Hastings Center Report
Is Food Medicine?
Abstract: The metaphor of “food is medicine” underlies a broad range of efforts to integrate nutrition into patient-care planning. The metaphor reflects the fact that good nutrition can be as important to health as are drugs and other medical interventions. It also reminds us that, like medicines, many foods are highly processed industrial products backed by powerful commercial interests. Yet, because food is different from medicine in important respects, embedding access to nutrition into programs designed to deliver medical services is an imperfect solution. Harnessing the potential benefits of nutrition for health will require a broader approach not limited to the health sector alone.
