In response to the rapidly increasing amount of Asian Indian immigrants (people born in or originating from India) to the US and their high predisposition to diabetes, Palaniswamy's study presents a case for tailoring diabetes prevention programs more specifically to this ethnic group. Drawing from other studies that show decreasing levels of health after Asian Indians migrate to the UK or Canada, she investigated the dietary changes that these immigrants in the US undergo, and explored their awareness about diabetes and the factors influencing their risk of developing the disease.

Data was obtained through a questionnaire that was issued to 144 female residents of Connecticut under 45 years of age. There was an equal number of participants from each of the following categories of US residency: (1) less than 5 years, (2) 5 – 10 years, (3) more than 10 years, (4) born and raised in the US, and (5) White mainstream. Forty-nine questions tested for data on demographics, acculturation level, knowledge of risk factors, barriers to following preventative practices, confidence and health motivation, and dietary modifications after migration. Palaniswamy used the SAS General Linear Models system to analyze her data.

Results show that acculturation levels progressed along with the amount of time residing in the U.S., but no immigrant was classified as either completely traditional or assimilated. Participants who had lived longer in the US had more knowledge about diabetes risk factors and higher confidence and health motivation for preventing diabetes. They also experienced less barriers to adopting preventative health practices. However, compared to White mainstream participants, immigrant knowledge, confidence and motivation were lower and they experienced more prevention barriers in every case. While acculturation occurred in parallel to diminishing adherence to healthy traditional Indian diets, the author does not consider acculturation to significantly affect participants' motivation to care for their health. Data showed that the participants were unaware of the health benefits of their traditional diet as well as the health threats inherent to their Western dietary transition. Also, traditional diet ingredients were found to be largely unavailable in local stores.

It is concluded that health promotion and diabetes prevention programs for Asian Indian immigrants should teach about the benefits of traditional diets. Due to the participants' adequate levels of motivation for healthy living, the author recommends the incorporation of this educational focus into the design of health outreach programs that empower participants to make more informed dietary decisions. Moreover, she urges that programs should take into account the variable acculturation levels and linguistic, cultural, genetic and socioeconomic characteristics of the target immigrant population.

Prepared by Megan Glore

Pieroni et al. investigated the use of traditional Turkish folk medicine and changes in materia medica amongst first generation Turkish migrants living in the urban environment of Cologne, Germany.

Field research conducted over a 24-week period in 2003 and 2004 consisted of interviewing and holding focus groups of randomly selected Turkish participants about their use of traditional remedies. The authors obtained prior informed consent from survey participants and followed ethical guidelines established by the American Anthropological Association and the International Society of Ethnobiology. They collected voucher specimens of relevant dried and fresh plant material and identified them with the assistance of Turkish botanists. The researchers then compared field data with literature on traditional Turkish phytotherapy and evidence-based clinical German phytotherapy.

Apart from presenting a table outlining the data on 79 botanical taxa, 115 plant-based preparations and 167 phytotherapeutical uses and selected animal and mineral remedies named in the interviews, the article provides additional detail about three interesting plant remedies: aerial parts of Sideritis species, Pistacia terebinthus fruits and Peganum harmala fruits and seeds.

Analysis of the results revealed that (1) a quarter of the treatments consisted of 'medicinal food'; (2) women were more knowledgeable than men about plant uses, and (3) most of the material for the traditional medicine was imported to Germany through 'unofficial' means or bought in Turkish shops in Cologne. Local cultivation and wild harvest of the plants in Germany were very minimal, but most survey participants gathered wild herbs or bought them in markets in Turkey. This challenges assumptions about how migrants source material for food and medicine. Only one third of the phytotherapeutical uses reported had been previously recorded in ethnobotanical research conducted in Turkey, and only 9% of the medicinal uses reported in this study had been acknowledged by the modern school of German phytotherapy. Although the researchers comment on the importance of understanding the cultural significance of plants, they limit their analysis to the frequency of mention of a remedy.

The assimilation process of the migrants in their host country is discussed along with the indigenization and de-contexualization of German phytotherapy as it is incorporated in novel ways into the Turkish migrants' materia medica. This research points to the need for more investigation into the effects of simultaneous use of traditional and conventional medicines among migrants, and to the mutual transmission of ethnopharmaceutical knowledge between migrants and host country populations.

Prepared by Megan Glore, edited by Gary Martin