KINGSTON TWP. — With processed, genetically-enhanced food items, plus organic options, today’s variety of choices can make a simple trip to the grocery store more demanding when the goal is making healthy choices.

The Social Justice Committee at St. Therese’s Church wants to increase consumer understanding of food industry terms and nutrition with a presentation called “Healthy Eating: Loving Ourselves and Our World,” at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17, in Sammons Hall, located in the church basement at 64 Davis St., Shavertown.

The lecture will be the first in a three-part series that will focus on creating a healthy lifestyle through nutrition. Guest speaker Noelle Altavilla, a registered dietitian with Intermountain Medical Group, will discuss the importance of a balanced diet, limiting the use of processed or pre-prepared foods, meal planning, the diabetes epidemic and pre-diabetes risk factors.

The series is free and open to the public.

Rosemarie Taylor, a member of the Social Justice Committee, said the idea for the series was inspired by conversations with others about the hidden ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup and sodium found in many processed foods, which has added to the state’s growing obesity and diabetes epidemics.

According to the American Diabetes Association, over 1.4 million Pennsylvanians are living with diabetes and an estimated 325,000 people have the disease but are not diagnosed. Diabetes can lead to complications that include heart disease, stroke, amputation, end-stage kidney disease, blindness and death, the ADA’s website reports.

“You really have to be a smart consumer,” Taylor said.

The other presentations in the series slated for spring 2017 will feature Carmina Chapp from the Dorothy Day Workers’ Farm at Harveys Lake and Don Hess and Joan Miller, owners of Dancing Hen Farms in Stillwater.

Dates are times have not been released for the upcoming lectures, Taylor said.

The Social Justice Committee has a history of offering a variety of free informational lectures aimed at addressing a variety of issues, Taylor said.

Since 2012, they have held presentations on homelessness, senior citizen services and human trafficking, to name a few.

Lectures usually last an hour and include a question and answer segment, she said.

For information about the series, contact St. Therese’s Church Rectory at 570-696-1144.

Altavilla
https://www.mydallaspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_Noelle-Altavilla.jpg.optimal.jpgAltavilla
St. Therese’s Church to host nutrition education series

By Eileen Godin

egodin@timesleader.com

IF YOU GO

What: ‘Healthy Eating: Loving Ourselves and Our World,’ presented by the Social Justice Committee at St. Therese’s Church

When: 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17

Where: Sammons Hall, located in the church basement, at 64 Davis St., Shavertown

Cost: Free

Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews.