By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
As the Cottonwood Extension District completed its Walk Kansas programing, a part of the program will be featured at an upcoming community event.
MED instead of MEDS, a program that helps introduce the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet, will be featured at noon, May 24, at the extension district office at 601 Main.
“We have had some good discussions after the webinars and taste-tested a few recipes,” said family and consumer wellness agent Monique Koerner.
The program was featured in watch parties during Walk Kansas, and Koerner said she hopes to spur additional interest with the upcoming session.
“To kind of wrap up Walk Kansas, we're going to be doing a Mediterranean taste-testing party,” she said. “The MED instead of MEDS program is basically focusing on your diet.”
The program helps participants focus on healthy eating, which can stave off the need for medical interventions.
“Some of those things that they have included is, for instance, eating lots of fruits and vegetables,” Koerner said. “Research shows that if you have nine or more servings of fruits and vegetables, it results in a 60 percent reduction in cardiovascular disease.”
She said the significant impact could be a motivator to try the diet.
“More aspects of the program are eating whole grains, eating more fish and seafood, eating nuts and seeds for snacks, replacing solid fats with olive oil, using herbs and spices,” Koerner said. “And then, of course, they also throw in there things like physical activity, enjoying your meals, really focusing on family and friends and slowing down the mindful eating and then limiting sugar.”
The webinars provided different focuses, with practical ways to incorporate a Mediterranean diet.
“Sometimes it can be overwhelming when we think about having to change our whole diet,” Koerner said. “But really, you can take bits and pieces out of this. And I think it's important to maybe try smaller steps along the way rather than trying to overhaul everything in our lives all at once. Because then it gets overwhelming. And we tend to slide back into our old routines.”
Overall the program provided a continuum for users to follow.
“It's not that you have to do this or have to do that,” Koerner said. “It's a look at your whole menu and where could you maybe stick a few more, fish meals, or maybe switch up your snacks to eat a fruit or a vegetable or nuts or seeds, rather than some of those sweet treats.”
“It's eat more of this and less of this. So, it's not like you have to cut a certain thing out of your diet. And I think That's where we kind of get into trouble too. If we remove all of the good things out of our diet, or we remove certain food crew or something we like, then we tend to fall back the other way, when we have a little bit of stress or some little hiccup in life happens.”
Other topics include meal planning, using leftovers, reducing food waste and portion sizes, she said.
And Koerner will present some of the best “tips, tricks and hacks,” she said during the upcoming event.
RSVPs are required and can be made by contacting the Cottonwood Extension District at (785) 628-9430.
