Hispanics and diabetes

     The presence of diabetes in the Hispanic population is higher than most other ethnic groups, ranking #3 overall highest rates. The only two groups above Hispanics are #2 non-Hispanic Blacks and #1 Native Americans/Alaskan natives. The prevalence of diabetes in these groups is due to a combination of both genetics and diets. A staple food item in the Mexican culture is corn, it comes in many different dishes and even alone as its own item. Genetics makes a big part of the equation as being genetically predisposed to diabetes obviously makes it a whole lot more possible for an individual to get diabetes. A study from 1991 called Origins of U.S. Hispanics explored the genetic origins of the Hispanics of the U.S..

The graph above shows the genetic makeup of a sample size of Hispanics in the U.S.. The article went on to say that the genetics of the Hispanic population always had a majority origin in Spain. Black origins are seen in all three Hispanic groups. American Indian was observed in all three Hispanic groups as well and this genetic origin is what the article focused on the most. The article highlighted that the American Indians have a genetic history of higher diseases meaning that the presence of diabetes in the Hispanic groups is to be expected at least 22.3% of the time. The 22.3% is an average of the presence of the American Indian in all three Hispanic groups. On average out of 100 Hispanics in the U.S. there would be about 22 people with diabetes. As stated earlier the highest rates of diabetes is the Native Americans so this figure reflects what was previously mentioned.

The fact that the Hispanic population is #3 in the U.S. to have the highest rates of diabetes can be attributed to the genetics of 22.3% but that isn't really the case. Yes genetics does have an impact on the rates of diabetes but that alone doesn't account for the reality of the matter. A study by the CDC in the year 2002 found that the percentage of diabetes ranged from 6.3% in Illinois and up to 9.3% in Puerto Rico. the reason for the higher rates in Puerto Rico was attributed to diet. As Mexican myself I am very acquainted to the cuisine of my people. Mexicans have a variety of different dishes with different proteins and carbs but there is one that always makes its way onto the table and that would be the tortilla. 

   

The tortilla is a staple of the Mexican diet and found in nearly any dish you can think of in Mexican cuisine. The two images above are of a Mexican cook book and the second image is of a Mexican restaurant menu and the majority of the items seen have a tortilla in one shape or form. The tortilla is made of corn meaning that the majority of the time a Mexican diet consists of corn. The food items shown above either have tortilla, corn, or would be eaten with a tortilla. Corn is a starchy vegetable and eating so much of it causes your body to constantly release insulin into your blood stream which if taken to extremes will result in type II diabetes. Even the street food has corn in it, one of our favorite street foods is just a head of corn on a stick. In Mexican cuisine corn is present in one shape or form.

The people i chose to interview for this project were my sister and my mom. My mother has type II diabetes and has had it for over 12 years now. She said that the adjustment was difficult because the diagnosis was so sudden. My mother still finds it hard to adjust her diet because corn is so engrained into the Mexican diet so off the bat my mom lost about 90% of the foods she loves and grew up eating. My sister is the primary person that watches what she eats because my mom cant read English so my sister has to read the labels for her. My sister has found it tough to keep up with the change in diet and to adjust to the restrictions that my mother has on her diet. The doctors told my mother she had diabetes because of her love for sweets and sugar which is also a big part of the Mexican diet, we have a plethora deserts and sweets that my mom loves to eat. Her genetics aren't what's at fault for the diabetes since her family doesn't have a history of it so her diet was the major contributor of it. 

Citations:

“Prevalence of Diabetes among Hispanics --- Selected Areas, 1998--2002.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5340a3.htm.

Hanis, Craig L, et al. “Origins of U.S. Hispanics: Implications for Diabetes.” Diabetes Care, vol. 14, no. 7, 1991, pp. 618–627., https://doi.org/10.2337/diacare.14.7.618.