Food Isn’t Medicine

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These include a variety of herbs and spices, legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables. Today, he's a passionate advocate of health and every size and keen to bust the endless myths about what we consume and how we consume it, restrictive eating and ‘cure-all’ supplements or diets.

No, no and absolutely not - NHS doctor and nutritionist Joshua Wolrich is on a mission to set the record straight. Josh's desire to educate others stands upon a foundation of compassion that we might experience more freedom and take our opportunity to question the damaging messages we so easily absorb. Anna Mathur (@annamathur) It is also important to consider how foods interact with medications. This is referred to as drug-nutrient interaction, which may enhance or interrupt the effect of a medication in the body. One study suggests that a modified Mediterranean diet can reduce pain, fatigue, and discomfort in persons with lipoedema, a condition where there is an abnormal accumulation of fat in the lower extremities. Wu wants to see food as medicine become an intrinsic part of healthcare, in prevention and treatment of disease. It is not to suggest one can eat themselves out of terminal illness but food can have a powerful effect on health and some disease.

Nutrition Is Just One Tool

Both MNT and a nutritious diet can help improve health outcomes, but neither is a replacement for health care. (In fact, MNT is typically provided by a dietitian, which means that it’s a form of health care.) The best way to catch and treat potential problems early on is by scheduling regular visits with your primary-care provider. Clare Collins, a nutrition and dietetics professor at the University of Newcastle, says she would like to see nutrition managed care plans – similar to the mental health treatment plans currently subsidised by Medicare – that give people access to dieticians and nutritionists who can help overcome at least some of the barriers to healthy eating. Decades of scientific findings support the integral role of diet in health management, which should not be understated. At the moment, a Medicare-subsidised chronic disease management plan – for management of diseases such as type 2 diabetes – includes the option of a single appointment with a dietitian as one of a large variety of allied health professionals available for limited number of subsidised appointments. According to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the core of a healthy diet is built on high intakes of a variety of nutrient-dense foods and beverages, including:

The reasons for this are myriad, complex, and not yet well understood. Some research has shown that a diet rich in added sugars, saturated and trans fats and excess sodium may induce chronic inflammation — an underlying risk factor in the development of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, poor gut health, and other chronic diseases.I love Dr Joshua Wolrich because of his no BS drive to make the world a better place. His advocacy mixed with his knowledge is wonderful. Kenzie Brenna (@kenziebrenna) Furthermore, research also shows that carotenoids — antioxidants naturally found in some vegetables and fruits — in the diet can improve the blood metabolites of people with liver disease. The reason why we use food as medicine is because healthcare needs to shift,” he says. “Within healthcare itself, healthy food and honestly just healthy physical activity does not get anywhere near enough attention it should get.” Likewise, observational studies identified that a healthful diet during breast cancer treatment may reduce negative symptoms caused by cancer treatment, including nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite. Cost-effective As an NHS doctor with personal experience of how damaging diets can be, he believes every one of us deserves to have a happy, healthy relationship with food and with our bodies. His message is clear: we need to fight weight stigma, call out the lies of diet culture and give ourselves permission to eat all foods.

Advocates believe better targeted, supported and funded prescriptive approaches are needed and that’s where the idea of food as medicine comes in. Wu and colleagues recently conducted a study involving 50 people with type 2 diabetes who were finding it hard to afford enough food. The group were “prescribed” a free box of fresh fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, lean meats and dairy – delivered to their home every week. They also had regular access to a dietician and were given recipes and advice on how to prepare healthy food using the ingredients. Thus, while “food as medicine” may support disease management by improving symptoms and slowing disease progression in some diseases, it must not be used as a stand-alone treatment, rather in conjunction with appropriate medical therapy. Fueled by misinformation

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Vegetables ‘have such a powerful effect from a health perspective, yet there is such a common perception that they’re unaffordable’, says Dr Kelly Lambert. Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP Since the UNSW study ended, Emma has been missing it – especially when something as simple as a lettuce became unaffordable. “I really miss those basic things – I miss broccoli, cauliflower, all of that,” she says. She has reverted to some of her old “stodgy” foods, because they are cheaper. The development of chronic diseases continues to be complex and may be attributed to non-diet-related causes, including genetic risk, exposure to environmental toxins, or autoimmune conditions. The simplest approach would be to subsidise access to fresh vegetables. “[Vegetables] have such a powerful effect from a health perspective, yet there is such a common perception that they’re unaffordable – and these days they potentially are in some communities,” Lambert says. Medical nutrition therapy is a part of evidence-based health practice that uses diet and food to support the treatment of diseases, and it is a clear demonstration of the role that diet and food play in managing chronic disease.

It is focused on the increased consumption of a variety of whole, minimally-processed plant-based foods, and limited intakes of highly processed foods rich in added sugar, oil, and salt. As outlined in Food Isn’t Medicine by nutritionist Dr. Joshua Wolrich, the vilification of individual foods can lead to unhealthy eating behaviors. Drug-nutrient interactions Food as medicine” is a practice built on the knowledge that food and diet play important roles in disease prevention and management.At best, these claims blow small bits of evidence way out of proportion—sure, raisins contain nutrients that can contribute to healthy blood pressure, but eating them won’t magically cure hypertension. And at worst, the claims are pseudoscience. Yes, food contributes to health and plays a role in the prevention and management of certain diseases, but food isn’t medicine, and no diet can replace good health care. We Can’t Always Control Our Health However, it can also be a source of misinformation and sharing of unverifiable information, especially where “food as medicine” or alternative medicinal therapies are concerned. Using “food as medicine” could conceivably reduce healthcare costs by potentially reducing disease severity through better labwork, fewer medications, and fewer hospitalizations.