San Francisco General Hospital Hosts Free Nutrition and Cooking Demos

The Community Wellness Center at San Francisco General Hospital just got a new kitchen that hosts free hour-long nutrition and cooking demos every Thursday at 2 p.m. (with a break on Nov. 22 for Thanksgiving). The sessions are taught by a rotating group of five chef/instructors who are involved with the hospital, including SFGH executive chef Chad Haase and Dontaye Ball of the hospital's newly redone cafe, Urban Gourmet Kitchen. Each class is aimed at teaching how to prepare a healthy and satisfying meal on a budget.

During the fall, each class is centered around a particular type of ethnic cuisine, so repeat attendees can get a global perspective on cooking. Next week's session, led by Catherine McCorkie, will offer ideas for your Thanksgiving meal.

SFGH has a great track record of endorsing healthy food choices. In 2009, an initiative called HeartBeets was launched as a rooftop produce garden at the hospital. Three years later, it is now a non-profit contracted by the Department of Public Health that serves the entire city of San Francisco.

Five Food Fundamentals for our Healthy Skin

Protein is very important for the skin because it helps maintain skin elasticity. By incorporating fish, beans, dairy, eggs and lean meats into your diet you can help your skin stay strong, heal wounds faster and look good all the time.

Some people consider carbohydrates their worst enemy because they automatically think of pasta, bread or other fattening foods with the dreaded C word. However, certain carbs are essential to skin’s health because they are skin’s first resource for energy. If the body doesn’t have carbs it uses stored proteins. As it does this, there is none left for skin elasticity, and we’re back to the former problem. Intake good carbs such as whole grains and those in antioxidant fruits and veggies like tomatoes, spinach, salmon, carrots, apricots and nuts.

Omega-3 is usually thought of as the fish-oil fad. However, this fatty acid can do wonders for your skin and help you stay young forever, because come on, that’s really all we want. Incorporate more fish, walnuts or flaxseed into your diet for healthy results. If you’d rather skip out on these, a simple Omega-3 capsule a day will do give similar results.

We all know water is essential for the health of skin, but why do some of us still drink one cup of water a day? In order to keep skin looking fresh and help it retain moisture, eight cups to nine cups of water have to be incorporated into your daily routine. The only downside to this healthy habit is that pesky peeing problem.

Remember those Flintstones chewy vitamins you used to take as a kid? Remember how as a kid you had awesome skin? Although the two are not directly connected, skin does need vitamins A and C. Vitamin A, which helps prevent dryness and flakes, can be found in dark green veggies, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe and mangos.Vitamin C produces collagen that helps with wound healing and scar tissue, keeps skin structured and tight, and prevents the possibilities of sagging in old age. It can be found in oranges, grapefruits and fruit juices.