NJ Nutritionist Food Scientist MeriTerese Racanelli to Speak at NHMA's 18th Annual Conference in D.C

NEW YORK - March 27, 2014 - PRLog -- The National Hispanic Medical Association announced that MeriTerese Racanelli, M.S., a consulting clinical nutritionist and food scientist will be a guest speaker at the National Hispanic Medical Association's 18th Annual Conference at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel Conference Center, Washington, D.C., March 27-30, 2014. Racanelli will speak about food and nutrition strategies targeted toward obesity and diabetes among the Hispanic communities. More than 500 physicians and healthcare professionals are estimated to attend the NHMA's 18th Annual Conference.

“MeriTerese has valuable knowledge and experience especially in cultural nutrition, foods, and their effect on the body’s health.” says Dr. Elena Rios, President and CEO of the National Hispanic Medical Association, “We look forward to her presentation at our national conference and to her serving on the Board of Directors of the National Hispanic Health Foundation.”

As a health professional with university and hospital Medical Nutrition Therapy training and inner-city community experience, MeriTerese Racanelli learned first-hand which food and nutrition strategies benefited each culture's health and disease needs. Racanelli obtained masters of science degrees in Nutrition and Food Science, summa cum laude, from Montclair State University and studied pre-med/biology in her undergrad degree. She successfully completed her Clinical Dietetics and Medical Nutrition Therapy training, magna cum laude, via MSU and NJ hospitals, and has university culinary and recipe development training.

“Government and national health organizations have reported the major increases of high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes among the US Hispanic population,” says MeriTerese Racanelli, M.S., “The good news is that simple strategies like choosing cultural fruits and vegetables and avoiding excess sodium, sugar and fat in recipes and products can help.”

Each year, the NHMA National Conference has an exhibit hall to provide information about products and services designed to help the Hispanic population live healthier lifestyles. Racanelli will be on hand at the Goya Foods booth to help educate attendees about how cultural foods fit into the governments Myplate.gov program.

In addition to MeriTerese’s private practice with physicians, she’s authored books nutrition programs and served as a consultant for more than 15 years. She has worked with celebrities, pro-athletes and companies such as Goya Foods, Parmalat, Pomi, Cliff Bars, Grandi Riso, Nature’s Answer, BioBotanica, HSN, QVC, and global manufacturers of foods, beverages, botanicals and dietary supplements to name a few.

For more information about the NHMA Conference, please visit www.nhmamd.org.