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Cereal Foods World, Vol. 65, No. 3
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/CFW-65-3-0026
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​​​​Food as Medicine
Kevin Taylor1 and Pera Gorson2

1 Health Care Industry Consultant, Portland, OR, U.S.A.

2 ND, Food as Medicine Institute (FAMI), National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM), Portland, OR, U.S.A.


© 2020 Cereals & Grains Association

Abstract

Around the world primary care practitioners (PCPs) are on the front lines of delivering health care and are the first point of contact most patients have with their respective heath care systems. PCPs, especially physicians, are viewed by the public as highly credible experts in nutrition. However, most physicians are unable or unwilling to provide meaningful nutrition advice due to a lack of adequate nutritional training or time spent with their patients or lack of comfort in offering counseling about health-promoting dietary patterns. At the same time, patients expect their PCPs to answer questions and provide specific directions on healthy eating and dietary choices to prevent or reverse disease progression. The disconnect between patient expectations and PCP engagement on nutrition often leads patients to search elsewhere for information. This often results in patients relying on questionable scientific data that often reinforces existing food myths and nonmedically necessary exclusion of macronutrients from their diets.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

—Attributed to Hippocrates




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