Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 251 views

    Mexican Food and Culture Fact Sheet

    Uploaded by

    Princess Villasis Bacia
    This document provides an overview of traditional Mexican foods, culture, and health practices. It describes staple foods like beans, rice, chiles and fruits that are commonly eaten. Holidays are often accompanied by special foods like pan de muerto for Dia de los Muertos and tamales for Posadas. Traditional diets tend to be plant-based but Mexican Americans now consume more meat, fat and fewer beans/rice due to American influences. Religion and herbal remedies also play an important role in Mexican health traditions.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Mexican Food and Culture Fact Sheet

    Uploaded by

    Princess Villasis Bacia
    251 views3 pages
    This document provides an overview of traditional Mexican foods, culture, and health practices. It describes staple foods like beans, rice, chiles and fruits that are commonly eaten. Holidays are often accompanied by special foods like pan de muerto for Dia de los Muertos and tamales for Posadas. Traditional diets tend to be plant-based but Mexican Americans now consume more meat, fat and fewer beans/rice due to American influences. Religion and herbal remedies also play an important role in Mexican health traditions.

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    This document provides an overview of traditional Mexican foods, culture, and health practices. It describes staple foods like beans, rice, chiles and fruits that are commonly eaten. Holidays are often accompanied by special foods like pan de muerto for Dia de los Muertos and tamales for Posadas. Traditional diets tend to be plant-based but Mexican Americans now consume more meat, fat and fewer beans/rice due to American influences. Religion and herbal remedies also play an important role in Mexican health traditions.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    251 views3 pages

    Mexican Food and Culture Fact Sheet

    Uploaded by

    Princess Villasis Bacia
    This document provides an overview of traditional Mexican foods, culture, and health practices. It describes staple foods like beans, rice, chiles and fruits that are commonly eaten. Holidays are often accompanied by special foods like pan de muerto for Dia de los Muertos and tamales for Posadas. Traditional diets tend to be plant-based but Mexican Americans now consume more meat, fat and fewer beans/rice due to American influences. Religion and herbal remedies also play an important role in Mexican health traditions.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

    Mexican

    Food and Culture Fact Sheet


    Tradi4onal Foods and Dishes Staple foods include: tomatoes, squash, avocado,
    cocoa, vanilla, tor4llas, tamales, beans, rice, bread, mango pineapple, papaya, sweet potato,
    beans, eggs, poultry, fish, chorizo [spicy pork sausage], and aguas natuales [fresh fruit
    blended with sugar and water] 1,2
    Día de los Meuertos
    •  Special holiday to celebrate loved ones who have passed away. 3
    •  Families provide ofrenda [offering] which include four elements: water, wind, earth, and
    fire. Earth, is represented through food, such as pan de muerto [tradi4onal bread]. 3,4

    The na4onal dish is red mole [sauce]. 5

    Posadas [Christmas- 4me par4es]


    Party foods include buñuelos [fried pastries with sugar] colación [candies], tamales, ponche
    [hot fruit bunch] and atole [warm, milk based beverage, flavored with chocolate, fruit or
    nuts and thickened with masa (corn flour)] 4,6

    Dia de los reyes [Day of Kings] – rosca [ring shaped bread] is shared6
    Cuaresma [Lent] – Fas4ng period, and meatless meals of Ash Wednesday and Fridays
    during lent 6

    The majority of Mexicans are Roman Catholic. Religion typically plays a major
    role in their family, community, and diet. 2
    Tradi4onal Ea4ng Pa[erns:
    Tradi4onally, Mexicans ate four-five meals. Now, three meals per day is most typical.2,6

    •  Desayuno (Breakfast) includes coffee, pan dulce (sweet rolls), tor4llas, beans, and
    occasionally huevos rancheros [eggs] 2

    •  Comida (Lunch) main meal of the day (1-3 pm) typically a soup, meat dish, rice, tor4lla,
    coffee and dessert 2

