TRANSCULTURAL FOOD

FUNCTIONS,BELIEFS, and
PRACTICES

-MADELEINE MENINGER

Presented by: Jeanrose B. Sangcom

 Transcultural nursing view, food remains essential for
human growth, health and cultural survival.

Food has long as been used as powerful means to establish
and maintain relationships with individuals and groups. It
can make people physically better and psychologically
good, but food also has many cultural and social functions.

Food has always had multiple functions and uses with its
special symbols and meanings in different cultures. Such as
knowledge is extremely important for nurses to learn so
they can provide culturally acceptable, congruent, and
beneficial nursing care.
 THE NURSES ROLE IN NUTRITION USES

Most important role of the nurse is to take an active role in helping clients
maintain a favorable nutritional status within their culture.
The nurse as a primary care provider is in a unique position to helps client
establish and maintain good health through food uses daily and throughout the
cycle.
The nurse should also understand the uses of foods for ceremonial purposes at
birth, marriage, religious events and death as it makes a different in
communicating with and helping individuals and groups of specific cultures.
Transcultural nursing requires that nurses learn about cultural explanations
such as the hot-cold theory to provide effective ways to use these foods with
professional health care practices.
In General, the nurse needs to know that cultural foods are powerful means to
facilitate family relationship, communication, well-being, and illness conditions.
 UNIVERSAL FUNCTIONS AND
USES OF
FOOD
1. FOOD FOR BIOPHYSICAL NEEDS
2. FOOD FOR HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
3. FOOD TO ASSESS INTERPERSONAL DISTANCES
4. FOOD TO COPE WITH STRESS AND CONFLICT
5. FOOD FOR REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS
6. FOOD TO INFLUENCE STATUS
7. FOOD TO THREAT AND PREVENT ILLNESS
 FOOD FOR BIOPHYSICAL NEEDS
Foods provides energy for humans to keep well, grow, work, communicate
with others and socialize.

Transculturally there still exist considerably variability among different
cultures regarding what constitutes the essential or basic nutritional
needs of human beings in different ecological settings.
Bogan has identified some essential nutrients for human evolution.
How nutrients are used depends on the taste and how foods are
produced, processed and prepared for consumption
How food nutrients metabolized in the body and used varies
transculturally.
Nutritionists and physical and cultural anthropologists have discovered
that cultures tend to require different amounts of food depending on their
biological, genetic, social, cultural and ecological factors.
NONWESTEN TROPIC AFRICA

KWASHIORKOR
MARASMUS
 FOOD FOR HUMAN
RELATIONSHIPS

Food is a universal means to link and maintain
relationships for communicating ideas among individuals
family members, groups, and human organizations.
Food is a symbol to indicate special social and cultural
patterns and to test or maintain relationships.
Food are also important to unite people and/or to initiate
and maintain cultural beliefs and values.
WESTERN NONWESTER MIDDLE EASTERN AND PACIFIC STRICT OBSERVANCE
COUNTRIES N ISLANDS CULTURES (SACRED RELIGIOUS
SIGNIFICANCE)
BEVERAGE HARVEST SPECIAL BIRTH CEREMONY 1.Jews observe 24hrs.
BREAKS FOOD Male fasting. All pig products are

DINNER
FESTIVAL

CELEBRATIO BIRTH

Infants fathers brother holds
the male infant and places
small, soft particles of garden
taboo as are fish without fins
and scales, and only hooved
animals that chewed and cut
NS/ CEREMONI food. and have been ritually can be
POTLUCK ES Female eaten.
FEAST Food is given for her future work Milk and meat dishes must
role in the garden. never be mixed at the same
RITES OF meal.
PASSAGE 2.Muslim fast of Ramadan is
observed 9month of lunar year.
Food and drinks are also
taboo between sunset and
dawn.
Halal foods
3.Life cycle initiation rites in
Papua New Guinea.
The boy expected to
observe to strict food taboos
by not eating eel and
 FOOD TO ASSESS
INTERPERSONAL
DISTANCE
Universally, foods are often used to determine extend of friendship
or distrust between individuals, families, or groups.
Transculturally and universally, food use often reflects the social
stratification of society and indicates which persons are to be
respected or held in positions of higher authority or status.
Often , stratified cultures with castes, classes, gender and
hierarchies determine who gets what foods and how the foods can
be used by particular stratuses.
Food also becomes a powerful means for regulating social and
political controls and maintaining cultural norms and rules of
behavior.
 Example of ethnonursing field study with the Gadsup of New Guinea

I began my field research as a complete stranger to the Gadsup of New Guinea and
enter their world as a white, single woman. Initially the people perceived me as a
potential sorceress or a stranger that can harm them. They distrusted me and
watched me carefully until I became a friend. During the first weeks, a few village
men and women brought me small amounts of withered, dry, and scrubby looking
sweet potatoes, fruits, and greens. They will cautiously give me the food and quickly
leave. The food was of poor quality and reflected that they distrusted me and,
therefore, did not want to give their best foods to unknown stranger or sorceress.
Later, as the villagers get know me (about 2 nd mos.), they began to bring me better
quality fruits and vegetables and occasionally, fresh foods from distant places. By
the end of the first year the Gadsup brought me a lot of pineapple, vegetables and
even rare foods that they have obtained by walking nearly 20miles. So, as I become
their friend, the quality of food markedly improved and the quantity increase.
 FOOD TO COPE WITH STRESS AND CONFLICT

