Table 1.
Food Groupings Used in Dietary Analyses for a Case-Control Study of First Incident Myocardial Infarction (n = 3,574), Costa Rica, 1994–2004
| Food or Food Group | Food Item(s) |
| Liquor | Whiskey, rum, gin, vodka, “guaro” |
| Wine and beer | Red and white wine, beer |
| Coffee | Caffeinated coffee |
| Tea | Tea (regular, not herbal), water (tap and bottled) |
| High-energy drinks | Regular drinks with and without caffeine (such as carbonated beverages), instant powdered drinks, fruit drinks (packaged and fresh) |
| No-energy drinks | Diet-type beverages with and without caffeine (such as carbonated beverages and ginger ale) |
| Fruit juices | Orange juice, other fruit juices |
| Cereal, cold breakfast | Refined grain-based cold breakfast cereals (such as corn flakes) |
| Eggs | Hen eggs |
| Low-fat dairy products | Skim milk, yogurt, cottage cheese |
| High-fat dairy products | Whole and 2% dairy-fat milk, sour cream, ice cream, fresh white cheese, cream cheese, white and yellow processed cheese |
| Grains, refined | White bread, white rice, macaroni, spaghetti, pancakes |
| Grains, whole | Oatmeal, corn-based products, whole-wheat bread |
| Grains, whole, other | Bran (oats and wheat), wheat germ |
| Legumes | Black beans, string beans, peas |
| Meat, chicken | Chicken with skin and fat |
| Meat, chicken, lean | Chicken with skin and/or fat removed |
| Meat, fish | Canned tuna, sardines, white Pacific fish, shrimp, lobster |
| Meat, organ | Liver (beef, pork, chicken) |
| Meat, processed | Ham, salami, bologna, mortadela, sausages, hot dogs |
| Meat, red | Beef, pork, bacon, fried pork rind |
| Nuts | Peanuts, cashews |
| Fruits | Pineapples, papayas, bananas, cantaloupes, avocados, apples, pears, mangoes, oranges, watermelons, cashew pulp, tangerines, sweet lemons, grapefruit, lychees, medlars, “jocotes” (Spondias purpurea), apricots, peaches, plums |
| Tomatoes | Raw tomatoes, tomato-sauce dishes |
| Vegetables, cruciferous | Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage |
| Vegetables, dark yellow | Carrots (raw, cooked), peach palm (Bactris gasipaes), yellow squash (Cucurbita moschata) |
| Vegetables, green leafy | Cooked spinach, lettuce, mustard greens, other leafy vegetables |
| Vegetables, other | Cucumbers, plantains, chayotes (Sechium edule), tender squash, corn on the cob, beets, eggplant |
| Vegetables, root, starchy | Potatoes (baked, boiled, mashed, French fries), yams (Dioscorea alata), sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas), cassava (Manihot esculenta), “tiquisque” (a root vegetable; Xanthosoma sagittifolium) |
| Pizza | Pizza |
| Soup, thick | Thick and creamy soups |
| Snacks | Saltine-type crackers, popcorn, chips (potato, cassava, plantain) |
| Sweets and desserts | Chocolate bars, chocolate confectionery, candy, cookies, brownies, doughnuts, chocolate drinks (hot or cold), homemade and commercial cookies, cakes, and pastry |
| Oil, other unsaturated | Corn, sunflower, olive, and other oils used for cooking |
| Oil, soybean | Soybean oil |
| Oil, palm | Hardened palm oil (manteca) used for cooking |
| Spreads | Butter, margarine, hydrogenated vegetable oil-butter blend (“lactocrema”) |
| Dressings | Olive oil (as salad dressing, added to bread or food at the table), lemon and vinegar, and other dressings |
| Sugar | Sugar added to hot and cold beverages and cereal |
| Saccharin | Saccharin (pills and drops) |
| Condiments | Ketchup, salt, mayonnaise, hot chili sauce (added to foods at the table) |
| Condiments, fresh | Celery, parsley, sweet peppers, onions, cilantro, garlic |
| Condiments, sweet | Jam, jelly, honey |