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The Juxtaposition of Comiendo Bien and Nutrition: THE STATE OF HEALTHY EATING FOR LATINA IMMIGRANTS IN SAN FRANCISCO.

Airín D Martínez
Published in: Food, culture, & society (2015)
There warrants a discussion regarding how nutrition discourses transform lay health practices. Here, I discuss how the adaptation of nutrition discourses among Latina immigrants in San Francisco produces a negotiation between a discourse of nourishment and a discourse of satisfaction in their practice of comiendo bien (eating well). The discourse of satisfaction refers to eating as a way to fulfill symbolic, material or embodied desires, while a discourse of nourishment focuses on supplying the body with nutrients. Negotiating between these discourses transforms comiendo bien if: (1) Latino immigrant families have the resources to adhere to nutritional recommendations; and (2) the adherence to the nutritional recommendation transgresses a negative emotional or physical experience. Appropriating nutrition discourses produces food restrictions that disengage the body from culture and relegate eating to an alienated task. Although a nutritional approach to comiendo bien produces conflict between satisfaction and nourishment, "healthy eating" remains a juxtaposition between satisfaction and nourishment.
Keyphrases
  • physical activity
  • weight loss
  • healthcare
  • primary care
  • mental health
  • public health
  • metabolic syndrome
  • heavy metals
  • type diabetes
  • health information