Pradhan

The  Indian Medical Association of New England will present Sangeeta T. Pradhan, RD, LDN, CDE,  a registered clinical dietitian and certified diabetes educator with more than 13 years of experience, in a talk titled “Indian Diet: Friend or Foe” at the upcoming Indian and South Asian Health Expo on April 27 at the Marriott Hotel in Newton, Mass.

“If you are interested in straight talk about what good nutrition is really all about, look no further. Join me as I take you on a riveting journey exploring the wonders of the Indian diet, as well as some of the pitfalls,” said Pradhan, the diabetes program coordinator at Charles River Medical Associates, a part of Partners Health Care. “We will talk about some of the common myths and misguided notions about Indian diet that you may have heard and will set the record straight. We will also discuss 10 of the most common mistakes people make when they are trying to lose weight, and practical and realistic ways to avoid them.”

Organized by IMANE and INDIA New England news, the day-long free Health Expo will bring the area’s major hospitals and health care providers together with the Asian Indian and South Asian communities in New England.

“Indian food is considered to be tastiest and the healthiest by many especially because majority of Indians are still vegetarian, but in recent times with increasing incidence of diabetes and  heart disease, Indian diet has come under attack by many,” said IMANE President Dr. Manju Sheth. “We are very pleased to have one of the area’s well-known experts on Indian diet speak at the Health Expo.”

Pradhan, who leads a team of registered dietitians and nurse practitioner to achieve the ADA standards at Charles River Medical Associates, is scheduled to speak at 10:00 a.m. at the Health Expo. She also has extensive experience giving nutrition talks in group settings such as non-profit organizations, senior centers and corporate accounts. Her mission in life is to help the layperson understand the role of nutrition in promoting good health, and finds great satisfaction in empowering her patients to achieve their health related goals.

The Health Expo is supported by the India Society of Worcester, Indian Americans of Lexington, Vision Aid, Ekal Vidyalay, American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence, Association of Pakistani Physicians of New England, Indian American Forum for Political Education, Saheli Boston, the United India Association, the India Association of New Hampshire and the Gujrati Association of New England.

Health Tip of the Week

Here are some health tips from readers of the Health Expo event page on Facebook. Neither IMANE nor INE are responsible for these tips. Please consult your doctor.  

Submitted by Geeta Vallecha:
Here is a natural remedy for menstrual cramps: Red raspberry leaf and catnip leaf tea are two things that I recommend to relieve the pain and other symptoms during that time of the month. To make a cup of catnip or raspberry tea, place 2 tsp. of dried leaves in a teacup and pour a cup of hot water and cover. Wait 10-15 minutes and sweeten with honey and lemon to mitigate the slightly-woodsy taste. Start having this tea few days before the time starts. Catnip and raspberry should easily be found in the herbal section of most health food stores. I recommend buying organic leaves. I sometimes order them from Amazon. There are several other herbs that claim the cramp relief but, this one is the best so far that I have come across.

Submitted by Monica Gill:
Healthy eating: The best way to go is to eat 6-8 small portions a day (size of your fist) of whatever food you want. Keep the portions 60-20-20 ration of protein (60) carbs (20) and fat (20). Major trick is to never let yourself get hungry because that slows down your metabolism. Eating like this will speed it up and prevent your body from storing anything. Also, spices are an excellent way to speed up your metabolism. Just stay away from sodium.

You can add your health tips on the Health Expo event page on Facebook.