Sokaogon Chippewa Community News

Fresh Conversations Hosted by GLITC

By Richard D. Ackley, Jr.
The Elder Nutrition Center welcomed the newly established Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council’s (GLITC) “Fresh Conversations” program last Wednesday to offer support for better health for Tribal Elders. Cheri Nemec and Kassy Garcia from GLITC introduced the program.
The program covers important topics that promote good nutrition, and Wednesday’s session focused on sugar and the many negative effects it has on the human body, especially for those suffering from diabetes.
“We’re starting a new session today called Fresh Conversations, and today’s topic is sugar; sinfully sweet,” Cheri explained. “Today’s session focuses on using nutrition facts, which are printed on food and beverage labels, so you can be able to make healthy choices.”
Each participant received a handy fact sheet and a small magnifier designed for use when reading the fine print on labels. Participants sampled a variety of easily found grocery store products that are made without sugar and shared their opinion of the tastes.
Cheri shared that more health experts are warning the public about the harmful effects of sugar, and that one can of sugary soda has more concentrated sugar than our body is able to use fast enough, so the liver converts excess sugar into small dense particles of fat that contribute to heart disease.

Cheri will be returning next month with more Fresh Conversations about how exercise lowers blood sugar. For more information, contact the Nutrition Center at (715) 478-1229.