When food isn't medicine - A challenge for physicians and health systems

Preventive Medicine Reports
Sean C Lucan

Abstract

Food can be powerful medicine. Good nutrition helps promote health and prevent and treat disease. Yet nutrition is not often part of a physician's training or clinical practice. Food might not be medicine when it's importance is under-recognized and healthful eating is under-prescribed. Moreover, food cannot be medicine when it is not available to patients (or when available only in the form of unhealthful fare). This paper considers evolving thinking about when food isn't medicine by chronicling the experience of one physician-from college coursework to providing patient care and conducting research. The paper is framed around the experience of a representative patient struggling with diet-related chronic conditions, and describes some community-focused initiatives to help address issues related to food access in challenged communities. A principal focus is the over-abundance of foods from 'plants' (the industrial processing kind) and the low availability of food from 'plants' (the living botanical kind). Physicians and health systems can support access to healthier food and healthier eating, and the idea of food as medicine, through a variety of approaches that extend beyond hospital and clinic walls. Examples of such physici...Continue Reading

References

Dec 19, 2009·American Journal of Public Health·Thomas A FarleyJanet C Rice
Jan 12, 2013·BMC Public Health·Lenard I LesserDeborah A Cohen
May 9, 2013·Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics : the Official Journal of the British Dietetic Association·Z BuyuktuncerB Ellahi
Feb 26, 2015·Public Health Nutrition·James WrightSarah Sowden
Jun 14, 2015·Journal of Community Health·Francesca GanyJennifer C F Leng
Jun 25, 2015·Journal of Nutrition in Gerontology and Geriatrics·Jinmyoung ChoAlan B Stevens
Apr 22, 2016·Journal of Community Health·Corey H BaschAnthony Menafro
Jan 10, 2017·Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics·David R BuysJulie L Locher
Mar 9, 2017·Journal of Urban Health : Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine·Sean C LucanClyde B Schechter
Nov 15, 2017·Annals of Family Medicine·Amanda ParsonsSean C Lucan

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Methods Mentioned

BETA
chips

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.

© 2022 Meta ULC. All rights reserved