Systematic valence coding of Mexican “hot"—"cold” food

Abstract

Field research among bilingual Spanish‐Zapotec peasants in Oaxaca, Mexico has revealed a system of classifying foods “hot” or “cold,” a classification which forms the basis for a good share of folk beliefs concerning health in Latin America. Most of the articles printed in the last few decades on this “hot"‐"cold” syndrome report that foods are arbitrarily labeled “hot” or “cold.” This paper shows that in one community in Mexico a systematic code is used for determining this label. After a brief review of the literature, the findings from field research are presented. This is followed by a discussion of the possibility that assignation of valences to foods, though reported as arbitrary by other researchers, might indeed by an ordered system. Implications that this system might have for beliefs and behaviors regarding health are described.