Central Americans and Mexican... Health Article

Central American and Mexican Dishes

Beyond the basic staples, the cuisine of Mexico and Central America is rich with many regional variations. The tortilla-based Mexican preparations familiar in the United States are generally simpler in form in Mexico. Tacos are generally made with meat, chicken, or fish grilled or fried with seasoning and served on tortillas; enchiladas are filled tortillas dipped in a chile-based sauce and fried; and tostadas are fried tortillas topped with refried beans or meat, and sometimes with vegetables and cream. Chiles rellenos are made with the large and sweet chile poblano and filled with ground meat. Examples of specialty dishes include mole, a sauce made with chocolate, chile, and spices and served over chicken, beef, or enchiladas; and ceviche, raw marinated fish or seafood made along the coast throughout Central America and Mexico.

Nutritional Benefits

The staple diet of the region—corn and beans, supplemented with meat, dairy products, and local fruit and vegetables—is nutritionally complete and well suited to a healthful lifestyle. The proper combination of tortilla and beans provides an excellent complement of amino acids, thus supplying the necessary amount of complex protein. The process of liming the maize makes the calcium and the niacin in the tortilla more bioavailable, and this food is a major source of these nutrients. In addition, the traditional preparation of tortillas with a hand mill and grinding stones appears to add iron and zinc to the tortilla. Beans are excellent sources of B vitamins, magnesium, folate, and fiber. The tomato and chile-based salsas, along with several of the tropical fruits such as limes and oranges are important sources of vitamin C, and the variety of vegetables and yellow fruits such as papaya, melon, and mango provide excellent sources of carotenoids, which are precursors of vitamin A.

Nutritional Limitations

Unfortunately, limited financial access to this variety of foods for many people in Central America and Mexico means that the diet often does not include sufficient levels of vitamins and minerals. For low-income groups, lack of access to animal products contributes to deficiencies in iron, zinc, vitamin A, and other nutrients. When animal products are included, there has been a tendency to choose high-fat products such as sausage and fried pork rinds (chicharron). The use of lard and a preference for fried foods also contributes to high intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol among subsets of the population.

Influence of Central American and Mexican Culture

As two cultures intermingle, foods and preparations from each tend to infiltrate the other. This is clearly the case near the U.S.-Mexican border, where Mexican immigrants and return immigrants have incorporated foods from U.S. diets into their traditional diets. The result has been a modified form of Mexican cuisine popularly known as "Tex-Mex." Beyond the border, this Americanized version of popular Mexican foods has spread throughout the United States through the popularity of Mexican restaurants. In the United States, tacos and tostadas tend to have less Mexican seasoning, but include lettuce and shredded processed cheese. Flour, rather than corn, tortillas are more widely used along the border. Many foods, such as soups and chiles, prepared along the border have become known for their spicy hotness, due to the Mexican-influenced use of chiles and chile powder.

Changes in Dietary Practices

Throughout the world, the diets of traditional cultures have experienced what has been called the "nutrition transition," particularly during the last few decades of the twentieth century. In Mexico and Central America, as elsewhere, this transition has been fueled by globalization and urbanization. Major dietary changes include an increased use of animal products and processed foods that include large amounts of sugar, refined flour, and hydrogenated fats. At the same time, a decline in the intake of whole grains, fruit, and vegetables has been documented. While the increased variety has improved micronutrient status for many low-income groups, the inclusion of more animal fat and refined foods has contributed to a rapid increase in obesity and chronic disease throughout the region.

These changes are more evident among immigrants to the United States, where adoption of U.S. products has been shown to have both positive and negative impacts on nutritional status. Studies that compared diets of Mexican residents to newly arrived Mexican-American immigrants and to second-generation Mexican Americans have documented both nutritionally positive and negative changes with acculturation. On the positive side, acculturated Mexican Americans consume less lard and somewhat more fruit, vegetables, and milk than either newly arrived immigrants or Mexican residents. On the negative side, they also consume less tortilla, beans, soups, stews, gruels, and fruit-based drinks, with greater use of meat, sweetened ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, soft drinks, candy, cakes, ice cream, snack chips, and salad dressings.