Park Vista plans series on nutrition


February 18, 2012 at 8:46a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

As part of its Life Long Learning Institute, Park Vista Retirement Community, 1216 Fifth Ave., Youngstown, will present a four-part series on nutrition and healthy lifestyles.

The series, titled “Better Nutrition Learning Intensive,” will begin Tuesday and run through mid-March.

Each 90-minute program will meet in the east therapy gym and will feature a presentation by registered dietitian Agapi Mantos followed by a healthy recipe demonstration by executive chef Mark Bittler.

The cost is $10 per session for Park Vista residents and $15 for nonresidents.

To register call 330-746-2944, Ext. 1555.

For information visit www.ParkVistaOhio.org/events on the web.

Sessions include:

• “Food for Thought: Rethinking the Way We Shop & Eat” from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. Tuesday. The initial session will cover shopping for groceries to create a natural, healthy diet that is nutritious and delicious. It will include hints on shopping the perimeter of the store, selecting nutritional foods and determining critical portion sizes.

• “Sodium: How it Affects Your Body” from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. Feb. 28. This session will discuss what sodium does to the body and how to be more conscious of the amount that is consumed daily. It will include information on fluid balance; blood volume and blood pressure; and selecting low sodium alternatives.

• “Fats: the Good, the Bad and How to Cook Heart Healthy”: from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. March 6. This session will cover the benefits of a low-fat diet in relation to losing weight, managing cholesterol and preventing health problems. It will include a discussion about different types of fats in the foods we eat, which fats are bad, which ones are good and how to cook using healthy fats.

• “Focus on Healthy Cooking for One, Two or More”: from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. March 20. The final session will review the principles discussed in the three previous sessions. Bittler and Mantos will demonstrate recipe modification to reduce fat, calories, sugar and sodium while preparing dishes.