Dr. Pamela Peeke is passionate about getting women to take better care of themselves.
“The grand majority of women need to understand what they put in their mouths is actually changing the expression of their own genes,” she said Thursday in a phone interview with the Daily News. “If you choose leafy greens instead of junk foods, it changes the script writing for basic genes in your body, the level of energy, your immune system, longevity. You need to start honoring what goes in the body.”
It’s one of the issues Peeke plans to discuss during The Medical Center’s 15th annual A Day Just for Women. The conference will be from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sept. 13 at the Carroll Knicely Conference Center. Cost, which includes the presentations, screenings and conference materials, is $50 per person or $450 for a corporate table for 10 people. Lunch and a continental breakfast will be served. Nurses and dietitians who attend can earn continuing education units. Early registration is encouraged.
“We draw between 400 to 500 women of all ages from across the region,” said Linda Rush, director of Community Wellness. “We’ve been able to bring some nationally recognized speakers that really add to the conference.”
A Day Just for Women will include about 40 exhibits with health screenings and information as well shopping opportunities, which include makeup, jewelry and items related to health, Rush said.
“We just really want to encourage women to take time for themselves,” she said. “We try to structure times so that those who have children in school can have time. We try to give women the tools and motivation they need to have healthy lifestyles.”
In addition to Peeke, the conference will feature Grace Lichtenstein, a counseling psychologist who is a professional trainer and life coach.
Known as the “doc who walks the talk,” Peeke is assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, board certified in internal medicine and a fellow of the American College of Physicians. Among her other accomplishments, she is WebMD’s lifestyle expert, chief medical correspondent for nutrition and fitness at Discovery Health TV and author of several books, including “Fight Fat After Forty” and her latest one, “The Hunger Fix: The 3 Stage Detox and Recovery Plan for Overeating and Food Addiction,” which will be released Sept. 18. She is scheduled to appear on Katie Couric’s new talk show Sept. 19.
“Katie and I have worked together in the past on the ‘Today’ show,” she said.
In “The Hunger Fix,” Peeke writes about how bodies can be rewired from overeating and food addiction.
“I’m talking about the book itself and what it’s about. It’s brand new, exciting science,” she said.
One aspect of being healthy is medicating with movement, Peeke said.
“I’m asking women to increase their activity of daily living. It’s important that people see this as just important,” she said.
Every movement counts as long as it’s done with intensity, Peeke said.
“It has everything to do with intensity. If I can hit some cardio intensely instead of looking like a zombie on a treadmill, I will get much better bang for my buck,” she said. “Most people are time constrained, but they can give you 30 to 40 minutes.”
Sponsors of A Day Just for Women are Knicely Conference Center, Citizens First Bank and Graves-Gilbert Clinic.
— For more information, call 745-1010 or 800-624-2318.
