There are compelling reasons, including health, fitness, social responsibility and economic development to change things about the way we eat. But despite the number of clamoring voices for change, the reality is the typical family is not likely to completely reinvent their diet or buying habits. There are ways to make incremental changes that are important to you.

Do you know who brought you this bounty?

I’m offering a calmer message, and that is to eat smarter, and one of the easiest ways to eat smarter is talk to the people who grow your food. Vegetarian or meat lover, exotic chef or locavore, the common ground we all share is that by knowing where our food comes from, we can make more informed choices.

First, some background: Who are the people who sell us most of the food we prepare at home? There are 36,000 supermarkets in the United States, and they employ an amazing 3.4 million workers. The typical supermarket has 38,718 products.

38,718 products. No wonder we’re confused about what to eat.

There is no easy way to track the origins of 38,000 products. There is a bit of hope and it comes from a USDA program called “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food.” The government, with its love of acronyms, calls this “KYF2.” This program is designed to strengthen the connection between consumers and producers. By shopping at a farmers market, participating in a CSA, or buying direct from a farm gate, it gives you the beginning of understanding about what it takes to grow and raise the foods you like to eat.

For example, the KYF2 website shares these findings:

• The number of farmers markets has more than tripled in the past 15 years, and there are now more than 7,175 around the country;
• In 1986 there were two community supported agriculture operations, and today there are more than 4,000;
• There are farm-to-school programs in 48 states, totaling more than 2,200 and up from two in 1996;
• All 50 states in the U.S. have agricultural branding programs, such as “Jersey Fresh” or “Simply Kansas”;
• As governor of Iowa, Tom Vilsack started one of the first food policy councils; today there are over 100 food policy councils;
• And the National Restaurant Association declared “locally sourced meats and seafood” and “locally grown produce” as the top two trends for 2011.

The AG Census reports that direct-to-retail and local foods sales conservatively added up to $8 billion in 2007. That is more than our total U.S. sales of cotton and rice. Direct and local sales have being a significant force in agriculture – and the KYF2 program is making it easier for us to find those farmers.

So this year, instead of reinventing your entire food life, make a small change, choose a food or group of foods and get to Know Your Farmer.

That switched Pillemer’s focus from the problems of older people and the “problems” they cause for society to their joys and wisdom. Over the past six years, he and his research team gathered the advice of 1,500 Americans age 70 and older for a new book titled 30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans. He continues to share and post life lessons on his ongoing study’s website, The Legacy Project.

Pillemer was inspired in part that the lessons he collected sidestepped platitudes like “live life to the fullest.” And many came from people who were in poor health, who had regrets and who otherwise had made mistakes in life. “The lessons aren’t all from exemplary, positive, high-functioning people,” he told the Washington Post. “But the view from 80, 90, 100 years old is that life is really short. It’s precious. And we shouldn’t waste it worrying about getting old.”

One lesson Pillemer says changed his own approach to life is to not worry about things he can’t control.

“One woman told me that waking up in the middle of the night, panicking and staying awake ruminating about life – that’s a 35-year-old’s game,” he said to the Post. “People in their 90s talked about finally feeling ‘free.’”

What lessons for living have you gained from older family members and friends? What advice would you give to younger generations?

Here’s a fun twist: A group of researchers at Cornell and the University of Hawaii are doing some interesting research that is a little out of this world but may have implications here in Iowa and throughout the rest of the country. The Hawaii Space Exploration Analogue & Simulation (HI-SEAS) is a 120-day Mars exploration analogue mission to take place in early 2013 on the Big Island of Hawaii. What this will be is a simulated space mission on Mars, and six researchers will simulate life in a Mars-spacecraft environment. Can you imagine four months living, cooking and eating in a 50-square-meter habitat?

Why are they studying this?

Astronauts have a wide selection of prepackaged meals available to eat during missions.  But quoting the researchers, “Humans eating a restricted diet over a period of months ultimately experience “menu fatigue,” also known as food monotony.”

Hmmm, sounds a little bit like some American homes, eating the same pre-packaged food week in – week out.

The researchers continue: “The major disadvantage of cooking on a space mission is the cost of resources required for food preparation and cleanup: equipment, power, water, and crew labor…Little is known about the break-even point in crew size, at which cooking would become more labor-efficient than eating instant foods out of individual packages.”

Wow, hello! This is the same issue we see in many American homes: the choice between cooking and eating “instant” food.

Researchers also know that over time, nasal passages can become blocked during prolonged space flight, and the loss of the sense of smell directly influences taste. In addition to their own research initiatives, these volunteer researchers are going to compare prepackaged space food with food cooked in the mock-up environment from shelf-stable ingredients for taste and convenience.

I am looking forward to seeing the outcome of this study. The researchers are looking to develop recipes and cooking strategies for future space travelers. This is one of those projects where the scientific exploration of space travel can have direct influence on hungry children at home. The potential for new ways for families to use shelf-stable ingredients in their homes could come to the rescue of both families who struggle with obesity and families who live in food deserts – those parts of the U.S. where fresh food is not easily accessible.

