Nov 30 2016

Cultural Food Practices

Cultural Food Practices

by Cynthia M. Goody, PhD, MBA, RD, and Lorena Drago, MS, RDN, CDN, CDE

This comprehensive practical guide provides information on food practices for 15 cultures.

American Indian
Alaska Native
African Americans
Mexican Americans
Central Americans
Caribbean Hispanics
South Americans
Asian Indian and Pakistani
Chinese Americans
Hmong Americans
Filipino Americans
Korean Americans
Cajun and Creole
Jewish
Islamic

Each chapter focuses on a particular culture, including such factors as diabetes risk factors; traditional foods, dishes and meal plans; special holiday foods; traditional health beliefs; current food practices, and more. Culturally appropriate counseling recommendations are also discussed. A list of common foods, including nutrient evaluations, is included for each culture. A CD-ROM including culturally-specific client education handouts round out the book.

Award Winner

The Cultural Food Practices received an EXCEL Award in 2010, receiving the Bronze Award in the Technical Book category. Judges looked for “Best writing, content, graphic design, photographs and overall packaging of a professional/technical book or textbook.”

View the Table of Contents

Lorena Drago, MS, RD, CDN, CDCES, is a registered dietitian, speaker, author, consultant and certified diabetes care and educator specialist.

Lorena specializes in the multicultural aspects of diabetes self-management education and is an expert in developing culturally and ethnically oriented nutrition and diabetes education materials. She founded, Hispanic Foodways which received the New York City Small Business Award in 2006. She developed the Nutriportion™ Measuring Cups that has the calorie and carbohydrate amounts of common foods embossed on each cup and the Nutriportion™ Hispanic Food Cards that have pictures and nutrition composition of common Hispanic foods.

Lorena served on the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists board of directors from 2006-2010, Chair for Latinos and Hispanics in Dietetics and Nutrition. She was Past President of the Metropolitan New York Association of Diabetes Educators in 2004. Lorena won the Diabetic Living People’s Choice Award in 2012, the Latinos & Hispanics in Dietetics and Nutrition Trinko Award in 2016, and the Diabetes Educator of the Year in 2022.

She is the author of the book Beyond Rice and Beans: The Caribbean Guide to Eating Well with Diabetes published by the American Diabetes Association. She is a contributing author and co-editor of the book Cultural Food Practices published by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the 15-Minute Consultation: Tips, Tools, and Activities to Make your Nutrition Counseling More Effective both published by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She serves on the editorial board of the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (ADCES) in Practice and is the food editor of Diabetes Self-Management magazine. Lorena is ADCES Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.

Lorena graduated cum laude from Hunter College of the City University of New York with a Master’s of Science degree in Food and Nutrition and received her Bachelor’s degree from Queens College.