Biodiversity in food composition supplies human beings with both macro-and micronutrients as well as the bioactive compounds they require to maintain optimum physiological conditions throughout life. Latin America has a high level of natural food biodiversity, but at the same time obesity and malnutrition in children are present. The foods a community consumes is an excellent tool to be used for learning about its history and culture. Before Christopher Columbus's trip in 1492, there were many different cultural groups in Latin America, including three great empires from the north to the extreme south: the Mayas, the Aztecs and the Incas. A retrospective view of the native foods cultivated by these ancient cultures will be presented considering their biodiversity and composition. Three foods, which maintain their importance until today, were basic in these three empires: corn [lea mays), yuca [Manihot esculenta, Manihot utilissima) and potatoes [Solanum tuberosum). These were wisely complemented with other native foods with high protein content, such as beans [Phaseolus vulgaris), other seeds, vegetables and many fruits. After 1492, Spanish and Portuguese navigators carried at least 22 foods back to Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania, transforming previously colourless and monotone diets, and contributing to better health while saving many lives with their nutrients and bioactive compounds. Other traditional foods have been forgotten or underutilized, and it is time to rediscover them. These foodscan help restore a healthy life to "developed society", which is suffering from inadequate management of its daily diet, leaving many children in the world still lacking the minimum levels of nutrients needed for survival. Latin American governments and Latin American branches of LATINFOODS through FAO TCP projects have made important efforts towards generating new food composition data focused on the twin priorities of biodiversity and nutrition.
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