Diversifying MyPlate Series: Q&A on Culturally Sensitive Approaches in Nutrition

“All foods fit” is a common approach to a healthy and balanced eating pattern. However, due to a lack of representation of diverse foods as examples of healthy eating, and a gap in culturally sensitive nutrition guidance, many can be left feeling like their foods don’t exactly fit. In the nutrition field, there is a growing awareness of the importance of addressing this; in fact, the recently updated 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans put an emphasis on meeting dietary recommendations while keeping cultural preferences in mind. We asked Registered Dietitians (RD) Nazima Qureshi, Carlie Saint-Laurent Beaucejour, Sarika Shah and Michelle Jaelin to share their expertise for culturally sensitive approaches to nutrition in our Diversifying MyPlate Series. This series highlights how healthy eating can take on many different forms outside of the typical Western diet; it also emphasizes how diets from other cultures can align with nutrition recommendations in resources such as USDA’s MyPlate. This Q&A concludes our series on diversifying MyPlate and offers advice for how registered dietitians can integrate culturally sensitive approaches into their own practices. Q: How do you define a culturally sensitive approach to nutrition and dietetics, and why is this important? How do you integrate this into the work that you do? Nazima Qureshi, RD: A culturally sensitive approach to nutrition and dietetics is one that includes the client’s food preferences, traditions, and current cultural context. It is important to incorporate an understanding of their culture in order to provide recommendations that are relevant and sustainable. Culture isn’t just limited to ethnicity but also includes a person’s family traditions, as well as their lived experience; understanding this makes nutrition recommendations more personalized. I integrate this approach into the work I do by asking a lot of questions in my initial nutrition assessment and tailoring recommendations to […]

article

Diversifying MyPlate: Gujarati Indian Cuisine

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and its associated MyPlate graphic are commonly referenced resources for learning about healthy and nutritious eating. The recently-updated 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans put a stronger focus on meeting dietary recommendations while keeping cultural preferences in mind, and resources highlighting culturally inclusive approaches are valuable tools for translating the general messages of MyPlate and the Dietary Guidelines to more Americans. This article is part of a series that shows how healthy eating can take on many different forms outside of the Western diet. While for many, meals might not exactly resemble MyPlate, the featured guest authors will demonstrate what healthy eating looks like in their culture, and how many of the food groups and principles can translate across cultures and cuisines. Each article in this series is written by a registered dietitian who is experienced in integrating culturally inclusive approaches into their work. About the Author Hi, I am Sarika Shah. As a registered dietitian, I have practiced for 20 years in multiple sectors. Having been raised in an Indian household, I understood the difference between my Western education and ethnic diets. I am able to use my knowledge of my patients’ food, culture and tradition to help them find healthy eating patterns that are in their comfort zone. I am a dietitian to most; but to my Indian patients, I am their dietitian. For any generation of Indians in America, there is so much confusion about whether the Indian diet is healthy or not. Understandably, many believe they need to give up traditional foods to be “healthy.” Fundamentally, I am a firm believer that we should not deprive ourselves of any food, especially our cultural foods. My practicing philosophy is to incorporate the foods we love into our daily lives with awareness, education and […]

article

Diversifying MyPlate: Latin American Cuisine

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and its associated MyPlate graphic are commonly referenced resources for learning about healthy and nutritious eating. The recently-updated 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans put a stronger focus on meeting dietary recommendations while keeping cultural preferences in mind, and resources highlighting culturally inclusive approaches are valuable tools for translating the general messages of MyPlate and the Dietary Guidelines to more Americans. This article is part of a series that shows how healthy eating can take on many different forms outside of the Western diet. While for many, meals might not exactly resemble MyPlate, the featured guest authors will demonstrate what healthy eating looks like in their culture, and how many of the food groups and principles can translate across cultures and cuisines. Each article in this series is written by a registered dietitian who is experienced in integrating culturally inclusive approaches into their work. About the Author My name is Krista Linares, and I’m a registered dietitian of Cuban and Mexican descent. In my private practice, I help Latina women navigate conditions like polycystic ovarian syndrome and type 2 diabetes while centering and celebrating cultural foods. To share a little bit about my background, both of my parents immigrated to the U.S. from Latin American countries, but I grew up in the Midwest. Because of this, I often felt like food was the main way for me to understand and learn about my heritage. When I became a dietitian, this connection was at the front of my mind, and I wanted to provide space for other Latinas to bring our food culture along with them as they work to improve their health. What Is Latin American Food? Latin American food has many different influences, including indigenous, Spanish, and African foodways. Additionally, Latin American food has a […]

