South Central AHEC Hosts Culinary Medicine Presentation

South Central AHEC Hosts Culinary Medicine Presentation

Michael Wargovich, Ph.D, a professor in department of Molecular Medicine, partnered with South Central AHEC to provide a presentation on his current research on culinary medicine to high school students and other UTHSCSA faculty. Culinary Medicine is the idea of utilizing a unique combination of nutrition and culinary knowledge to assist patients in achieving and maintain optimal health. Dr. Wargovich’s presentation focused heavily on the uses of spices and the positive effects of these spices on our bodies, especially when it comes to the “chemoprevention” of cancer.  “Chemoprevention” is a discipline of cancer research that is less than 20 years old and embraces the idea that cancer can be prevented or pre-cancers can be inhibited from progressing to cancer by the use of natural compounds or pharmaceuticals. Following his presentation, participants were able to try some of the spices on popcorn, a special drink that was full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory, and received a copy of his cookbook that entails healthy recipes with the uses of spices. South Central AHEC will continue working with Dr. Michael Wargovich and hopes to have real time cooking demonstrations for his next round of presentations.

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