Studying indigenous traditional foods to improve health in Amazonian communities

Traditional food consumption in the Amazonian indigenous communities is based on the collection of plant, animal, and fungal species from their local environment. However, this practice is progressively disappearing in indigenous communities due to the massive influx of hypercaloric and low nutritional value processed products. This situation not only affects the quality of the diet, but also weakens public health and accelerates the loss of ancestral food knowledge. This is warned by a study developed by the Institute of Research of the Peruvian Amazon (IIAP), which indicates that this change in eating habits can speed up a worrying increase in certain diseases such as anemia and obesity. The research, which was conducted in 60 communities of 17 indigenous peoples of Loreto, San Martín, Amazonas, Madre de Dios, and Ucayali, documented 407 records of indigenous foods, also known as Non-Conventional Food Products (PANC), with a marked predominance of plants and amphibians. Although ...