• Many mental health disorders are preventable and treatable.
• About one in five people experience a mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder at some point in their life.
• Fewer than half of people diagnosed with a mental illness receive treatment in any given year.
• An American dies of suicide about every 15 minutes.

What can you do if you want to start small?

• Provide positive parenting and a violence free home.
• Seek treatment if you are depressed or have another mental health condition.
• If you see signs of depression and suicide in someone you know, refer them to an appropriate resource.
• Become a mentor or tutor.
• Encourage children and adolescents to participate in extracurricular activities.
• Talk to your children about bullying.

What can you do if you want to think big?

• Encourage employers to provide health coverage that includes comprehensive mental health services.
• Host an organized community activity that encourages social participation and inclusion of everyone in the community.
• Encourage policy makers to expand access to mental health services and enhance linkages between mental health, substance abuse, disability, and other social services.

Don’t forget to post what you did well today on the website! Everyone who submits a post will be entered to win one of our fabulous prizes!

Important reminders:
MPHSC Do Something Well Today T-shirts are still available for purchase. If you are not in the Des Moines area, just follow the ordering instructions on the linked page and we will ship one to you.

Don’t forget to attend the “Strategies for Community Health Improvement” discussion with Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and DMU President Angela Walker Franklin, Ph.D., TODAY at 12:30 p.m. in the SEC auditorium.

Colorectal canceris cancer that starts in either the colon or the rectum. According to the National Cancer Institute, this year more than 143,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer. It is the fourth most common cancer in men, after skin, prostate and lung cancer. It’s also the fourth most common cancer among women, after skin, breast and lung cancer.

It's Super Colon!

No one knows the exact causes of colorectal cancer, but studies have found the following are risk factors:

• Age over 50
• Colorectal polyps
• Family history of colorectal cancer
• Genetic predispositions
• Personal history of cancer
• Ulcerative colitis or Crohn disease
• Diet, especially those high in fat and low in calcium, folate and fiber
• Cigarette smoking

While colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in the U.S., early diagnosis often leads to a complete cure. Tests include blood analysis, colonoscopy, and CT and MRI scans of the abdomen.

To help raise public awareness about colorectal cancer in central Iowa, tonight from 5 to 7 p.m., physicians and staff of Mercy’s Cancer Center, Clinical Laboratory and Gastroenterology Clinic, along with representatives from Iowa Digestive Disease Center (IDDC), will staff a phone bank at the studio of KCCI-TV to answer questions and provide information about colorectal cancer symptoms, risk factors and colonoscopies. If you need an extra incentive to stop by KCCI, 888 Ninth Street downtown, you can walk through the Super Colon, provided by Davids Fight, to see what polyps and cancer tissue look like compared to normal colon tissue.

The Super Colon also will make an appearance on March 8 in the atrium at Iowa Methodist Medical Center, 1200 Pleasant Street. Iowa Methodist’s John Stoddard Cancer Center will be promoting Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and will have information on the risks associated with colorectal cancer.

Any cancer is scary, so it’s great we have effective ways to detect colorectal cancer to ensure early treatment. And while getting a colonoscopy – defined by the U.S. National Library of Medicine as “an internal examination of the colon (large intestine) and rectum, using an instrument called a colonoscope” – doesn’t sound like much fun, it’s a largely painless procedure that can save lives. Want a compelling (and laugh-out-loud) description of the experience? Check out Miami Herald columnist Dave Barry’s tale of the tube. Just be sure to read his convincing conclusion on why all of us 50-plus-somethings should be glad to get this important test.

Lehrer describes the brain’s memory function, the emotional impact of traumatic memories and the chemicals that may make them go away. It also raises the moral issue of memory erasure: We learn from pain, including the emotional kind. “If our past becomes a playlist – a collection of tracks we can edit with ease – then how will we resist the temptation to erase the pleasant ones?” Lehrer asks.

Even more troubling, he continues, is the possibility that some evil dictator could apply such drugs to populations, “wiping away genocides and atrocities with a cocktail of pills.”

If you could take a pill that would erase your worst memory, would you take it? (Photo: Dwight Eschliman/Wired)

Pondering those scenarios led me to Lehrer’s Wired blog, “Frontal Cortex,” and his article titled “The Willpower Trick,” posted in January, what he calls “the month of broken resolutions.” He notes a 2007 survey of more than 3,000 people conducted by the British psychologist Richard Wiseman, which found that 88 percent of all resolutions end in failure. Referencing several other studies on the topic, Lehrer states, “The reason our resolutions end in such dismal fashion returns us to the single most important fact about human willpower – it’s incredibly feeble.”

There’s hope, though, for those of us with dusty stairmasters, unused gym memberships and abandoned Jenny Craig diets, Lehrer says. He notes a late-1960s experiment Walter Mischel conducted with four-year-old children: Sitting each child in a tiny room with a chair and desk, topped with a tray of marshmallows, cookies and pretzel sticks, Mischel made the kids an offer: They could either eat one treat right away or, if they were willing to wait while he stepped out for a few minutes, they could have two treats when he returned. Nearly every kid chose to wait – but only a tiny percentage succeeded in doing so.

