NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -
While it can be hard for
low-income families to afford fresh fruits and vegetables,
disadvantaged Hispanic women tend to have healthier diets than
their white and African-American counterparts, a study
suggests.

Researchers found that among 603 mothers of children in
Head Start programs in Alabama and Texas, diets tended to be
too low in important nutrients. But Hispanic mothers did
generally get more fruits and vegetables than white and
African-American mothers did, and a lower percentage of their
daily calories came from fat.

On average, the study found, Hispanic women consumed what
health experts consider an adequate amount of fruits and
vegetables — 4.6 cups per day, based on detailed dietary
questionnaires.

In contrast, white and black women averaged between 2 and 3
cups per day, the researchers report in the Journal of the
American Dietetic Association.

The findings, they say, show that it is possible for
low-income families to fit more healthy fare into their
budgets.

“You see a lot of people on the news say you can't have a
healthy diet on a low income,” said lead researcher Dr. Sharon
L. Hoerr, a professor of food science and nutrition at Michigan
State University in East Lansing.

“This refutes the idea that it's impossible,” she told
Reuters Health.

Instead, Hoerr said, many low-income families need
education on how to find relatively inexpensive healthy foods.

The Hispanic women in her team's study were likely buying
more fruits and vegetables because they were following the
traditional diets of their culture, which tend to be higher in
beans, grains and produce than the typical U.S. diet.

So these women probably “prioritized” fruits and
vegetables, Hoerr explained, and found ways to buy them on a
budget. They are unlikely, for instance, to be buying
often-pricey items like fresh berries, but instead opting for
cheaper produce that goes a long way.

Buying from farmers' market vendors, or choosing canned or
frozen vegetables over fresh, are some less expensive ways to
get healthy foods into the family diet. But many families need
to learn these strategies, according to Hoerr.

There are some education programs aimed at this, she noted,
such as those linked with the government's Food Stamp and WIC
programs.

“Those are the types of programs we need more of,” Hoerr
said.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Dietetic Association, April
2008.