Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
YMCA, WCU partner to offer free nutritional webinar series
The YMCA of Greater Brandywine has partnered to offer free nutritional education to all in the community. Two webinars will be offered for adults, especially seniors, and two presentations will be offered to middle school students who attend the Oscar Lasko YMCA and Childcare Center’s afterschool program.
The first webinar, Choosing the Best Foods to Keep Your Brain Healthy, will be held on Wednesday, March 3 from 12-1 p.m. Dr. Sandy Sarcona, a registered dietitian nutritionist and assistant professor of nutrition at West Chester University, along with senior level students majoring in Lifestyle Nutrition, will present the latest research findings on specific food components that have been shown to enhance brain functioning.
They will help attendees learn how to include these components in their daily diets. There is no charge, but attendees need to register at www.ymcagbw.org/ nutrition.
The second webinar, Evaluate the Nutrition Facts Label to Choose Healthy Food, will be held on Wednesday, March 10 from 12-1 p.m. Dr. Sarcona and her students will explain how to evaluate nutrition fact labels and show how different components, especially sodium, fat, sugar and fiber, are linked to common health issues. Recommendations for how to interpret these labels and make food choices that lead to better health will be presented also. Again, there is no charge, but attendees need to register at www. ymcagbw.org/nutrition.
Sarcona and her students are presenting these webinars as part of YGBW’s Virtual Connections Series, which provides regular webinars for YGBW members to grow strong in spirit, mind and body.
“We’re excited to partner
with West Chester University on these two webinars and offer them to all in our community,” said Denise Day, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Brandywine. “We’re committed to helping everyone live a healthy life, and nutrition plays a complex role in that. It’s not always easy to know how to make good nutritional choices, but Dr. Sarcona and her students will provide expert guidance to help people do just that.”
Additionally, Dr. Sarcona and her students are providing two presentations to middle school children who attend the Oscar Lasko YMCA’s afterschool program.
The first presentation, “Be a Detective in Decoding Sugar on the Food Label,” will help students convert grams of sugar on Nutrition Fact Labels into teaspoons to really understand just how much sugar is added to popular drinks and foods. Healthier food and beverage options will be recommended.
The second presentation, “Choose Healthy Snacks,” will help youth understand what makes a snack healthy. Providing an extensive list of healthy snacks, Dr. Sarcona and her students will demonstrate how to combine items to create exciting and tasty snacks.
“My students and I are excited to partner with the Y and share some of the latest research on nutrition with our community,” said Sarcona. “Both of our organizations are dedicated to helping everyone make decisions that support a healthy lifestyle.”
The YMCA of Greater Brandywine is a nonprofit association of eight YMCA branches (Brandywine YMCA, Jennersville YMCA, Kennett Area YMCA, Lionville Community YMCA, Octorara YMCA Program Center, Oscar Lasko YMCA & Childcare Center, Upper Main Line YMCA, and West Chester Area YMCA).