By IAN MINIELLY
Ironwood — The Michigan State University Extension office in Bessemer, in conjunction with Aspirus Ironwood Hospital, will host a Dining With Diabetes workshop, designed for people with diabetes and their family members.
The MSU-E office said the four-class series — beginning Feb. 27 at 11 a.m. — includes diabetes education, cooking demonstrations, and tasting of healthy foods. After each lesson, members of the class are provided recipes and greater knowledge about how to manage diabetes in their daily lives.
MSU-E dietician Anna Mooi is teaching the course to better enable the diabetics and their families to cook healthier meals, to complement diabetes management, but the course is limited to the first 16 registered people.
Mooi said each class will teach:
—How to prepare healthy meals using less fat.
—How to make meals using less sodium and sugar without reducing flavor and enjoyment.
—Causes of diabetes.
—Tools for managing diabetes.
—The importance of diet and exercise in managing diabetes.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and about one-third of the people with diabetes are unaware they have it. As a lifestyle disease, diabetes can be controlled by making changes to lifestyle and diet, through increasing physical activity and dropping excess weight.