Hi! My name is Greg Zacarese, and I am interning with Sodexo's NY campus for 2017-2018, and just completed by basic clinical rotation at South Nassau Communities hospital in Oceanside, NY. I loved my basic clinical rotation. I learn more and more every day, and feel very optimistic about the future. Even though I am in clinical right now, I got the opportunity to get started on some of my community hours at the Cornell Pumpkin fest in Yaphank, NY at the end of September.
This was a very rewarding experience for me, and a great way to start my community hours. I got the opportunity to work with a dietitian who has a strong interest in diabetes, which is my concentration. We started the day by setting up all of the handouts and models we were going to use at our table. The two main things we spoke to people about were MyPlate, and the amount of sugar in typical beverages that are consumed daily, such as soft drinks, re-hydration beverages, and fruit juices. This was probably the most rewarding part about it, because sugary drinks have such a significant effect on blood glucose, and many are not aware. Just 4oz of a sugary beverage, such as orange juice, can raise blood glucose 50mg/dL within just 15 minutes. It is important that people realize how quickly liquid gets absorbed into the system, and how fast you'll see those results on blood glucose readings. We used empty bottles of Snapple, soda, Gatorade, and fruit juices and filled them up with the amount of sugar that is provided in the beverage. It was very shocking for some to see. The American Diabetes Association states that "drinking one or two sugary drinks a day increases the risk of developing type II diabetes by
26 percent." Their recommendation when it comes to these beverages is to avoid them if you have diabetes.
What I found especially rewarding about this was the variety of people that were there. We got to educate children, adults, and seniors. It's important for everyone to know about sugary drinks, and the effect they can have on blood glucose, as well as how to prepare a balanced meal using the MyPlate method. I am looking forward to working with this dietitian at other events in the future.
This was a very rewarding experience for me, and a great way to start my community hours. I got the opportunity to work with a dietitian who has a strong interest in diabetes, which is my concentration. We started the day by setting up all of the handouts and models we were going to use at our table. The two main things we spoke to people about were MyPlate, and the amount of sugar in typical beverages that are consumed daily, such as soft drinks, re-hydration beverages, and fruit juices. This was probably the most rewarding part about it, because sugary drinks have such a significant effect on blood glucose, and many are not aware. Just 4oz of a sugary beverage, such as orange juice, can raise blood glucose 50mg/dL within just 15 minutes. It is important that people realize how quickly liquid gets absorbed into the system, and how fast you'll see those results on blood glucose readings. We used empty bottles of Snapple, soda, Gatorade, and fruit juices and filled them up with the amount of sugar that is provided in the beverage. It was very shocking for some to see. The American Diabetes Association states that "drinking one or two sugary drinks a day increases the risk of developing type II diabetes by
26 percent." Their recommendation when it comes to these beverages is to avoid them if you have diabetes.
What I found especially rewarding about this was the variety of people that were there. We got to educate children, adults, and seniors. It's important for everyone to know about sugary drinks, and the effect they can have on blood glucose, as well as how to prepare a balanced meal using the MyPlate method. I am looking forward to working with this dietitian at other events in the future.
