Multicultural Resources for Contemporary Diet and Nutrition. Part III

• Religious or ethnic food pattern are strong influence in people diet.  Certain religions fallow rules of consumption of food and drinks.  Many religious people do not eat pork, drink alcohol, and practice fasting (Religion and Dietary Practices , 2013).  Ethnic food pattern can be beneficial for health or luck of nutrition, for example Hispanic food low on calcium, vitamin A, iron, and high in fat (Ethnic Food Patterns, 2011). 

• Ethnicity and race may affect food choice and food availability in the United States stores.  Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the University of Michigan, examined the differences in the availability of foods in Baltimore City stores.  Researchers found that 43% of black neighborhoods and 46% of lower-income neighborhoods fell under the category of low availability of healthy foods versus 4% and 13% then white and higher-income neighborhoods (Food Availability Could Depend On Where You Live, 2009)
• In some cases, ethnic and racial diversity in America may contribute to nutritional deficiency due to the reduced fresh food availability in impoverished areas.  For example, 90% of ethnic population low on Omega 3, 80% on dietary copper, and 50% on fiber.  Asian, Africa, and Indian Americans women are low on vitamin A, zinc, and calcium then Caucasian women (Ethnic Traditions, 2011).    

Resources:

Ethnic Food Patterns. (2011, May). Retrieved November 16, 2013, from Utah Department of Health: http://health.utah.gov/wic/pdf/forms_and_modules/Staff_Training_Modules/Basic%20Nutrition/basic%20nutrition%20module%205.11_files/Page684.htm

This website educates about basic nutritional module and can be helpful to health professionals and their patients (Ethnic Food Patterns, 2011).

Food Availability Could Depend On Where You Live. (2009, February 27). Retrieved November 16, 2013, from Science Daily: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090225132520.htm

This site is a good source of the latest researches on health, earth, animals and more (Food Availability Could Depend On Where You Live, 2009).

Ethnic Traditions. (2011, November 17). Retrieved November 16, 2013, from The World's healthiest Food: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=specialneed&dbid=11#nutrientneeds

This website is a good source of information on healthy food to eat and cook (Ethnic Traditions, 2011).

Religion and Dietary Practices . (2013). Retrieved November 16, 2013, from FAQS: http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/Pre-Sma/Religion-and-Dietary-Practices.html

This article from the on-line library talks about religious believe of food, fasting, and health benefits and risks of specific practices (Religion and Dietary Practices , 2013).