While our DMU campus is buzzing with commencement and the festivities of celebrating the work of our faculty and students, there is another holiday that falls at the end of the month:  Memorial Day. And for many families, Memorial Day is the official start of picnic season.

Keep picnic guests happy and healthy.

What’s the best way to take perishable foods to a picnic site or family get-together? Let’s begin by thinking about the ending: leftovers. Often we plan how to take food to a gathering safely, but after a long day of fun and sun, we don’t have a safe plan for getting the leftovers home, and it’s the leftovers that can pose a larger health risk of food-borne illness. The best advice is to plan enough food for the event so there will not be any left over.

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If you read the foodie blogs, or follow the food debates, it doesn’t take long to find someone who doesn’t want you to eat something.  Whether their reasons are passionate, personal or evidence–based, the volume and clutter of “don’t eat” messages sometimes are enough to drive even the most open-minded food consumer to the point of foodie exhaustion.

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.

Posted in DMU Wellness, Health News, Healthy Cooking, Public Health | 1 Comment

I admit they are cute.

The temptation to take one home is hard to resist.

I’m talking about the little bundles of fluff that show up this time of year in garden centers, pet stores, feed stores and farm and home centers: baby chicks, baby ducks and baby rabbits.

Posted in Health Care Administration, Public Health | 1 Comment

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As the new kid on the blog, I thought I would introduce myself. All of the below is what the PR gurus say I should put on my resume and my Linked-in profile:

I cook, I farm, I teach.

I split my time between two worlds. In one, I’m an assistant professor here in the Des Moines University health care administration program. I also teach food policy courses in our master of public health program. This year, I am serving a year-long term as president of the Iowa Food Systems Council board of directors.

Posted in Current Students, Guest bloggers, Health Care Administration, Public Health | 2 Comments

Today is day 5 of National Public Health Week 2012! Below, members of DMU’s Master of Public Health Student Club discuss today’s theme: mental and emotional well-being.

Why focus on mental and emotional well-being?

• 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?

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