Red Mesa High School students learn about healthy eating

RED MESA, Ariz. - Red Mesa High School students attending summer school are learning about healthy diet called Power Plate thanks to Lena Guerito, Nutritionist with the Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Project from the Shiprock Service Area.

Red Mesa High School invited Guerito to present nutritional information and healthy cooking to the students to encourage them to improve their lifestyle and learn what it means to be healthy.

To start the class, Guerito showed a video about eating the Standard American Diet (SAD), which is approved and advocated by the Department of Agriculture, but actually slowly "killing" American people because the American diet is laced with too much fat and sugar.

Following the video, Guerito talked about the importance of fiber found in vegetables and fruits and the role it plays in keeping the body healthy and providing the needed energy. She provided handouts for the students and gave homework assignments for students to learn more about food, labels, and cost of their favorite food from different stores to compare how much they spend on unhealthy diet.

Guerito encouraged the students to eat fruits, vegetables, and whole grains if they want to have a healthy hearts.

"It is very important to eat less saturated fat food, eat less of cholesterol food, and use less salt," Guerito told the students. "It is also very important to be physically active on a daily basis and to drink plenty of water."

Following the lecture, the students prepared a vegetable soup with several ingredients such as pinto and kidney beans, corn, tomatoes, onions, green onions, and celery. They added some spices like chili, Mrs. Dash, and cilantro. They were not sure what they were getting into, but when it was done, they enjoyed the soup. They said it tasted good even though they didn't put any salt in it.

The students said they are looking forward to next week's class to learn more about the Power Plant and living on a plant-based diet.