FACS

  • Thanksgiving has great trimmings. Family, favorite foods, fall weather, football, and a fridge full of leftovers. What more do you need? Answer: a plan for safe food preparation and handling. Every year, one in six Americans comes down with a case of foodborne illness, or food poisoning. Most experience a day or two of diarrhea…

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  • A plate with fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts. Also a stethoscope and glucose monitor. All tools to manage diabetes.

    A recent study by University of Georgia (UGA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)researchers found significant increases in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the U.S. from 2012 to 2022, a continuation of trends noted from 1988 to 2012 and 1999 to 2016 in previous research. The highest rates of diabetes increases…

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  • Managing holiday spending

    Three retail sale tags in red and green Christmas colors.

    Halloween is still a week away, but the stores are already stocked with Christmas items and many of us are thinking about gift purchases. So are merchants and credit card companies, who are anticipating $979.5 to $989 billion in holiday-related decoration and gift purchases in November and December, according to the National Retail Federation. This…

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  • An image of a typical home HVAC system

    Ventilation is important for a healthy home, and it is one of the functions of the HVAC system: Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning. This forced air system pulls air into the heating or cooling unit, changes its temperature to reach the setting of the thermostat, then blows the air to different rooms through ducts. Filters…

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  • A large outdoor grill with chicken and vegetable kabobs as well as brats cooking.

    Summer is the season for picnics, cookouts, and tailgating parties where food takes center stage. While we’re enjoying the fun and fellowship, we still need to prioritize food safety to keep bacteria from making anyone sick. At temperatures between 40° and 140° Fahrenheit, bacteria on food can multiply rapidly, potentially doubling every 20 minutes. As…

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  • A sleeping 2-3 yr old child

    Most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep each night, but a third of us fail to get enough sleep on a regular basis. A chronic lack of sleep has consequences for our daily functioning, mood, mental and physical health, as well as workplace productivity and worker and public safety. Our bodies use the…

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  • A teaspoon full of white granulated sugar, which is spilling off the spoon. The mound of sugar is topped with a bright, fresh raspberry.

    By Beth O’Shea Kindamo, Assistant nutrition educator and program coordinator, University of Georgia Extension and Outreach, Nutritional Sciences What is erythritol? Erythritol is a type of carbohydrate called a sugar alcohol or polyol. Sugar alcohols taste about 70 percent as sweet as typical sweeteners – like table sugar – but provide far fewer calories. This…

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  • A kitchen faucet filling up a cup with water. The water is splashing out of the cup.

    A clean kitchen helps prevent the spread of bacteria. Dangerous bacteria can lurk around countertops, surface areas of the kitchen, and on large and small appliances. Bacteria can be on a surface that appears to be clean. These bacteria can contaminate food and cause serious illness. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) conducted a…

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  • Flowers, candy, and cards are nice gifts to show someone we care, but they’re gone within a week. This Valentine’s Day, consider doing something that will give lasting peace-of-mind to a loved one: Complete the Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care. Available online, the Advance Directive for Health Care combines the living will and durable…

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  • Holiday Spending Tips

    Two women shopping with many holiday purchases

    It’s that time of year, where shopping is in the air and overspending can be a huge problem. Avoiding overspending can make holidays easier and allow you to enjoy the season and the months after.

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