In many cultures in the world, foods and diet patterns are used to
relieve anxiety, tensions, and interpersonal conflicts or frustrations
related to work at home, at the office, or in daily living.
 WESTERN NONWESTERN

Rely on eating to relieve their stress such People relieved their anxieties by
as Anglo Americans, Europeans, activities such as running, hunting,
Canadians and Australians

Tend to eat or nibble on food or drink to
relieve their anger, frustrations, or
fighting, or being aggressive at political
and cultural gatherings.
Vegetables and daily outside activities
anxieties. Smoking
In some Western Cultures individuals
handle their anxieties and tensions by
avoiding eating. They are often
depressed and have low self esteem.
The mental health condition of Anorexia
Nervosa and Bulimia exist.
Foods such as sweets and drinks are
commonly used in U.S by adults and
children to handle anger, emotional
frustrations, and disappointments.
smoking
 FOOD FOR REWARDS AND
PUNISHMENT

In most cultures in the world there are norms and practices of
the ways and children rewarded, punished , or receive positive
or negative sanctions with food.
Foods have long been used by humans to regulate cultural and
social behaviors that they want rewarded , maintained and
curtailed.
 ANGLO AMERICAN CHILDEN GADSUP CHILDREN

Rewarded for good behavior with Rewarded for desired cultural

all kinds of sweets, candies,
sugared cereals, drinks and
behavior with non refined foods
such as vegetables, nuts, taro,
cookies. fruits, fish or forest meats.
 FOOD TO INFLUENCE STATUS

Transculturally, food has great economic importance and
political uses, and these two aspects are closely interrelated.
Food has been used to build political alliances with people and
for economic gains.
Politically and economically, food can reaffirm and sustain
traditional power ties and establish new power alliances.
Sometimes, foods has been used to test the strength of
alliances.
 NON WESTERN GADSUP WESTERN COUNTRIES

Spend a lot of time getting some of Gift giving occurs to promote positive
their choicest foods for their true and relationships and to win over new
trusted political friends to maintain
good ties.
Get choice of foods for enemies to
political and social friends.

prevent further hostilities, accusations

of sorcery, or to reestablish favorable
political relationships.
AFRICA

Thousands of people have died of hunger

as a result of war, political feuds,
economic greed, and poor distribution of
foods.
 FOOD TO TREAT AND
PREVENT
ILLNESS
Practically all cultures today still rely on both folk (generic) and
professional caring and curing of illnesses.
Folk practitioners often use symbolic figures and foods to assess
the health or Illness status of their people.
Cultures know what foods people should eat and why some
foods should be rejected because of certain physical illnesses
and sociocultural conditions.
Transculturally, food is also used to explain why certain Illnesses
occur or condition exist. Food is used to predict illnesses,
reasons, and consequences for both professional western non
Western folk diviners and healers.


Food is the medium to diagnose cultural factors that can initiate or
aggravate biophysical and other and other Illnesses.
Food products are often used by folk diagnostics to warn people of
potentially unfavorable sociocultural relations with friends or
strangers in a culture.
Food is important to prevent and cure certain Illnesses such as
hypertension, diabetes mellitus, peptic Ulcers, coronary disease,
aging, and other conditions or disorders.
 GENETIC FOOD THEORIES and USES

Hot and Cold Theory
Foods beverages, and medicines remain classified as hot and cold
by many people in these cultures to prevent and treat Illness.

Yin Yang Theory

 CULTURAL PREFERENCES

Cultures have specific preferences and dislikes, which can make a
difference in caring for clients of difference cultures whether they
reside, the nurse assess these foods and their nutritional values
within the clients health need to provide culturally congruent care.

Transcultural nurses need to know what cultural foods should be

served and what clients will eat and need.
 AFRICAN AMERICANS MEXICANS AMERICANS NATIVE MEXICANS

Vegetables, greens, pork, Beans, chicken, chili Fresh fruits, berries, corn,
legumes, chicken,
cornbread and souls.
peppers, tomatoes,
onions, quash, and
beans, squash, wild
greens, root foods, and
herbal teas, especially game meats.
chamomile teas.
Hot breads are fried and
boiled foods.
 ENVIRONMENTAL
INFLUENCES

Geographic environments and climates generally determine
which foods will be raised, sold and used and which can be
relied on for daily health maintenance or restorative process.

The climate soil, amount of rainfall, seasonal plants and animals,

available technologies, and human resources in any ecosystem
greatly influence food values and uses overtime in cultures.
 GENETIC FACTORS

Nutritional anthropologists, biologists, geneticists, and
biochemists continue to study these factors.

Cultures have found some imported new foods brought into

their areas can aggravate and/or threaten the health of the
people.