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| Robert Israel, M.D., teaches a class of medical students in the kitchen. |
Earlier this week, Alabama Public Radio (APR), a network of public radio stations based in Tuscaloosa, aired a feature on the program’s work. The segment highlighted the experiences of medical students gaining essential nutrition education and high school students learning to create healthy snacks in USA Health’s teaching kitchens.
National Public Radio (NPR) picked up the story and aired it during the Morning Edition show, expanding the listening audience to nationwide.
Under the expert guidance of program director Robert Israel, M.D., FACP, an internal medicine physician at USA Health, and Ben Schrubbe, M.D., a family medicine physician in Baldwin County, the hands-on cooking classes are giving participants the skills they need to make healthier choices.
“Cori Yonge, a great friend and reporter for National Public Radio, asked to spend time with us in the kitchen with classes both of med students and a class from LeFlore High School,” Israel said. “Her questions were insightful and revealing, and we learned from them. We were also very lucky to be able to connect her with our good friends at the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative who were able to relate what we are doing locally to what is happening globally.”
Since joining the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative in 2021, a nationwide network of interactive culinary teaching facilities, USA Health has provided life-changing experiences to a diverse range of participants. From high school athletes, teenagers, and young children and their parents to community members, USA employees, and medical students, the program is teaching everyone how to prepare meals and snacks that are as delicious as they are healthy.
Israel credited the existence of such a program to the leadership at USA Health and the University of South Alabama and their vision of a healthier Gulf Coast community.
“Their ongoing and steadfast support is the reason this program exists, and this story should really be seen as the ability to see something valuable where nothing existed before,” he said. “We have really felt a building momentum around our message and a deep yearning for a healthier nutritional foundation, and that is gratifying for us. We hope to use this as a springboard to even better things in the next year or so.”
The program shines a light on two critical nutrition-related issues. First, it advocates for expanding medical school curricula to include nutrition education, as diet-related diseases contribute significantly to healthcare costs and mortality. Second, it emphasizes the importance of hands-on cooking experiences that focus on reducing highly processed foods and incorporating more plant-based, nutrient-dense options into everyday diets.
Through these practical cooking classes, participants gain the skills to make lasting dietary changes and reduce their risk of chronic health issues.
The Integrative Health and Wellness Program has two teaching kitchens – at University Commons in Mobile and Mapp Family Campus in Fairhope, but a third will be built at the new medical school under construction at USA.
Schrubbe, who echoed gratitude for APR’s coverage to a wider audience, recognized another benefit the teaching kitchens provide.
“The concept of ‘Food is Medicine’ allows our patient population to be directly involved in improving their health and the health of their families,” he said. “I have noticed that our classes not only provide important nutritional information and culinary skills, but also have the added benefit of building community.”
APR offers programming in classical, folk, jazz and nostalgic music programs, as well as local news and news and feature programs from National Public Radio, Public Radio International and American Public Media networks.
Learn more about the Integrative Health and Wellness Program and cooking classes at the University Commons and Mapp Family Campus teaching kitchens.
Check out the APR story: “Gulf coast doctors dish up a recipe for good health.”
Listen to the NPR story: “Medical students in Alabama are learning about nutrition in the kitchen.”
