Carmen is a 55-year-old Colombian woman who moved to the United States five years ago to help her oldest daughter take care of her new baby. Carmen was raised by her mother and grandmother, both of whom were great cooks. Carmen was a little overweight. This felt normal to her because everyone in her family carried a little extra weight.

Not long ago, Carmen's doctor told her she has type 2 diabetes. According to her doctor, Carmen's eating habits that included American fast foods, fried foods, and excessive sweets had raised her blood sugar to unhealthy levels. Carmen immediately gave up eating fast foods and fried foods, but as a precaution also stopped eating all of the Latin dishes she loved, like arepas con chicharrón. She even stopped cooking many of the tasty traditional foods she used to make.

Carmen has since learned that she does not have to abandon the Latin foods she loves in order to control her disease. Thanks to information from a campaign focused on making Hispanics and Latinos aware of what making healthy food choices includes, she is now able to include many traditional dishes in her diet and at the same time control her diabetes. Carmen used information and recipes from the National Diabetes Education Program's nutritional campaign, Más que comida, es vida (It's more than food, it's life.).

The National Diabetes Education Program's nutritional campaign, Más que comida, es vida (It's more than food, it's life.), has materials available in both Spanish and English to help Hispanics and Latinos control the serious complications of diabetes without giving up the traditional foods they love.

This campaign provides resources for dietitians, diabetes educators and people who want to manage their diabetes but don't want to sacrifice their cultural identity. Más que comida, es vida. addresses diabetes control and prevention through a better understanding of planning and preparing meals and making healthy food choices. It helps the Hispanic and Latin community deal with the cultural barriers of adopting a tasty but nutritional diet.

The campaign features a recipe booklet, Ricas recetas para personas con diabetes y sus familiares (Tasty Recipes for People with Diabetes and Their Families), which contains food ideas specifically designed for the Latin American palate. The recipe booklet is an updated version of the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) Meal Planner, one of NDEP's most popular bilingual publications.

Among the delicious and healthy recipes now included in the booklet are Spanish omelet (Tortilla española), Beef or Turkey Stew (Carne guisada de res o pavo), Caribbean Red Snapper (Pargo rojo caribeño), Two Cheese Pizza (Pizza de dos quesos), and Avocado Tacos (Tacos de aguacate).

In addition to the recipe booklet, other campaign components include a poster and print ads available in Spanish and English. Like Carmen, perhaps you are a Hispanic/Latino with diabetes or have a family member, neighbor, friend or co-worker who could benefit from the recipes and other valuable information contained in the recipe booklet.

For a free copy of these materials or to download them online visit the National Diabetes Education Program. You can also call 1-888-693-NDEP to request copies; shipping and handling charges will apply. The call is toll-free and confidential.

• Diabetes (in English or en español)
• Eat Right, Diabetes and Me
• Movimiento por su vida, National Diabetes Education Program

• Page last reviewed: February 16, 2009
• Page last updated: February 16, 2009
• Content source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion,, Diabetes Public Health Resource
• Page maintained by: National Center for Health Marketing, Division of eHealth Marketing
• URL for this page: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/DiabetesAndLatinos/