It’s possible to dramatically impact your health by simply changing what you eat and how you live. Ready to learn how? Join us for a new series, Educating Eats, presented by the 4 Roots Foundation and the Winter Park Health Foundation. In our latest session, Dr. Monica Aggarwal, a board-certified cardiologist and expert on using nutrition and lifestyle management to manage heart disease and chronic illnesses, and Carly Paige, a culinary nutrition expert and chef, will discuss how your eating habits impact inflammation in the body, a major contributor to some of the leading diseases ailing Americans. In this hands-on, interactive cooking demonstration, you’ll learn how to make — and then sample — three anti-inflammatory recipes, including: Roasted Butternut Squash & Carrot Soup, Chickpea Chopped Greek Salad, and Zucchini Chocolate Chip Protein Muffins

Join us in the Nutrition Theatre at the Center for Health & Wellbeing for this first of its kind program. You’ll roll up your sleeves and help prepare the meal and learn helpful lifestyle and nutrition tips along the way.

Dr. Aggarwal will also explain how the 4 Roots Foundation, an alliance of community stakeholders investing in a healthy, striving, sustainable food system, is leading the way to change how our community eats, with a focus on locally grown produce. With a mission to Unearth the Power of Food to Build Healthy Communities, the 4 Roots Foundation is poised to make a huge impact in our local communities.

Space is limited so sign up today to save your spot!

And save the date for our upcoming event in this series: November 3 with Chef Edwin Cabrera of AdventHealth. Click here for more details and to save your spot. 

About Your Program Presenters:

Monica Aggarwal, MD, is an adjunct Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine in the University of Florida Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. She received her medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and subsequently went on to complete a residency in internal medicine at Tufts-New England Medical Center. She then completed a cardiology fellowship at the University of Maryland. Dr. Aggarwal’s own path to understanding the impact of nutrition in illness started soon after the birth of her third child, when she developed an advanced form of rheumatoid arthritis. She was placed on medications that gave her severe side effects. It was only through learning about the microbiome (gut), its impact on the immune system and the role of nutrition in affecting the gut, was she able to truly heal. Determined to change the face of medicine, she left private practice and returned to academics in order to pursue research on the role of diet and to create an integrative cardiology practice focused on nutrition and lifestyle.

Dr. Aggarwal gives talks around the community and the country. She was named a “Next Generation Innovator” by Cardiology Today. Board certified in cardiology, echocardiography, nuclear cardiology and advanced cholesterol management, she is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), where she is a member of the nutrition council working on nutrition policies for the nation. She is the author of the book “Body on Fire: How Inflammation Triggers Chronic Illness and the Tools We Have to Fight It,” which outlines prescriptions to help guide people to better health. She currently sees patients in Orlando, Florida and via telehealth as part of Wholistic Cardiology and conducts research at the University of Florida.

Carly Paige, culinary nutrition expert and chef, is on a mission to redefine the way we view our health through simple swaps. She believes that cooking healthfully can be simple, and should always be delicious. Her holistic approach towards plant-based cooking is designed to introduce you to a new way of using foods and flavors in the kitchen. Carly is a cookbook author, speaker, and founder of FitLiving Eats Winter Park, a concierge private chef company that offers customized meal prep services, cooking classes, and boutique catering. She has had the opportunity to partner with some extraordinary organizations to educate their workforce on her holistic approach to healthier habits, including NASA, Southwest Airlines, and The Four Seasons. She is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Nutritious Life, and Plantlab Culinary.