Beans, teas and cheeses pass muster in science's quest for taste, nutrition
By Bruce Lieberman
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 16, 2005
HOWARD LIPIN / Union-Tribune
Chemists say Mexican-style cheeses can contain less fat and lower levels of lactic acids, a boon for people who are lactose-intolerant. Angel Morales
used cheese in many of the dishes he prepared at Casa Guadalajara in Old Town yesterday.
Erin Kinsley loves Mexican food so much she eats it three to four times a week, so the idea that its ingredients might fight cancer, heart disease and
diabetes is a bonus.
Dining recently at Casa Guadalajara in Old Town, Kinsley admitted that she hadn't given much thought to all of the chemistry brewing in her
enchiladas.
But chemists worldwide are busy placing beans, cheeses, hot peppers and even margaritas under the microscope. Gathering in San Diego to discuss their
work, they spoke yesterday of a goal to make a healthier diet for millions of Americans while still appealing to their taste buds.
Make no mistake: All the nutritious beans in the world won't make up for limiting fat intake and exercising a generous dose of portion control.
"If you order flour tortillas, which is made with lard, and a giant soda and chips and deep-fried ice cream, what do you expect?" said Filberto Horta,
the manager of Casa Guadalajara.
Hispanic food ? from Mexican tacos, burritos and quesadillas to cuisine from Central and South America ? includes some of the most nutritious
ingredients known. In labs throughout the Americas, food chemists are finding out just how healthy they can be.
Their findings, presented at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, might spur people to try some new items. Among the discoveries:
South American varieties of wild beans have higher levels of disease-fighting antioxidants than common varieties grown in the United States. Crossing
the wild varieties with agriculturally successful ones could yield more nutritious bean crops.
Mat? tea, widely consumed in South America and known for its energy-boosting properties, contains higher levels of antioxidants than green tea. In
addition, levels of polyphenols ? anti-cancer compounds that include flavonoids ? in Mat? tea dwarf amounts found in other types.
Mexican-style cheeses, fresher than many aged varieties such as cheddar, can contain less fat and lower levels of lactic acids. That's potentially
welcome news for people who are lactose-intolerant.
Americans' evolving taste buds may make room for candies offering nutrients from cranberries, mango, kiwi and other antioxidant-rich fruits. These
confections already are popular throughout Latin America.
Why give Hispanic food such scrutiny? Because it's nearly impossible to overstate our ever-expanding love for it.
Americans spent nearly $4.4 billion on Hispanic foods and beverages last year, and the market is projected to exceed $7 billion by 2009, according to
Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com.
With or without newly realized health benefits, Kinsley said she's not about to abandon her carne asada tacos and chicken quesadillas.
"We'd eat it anyway, but it's not going to hurt if it's healthy," she said.
By 2050, 24 percent of the nation's population ? 102.3 million of 419.9 million ? is projected to be of Hispanic origin, according to the U.S. Census
Bureau. In 2000, 12.6 percent were of Hispanic descent.
Those statistics resonate with Michael H. Tunick, a research chemist at the U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture who studies the chemical content
of Mexican-style cheeses.
As the number of Hispanic children in U.S. schools rises, Mexican-style cheeses such as cotija, queso blanco and reques?n will find their way onto
elementary, middle and high school menus.
By setting national standards for the cheeses, the USDA is paving the way for their acceptance by the National School Lunch Program, Tunick said.
Once that work is completed, food chemists will probably look next at how to reduce levels of fat in the cheeses, he said. A decade ago, Tunick helped
lower the fat of mozzarella used on pizzas sold in school cafeterias. His team was able to cut the fat content from 20 percent to 10 percent, he said.
American tastes will largely determine whether Hispanic foods become healthier, said Horta, the 37-year-old manager at Casa Guadalajara.
During the late 1990s, he recalled, a TV news report examined the fat content of food at several Mexican restaurants and found them ? well, not
exactly lacking.
In Old Town and elsewhere around San Diego County, Hispanic restaurants began to offer low-fat alternatives to the standard menu.
