basic nutrition lessons
At noon on a weekday, a
group of senior adults at Alexander County’s Friendship Church
is sifting through a truckload of free bread to take home. They come
here each day for lunch and, with instruction from North
Carolina Cooperative Extension, they learn basic lessons of nutrition
to help them lead healthy lives.
The group is one of many
across the state participating in Extension’s Partners
in Wellness program. In 36 counties across the state, Extension
provides training to elderly adults who come to lunch each day at “congregate
nutrition sites.”
The sites have a federal
mandate to provide education along with the hot, nutritious meals and
fellowship that draw participants to these programs. It is required
that more than half of the participants served at the sites have limited
resources.
The goal of Partners in
Wellness is to prevent malnutrition. When the program started three
years ago, the first step was to survey the nutritional needs of limited-resource
older adults in the state. The assessment showed that among those individuals,
36 percent were at moderate risk for malnutrition, and 33 percent were
at high risk — more than two-thirds of all limited-resource older
adults.
Extension developed a program
of 11 educational modules made up of 47 educational sessions that take
15 to 30 minutes each. Modules have names such as Eat Smart, Stay Well;
Meals on a Budget; Managing your Medications; Overcoming Obstacles:
Using the Kitchen Space.
Last year, more than 1,300
people across the state participated in Partners in Wellness. Participants
were asked diet and nutrition questions before and after the workshops,
and nearly half improved scores on these questions.
In Alexander County, agent
Margo Mosley conducts the PIW program at two churches that host luncheon
sites each week. Since Mosley started the program three years ago, the
number of participants at each site has grown. Many participants say
they have put her lessons to use to improve their own nutrition and
health.
Many of those who attend
the programs have disease problems like high blood pressure and diabetes
that can be managed through diet. “They are encouraged to eat a
balanced diet, but many may not realize what a balanced diet is,”
Mosley said. In the Eat Smart, Stay Well program module, Mosley discusses
serving sizes, the importance of breakfast, dietary fiber, vitamin C
and more.
Today’s lesson is on
“Pills, Potions and Powders: Herbs and Dietary Supplements.”
Mosley explains to the group that many herbal remedies and supplements
are not regulated by government agencies the same way that drugs are.
To prove her point, she
hands out two samples of herbal products purchased at local drug stores.
Several groups compare the labeling and quickly find differences in
recommended dosage, in warnings listed or not listed and in other label
information.
Participants have begun
keeping a medications “checkbook,” in which they list all
medications they take on a regular basis – both prescription and
over-the-counter drugs. Mosley urges them to list any herbal remedies
they take as well.
The medication checkbook
really paid off for one of Mosley’s program participants. The woman
had a mild stroke, but when she arrived at the hospital, no one in her
family had information about her medical history or medications. The
checkbook in her pocketbook provided the doctors with the information
they needed to treat her.
When the lesson is over,
the group enjoys a hot, balanced lunch. The meal and the nutrition lesson,
along with the fellowship and change of scene, are the things that bring
them here.
Wilma “Sis” Speaks
is one of the program’s success stories. Following a lesson on
dental health last year, Speaks began to wonder about the cause of dental
pain she had tolerated for a long time. A trip to the dentist confirmed
that Speaks had tumors in her mouth that needed treatment.
Though she is not wild about
her new dentures, she can now eat without pain. And she has cut her
regular doctor visits from every two weeks to every three months.
“I’ve learned
quite a lot down here,” Speaks said. “How to take care of
myself, how to eat right, how to live.”
—Natalie
Hampton
