Table of Contents
To my wife, Katarina, and children, Rex, Ryan and Olivia. With you always.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to the staff at Penguin Group. Their tremendous support is what inspires me to continue writing. I would especially like to thank my publisher, Raymond Garcia, who always makes sure I cross my ts and dot my is. Of course I could not have written this book alone; I had a lot of help, especially from all the wonderful chefs; they are a true collection of talent and grace. I also need to thank our great nutritionist, Kena Custage, for her wonderful analysis and advice. My words would have been lost if not for the help of Arlen Gargagliano, one of the best writers who truly understands the art of cooking.
Finally lets not forget the people who have contributed to, and continue to contribute to, my success: Roger Ailes, for being a true friend and for guiding me through his advice and making health an important part of FOX News. The staff at Hackensack University Medical Center; from physicians to nurses, the best in the world! To my inner circleHaydee Mato, Dr. Al-Khan, Mike Petriella, Mildred Espinosa. And of course my family in New Jersey and Floridathank you for keeping me out of trouble.
Most of all, I thank you, the reader. I hope that when you get through this book, you will be as enchanted as I have always been with the beauty of the Latin culture, its tradition, emotion, and of course, its salsa.
Always thinking of you,
Dr. Manny
INTRODUCTION
One of the reasons I came up with the Hot Latin Diet has a lot to do with being an ob-gyn for over thirty years. Throughout my career, Ive had hundreds of mommiesand soon-to-be-momscoming through my office door. What Ive noticed is that over the past few decades, moms have been gaining significant weight during their pregnancies, and then they havent lost that weightin fact, they have gotten heavier after just two years. Weve seen an epidemic of obesity in children and type 2 diabetes in females. The rules for pregnancy weight gain have had to change; we used to say gain twenty-five to thirty pounds during pregnancy, but today most moms start overweight, so these numbers have dropped to an average of twenty to twenty-five pounds. I try to help moms limit their excess weight gain, but this is tough. What this tells me is that weve gotten out of control with eating in this countryand that is true not just for women, but for all of us.
I am disturbed by the alarming growth (yes, literally!!) of the entire American population. The statistics speak for themselves: chronic diseases (cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes) are now among the most prevalent, costly, and preventable of all health problems, yet they affect the lives of more than 90 million Americans (not to mention the cost of health care); 1.7 million people die annually as a result of chronic disease, which translates into the deaths of seven out of ten people. And despite the fact that chronic diseases are perhaps the most common and costly of health problems, they are also among the most preventable. They can simply be prevented by what we put in our mouths.
In addition to studying the eating habits of people in the United States, I have also noticed that most families who immigrate from the Caribbean Basin and other points of Latin America are fit and trim when they arrive in the United States; however, if you look at this same community three years later, theyre usually overweight. Ive experienced this with patients time and time again. I know of one little girl, for example, who moved with her parents from the Dominican Republic. She arrived here at age twelve as a perfectly fit prepubescent teen. Now this girl is eighteen years old, and weighs three hundred pounds. What happened?
Well, what happened to this girl is indicative of what happens to so many of us in America: were bombarded by marketing that presents us with foods that we must have, when, in reality, theyre not the right choices; we live in a fast-paced society that discourages good habits and priorities like walking, exercising, and even relaxing, and most important, this fast-paced lifestyle has led to the desire for fast food, which doesnt just mean McDonalds anymore. Todays fast foods are also meal bars, on-the-go shakes, and prepackaged foods, which contain high levels of sodium and preservatives that wear down our muscle tissue, slow down our metabolism, make us gain weight, and may even shorten our life span.
We can look back not too long ago to see how weve all changed in terms of our relationship with food and fitness. When my parents were young, life was very different; their priorities and focuses were also differentfood was essential and respected, activity was part of work and daily life, and home cooking with natural ingredients was the norm. Today, our time is very limited and there has been a shift in priorities and goalswhile food is essential, its not so respected, activity is modest, and eating out or eating packaged meals has become the norm. What we need to do is return to the outlook that foodand activityis essential; this is the way we can eliminate the many fatalities caused by disease, increase our feeling of well-being and energy, and live a longer and better life. We need to get back to our parents approach!
Determined to address my patients weight issues and our countrys booming increase in preventable disease, and inspired by the positive things I saw growing up, I went back to examine my own culinary roots, and as a Cuban American, those of my Latino brethren. I was amazed to find high levels of life expectancy and low levels of obesity in a culture almost defined by its food. I was also surprised to find that many Miss Universe winners are actually of Latin American heritage the same winners who claim to never diet. I knew that there had to be an underlying common thread in our diet to explain this, and I was resolved to unearth the key ingredients and factors associated with this remarkably healthy lifestyle. After careful study, what I discovered became the backbone to this diet and the source of a healthy lifestyle:
The nutritional and antioxidant components found in the seven Latin powerfoods will help your body become strong and nourished. Incorporating these foods into your diet will also help you feel full while staying healthy. Youll quickly start to notice how you no longer feel heavy and sluggish after mealsinstead youll find that you have more energy than before! Overall, the three major benefits of these powerfoods are that they help your body:
function at an optimal level by flushing out the toxins from your cells, allowing them to operate more efficiently;
enhance metabolic function, speeding up weight loss;
boost key fat-burning vesselsadding strength, muscle mass, power, and stamina.
The Hot Latin Diet is the first plan to unveil the top seven Latin powerfoods, helping you to include them in your everyday life. This diet is built on the foundation of one of the most basic of Latin philosophies: Life must be enjoyed! Therefore, quality of life is a huge consideration in this diet. Of course, quality includes probably the most fundamental component: eating well. In fact, Im not going to tell you to take fat completely out of your diet; I cant live without my olive oiland a few others! (Okay, sometimes many others.... ) But I will say that its all about balance (and totally not about excess). This means great culinary varietywith depth of flavor, including plenty of spice (and Im not talking hot! Im talking taste!). Deprivation, unhappiness, and disappointmentespecially with oneselfdo not enter into this realm of thinking.