New Hispanic Nutrition Guidelines Promote Healthy Eating

A Californian nutrition council has published guidelines for Hispanic consumers in an effort to encourage good nutrition amongst the nation's most unhealthy population, reports a FoodNavigator-USA.com article.

The nutrition information, published by the Dairy Council of California, places strong, but not exclusive, emphasis on dairy products.

The group announced that its Web site, MealsMatter.org, will provide nutritional tips in Spanish as well as English, to cater for the nation's growing Hispanic population.

"Latin foods are full of flavor, and making simple changes to traditional recipes will significantly improve the nutrition content of the dishes. Cooking with low-fat milk and reduced-fat cheeses keeps the flavor while eliminating extra fat," said Monica Montes of the Dairy Council of California.

Other suggestions include baking or grilling meats and vegetables instead of frying them, or serving kids low-fat milk instead of soda to boost nutrients and help eliminate extra sugar in their diets.

Indeed, with the buying power of Latinos last year totaling $768 billion, the growing importance of this consumer segment has resulted in a stream of new foods and flavors appearing on the U.S. market, designed specifically to appeal to Hispanic tastes.

And this consumer group is only set to grow further.

According to estimates by Hispanic Telligence, based on an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis figures, the Hispanic purchasing power between 1994 and 2004 revealed a compound annual growth rate of 7.7 percent — nearly three times the 2.8 percent total U.S. rate of disposable income.

But Hispanics are twice as likely as Caucasian Americans to develop diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. Two million Hispanics currently suffer from diabetes, while over 60 percent are classed as overweight.

This "genetic predisposition" to health has prompted a number of nutrition groups to encourage good eating habits designed specifically for this segment of the population.

One nutrition organization, the Latino Nutrition Coalition (LNC), recognized the need for separate guidelines for this group as early as 1996, when it established a dietary pyramid for Latinos.

Set up by nutrition advocacy group Oldways and sister group to the Whole Grains Council, the LNC this year introduced a booklet designed to back up the pyramid, which was based on the concept of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's original model of a dietary pyramid.

Available in supermarkets, the guide provides visual and easy-to-understand dietary guidelines and also recommends certain product brands belonging to members of the coalition when these fit in with the diet plan.