The Latino Nutrition Coalition (LNC) is an Oldways' educational program inspiring Latinos to improve and maintain their health through traditional foods and active lifestyles. The LNC was originated in 2005 by Oldways.

The LNC creates practical, culturally-aware materials in English and Spanish that help Latinos combine the best of their healthy food traditions with the realities of modern American life. Examples of these materials include the Latin American Diet Pyramid and the Camino Mágico Supermarket Guide.

The Camino Mágico, is modeled on public education programs proven successful in helping consumers modify their habits. It invites Latinos to embrace the Camino Mágico, the "magic road" to a healthier and longer life.

Camino Mágico's key elements include consumer education, media outreach, member solicitation and communication, and government relations. Oldways convened two Latino scientific conferences in El Paso TX in 1996 and Mexico City in 2005 to investigate Latino eating patterns and habits and to consider what kinds of consumer education programs would be most effective in modifying unhealthy eating and drinking habits. To read the consensus statements of these events, click here.

Why do we need the Latino Nutrition Coalition?
Latino culture is one of the world's great cultures, with its own distinct history, food and traditions. The traditional Latin-American diet offers an array of delicious, healthy foods. Yet Latino Americans suffer disproportionately from many food-related health problems, including obesity and diabetes. When people migrate and leave their traditional diets behind, the two common epidemic manifestations of food switching, obesity and diabetes, commonly appear.

Latinos residing in the US are faced with different food choices and activity levels than those to which their genetic makeup is accustomed. In response to this, Oldways has developed the Latin American Diet pyramid based upon eating patterns and dietary traditions of the Latin American peoples, and the Latino Nutrition Coalition (LNC).

Latino Health Facts:

• Latino Americans are the second-largest and the fastest-growing minority group in the US. There are over 30 million Hispanics in the US, making up more than 12% of the population (US Census Bureau). By the year 2050, an estimated 97 million Hispanics will constitute 25 percent of the US population.
• Latinos have the fastest-growing waistlines of any group in the US. Obesity rates for Hispanics in the US doubled between 1991 and 2001, rising from 11.6% to 23.7% (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion).
• In 2000, of the 30 million Latinos in the US, about 2 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, about 10.2 percent of all Latinos in America. On average, Latino Americans are almost twice as likely to have diabetes than whites of similar age.