10 Servings of Food as Medicine

Culinary Medicine Now on the Menu:

The kitchen at Tulane teaches medical students and doctors culinary skills so they can help patients make practical dietary changes to improve their health.
• Healthy cooking techniques are taught to medical students, residents, doctors, chefs, and members of the community.
• Programming covers the significant role food plays in preventing and managing obesity and related diseases.
• Tulane is the first medical school to have a full-time chef as an instructor. [1]

Medical Foods, as Defined by FDA:

Not those simply recommended by a physician as part of an overall diet to manage the symptoms or reduce the risk of a disease or condition.
• Specially formulated and processed for a patient who is seriously ill or who requires its use as a major component of a disease or condition’s specific dietary management.
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Some medical foods and their uses:

Theramine – low back pain, Fosteum – osteoporosis, Limbrel – osteoarthritis, Metanx – diabetic peripheral neuropathy. [2]

ABCs of Using Food as Medicine:

Consider a whole-foods plant-based diet with minimal processed food and added sugar.
• Use foods, not supplements, to treat and prevent chronic illness.
• Combine a nutritional plan with a program to reduce stress and raise awareness about how and what to eat.
• Encourage patients to experiment with various diets and foods and pay attention to the outcomes.
• Help patients manage chronic conditions with nutrition, stress management, and exercise. [3]

Diet & CVD: What Physicians Think & Know:

Physicians surveyed on knowledge of nutrition clinically relevant to cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention.
• Most recommended: (1) Mediterranean diet, (2) low-fat, (3) DASH, (4) low-glycemic index diets.
• Rated nutrition as important as statins for CVD risk reduction, but only 13.5% said they were adequately trained to discuss nutrition with patients.
• 64% of knowledge-based questions answered correctly.
• Physicians think diet is important in CVD prevention, but practical knowledge and self-reported training in nutrition is suboptimal. [4]

Omega-6 CVD Efficacy in Question:

Effect on CVD risk is controversial.
• In a Cochrane review, investigators found no studies examining the effects of increased or decreased omega-6 on their primary outcome CVD clinical end points.
• Evidence was insufficient to show an effect of increased or decreased omega-6 intake on CVD risk factors, such as blood lipids and blood pressure. [5]

Primary Care Light on Obesity Management:

PCP assessment/behavioral management of overweight and obesity is lacking.
• Just half record BMI regularly.
• 70% have used pharmacologic treatments for overweight.
• Research needed to understand care barriers, improve engagement. [6]

Double Down With Foods That Trim and Treat:

For managing weight and preventing and treating chronic diseases, medical nutrition experts recommend:
• Cough – buckwheat honey
• Diarrhea – pickled foods
• Menstrual cramps – ginger
• IBS – peppermint
• High blood pressure – hibiscus tea
• High cholesterol – chia seeds
• High LDL cholesterol – steel-cut oatmeal
• High blood sugar – beans. [7]

Diners, Drive-ins, and…Joints: Eat to Beat Arthritis Pain:

Good foods/ingredients:
• Salmon, sardines, mackerel – omega-3 fatty acids
• Green tea – nutrients, antioxidants
• Dark chocolate – antioxidants
• Berries – antioxidants
• Apples – antioxidants, fiber
• Canola, olive oils – omega-3, omega-6 acids
• Ginger, turmeric – anti-inflammatory properties
• Nuts –protein (high), saturated fats (low), cholesterol (zero)
• Whole grains – nutrients, fiber
• Salsa – vitamin C, fiber, antioxidants. [8]

Probiotics to Prevent, Treat Diarrhea:

Probiotics were associated with a reduction in antibiotic-associated diarrhea in a meta-analysis of 63 RCTs.
• Insufficient evidence to determine whether this association varies systematically by population, antibiotic characteristic, or probiotic preparation.
• More research is needed to determine which probiotics are associated with the greatest efficacy and for which patients receiving which specific antibiotics. [9]

Mediterranean Diet Dims Macular Degeneration:

Researchers examined association of adherence to the Mediterranean diet & genetic susceptibility with progression to advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
• aMeDi score constructed from intakes of vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, nuts, fish, red and processed meats, and alcohol & ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fats.
• Higher adherence to Mediterranean diet → reduced risk of progression to advanced AMD. [10]