    •  Sena (Supper) Light meal eaten a^er 9 pm 2

    • Families gather at meals to build a sense of togetherness. The women in the family typically
    prepare the meal. 5
    • Rice is usually served first before the main meal. 6
    • Chiles are a common main ingredient in tradi4onal Mexican meals 6
    Tradi4onal Health Beliefs:
    Religion plays a major role in tradi4onal health beliefs and serves as a mo4vator and support
    for seeking medical advice. 6Herbal and folk remedies are o^en used for self treatment. 6

    Typical home remedies include drinks, tea, and ointments 6


    For example: self-remedies believed to lower blood sugar 6
    Guarubmo, chancarro, hormiguillo [tree leaves boiled for tea]
    Maguey [agave plant]
    Napales, nopoalitos [prickly pear cactus]
    Sábila [aloe vera]
    Gatuno [Cat’s claw]

    Curanderos- Folk healers or prac44oners 6


    • Treat a variety of physical, mental, and spiritual burdens 6

    When a person becomes ill 6


    • The mother decides when an illness is beyond her ability to treat
    • Family is involved in the decision making process
    • Families usually seek help from curandero before consul4ng a Western Medicine health
    care provider

    Current Food Prac4ces:


    • Tradi4onal Mexican diets are typically limited in added fat and high in fruits and vegetables
    and current Mexican American diets are o^en high in fat and inadequate in fruits and
    vegetables 7
    • Tradi4onal diet is high in grains and legumes 8

    Food choices are influenced by income, educa4on, urbaniza4on, geographic


    region, and family customs 2
    •  Due to American accultura4on, Mexican Americans eat less rice and beans 2
    • Mexicans in the US eat more meat and saturated fat 2

    Mexican Americans comprise 12 percent of those living below the poverty line 2
    • May have need for cheaper less healthy foods due to poverty 2
    • Mexican Americans tend to lead a more sedentary lifestyle 8
    • The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is two to three 4mes higher in Hispanic Americans,
    and notably high in Mexican Americans.8
    References

    1.  Tradi4onal mexican cuisine - ancestral, ongoing community culture, the


    michoacán paradigm. UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Web site.
    h[ps://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/tradi4onal-mexican-cuisine-ancestral-
    ongoing-community-culture-the-michoacan-paradigm-00400.Accessed
    Feb 2, 2018.

    2.  Cultural diversity: Ea4ng in america—mexican-american. Ohio State


    University Extension Web site. h[ps://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/
    HYG-5255. Updated 2010. Accessed Feb 2, 2018.

    3.  Anderson M. 5 facts about día de los muertos (the day of the dead).
    Smithsonian Insider Web site. h[p://insider.si.edu/2016/10/5-facts-dia-
    de-los-muertos-day-dead/. Updated 2016. Accessed Feb 2, 2018.

    4.  Pan de muertos recipe. Houston Ins4tute for Culture Web site. h[p://
    www.houstonculture.org/mexico/pan.html. Accessed Feb 2, 2018.

    5.  Early KB, Brzezinski E. Mexican american food prac4ces. In: Goody CM,
    Drago L. Cultural Food PracEces. United States of America: American
    Diete4c Associa4on; 2010:42-51.

    6.  Saldaña SJ, Felix G. Orale! food and iden4fy amongst la4nos. Ins4tute for
    La4no Studies University of Norte Dame Web site. h[ps://
    la4nostudies.nd.edu/assets/95357/original/studentbrief6.4.pdf. Updated
    2011. Accessed Feb 2, 2018.

    7.  Ar4nian NT, Schim SM, Vander Wal JS, Nies MA. Ea4ng pa[erns and
    cardiovascular disease risk in a detroit mexican american popula4on.
    Public Health Nurs. 2004;21(5):425-434.doi: 10.1111/j.
    0737-1209.2004.21506.x.

    8.  Hispanics and la4nos, diet of. Internet FAQ Archives Web site. h[p://
    www.faqs.org/nutri4on/Hea-Irr/Hispanics-and-La4nos-Diet-of.html.
    Accessed Feb 2, 2018.

    You might also like