"That lasted a couple of years at most," Horta said.
The food Horta serves at his restaurant can be a far cry from the healthier fare that people eat south of the border.
To illustrate his point, he gave this example:
A chile relleno at his restaurant begins with a peeled pepper fried in oil and stuffed with white cheese. Next, it's basted in butter and coated with
a mixture of flour and egg. Then it's submerged in a fryer again. The chile relleno, partnered with rice and beans, is finally smothered in melted
cheese and sauce.
In his kitchen at home, Horta merely burns the pepper ? no oil ? and adds a little cheese and maybe tuna or chicken, basting it in a light broth.
"But if I made that in the restaurant, people wouldn't buy it," he said.
The result is that Hispanic food sold in grocery stores and served in restaurants has gotten a reputation as being unhealthy ? despite the appetite
people have for it, Horta said.
Don't count the Kinsleys among those who worry about such things.
John Kinsley, Erin's father, said he relishes the feeling he gets when he walks into a good Mexican restaurant and knows he can order a chicken 14
different ways.
What saddens him, he said, is that he's met people back east who have never bitten into a taco.
"It just boggles the mind," he said.
Bruce R Leech - 3-16-2005 at 11:42 AM
OK I guess I will keep eating my Burritos.Dave - 3-16-2005 at 11:46 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by elgatoloco
What saddens him, he said, is that he's met people back east who have never bitten into a taco.
Don't they have Taco Bells back there?
look carefully
Sharksbaja - 3-16-2005 at 01:06 PM
It is nice to hear some positive news regarding to possibility of enriching the diet of our children and ourselves.
We should look carefully at what is happening to developing countries worldwide.
As economies grow so does the import of westernized type food products. Just take a look at the ingredients at almost any mass produced product made
here in America. You will notice many strange additives and chemicals designed to keep the product stable and edible. It is not just the package of
tortillas. Its damn near everything now that contains these additives.
From restaurants to school lunches, businesses and retailers alike receive and deploy the same stuff. It comes mainly in big #10 cans or large plastic
bags or tubs. However it is wrapped or packaged the processors have managed to take all the wholesomeness out and put new crap back in. While the
over-processed food is edible, it is probably doing very little for your health. As processors manage to squeeze out all the nutrients so as to keep
it from spoiling they end up delivering food with empty calories with no health benefit except maybe protein and salt.
I fear Mexico may follow suit. After examining many ingredient labels in Mexico Iam convinced of two things.
First. The (exclusively) Mexican companies
add less garbage to their packaged, processed food.
Second. Merxicans are not interested in all the ready-made meals that so many lazy Americans eat so much of.
To that end, maybe the big food processors that set up shop worldwide will stop short of saturating Mexico with worthless food products. I doubt it.
The global changes in not only food habits but also the availability of big corp. products makes it open season all over the planet now. It is
amazing to me that something as basic as cheese becomes news if the fat is reduced. Good grief! Don't be fooled, just cause that item has lower fat
content does not mean it is any better for you.
Example.... canned refried beans in the US contain various amounts of fat depending on what you want. In Mexico, refried beans are traditionally made
with lard and choices usually are not available.
So whats better? Probably the US beans. I use the word "probably" loosely because with almost any processed food comes the loss or lack thereof of
wholesomeness.
Vitamins of which many are heat sensitive become an additive later in manufacturing the final product.
What people are consuming and not benefiting from, are all the carbs(sugars) and fats and salt that make these product taste edible. Salt is not good
in excess or anything else for that matter.
Here is my point......
the consumer finds more and more processed food choices at the store and less and less "quality" packaged items.
Our schools are really needing an overhaul in their cafeterias. If you ever saw how they do it, out of cans, it would blow your mind. Just like the
hospitals only they hold the salt. Food chemists can figure out whats in there just to figure a way to take it out. I dont believe......
Quote:
"But if I made that in the restaurant, people wouldn't buy it," he said.
it's called conditioning, ask the Japanese at the local McDonalds
