By: Ashmar Mandou

President and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health Jane Delgado, PhD, M.S., penned her latest book, “La Nueva Dieta Sin Trucos” to provide Latinos with the proper information to live a healthy lifestyle without gimmicks. “When I began my personal journey with weight loss I noticed there was scarce information about proper nutrition, proper healthcare, and realistic goals. Everything I read promised to give immediate results, provided all sorts of impractical diets, especially for the Hispanic community,” said Dr. Delgado. “There were so many conflicting reports that I felt it incumbent upon me to write “La Nueva Dieta Sin Trucos” for my Spanish-speaking community who are thirsty for information on how to feel great and tackle their weight issues in a healthy way.”

“La Nueva Dieta Sin Trucos” tackles more than just weight loss, Dr. Delgado’s delves into the psychological and cultural barriers that continue to prevent Latinos from living a healthier life. “We are finding more and more Latinos dependent on medicine, we have higher incidences of diabetes within our community and we have to realize that it is not a one-size fits all approach to healthcare,” said Dr. Delgado. “We face several challenges, such as lack of affordable health insurance, quality healthcare providers, high stress levels, tracking your own wellness, and again, outdated, conflicting information.” Dr. Delgado’s pursuit for a healthcare guide and self-help book was a labor of love to empower and equip the Latino Spanish-speaking community tools to focus on healthier choices in life.

Inspiration

As I began my own journey with weight loss I realized there were so many conflicting articles, reports, studies when it came to health. I felt fortunate because I knew what I had to do in order to make healthier decisions, but for the Latino community, especially within the Spanish-speaking community they lacked access to valuable information. There are an abundant amount of books promising rapid weight loss that are being marketed to the Latino community. It is reckless. As someone in the medical field it is also disheartening to see men and women make the wrong choice when it comes to their health based off these books. It was imperative that I write this book to provide solid, realistic steps to aid people in their journey.

Pressure

You will always feel pressure. Pressure within yourself, pressure from your friends and loved ones, pressure from society to lose weight and there is a danger in that because that is when we resort to the gimmicks. We, as a society, need to change the narrative and focus more on living an optimal level of health by feeding our bodies, our minds, our souls with the proper nutrition and information and love that it needs to survive. We need to stop being hard on ourselves when we don’t lose the weight in the desired timeframe. Every person is different. Every goal is different. We have to love ourselves and respect ourselves. Set small goals. Make one small change a day. Set your own pace by making a healthier choice each day.

Message

What I hope readers take away from “La Nueva Dieta Sin Trucos” is that I wrote this book with all the love I have for the Latino community. I wrote this book to inspire, to start a dialogue, to set an example, and to remind people that we are human. Love yourself.