How did these few “high delayers” do it? By covering their eyes, sitting under the desk, pretending to take a nap or otherwise distracting themselves from the treats. In other words, they found ways to avoid the internal conflict that in such situations we typically succumb to.

Which means: Don’t buy that quart of calorie-packed ice cream or go near that super-sized bucket of fried chicken. Make an appointment with a friend to meet you at the gym. Indulge your desire to watch reruns of “Downton Abbey” only while you’re on the elliptical. Then reward yourself with these yummy power bars, a recipe courtesy of DMU’s wellness staff – but only after you’ve logged at least five miles on the treadmill.

Power bars

• 2 cups quick oats
• 1 cup natural peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
• 1 cup honey
• 1 cup honey
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup ground flax
• 1 cup vanilla whey protein powder or soy protein powder

Mix all ingredients together and still until well blended. Spread mixture into a 13 x 10-inch pan and refrigerate until ready to serve. Cut into 32 bars. Store in the fridge for up to two weeks or freeze for later use.

Nutritional info per bar: calories, 170; fat, 8g; cholesterol, 2 mg; carbohydrate, 22g; fiber, 3g; protein, 5g; sodium, 35 mg

But what exactly does coordinated care look like? And how do physicians, hospitals and other components of the health care delivery system get there?

Communicate, coordinate, integrate: That's what it's all about.

These are among the questions you can explore with leaders from Des Moines University, Iowa Health, Mercy Des Moines and other organizations at an executive roundtable this Thursday, Feb. 16, 5:30-7:30 p.m., in conference rooms 6-7 in Mercy Medical Center’s East Tower, 1111 Sixth Avenue, downtown Des Moines.

Free and open to all, the roundtable will be a great opportunity to gain insights, ask questions and network with health care professionals in a stimulating discussion of this timely and important topic. Featured speakers include:

• Sue Thompson, president and CEO, Trinity Health Systems, Fort Dodge, Iowa
• Kelly Taylor, director of quality, Mercy Medical Center, Des Moines
• Laura Jackson, executive vice president, health care strategy and policy, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield

RSVP for the event by e-mailing Amy Russell, academic assistant in DMU’s master of health care administration program, at amy.russell.@dmu.edu. Parking for the event will be available in the visitor lot at Mercy. The driveway extends off Sixth Avenue northbound, just south of the University Avenue intersection. Enter the hospital’s main entrance, proceed straight down the corridor leading away from the reception desk, turn left at the chapel and walk past Starbucks to the elevator on the left. Take the elevator down one level to “A,” turn right and follow the signage hanging above to a corridor on the left labeled conference rooms 6 and 7 (which will be on the right in that corridor).

Enjoy the discussion!

Let’s Move is a campaign started by Mrs. Obama two years ago to promote healthy living amongst our nation’s kids. It is a program that was made to solve the problem of childhood obesity. The Let’s Move campaign has ‘provided children with healthier food and greater opportunities for physical activity in schools and communities, helped get families the information they need to make healthier decisions, supported a healthy start in early childhood, and have worked to ensure more people have access to healthy, affordable food.’

The Let’s Move website has many useful tools including, food pyramids, portion recommendations, tools for child care providers and day care centers to help the youngest children get off to a healthy start, resources for parents, and much more.

The first lady has chosen Des Moines as the kick-off location for a three-day national tour promoting the Let’s Move campaign. Thousands of central Iowa elementary and middle school students will descend upon Wells Fargo Arena to participate in this 2^nd anniversary event. Mrs. Obama is scheduled to speak to the crowd at 11:00 a.m. Local acts will perform for the crowd. There will also be some local and national celebrities including: Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper, ISU basketball coach Fred Hoiberg, figure skater Michelle Kwan, WNBA player Tamika Catchings, NASCAR driver Carl Edwards, and gold-medal gymnast Shawn Johnson. Organizers have said more celebrities could be added.

Des Moines University has recently implemented a new Vision statement. I believe this event fits perfectly with the vision’s main points which include: education, leadership, wellness, and community. We get many opportunities to volunteer here at DMU, but I feel this one is very unique. Our students and employees are getting a chance to come together as one body and represent DMU in one of the best ways they know how: by giving back to our community and volunteering for an event that will hopefully have a positive effect on the future of our children.

This year’s Mini Medical School begins this evening and runs for the five consecutive Tuesdays following. (February 7 – March 6, 2012)

The theme this year is all about becoming the healthiest you possible. You will learn how to do this through the five keys to living a happier, healthier life.

1. The 10 Pillars of Healthy Aging
2. Stress Management Techniques
3. Improve Your Physical Health
4. Enhance Your Emotional Well-Being
5. Establish Good Nutrition Habits

Register online or you can just sign up and purchase your tickets tonight before the talk.