Is 'Food Is Medicine' the Future of Better Health?
DURING THE LAST several years, 'food is medicine' has become a buzzy phrase among hospitals, researchers, and social media influencers alike.
The promise of the food is medicine movement is huge: If more people got their hands on fresh food—by way of at-home 'medically tailored meal' services, 'farmacy' produce prescriptions or food banks, and better grocery options overall—than we might be able to drastically reduce the leading causes of death. After all, poor diet is cited as the No. 1 contributor to 45 percent of U.S. cardiometabolic deaths and 36 percent of global coronary deaths, not to mention 70 percent of new diabetes cases worldwide.
The movement carries political clout, too.
Under the Biden Administration, research funding flew into food is medicine initiatives with the goal of improving the American diet by way of more fresh foods.
Under the current Trump Administration, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has used 'food is medicine' as a rallying cry to purge the food industry of toxins and encourage more people to eat whole foods for better health.
Meanwhile The Rockefeller Foundation, American Heart Association, and other organizations have poured hundreds of millions into additional research to study if large-scale healthy food programs can help prevent and treat disease.
But, really, what does 'food is medicine' even mean?
Much like the word 'healthy,' the phrase doesn't yet have a widely agreed upon definition. There are a ton of different players rushing to put their spin on the phrase—from researchers to meal delivery companies to grocery stores. But if 'food is medicine' means everything... does it mean anything?
We decided to find out.
Here's our review of where the science on diet and disease actually stands–from an interview with a charge-leading researcher, to a report on the wild world of medically tailored meal startups. This is what "food is medicine" means right now.
And what it could mean for you.Shop NowShop NowShop Now
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