My Health
Can food be medicine? Pros and cons Written by Amber Charles Alexis, MSPH, RDN on April 13, 2022 — Fact checked by Hannah Flynn | image credit: earth.com
“Food as medicine” may be an emerging concept in the Western world but has existed for centuries as the cornerstone of health for many cultures around the globe. However, the role of diet and food in disease prevention and management compared to conventional medicine has been questioned. This Honest Nutrition feature explains the benefits and limitations of a “food as medicine” healthcare approach.
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 fact that diet can impact an individual’s health is well acknowledged by healthcare providers worldwide. People who have access to adequate nutrition are more likely to have strong immune systems, safer pregnancy and childbirth, lower risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and they live longer.
Added sugar, salt, saturated fats, and alcohol intake should be limited for good health.
fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low and non-fat dairy, lean protein, healthy fats and oils.
Some diets that may bring health benefits include the Mediterranean diet, dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Healthy Eating MyPlate approach.
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 un- “Food as medicine” is a practice built on the knowledge that food and diet derlying risk factor in the development of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, play important roles in disease prevention and management. poor gut health, and other chronic diseases. There is no single definition of the “food as medicine” concept, but it genLikewise, the American Heart Association recently made diet and lifestyle erally refers to prioritizing food and diet in an individual’s health plan, recommendations that included a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole with the goal of either preventing, reducing symptoms of, or reversing a grains, legumes, low-fat dairy, and plant-based or lean animal protein to disease state. support cardiovascular health. It is focused on the increased consumption of a variety of whole, minimalExperts think that this diet supports good health through its potential to ly-processed plant-based foods, and limited intakes of highly processed reduce harmful risk factors of cardiovascular disease, including inflam- foods rich in added sugar, oil, and salt. mation, elevated cholesterolTrusted Source, high blood pressure, and poor sleepTrusted Source. Foods that proponents claim have medicinal properties, often due to supposed high levels of a particular micronutrient or biomolecule — someThe World Health Organization (WHO) also links nutritional status to times referred to as functional foods — are of particular interest by people immune health. who consider food as medicine.
Food as medicine
Furthermore, research also shows that carotenoids — antioxidants natu- These include a variety of herbs and spices, legumes, nuts and seeds, whole rally found in some vegetables and fruits — in the diet can improve the grains, and fruits and vegetables. blood metabolites of people with liver disease. The “food as medicine” approach to health management challenges the Decades of scientific findings support the integral role of diet in health construct of conventional medicine, which relies primarily on technologimanagement, which should not be understated. cal medical advancements to manage health and disease with pharmaceutical drugs.
TT 149 | April 19th - April 25th | 2022
