Hello Slosid7,
Although diet among the poor in Mexico is not a varied one,
pellagra (Niacin, a B vitamin, deficiency) and kwashiorkor (protein
deficiency) are avoided by eating beans with the maize tortillas.
?Although maize can supply the minimum daily caloric requirement for
humans, alone this grain is a poor source of the essential amino acids
lysine and tryptophan. A diet in which maize predominates can lead to
serious deficiency diseases such as pellagra and kwashiorkor. The
traditional Mexican diet based on maize as a staple avoids such health
consequences by two means: 1) complementarity with Phaseolus bean,
also an essential component of the traditional diet (together these
two products provide an amino acid profile similar to that of milk),
and 2) pre-processing of maize grain in an alkali bath, resulting in
greater availability of niacin that is otherwise bound and
unavailable. It is thought that this alkali treatment was originally
devised to separate the fruit case (pericarp) of maize kernels from
the endosperm to produce hominy, a step preceding grinding, with the
original alkali being wood ashes or slaked lime.?
http://maize.agron.iastate.edu/maizearticle.html
?It is interesting to note that pellagra (niacin deficiency), which
used to be common among populations that ate highly refined cereals
combined with a low protein intake, did not occur in countries like
Mexico, where the population was also mainly dependent on maize as
their staple food. The disease was relatively common among the black
population of South Africa, which subsisted on sifted, white maize
meal.
The reason for this is that the indigenous population of Mexico has
always made tortillas by soaking the maize in limewater. The soaking
process liberates the tryptophan (an amino acid) in the maize and
makes it available for niacin production in the human body.?
http://www.health24.com/dietnfood/You_are_what_you_eat/15-49-1283,26691.asp
?In poor rural Mexican communities, 80-85% of the population consumes
a diet based on maize tortillas, beans, green vegetables, and fruit.
In the typical Mexican rural diet, <64% of the total energy comes from
carbohydrates, maize provides 40% of the total protein and 45% of the
energy, and the intake of meat, fish, and poultry is very low. This
type of diet is associated with poor iron bioavailability, anemia, and
deficiencies of iron and other micronutrients. In rural Mexico, iron
deficiency affects 10-70% of individuals in different age and
population groups, although iron intake overall is higher than
recommended.?
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0887/is_9_22/ai_108879736
?Another Mexican study used magnesium supplements to see if they could
improve glucose control in diabetics. The results were encouraging:
subjects who took magnesium supplements improved their fasting glucose
levels and other symptoms of diabetes.
Effects of magnesium deficiency
Anyone with a magnesium deficiency, but particularly diabetics, are
exposed to the following risks:
· As magnesium is essential for normal carbohydrate metabolism and
energy production, a magnesium deficiency will aggravate insulin
resistance.
· Magnesium deficiency is also linked to high blood pressure,
irregular heartbeats (when such irregular heart beats are serious in
nature they are called cardiac arrhythmias) and other manifestations
of heart disease.
· Magnesium deficiency may also worsen retinopathy (deterioration of
the eyes), which is common in diabetes.
The problem with such a magnesium deficiency is that diabetes will
aggravate the deficiency, which will in turn aggravate the diabetic
condition, thus creating a vicious cycle.
Diabetics also lose more magnesium via the kidneys when they excrete
glucose in the urine and because insulin promotes such urinary
losses.?
http://www.health24.com/dietnfood/General/15-742-775,31268.asp
? A study examining the diet of Mexican-origin migrants found that
61.2% of the diets were deficient in Vitamin A; 30.6% deficient in
Vitamin C; 57.1% deficient in calcium, and 42.8% deficient in
Riboflavin.
? Although studies have shown that migrant parents understand the
importance of a balanced diet for their children, a lack of money
prohibited them from providing such diets. Poor dental health,
obesity, diabetes, anemia and cardiovascular disease are among the
most common nutrition-related health problems found in migrants of
Mexican descent.26?
http://www.ncfh.org/docs/fs-MATERNAL%20FACT%20SHEET.pdf
Vitamin A deficiency:
"The severity of the effects of vitamin A deficiency is inversely
related to age. Growth retardation is a common sign in children.
Inadequate intake or utilization of vitamin A can cause impaired dark
adaptation and night blindness; xerosis of the conjunctiva and cornea;
xerophthalmia and keratomalacia; keratinization of lung, GI tract, and
urinary tract epithelia; increased susceptibility to infections; and
sometimes death. Follicular hyperkeratosis of the skin is common."
http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/section1/chapter3/3b.jsp
?MATERIAL AND METHODS: The NNS-1999 was conducted on a national
probabilistic sample of almost 18 000 households, representative of
the national, regional, as well as urban and rural levels in Mexico.
Subjects included were children <12 years and women 12-49 years.
Anthropometry, blood specimens, diet and socioeconomic information of
the family were collected.
RESULTS: The principal public nutrition problems are stunting in
children < 5 years of age; anemia, iron and zinc deficiency, and low
serum vitamin C concentrations at all ages; and vitamin A deficiency
in children. Undernutrition (stunting and micronutrient deficiencies)
was generally more prevalent in the lower socioeconomic groups, in
rural areas, in the south and in Indigenous population. Overweight and
obesity are serious public health problems in women and are already a
concern in school-age children.
CONCLUSIONS: A number of programs aimed at preventing undernutrition
are currently in progress; several of them were designed or modified
as a result of the NNS-1999 findings. Most of them have an evaluation
component that will inform adjustments or modifications of their
design and implementation. However, little is being done for the
prevention and control of overweight and obesity and there is limited
experience on effective interventions. The design and evaluation of
prevention strategies for controlling obesity in the population, based
on existing evidence, is urgently needed and success stories should be
brought to scale quickly to maximize impact. The English version of
this paper is available too at: http://www.insp.mx/salud/index.html
http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0036-36342003001000013
?About 40% of Mexican children in rural areas had deficient values of
plasma-vitamin A Ê(Rosado, 1995).?
http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org/PHARMACEUTICAL_BUSINESS/health_movement_against_codex/health_movement20.htm
Another serious nutritional deficiency common in Mexico, and
throughout rural Latin America is folic acid (folate) deficiency,
especially in pregnant women. Mexico leads the world in numbers of
babies born with cleft palate, largely due to folic acid deficiency.
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/mor_cle_pal_wit_cle_lip
Additional articles about nutritional deficiencies in Mexico
http://www.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/129/2/531S
http://www.fao.org/es/ESN/nutrition/mex-e.stm
http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=854&flag=report
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0841/is_n2_v31/ai_18269327
Cleft Palate
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cleftlipandpalate.html
I hope this answers your question!
Sincerely, Crabcakes
Search Terms
=============
deficient diet + rural Mexico
deficient diet + poor Mexico
vitamin deficiencies + rural Mexico
nutritional deficiencies + rural Mexico |
