鈥淚f you had to choose between eating tacos every day or being skinny for the rest of your life, would you choose hard or soft tacos?鈥� This quote can be and Etsy, and, while it seems innocent enough, the implication is that tacos are tasty, yes鈥攂ut also unhealthy. When in fact, tacos can be a healthy food.

The idea that cultural foods (i.e., not Westernized cuisine) are not up to healthy standards and should be treated as 鈥渃heat鈥� meals is not regulated to Mexican foods. Many different cultures also believe the foods that they eat aren鈥檛 up to par. , a dietitian based in Trinidad and Tobago, says that people in her country regard Caribbean foods as unhealthy or bad, a result of misinformation about the cuisine. 鈥淚n the health and wellness spaces, we don鈥檛 see our foods represented, and if they are, maybe they鈥檙e on the 听鈥�red list鈥櫬爋f foods,鈥� Charles says. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 out there are foods that are 鈥�American鈥� or European, and we struggle to see how we fit into health spaces, and how to use our foods.鈥�

So, What Is a Healthy Food?

There tends to be a black-and-white mentality when it comes to eating healthy food, especially here in the States: some solely imagine whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables when they think of the phrase. While foods that are hailed as 鈥渉ealthy鈥� do provide much-needed nutrients for the body, oftentimes they conform to Western food standards, leaving other cultures feeling as though their foods are inferior. 鈥淚 often hear that our cultural food doesn鈥檛 have many vegetables and that many of our staple foods are unhealthy, like rice and corn,鈥� says , a Latina dietitian based in Los Angeles. 鈥淥ften people only count green leafy vegetables and overlook some of the other really healthy vegetable options we have in Latine food, or they think that vegetables have to be their own side dish to count.鈥�

This viewpoint disregards other aspects of eating that go beyond macro and micronutrients, including autonomy, culture, preference, ancestry, and variety. A between food and ethnic identity in a group of Mexican American women names food as an important part of culture and of cultural expression. , a dietitian based in Kansas City, Missouri, defines healthy eating based on what it is not: 鈥淚t鈥檚 not restrictive, punitive, or rigid,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not disrespectful or dismissive of individual needs, taste preferences, or cultural practices.鈥�

What Happens When You Label a Cuisine 鈥淯nhealthy鈥�

Framing a cultural food as 鈥渦nhealthy鈥� indicates at least a couple of assumptions: that health is the primary motivator for its consumption, and that the food would be more acceptable according to Western health standards if it were modified and improved. No matter what the intention, attempting to 鈥渋mprove鈥� and 鈥渉ealthify鈥� a culture鈥檚 food, especially when you are not of that culture, is troubling鈥攜ou are saying that you set the standard when it comes to health and healthful eating.

Take the decades-long misconception that MSG (monosodium glutamate), a flavor enhancer used in many different cuisines, is unhealthy and even toxic. This prevalent thought can be traced to a bad review of MSG from the 鈥�60s when a physician reported getting sick after eating Chinese food. This spiraled into a negative association with the cuisine and perpetuated racism against Asian Americans, even though there actually isn鈥檛 strong scientific evidence linking MSG consumption to the ingredient鈥檚 alleged side effects. (Once more, most of the glutamate we consume is found naturally in foods such as anchovies, parmesan cheese, tomatoes, potatoes, seaweed, and walnuts.) 鈥淚f you hear something enough times, you start to believe it,鈥� Harbstreet says. 鈥淚f you constantly hear that white rice is inferior, or that MSG is toxic, you eventually start internalizing that message.鈥�

There is room to add nutrients to cultural meals, but again, this doesn鈥檛 mean that the culture as a whole is 鈥渦nhealthy,鈥� or that even the dish needs to be completely altered. As a dietitian, I think there are ways to improve the nutrient density or nutrition composition of any recipe through different cooking techniques or ingredient swaps. Still, 鈥渋t鈥檚 important to have competency with cultural humility before ever attempting this, and is likely best done on an individual level,鈥� Harbstreet says.

Once more, when broadly labeling a cuisine as unhealthy, you also ignore wider systemic barriers that can contribute to health鈥攊t doesn鈥檛 only boil down to what we are eating. Factors such as safe housing, education, income, access to healthcare, and literacy skills, among others, also play a role in our overall health and quality of life.

How We Can Celebrate Culture

Recently, I attended a retreat in Tulum, Mexico, a destination with a vibrant history and amazing food. But instead of celebrating this, the retreat decided to 鈥渉ealthify鈥� the meals: corn tortillas were replaced with grain and seed bread; white rice was swapped for brown rice and beans. These changes weren鈥檛 listed as an option for allergies or intolerances鈥攖o me, it seemed like they were decided on because Mexican food was not considered nutritious and needed to be healthified.

We can start to undo this type of mentality by realizing that all food still provides nutrition, and that cultural foods aren鈥檛 inherently unhealthy or in need of fixing. 鈥淓mbracing your cultural foods is the greatest form of resistance against a society that鈥檚 constantly asking you to change how you eat and adopt other food cultures,鈥� Alexis Charles says. As an individual, you might want to focus on altering one or two ingredients or foods in a meal鈥攂ut this is vastly different than putting a culture as a whole in an unhealthy category.

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