In observance of February, Heart Health Month, Dr. Sonja Davis, Aramark intern, Nida Khan, and Kimberly Perry, Better Living for Texans (BLT) Program Assistant conducted a Lunch and Learn to inform the public of ways to live “Heart Smart” through proper diet and exercise.
Agent Davis serves as a Preceptor with Aramark during the winter to help interns complete their community rotation. As part of the rotation, interns work with the agent to research a community health issue and develop an educational program to inform the public of ways to address and evaluate it. Once the 4 week rotation is complete, the interns submit a comprehensive paper about their experience and findings from the evaluation.
The Lunch and Learn was conducted at the Harris County Extension office in February. Attendees included the general public and extension staff. Participants were provided with information related to how a healthy eating pattern can reduce heart disease risk factors including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and excess body weight.
Information was shared about foods to increase and decrease in the diet, MyPlate, reading the nutrition facts label, and limiting sodium in the diet.
Kimberly Perry, BLT Program Assistant, increased participants' heart rates with physical activities from the BLT curriculum and reminded them of the American Heart Association’s recommendations of 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity at least 5 days per week for a total of 150 minutes or 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity at least 3 days per week for a total of 75 minutes.
Chicken tortilla soup and salad were prepared by Rebecca Scono, FCS Secretary, and Nida prepared a healthy smoothie.
Heart Health Lunch