article

Diversifying MyPlate: North American Indigenous Cuisine

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and its associated MyPlate graphic are commonly referenced resources for learning about healthy and nutritious eating. The recently-updated 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans put a stronger focus on meeting dietary recommendations while keeping cultural preferences in mind, and resources highlighting culturally inclusive approaches are valuable tools for translating the general messages of MyPlate and the Dietary Guidelines to more Americans. This article is part of a series that shows how healthy eating can take on many different forms outside of the Western diet. While for many, meals might not exactly resemble MyPlate, the featured guest authors will demonstrate what healthy eating looks like in their culture, and how many of the food groups and principles can translate across cultures and cuisines. Each article in this series is written by a registered dietitian who is experienced in integrating culturally inclusive approaches into their work. About the Author My name is Sharon Swampy, and I am a registered dietitian with a First Nations Cree and Mexican background. I currently work in a clinic on a reservation, mostly providing 1:1 nutrition sessions with a focus on diabetes prevention and management, disordered eating, and intuitive eating. At times, I also work on some nutrition-focused community projects and food security initiatives. I grew up on a reservation called Maskwacis, and at the time, nutrition was not talked about much within Indigenous communities. Later on, I started to realize that there was a lack of representation of dietitians with an Indigenous background. This meant nutrition information was often shortsighted for Indigenous communities. Also, as someone who has struggled with an eating disorder in the past, I understood the impact that diet culture and its narrow views on health can have on our relationship with food. Growing up and not seeing people […]

article

Diversifying MyPlate: Haitian Cuisine

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and its associated MyPlate graphic are commonly referenced resources for learning about healthy and nutritious eating. The recently-updated 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans put a stronger focus on meeting dietary recommendations while keeping cultural preferences in mind, and resources highlighting culturally inclusive approaches are valuable tools for translating the general messages of MyPlate and the Dietary Guidelines to more Americans. This article is part of a series that shows how healthy eating can take on many different forms outside of the Western diet. While for many, meals might not exactly resemble MyPlate, the featured guest authors will demonstrate what healthy eating looks like in their culture, and how many of the food groups and principles can translate across cultures and cuisines. Each article in this series is written by a registered dietitian who is experienced in integrating culturally inclusive approaches into their work. About the Author My name is Carlie Saint-Laurent Beaucejour, a registered dietitian and Owner of Crave with Carlie LLC, a virtual nutrition counseling practice. I have a focus on women’s health, particularly Black women from Caribbean and American culture. As a Haitian-American woman born and raised on Long Island, who had no idea how much my parents’ culture and food would live through me, I have always had a love for food and how it brings people happiness and joy. I understand the battle my clients face with wanting to change their eating habits to better their health without losing their cultural food preferences, and I help to guide them in knowing it’s possible to incorporate both. The Connection between Haitian Food and Culture Food is a focal point of Haitian culture; it is how we show love, grieve and celebrate, and that has influenced my nutrition approach that all foods can […]

