Traditional Food Practices and Nutritional Well-being among Low-Income Communities: Challenges, Opportunities and the Way Forward

Traditional food practices are embedded in the ecological, cultural, economic and social organisation of communities and can influence both food access and dietary quality. Among low-income households, locally available cereals, millets, pulses, leafy vegetables, fruits, roots, tubers, nuts, seeds and fermented foods may provide relatively accessible sources of energy and nutrients. Yet the nutritional value of a traditional food system cannot be inferred from its cultural status alone. Poverty, seasonal scarcity, repetitive staple-based diets, food taboos, gendered food allocation, inadequate sanitation, changing livelihoods and the growing availability of highly processed foods may limit the extent to which traditional knowledge translates into nutritional well-being. This narrative review synthesizes evidence on the relationship between traditional food practices, dietary diversity, nutritional adequacy and sustainable food systems, with particular attention to low-income and indigenous or local food contexts. The review uses published peer-reviewed literature and authoritative reports and explicitly distinguishes documented evidence from conceptual interpretation. Recent literature supports the nutritional potential of indigenous foods and millets, while also highlighting anti-nutritional factors, food-safety considerations, market barriers and the need for appropriate processing. Dietary diversity is treated as a central pathway linking food biodiversity to nutrient adequacy, but it is not considered a sufficient condition for good nutrition in the absence of equitable access, health services and safe environments. The paper proposes a nutrition-sensitive framework in which beneficial traditional practices are documented, scientifically assessed and strengthened, while potentially harmful restrictions are addressed through culturally respectful nutrition education. The central argument is therefore not to preserve tradition uncritically, but to build an evidence-informed bridge between traditional knowledge and contemporary nutrition science. Such an approach can support affordable diets, local food biodiversity, cultural continuity and resilient food systems without romanticising traditional diets or overlooking structural causes of malnutrition. Keywords: traditional food practices; nutritional well-being; low-income communities; dietary diversity; indigenous foods; millets; food security; food biodiversity; nutrition education; sustainable diets