Latin American Diet Pyramid
The Latin American Diet Pyramid, third in the conference series, represents a healthy, traditional Latin American diet. Variations of this diet have traditionally existed in parts of Latin America where cultivation of maize, potatoes, peanuts and dry beans occurred. The phrase "Traditional Latin American Diet" is used here as a shorthand for the traditional diets of these regions and peoples during two specific time periods that are historically associated with good health. The first period describes the dietary traditions of regions inhabited primarily by three high cultures of aboriginal Latin Americans: the Aztec, the Inca, and the Maya. The second period describes the dietary traditions that emerged following the arrival of Columbus, at about 1500, to the present time.

The Latin American Diet Pyramid is an educational guide to healthy eating that relies on familiar, inexpensive, tasty, healthy, and easy-to-prepare foods. It is a tradition-based diet that bridges the gaps between the cultural and scientific characteristics of food. It incorporates the foods, culinary traditions, practicalities of food availability, and sustainability of diets ranging throughout the vastness of Latin America.

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Common Foods of the Latin American Diet