Instructor: Jari Serra RD

Biography: Jari Serra is an Integrative Clinical Dietitian and Nutrition Educator. She was raised with an emphasis on nutrition, yoga and natural medicine. Before graduating from OSU and becoming a dietitian, she was co-founder and owner of the West Bank Cafe, Corvallis' first natural foods restaurant. In private practice for more than 30 years, she specializes in combining mainstream and alternative approaches to nutritional and medical treatment.

Jari's intention is to help her clients and students find their way to the individualized way of eating and specific health regimens that work for them. Her special interests include rebuilding bones without medication, new approaches to arthritis healing, liver and other organ cleansing regimens, restoring thyroid and adrenal function, improved injury and surgery recovery, and the many digestive and bowel conditions now affecting millions of Americans. She's been teaching and speaking for over 25 years and began offering classes through Community Learning in 2013.

To learn more about Jari, visit her NutritionSpeak website.

Classes by this instructor

Protect & Rebuild Your Bones Without Medication

Bone loss can be slowed and many times even reversed by following specific dietary, habit, and (especially) supplement practices. Your instructor has restored bone density from advanced osteopenia to normal bone density. Learn how supplementation with the three "calcium taxis" can help rebuild our bones. In contrast, calcium supplementation isn't always needed, and many Americans are getting too much calcium from pills, contributing to arterial plaque buildup. Learn how bone-rebuilding medications work and how they can weaken the bones.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024 | 1:30pm-3:00pm | Bend

Reassessing and Managing Low Thyroid

Low thyroid hormones impact every cell and organ in the body. Many practitioners don't order all the tests needed to accurately identify your thyroid status, which can lead to a missed diagnosis or the wrong medication for treatment. You'll complete a thyroid questionnaire, learn the many symptoms of low thyroid, and receive easy instructions for basal body temperature testing. Learn which tests to request for a first assessment or if you've been diagnosed and treated for low thyroid but still have symptoms. We'll explore how foods like soy and wheat can interfere with thyroid function while iodine, selenium, and certain herbs can help.
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 | 1:30pm-3:00pm | Bend

The Whole30

The Whole30 is the favorite anti-inflammatory diet for many. Want to do something bold to smash inflammation and be inspired by what it can do for your joint pain, mental clarity, quality of sleep, and much more? With no calorie restriction, you avoid five food categories for 30 days. Common benefits include noticeable improvement in sleep (#1!), joint pain, abdominal swelling, mental clarity, mood, anxiety, irritability, energy and stamina over the day, skin problems, and headaches. When you end the diet, you'll more easily notice which foods contribute to the return of unwanted symptoms, and figure out how often you can eat them and still keep your newfound benefits.
Wednesday, October 2, 2024 | 1:30pm-3:00pm | Bend

Weight Gain, Weight Retention, and Obesity

Weight gain and weight loss is about calories in vs. calories out, right? For some people, it's really that simple. Yet this overlooks powerful, hidden physiological factors that push people to overeat, and trying to solve them with willpower is often impossible. For millions more, it's even more confounding. You don't have to overeat to be overweight! The NIH declared obesity a disease in 1998 and the AMA in 2013. And rightly so. Decades of research reveal complex genetic and environmental factors that contribute to the development of obesity and its resistance to treatment.
Wednesday, November 13, 2024 | 1:30pm-3:00pm | Bend