Native Food For Life
Do you or does someone in your family have diabetes? Or are you a health educator or clinician? Join a free, six-session online course on plant-based eating for diabetes management and reversal from the American Indian Institute!
The Native Food for Life Online (NFFLO) Program to Prevent and Reverse Diabetes is a FREE course offered by the American Indian Institute for people who have type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes or gestational diabetes. It is designed to inspire and support healthy eating for individuals, families, communities, workplaces, and more!
Over the course of six 75-minute online lessons featuring cooking demos, nutrition lessons, and online discussions, participants will gain the knowledge, skills, and support to make and sustain significant, culturally relevant, plant-based dietary changes to prevent and, in many cases, even reverse diabetes. The goal of NFFLO is to share knowledge and skills to help people take the best care possible of themselves and their families, and to experience long, healthy lives.
Participants are provided with a survey at the beginning, middle, and end of the program to track their progress. Useful resources and a “Challenge of the Week” will be offered at each class. Graduates of the program will receive a certificate of participation from the American Indian Institute, College of Continuing Education, University of Oklahoma.
NFFLO will meet on Tuesdays from 6:00 p.m. - 7:15 p.m. Central Time on July 20, 27 and August 3, 10, 17, and 24, 2021.
Health educators and clinicians are invited to complete the six-week NFFLO course and attend a Week 7 class on August 31, 2021 in order to become NFFLO instructors, with full access to the course materials, program survey, graduation certificate template, and marketing materials to bring the program to their own workplace or community setting. NFFLO instructors are offered professional development meetings on a regular basis and provided with new materials as they become available. When registering, please check the box if you wish to be certified to facilitate the course.
6 Lessons:
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The Power to Heal Diabetes in Indian Country
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The Power of Your Plate
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Blue Zones & the Magic 8
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Grains, Beans, & More
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The Story of 2 Sisters (A Lesson about Digestion!)
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Virtual Potluck & Graduation
Not required, but if you have the opportunity to have some testing done before the program begins, consider having your blood pressure, weight, fasting blood sugar, Hemoglobin A1c and Lipids (cholesterol panel) checked. We’ll discuss the meaning of these numbers at the second class.
MEET THE INSTRUCTORS
Marc was born in Norman, Oklahoma and is Seminole through his mother. His family moved north soon after he was born. Marc studied civil engineering at the University of Michigan and is a professional engineer and certified water right examiner in Oregon, where he resides. He has worked as an environmental and water resources consultant to Tribal governments since 1997. He remembers his grandmother telling him as a child, “You don’t have diabetes... yet.” After connecting with his extended Seminole family in 2009 and discovering the average overall life expectancy of Tribal members was only 60 years, he has been motivated to adopt and promote a plant-based diet, learn about traditional foods, cooking, and gardening, and better understand the connections between food, health, cultural affirmation, sustainability, and climate change. He’s been a volunteer with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine since 2012.
Tammy Robertson, RN, BSN, lives in Scottsdale, Arizona and has been a nurse for over a decade. She is a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM), a certified Food for Life instructor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), and a graduate of the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies with a certification in plant-based nutrition. She is passionate about the power of plants in her own life and for her patients and clients.