article

Diversifying MyPlate: South Asian Muslim Cuisine

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and its associated MyPlate graphic are commonly referenced resources for learning about healthy and nutritious eating. The recently-updated 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans put a stronger focus on meeting dietary recommendations while keeping cultural preferences in mind, and resources highlighting culturally inclusive approaches are valuable tools for translating the general messages of MyPlate and the Dietary Guidelines to more Americans. This article is part of a series that shows how healthy eating can take on many different forms outside of the Western diet. While for many, meals might not exactly resemble MyPlate, the featured guest authors will demonstrate what healthy eating looks like in their culture, and how many of the food groups and principles can translate across cultures and cuisines. Each article in this series is written by a registered dietitian who is experienced in integrating culturally inclusive approaches into their work. About the Author My name is Nazima Qureshi and I am a Registered Dietitian with a Masters of Public Health, as well as the co-founder of The Healthy Muslims. I primarily work with the Muslim community to help clients implement healthier lifestyle changes without giving up their cultural food. When it comes to my cultural identity, it is a bit of a mix. My parents are from India, I was born in Saudi Arabia and I came to Canada with my family when I was only a year old. I grew up eating my mom’s homecooked traditional South Asian food and we rarely ate out at restaurants. Another aspect of my cultural identity is my religion; I am Muslim, which means that I can only eat halal. Halal follows specific guidelines for how meat is slaughtered and also involves abstaining from alcohol and pork. Now that I am raising my own family […]

article

Diversifying MyPlate: Chinese Cuisine

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and their associated MyPlate graphic are commonly referenced resources for learning about healthy and nutritious eating. The recently updated 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans put a stronger focus on meeting dietary recommendations while keeping cultural preferences in mind, and resources highlighting culturally inclusive approaches are valuable tools for translating the general messages of MyPlate and the Dietary Guidelines to more Americans. This article is part of a series that shows how healthy eating can take on many different forms outside of the Western diet. The featured guest authors will demonstrate what healthy eating looks like in their culture and how many of the MyPlate food groups and principles can translate across varying cultures and world cuisines. Each article in this series is written by a registered dietitian who is experienced in integrating culturally inclusive approaches into their work. About the Author My name is Michelle Jaelin (in Traditional Chinese, 關靜嫻). I’m a TV-media and communications dietitian, and my main focus in dietetics is on Asian food and cultural nutrition. I’m of Chinese descent, my parents are from Hong Kong, and I am Canadian-born. Watching my English-as-a-second-language parents try to navigate and understand the healthcare system inspired me to focus on this area in dietetics. Given that traditional dietary guidelines are based on Euro-centric diets, I didn’t find the information out there inclusive enough to Asian Canadians and other ethnic groups. My cultural preference is on mainly the Chinese diet in North America. In China there are many diverse cuisines, eight of which are considered primary or “high” cuisines. This particular article emphasizes mostly cuisine from Guangdong province, a coastal province in South China that has evolved to become a part of American culture. The History of Chinese People and Cuisine in North America The Chinese […]

article

Does Your Plate Look Like MyPlate?: Results from the 2018 Food & Health Survey

As humans, we want to make sense of our decisions, habits and surroundings. And it’s clear we’re a well-intended group of people, with one-third of us adopting an eating pattern last year, most of them motivated by what they believe is best for their health. But there are some discrepancies between what we’re trying to do and what the outcome is. Our 2018 Food & Health Survey examined many different topics surrounding how Americans form beliefs and make decisions about food and nutrition. We’re going to dive into the results related to eating patterns—particularly, the diets people are following, why they’re following them and how they have (or have not) come to know and understand MyPlate. What’s in a Diet? One-third of people reported following a specific eating pattern, with intermittent fasting cited as the most popular option. Moreover, 16 percent of people reported following some type of low carb-related diet such as Paleo or keto. Reasons for adhering to these diets were fairly typical, the top one being that people wanted to lose weight, followed by wanting to feel better and to have more energy. Additionally, 77 percent surveyed were trying to reduce their sugar intake and 50 percent of that group tried to do so by eliminating soft drinks and candy. Maybe Not Mindfully Eating Though many people are trying to restrict their intake, they may not be implementing some additional healthy behaviors like mindful eating. Mindful eating involves awareness while eating, and it can help you slow down and tune in to your hunger so that you achieve a state of comfortable fullness after eating—not too hungry, but also not uncomfortably full. However, only about half of those surveyed say they stop eating when they’ve had enough but not too much, which means the other half are […]

article