Mex-Americans urged to cook like grandma

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PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 10 (UPI) -- People from Mexico who eat U.S. style tend to gain weight from the Western diet, so researchers are urging Mexican-Americans to cook like grandma.

Nangel Lindberg at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, in Portland, Ore., developed a year-long program to help 47 Mexican-American women return to a more traditional Mexican eating pattern that includes more fruits and vegetables, less sugar and a more balanced diet than the U.S. diet.

Women who completed the program lost about 16 pounds, Lindberg said.

"Eat the way your grandmother would tell you to eat," Lindberg advised. "Eat your vegetables, don't eat too much, don't eat too much sugar."

The study was published in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health.