Category: Food as Medicine

Food is Medicine is an evidence-based solution for addressing food insecurity and the many diet-related chronic diseases affecting millions in the United States and people worldwide. Food is Medicine interventions have been shown to reduce food insecurity, which is an independent risk factor for morbidity, medication compliance, depression, and mortality in a number of disorders [4]. Evidence is also mounting on how Food is Medicine strategies are associated not only with meaningful improvements in food security but also with health biomarkers (e.g., BMI, cardiometabolic parameters, and HbA1c), insurance costs, and health quality indicators (e.g., hospital readmissions for the same diagnosis) [4]. Consequently, these services are increasingly being covered by private medical insurance and federal payors through Medicare Advantage and Medicaid (via waiver programs). Now is the time to extend the research base on this topic so that we can critically assess the evidence to better integrate it into healthcare through evidence-backed policies.
Lynch CJ. A Concept for Comprehensive Food is Medicine Networks or Centers of Excellence. Am J Clin Nutr. 2023 Jul;118(1):10-12. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.04.027. EpMozaffarian D, Blanck HM, Garfield KM, Wassung A, Petersen R.

A Food is Medicine approach to achieve nutrition security and improve health. Nat Med. 2022 Nov;28(11):2238-2240. doi: 10.1038/s41591-022-02027-3. PMID: 36202998; PMCID: PMC10851911.ub 2023 Apr 25. PMID: 37105523; PMCID: PMC10375453.