One food-as-medicine program not only prescribes food for treatment but teaches patients how to cook it.

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、Nadeaunoticesthepre-mademacaroni(通心粉)-and-cheeseboxesinScott’sshoppingcartandsuggestssheswitchtowholegrainmacaroniandrealcheese.“SoI’dhavetomakeit?”sheasks.herenthusiasmfadingatthethoughtofhowlongthatmighttake,justtohaveherkidsrejectit.“I’mnotsurethey’deatit.Theyjustwon’teatit.”
D、Nadeausayssugarandprocessedfoodsarebigcontributorstotherisingdiabetesratesamongchildren.“InAmerica.over50percentofourfoodisprocessedfood,”Nadeautellsher.“Andonly5percentofourfoodisplant-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,80percentofdeathsfromheartdiseaseandstrokearecausedbyhighbloodpressure,tobaccouse,elevatedcholesterolandlowconsumptionoffruitsandvegetables.H:“It’sadifferentparadigm(范式)ofhowtotreatdisease.”saysDr.BrendaRea,whohelpsrunthefamilyandpreventivemedicineresidencyprogramatLomaLindaUniversitySchoolofMedicine.Thelifestylemedicinespecialtyisdesignedtotraindoctorsinhowtopreventandtreatdisease,inpart,bychangingpatients’nutritionalhabits.ThemedicalcenterandschoolatLomaLindaalsohasafoodcupboardandkitchenforpatients.Thisway,patientsnotonlylearnaboutwhichfoodstobuy,butalsohowtopreparethemathome.