Food is Medicine convention comes to OU-Tulsa culinary program | News

Food is Medicine convention comes to OU-Tulsa culinary program | News

TULSA, Okla. — Food & Society at the Aspen Institute and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine have gathered for a convention at OU-Tulsa’s culinary medicine program.

“We’re talking about Food is Medicine and how it can help manage and prevent diabetes,” said Corby Cummer, the executive director of Food & Society at the Aspen Institute. “We have people from all over the country who say here is how fresh food—food that you make, food that we help you learn how to make—can radically improve your health, bring you from having diabetes to not having diabetes, from pre-diabetes—a huge problem in the U.S. population—getting rid of the pre-diabetes so you don’t even have to worry about getting diabetes. How can food improve your health, especially around diabetes?”

According to Cummer, diabetes is a huge problem affecting the health of those in the United States, sometimes without a person even being aware of it.

“It’s a staggering number. 37% of adolescents are pre-diabetic, most of them don’t know that they are. They have no idea that they’re heading for a lifetime of possible ill health and billions of dollars in health care costs, so by getting them to change their diet early in life when you can change eating habits much more successfully than with adults, but you can change them successfully with adults, the earlier you go, the better and the more money you save the healthcare system.”

Cummer said the easiest way to improve diet is by adding in fruits or vegetables in whatever way is easiest for a person or their family.

“I think if you can start with the idea that the more fresh fruits and vegetables you have, cooked or uncooked, the better in your diet. The less processed food and fast food that you eat, probably the better. I’m being careful because you always have to think what can people afford to eat? What do they have time to eat based on the two jobs they’re working or the family they have to feed? You have to tailor the advice to where people can actually shelve it. But if you buy frozen or canned vegetables in the market, it doesn’t have to be fresh…You have to pick what will save you money and be the least amount of time.”

Cummer stated culinary medicine programs like the one at OU-Tulsa are vital in understanding the positive role diet and nutrition can play in someone’s health.

“Culinary medicine programs are an innovation at medical schools. There aren’t as many as there should be, but there are more and more and the one at Oklahoma University Tulsa is one of the oldest, longest standing culinary medicine programs in the country. It’s really shocking that most doctors don’t have more than two hours of nutrition training in their four years of medical school, but culinary medicine aims to reverse that and say diet is a key to health. It’s a key to saving people from coming in to see you in the future. It’s keeping them out of your offices, keeping them out of the health care system, but when they do come to you, give them good advice about how to eat better and we’re helping you do that through our culinary medicine program.”

This event is part of a series of workshops based on peer-reviewed food medicine research gathered in 2024 into a Food is Medicine Research Action Plan.

link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *