High risk nutritional behavoir among cultures

Document Type:Essay

Subject Area:Cultural Studies

Document 1

Something that is influenced by the culture they live in and the history behind a certain culture. In the African culture it is a taboo to eat some certain foods while others are only supposed to be eaten at certain times in a person’s life, a certain season or because of a certain event for example childbirth. Generally, the eating habits that a person develops are in direct relation to their psychological, social as well as biological aspects that are obtained from tradition family and culture that a person grows in. the habits are picked up at the infancy stage of life and goes on to mature with a person adolescence and finally adulthood. (Cambridge. This is because of the fact that these families most of them have grown in insecure neighbourhoods and therefore staying indoors is the safest bet for them.

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Recipes are passed down from generation to generation and therefore not much difference is present in feeding patterns. The foods that most of the Africans Americans consume are fried and mostly includes sauces and gravies that may contain high calorie content because of the oils used to cook them. A traditional African American diet included collard greens and vegetables that are rich in the green colour and yellow in some cases as well as legumes, beans, rice and potatoes. These diets generally have a high concentration of vitamin A, fibre and iron. For example, when there is a wedding or a funeral. The birth of a child and other ceremonies. For instance, during the time when slavery was still being practised, it was the norm for people to gather after work to bond and tell stories over a meal.

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The same scenario is observed in most households on a Sunday afternoon. Some foods are also believed to have a medicinal value like the yellow root tea which is believed to lower the blood sugar and cure other illnesses. (Brodie et. Al 2000) The history of nutrition among the Mexican people were shaped by the flavours that the food and drinks prepared brought out as well as their beliefs and material life. Most of the foods that the Mexicans consumed were brought about because of the crops they planted. Therefore, they consumed mainly what was readily available. The foods grown included maize, beans and squash on their irrigated lands. Another factor that has affected the nutrition of the Mexican people is the aspect of acculturation.

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(Marcotullio, 2000). This is where immigrants or people get to change and adapt their lifestyle in line with the new culture they are exposed to. The Mexicans have to some extent absorbed other cultures that are close to them and in the long run this has affected their nutrition and feeding patterns. A greater emphasis has been placed on the consumption of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. The Asian culture has more than one people in it includes the Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indians and Pakistanis. These people have come up with their own cuisines known to them by their ethnicity through the interaction they have had in history with the environment and other cultures. (Gonzalez et. Al. However, the major civilisations still have had a role to play because of the dietary pressure they have exerted.

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Al. 2017) Because of the lactose intolerance milk consumption is almost a foreign thing in this culture and the acceptance of nutritional supplements are not easily accepted. Although this diet pattern may seem inadequate it is actually adequate this can be attributed to the fact that these people only consume the most nutritious parts of plant or animals which in some other areas are thrown away as waste. The Asian cultures have shown a higher rate of lifestyle diseases especially obesity. Along with obesity diabetes type 2, hypertension and heart disease are exhibited as well. It is a well-known fact all over the world that Muslims do not consume pork because of their religion. The slaughter of animals if not done bay a Muslim, another Muslim will not consume that meat Also Hindus do not consume cows because they believe it to be sacred also a good number of Hindus are vegetarians for the same religious reasons.

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When it comes to China, Taoism which is a belief that food is the way of life. Therefore, this culture considers food to have medicinal properties and all foods are classified along these lines. For example, the eggplant is believed to have a cooling effect on blood and as such it is highly recommended to people suffering from high blood pressure. https://eds-a-ebscohost-com. lopes. idm. oclc. org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=d3e4ad0d-f9bd-4acf-b112-afc74ede05be%40sessionmgr4008&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=105865483&db=ccm 3. E. , Blendon, R. J. , Benson, J. M. , Wang-Letzkus, M. , Flores, K. F. , Allen, K. M. , Phillippi, S. , & Tseng, T. S. Peer Reviewed: Role of Age and Acculturation in Diet Quality Among Mexican Americans—Findings From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999–2012.

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