw.
Cultural Variations: African, Mexican, Native American, and Pacific Islander traditions often view being overweight as a sign of health, beauty, and prosperity.
Historical Views: Historically, thinness was a risk factor for poor health or poverty.
DIETARY ACCULTURATION
Definitions:
Acculturation: Adopting dominant culture beliefs/behaviors.
Dietary Acculturation: Adopting the eating patterns of the host country.
Generational Progress:
First-Generation: Adheres closely to native patterns.
Second-Generation: Often limits traditional foods to special occasions/holidays.
Children: Adopt new habits quickly through peer influence at school.
Nutritional Impact: Linked to increased chronic disease risk. Breakfast and lunch change before dinner.
Counseling Recommendations: Focus on portion control and substituting low-sodium/low-fat versions of traditional ingredients (e.g., light soy sauce) rather than elimination.
Inclusion over Exclusion: Do not tell a patient to stop eating their traditional foods.
Modifications: Recommend brown rice instead of white, or using vegetable oil instead of lard.
CULTURAL GROUPS IN THE U.S.
BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICANS
Soul Food: Staple items include corn products, biscuits, black-eyed peas, catfish, chitterlings, and ‘greens’. High in fat and sodium; low in potassium and calcium.
Health Beliefs:
Natural Illness: Caused by cold, dirt, or improper diet.
Unnatural Illness: Caused by witchcraft or social conflict.
Health Statistics: Highest morbidity/mortality from hypertension and heart disease. Adults are 66 cases per 1000 more likely to have diabetes than Whites.
HISPANIC OR LATINO AMERICANS
Mexican Subgroup: Traditionally low-fat, high-fiber (corn, beans, squash).
Acculturation impact: Shift toward flour tortillas over corn; increase in non-homemade meals and fast food.
Health Beliefs: Influence of Roman Catholicism; illness may be seen as ‘evil eye’ or divine punishment.
Health Statistics: Over 2x Type 2 diabetes risk. Life expectancy is longer than White Americans (84.1 years for women).
ASIAN AMERICANS
Traditional Diet: High in rice/wheat and vegetables; low dairy (common lactose intolerance); high sodium (soy sauce/preservation).
Health Beliefs (Chinese):
Yin & Yang: Balance of hot/cold energies.
Medicinal Foods: Eating fish eyes for vision.
Health Statistics: Lowest obesity prevalence. Diabetes risk occurs at lower BMI values (BMI < 25) due to visceral (abdominal) adiposity rather than peripheral fat.
FOOD AND RELIGION
CHRISTIANITY
Roman Catholic: Meat abstinence on Ash Wednesday/Fridays of Lent; fasting before communion.
Church of Latter-day Saints (Mormon): No alcohol, coffee, tea, or tobacco. Fasting once monthly.
Seventh-Day Adventist: Focus on lacto-ovo vegetarianism. Meals spaced 5-6 hours apart (no snacking).
JUDAISM (KASHRUT)
Allowed: Kosher mammals (split hoof/chews cud, e.g., cow, sheep), kosher birds, and fish with fins/scales (e.g., salmon).
Prohibited: Pig, carnivorous animals, shellfish, blood.
Mixing: Milk and meat cannot be combined or eaten together within a specific timeframe.
ISLAM (HALAL/HARAM)
Haram (Prohibited): Pork, alcohol, blood, decaying carcasses, carnivorous animals.
Halal (Permitted): Properly slaughtered animals. Food/health are viewed as acts of worship.
HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM
Hinduism: Aim for spiritual purity; cattle are sacred (no beef). Most are vegetarian (ahimsa).
Buddhism: Focus on non-harming; many are semi- or full vegetarians.
REVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Question 1: Which of the following religions does not encourage a vegetarian diet?
Answer: 2. Judaism (Judaism permits kosher meats; the others either mandate or strongly encourage vegetarian habits).
Question 2: Characteristics of a traditional Chinese diet:
Answer: 2, 3, 4 (Low in fat, high in sodium, extensive use of vegetables. It is specifically low in dairy).
Question 3: Best approach for an overweight woman from Mexico:
Answer: 2. Encourage more nutritious food choices (Focusing on appearance or strictly American foods is not culturally competent; emphasizing traditional fiber/grains is better).