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SPOKANE – The holidays can be challenging times. The cold weather forces us indoors, where we’re less active and more inclined to overindulge in calorie-rich foods that pack on the pounds.
But there are ways to eat right and keep moving, and these were a central theme in a special thank-you dinner organized by the clinical trials research team in collaboration with the exercise physiology and metabolism (ExMet) program.
Held the week before Thanksgiving, the event drew to campus Spokane-based participants in the AIM-HIGH trial, a five-year cholesterol management program funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. They were treated to a delicious, healthy dinner prepared by junior-year ExMet students.
While participants enjoyed such foods as grilled vegetables, brown and wild rice pilaf with cranberries, and pears, ExMet seniors John Gilbert, Dylan Jones and Austin Webb performed skits showing them ways to stay active during the holidays.
The idea for the collaboration was first conceived several years ago by ExMet clinical assistant professor Susan Kynast-Gales and College of Pharmacy research associate Debbie Weeks. They worked together on a similar event for participants in the ACCORD trial that Weeks managed at the time.
Weeks and Shannon Yedinak, who coordinates the AIM-HIGH trial, approached Kynast-Gales again for the event his fall.
It worked out exactly as they had first envisioned it. Weeks and Yedinak were happy to see the participants leave with filled stomachs, holiday recipes to try at home and advice on staying healthy. At the same time, the event provided students in Kynast-Gales’ “Foods with Application to Physical Activity” class with experience in preparing high-quality foods for a group of real-world clients.
“It was fun. It was good to put what we’ve learned to use and to help other people learn what they need to do better to be healthy,” said ExMet junior Morgan Smith.
You can eat right, too, this holiday season. Click here to download a PDF booklet with the tips and recipes provided to the AIM-HIGH participants.
