The Meaning of Food in the German Culture.
The Meaning of Food in the German Culture.
Germans use food as a symbol of celebration and typically equate food with love. Food is used by immigrants to maintain their ethnic heritage while this factor is transferred from one generation to the other. It is important to note that food and food rituals provide an ethnic identification for a specific group of immigrants (Appiah, 2020). Many German Americans use their traditional food preparation method comprising high-fat ingredients; this mode adds a nutritional risk for them. The conventional food preparation for the German is characterized by butter sauce, prepared in bacon fat, lard or margarine, and meat products are usually served with gravies. Their infatuation for food has resulted in over-reacting, leading to obesity.
Food being an integral part of the German lifestyle, they face increased nutritional risk due to the fat composition of their food at an older age. Food is taken for trips, served during essential celebrations and visits, children with good behaviour are rewarded with food, family members who live far away from home are sent food as a sign of love, and the sick receive a specific type of food to settle their problems. The German cooks love those individuals who show an excellent appetite on tables served with food because a good amount of food is prepared and done heartily. Additionally, other foods prepared by the Germans result from acculturation; this food is generally prepared during special events such as; weddings, holidays, and special religious occasions.
How Mr Pfiefer can be helped to reduce his Cholesterol Level Using the Predominant Health Beliefs of the German.
Older sick Germans tend to be so conservative about their pain, and when asked to explain how they are feeling by the physician, they tend to be more accurate than the young. Additionally, older adults seem more observant and adherent to the physician’s advice. It is, therefore, crucial to note that Mr Pfiefer did not receive an accurate prescription hence the unchanged cholesterol values. The physician was required to carefully examine Mr Pfiefer so that they could be valid on drugs besides relying on the cholesterol intake alone. According to the traditional German health beliefs, the old and sick people are supposed to be taken care of; in this case, Mr Pfiefer was a widower who prepared his food using his wife’s recipes.
Traditionally, German food is prepared with butter sauce, margarine, lard, or even bacon fat; this is how Mr Pfiefer prepared his food that paused a nutritional risk. A lot of fat elevates cholesterol (Stefan, 2020). As a result, Mr Pfiefer was recommended by the healthcare provider to take a low-fat diet. He was supposed to be monitored and his food ingredients carefully measured to ensure that the cholesterol levels were significantly reduced. As a healthcare provider, I would specifically choose a type of food that Mr Pfiefer would use and recommend. This choice of food would be based on avoidance of harmful rituals of food and the food that ensures reduction of fat intake. Additionally, some American foods are low in fat; I would strongly advise him to consider high information on American food because acculturation is accepted.
References
Appiah, K. A. (2020). Racial identity and racial identification. In Theories of race and racism (pp. 669-677). Routledge.
Stefan, N. (2020). Causes, consequences, and treatment of metabolically unhealthy fat distribution. The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 8(7), 616-627.