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Say Mexican food and many people have images of fried foods, smothered in cheese, with plenty of sour cream. It's delicious food, but not considered particularly healthy cuisine that fights diseases. Two professors in the San Francisco Bay Area, however, believe traditional, indigenous food from Mexico (available before the Spanish colonists arrived) is misunderstood and is actually among the world's healthiest foods.
It all started when Luz Calvo, Professor of Ethnic Studies at Cal State East Bay, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006. Her research led her to discover that Mexican women have some of the world's lowest breast cancer rates. And that immigrant Latinas had lower breast cancer rates than non-immigrant Latinas.
She began researching early Mexican foods extensively with her partner Catriona Rueda Esquibel, associate professor in Race and Resistance Studies at San Francisco State University.
Together, they have written Decolonize Your Diet: Plant-Based Mexican-American Recipes for Health and Healing. The cookbook combines ancient wisdom with modern-day conveniences, using lesser-known ingredients such as jicama, nopales and chayotes in creative ways. But it's more than that.
The book is also a well-researched love letter to all the abuelas(grandmothers) out there, who have kept alive these culinary traditions for thousands of years. Recently, Luz spoke with me about traditional Mesoamerican cuisine, and how returning to these culinary roots can improve many people's health and wellbeing. (Don't miss the recipe at the end!)
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Researching traditional Mesoamerican cuisine became very important for you, Luz, after your breast cancer diagnosis. What were some of the most surprising things you learned?
I was quite concerned that one day my cancer would return, so I turned to research to learn about cancer-fighting foods. I found that there are so many phytochemicals in foods that help the body fight cancer. For example, anthocyanins (found in blueberries and both blue and purple corn) have powerful anticarcinogenic properties. Mesoamerican peoples grew many different kinds and colors of corn.
From reading the research, I became convinced of the importance of recovering the rich biodiversity of foods and learning about the potential of phytochemicals to prevent disease and increase my own chance of living a long life. Of course, I'm careful to explain that I am not advocating treating cancer exclusively with food, but there is no doubt in my mind that eating a plant-rich diet can help prevent many diseases.
Research citation - APA Wang, L.-S., & Stoner, G. D. (2008). Anthocyanins and their role in cancer prevention. Cancer Letters, 269(2), 281-290.
Tell us about the Latina/o Immigrant Paradox. How did this information influence your research?
Public health scholars have published hundreds of studies that prove recent immigrants from Mexico arrive in overall good health. These immigrants have low rates of overall mortality and incredibly low rates of infant mortality. Unfortunately, this good health declines after living in the United States for a long time, and the next generation (those born here) have the same poor health as others of similar socio-economic status in the US.
The Latino/a Immigrant Paradox led us to look carefully at the health knowledge and practices that immigrants bring with them - especially knowledge about food, recipes, remedios (home remedies), and so forth. The Latino/a Immigrant Paradox is powerful, because it shows that one does not need to be rich to have good health. But one does need to be connected to ancestral knowledge and culture. Sadly, because of racism in the US, this ancestral Mexican knowledge is neither recognized nor valued.
Purslane, or verdolaga in Spanish
How did pre-colonist Mexican cuisine differ from what many of us consider Mexican food today?
Well, today's Mexican restaurant food often features beef, pork, cheese, sour cream and white flour. Many dishes are fried or cooked in oil. Pre-colonist cuisine was entirely gluten-free, dairy-free, and meat and fish were used sparingly, as a condiment.
Food was not fried, but was instead boiled, steamed or cooked on a comal (a clay griddle). Nixtamalized corn was the basis of the diet, supplemented with beans and squash.
Editor's note: more about nixtamalized corn from Mother Earth News.
In addition, Mesoamerican people ate a wide array of wild greens. The nahuatl word for edible wild greens is quelitl. When the Spaniards arrived the word changed to quelite. Quelites are still foraged in communities both in the US and Mexico. Some of these prized foraged greens are lamb's quarters, purslane and watercress, but also include lesser-known greens such as romeritos and huazontles.
How can today's Latinas/os return to their cultures' food roots for physical and spiritual connection?
We encourage young Latinxs to engage their oldest relatives in conversations about the old ways to try to recover family knowledge and traditions. Sometimes, our elders don't know the value of their knowledge. They think the old ways are no longer useful now that there are supermarkets, fast food restaurants and Western doctors.
We should engage our elders in these conversations and value their knowledge. There is something very powerful about realizing that the tamales we eat today have been passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years. This is just one example among many of indigenous knowledge that has been kept alive via family recipes. Cooking traditional foods is a way to honor our ancestors.
Nopales || Photo by: Dot Polka.
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In partnership with UC Food Observer: The UC Food Observer is your daily serving of must-read news from the world of food, curated by the University of California. Follow on Twitter.
