Food-as-MedicineMovementIsWitnessingProgress
A) Severaltimesamonth, youcanfindadoctorintheaislesofRalph'smarketinHuntingtonBeach, California, wearingawhitecoatandhelpingpeoplelearnaboutfood. Ononerecentday, thisdoctorwasDanielNadeau, wanderingthecerealaislewithAllisonScott, givinghersomeideaonhowtofeedkidswhopersistentlyavoidanythingthatishealthy. "Haveyouthoughtabouttryingfreshjuicesinthemorning?" heasksher. "Thefrozenorangesandapplesarealittlecheaper, andfruitsarereallygoodforthebrain. Juicesarequickandeasytoprepare; youcantakethefrozenfruitoutthenightbeforeandhaveitreadythenextmorning."
B) ScottisdelightedtogetfoodadvicefromaphysicianwhoisprogramdirectorofthenearbyMaryandDickAllenDiabetesCenter, partoftheSt. JosephHoagHealthalliance. Thecenter's "ShopwithYourDoc" programsendsdoctorstothegrocerystoretomeetwithanypatientswhosignupfortheservice, plusanyothershopperswhohappentobearoundwithquestions.
C) Nаdеаunоtісеѕ thе рrе-mаdе mасаrоnі（通心粉）-аnd-сhееѕе bохеѕ іn Ѕсоtt'ѕ ѕhорріng саrt аndsuggestssheswitchtowholegrainmacaroniandrealcheese. "SoI'dhavetomakeit?" sheasks, herenthusiasmfadingatthethoughtofhowlongthatmighttake, justtohaveherkidsrejectit. "I'mnotsurethey'deatit. Theyjustwon'teatit."
D) Nadeausayssugarandprocessedfoodsarebigcontributorstotherisingdiabetesratesamongchildren. "InAmerica, over 50 percentofourfoodisprocessedfood," Nadeautellsher. "Andonly 5 percentofourfoodisplant-basedfood. Ithinkweshouldtrytoreversethat." Scottagreestotrymorefruitjuicesforthekidsandtomakerealmacaroniandcheese. Scoreonepointforthedoctor, zerofordiabetes.
E) NadeauispartofasmallrevolutiondevelopingacrossCalifornia. Thefood-as-medicinemovementhasbeenaroundfordecades, butit'smakingprogressasphysiciansandmedicalinstitutionsmakefoodaformalpartoftreatment, ratherthanrelyingsolelyonmedications（药物）. Byprescribingnutritionalchangesorlaunchingprogramssuchas "ShopwithYourDoc", theyaretryingtoprevent, limitorevenreversediseasebychangingwhatpatientseat. "There'snoquestionpeoplecantakethingsalongwaytowardreversingdiabetes, reversinghighbloodpressure, evenpreventingcancerbyfoodchoices," Nadeausays.
F) Inthebigpicture, saysDr. RichardAfable, CEOandpresidentofSt. JosephHoagHealth, medicalinstitutionsacrossthestatearestartingtomakeaphilosophicalswitchtobecomingahealthorganization, notjustahealthcareorganization. ThatfeelingechoesthebeliefsoftheTherapeuticFoodPantryprogramatZuckerbergSanFranciscoGeneralHospital, whichcompleteditspilotphaseandisabouttoexpandonanongoingbasistofiveclinicsitesthroughoutthecity. Theprogramwillofferpatientsseveralbagsoffoodprescribedfortheircondition, alongwithintensivetraininginhowtocookit. "Wereallywanttolinkfoodandmedicine, andnotjustgiveawayfood," saysDr. RitaNguyen, thehospital'smedicaldirectorofHealthyFoodInitiatives. "Wewantpeopletounderstandwhatthey'reeating, howtoprepareit, therolefoodplaysintheirlives."
G) InSouthernCalifornia, LomaLindaUniversitySchoolofMedicineisofferingspecializedtrainingforitsresidentphysiciansinLifestyleMedicine—thatisaformalspecialtyinusingfoodtotreatdisease. Researchfindingsincreasinglyshowthepoweroffoodtotreatorreversediseases, butthatdoesnotmeanthatdietaloneisalwaysthesolution, orthateveryillnesscanbenefitsubstantiallyfromdietarychanges. Nonetheless, physicianssaythattheylookatthecollectivedataandaclearpictureemerges: thatthesalt, sugar, fatandprocessedfoodsintheAmericandietcontributetothenation'shighratesofobesity, diabetesandheartdisease. AccordingtotheWorldHealthOrganization, 80 percentofdeathsfromheartdiseaseandstrokearecausedbyhighblood, pressure, tobaccouse, elevatedcholesterolandlowconsumptionoffruitsandvegetables.
H) "It'sadifferentparadigm（范式）ofhowtotreatdisease," saysDr. BrendaRea, whohelpsrunthefamilyandpreventivemedicineresidencyprogramatLomaLindaUniversitySchoolofMedicine. Thelifestylemedicinespecialtyisdesignedtotraindoctorsinhowtopreventandtreatdisease, inpart, bychangingpatient'snutritionalhabits. ThemedicalcenterandschoolatLomaLindaalsohasafoodcupboardandkitchenforpatients. Thisway, patientsnotonlylearnaboutwhichfoodstobuy, butalsohowtopreparethemathome.
I) Manypeopledon'tknowhowtocook, Reasays, andtheyonlyknowhowtoheatthingsup. Thatmeansdependingonpackagedfoodwithhighsaltandsugarcontent. Soteachingpeopleaboutwhichfoodsarehealthyandhowtopreparethem, shesays, canactuallytransformapatient'slife. Andbeyondthat, itmighttransformthehealthandlivesofthatpatient'sfamily. "Whatpeopleeatcanbemedicineorpoison," Reasays. "Asaphysician, nutritionisoneofthemostpowerfulthingsyoucanchangetoreversetheeffectsoflong-termdisease."
J) Studieshaveexploredevidencethatdietarychangescanslowinflammation（炎症）, forexample, ormakethebodyinhospitabletocancercell. Ingeneral, manylifestylemedicinephysiciansrecommendaplant-baseddiet—particularlyforpeoplewithdiabetesorotherinflammatoryconditions.
K) "Aswhathappenedwithtobacco, thiswillrequireaculturalshift, butthatcanhappen," saysNguyen. "Inthesamewayphysiciansusedtosmoke, andthenstoppedsmokingandwereabletotalktopatientsaboutit, Ithinkphysicianscanhaveabiggervoiceinit."
36. MorethanhalfofthefoodAmericanseatisfactory-produced.
37. Thereisaspecialprogramthatassignsdoctorstogiveadvicetoshoppersinfoodstores.
38. Thereisgrowingevidencefromresearchthatfoodhelpspatientsrecoverfromvariousillnesses.
39. Ahealthybreakfastcanbepreparedquicklyandeasily.
40. Trainingapatienttopreparehealthyfoodcanchangetheirlife.
41. Onefood-as -medicineprogramnotonlyprescribesfoodfortreatmentbutteachespatientshowtocookit.
42. Scottisnotkeenoncookingfoodherself, thinkingitwouldsimplybeawasteoftime.
43. Diabetespatientsareadvisedtoeatmoreplant-basedfood.
44. Usingfoodasmedicineisnonovelidea, butthemovementismakingheadwaythesedays.
45. Americans'highratesofvariousillnessesresultfromthewaytheyeat.