Press Room | University Hospital, Newark, NJ

In anticipation of its grand opening, Whole Foods Market Newark is collaborating with University Hospital in Newark to host a lecture entitled “Let’s Talk Food, Newark!” on Thursday, January 19, 2017 at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey at University Hospital, 205 South Orange Avenue in Newark from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM. The event is free and open to the public.

The keynote presenter is Dr. Akua Woolbright, Community Health and Wellness Educator for the Whole Cities Foundation, an independent non-profit foundation launched by Whole Foods Market. Dr. Woolbright, who is an expert in teaching people how to use plant-based foods to help prevent and reverse disease, will focus her lecture on the Four Pillars to Healthy Eating, which entails identifying the types of foods that will aid in better food choices, and a healthier lifestyle for the community at-large.

According to the American Diabetes Association, healthy eating is one of the most important strategies that can be used to lower risk for Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Further, the Association notes that maintaining a healthy weight prevents illnesses such high cholesterol and hypertension. Factors such as age, race, gender and family history may also impact ones risk for these and other related diseases.

Woolbright, who helped create Health Starts Here -- the healthy eating program of Whole Foods Market conducts healthy eating classes for corporate executives, team members, customers and community organizations. She received her doctorate in nutritional science from Howard University and worked as a public health nutritionist in the areas of breastfeeding promotion, cancer prevention and survival, HIV/AIDS treatment, weight loss, asthma and international childhood malnutrition.

Akua Woolbright, PhD

Community Health and Wellness Educator, Whole Cities Foundation

University Hospital is one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers, and is the Level 1 Trauma Center for Northern New Jersey. Located at University Heights in Newark, New Jersey, University Hospital is a principal teaching hospital of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and a regional resource for advanced services across many medical specialties. For more information about University Hospital, please visit www.uhnj.org.

###